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My Kawasaki manual says that these things need to be done after 500 miles:

Carburetor Synchronization
Idle speed check
Throttle grip play check
Valve clearance check
Air cleaner element and air vent filter - clean
Evaporative emission control system check
Brake light switch check
Brake fluid level check
Clutch - adjust
Steering check
Nut, bolt, fastener tightness check
Engine oil - changed
Oil filter - replace
Radiator hoses, connections check

How necessary are all of these? My local motorcycle shop charges $52 per hour, so can I have them skip any of these? I already changed the oil and filter. Which of these should definitely be done by a professional mechanic? Can I wait longer than 500 miles?

Any help is appreciated!

The best advice I can give at this point is to let them do it all, since it would help in case you ever had a warranty issue. Then too, I don't have any idea what your mechanical experience is, so, well... you get the idea.
I'd definitely let them do the valve clearance and carb synchro, and the "checks" listed won't really add a lot to the bill unless adjustment is needed.
I do recommend you get a service manual for your bike (genuine Kawasaki preferred) in case you decide to dig in by yourself, and even if you don't. If you feel confident in adjusting some of the items to the specs laid out in the manual, by the correct procedures, then OK, but keep a written record of anything you do.

Oh, yeah... don't wait... get it done on time.

warranty is it. I was told when I bought my bike that if I didn't have the first service performed I was going to be pretty much on my own over any warranty issue. Better to be safe then sorry.

I do have the service manual for my bike. And I do have some mechanical skills. But I have never done a valve clearance check and carb synchro. My dad used to be a motorcycle mechanic when he was my age. But that was around 1970 when 4 strokes were just becoming mainstream. I think he only worked on 2 strokes. So I'm not sure how much help he could be.

Also, I forgot to mention. The place I am thinking of taking my bike to is actually a Yamaha dealer. They work on all motorcycles, and other vehicles too. I would never even consider going to my local Kawasaki dealer. So I don't think warranty is an issue here.

How long do you think it should take a mechanic to do all of those checks? Not including the oil and oil filter. The reason I am going to the Yamaha dealer is because I trust them more, but I still want to make sure I'm not being cheated.

Have the dealer do the initial checks. Chances are they will only check the valves and carb sync if it's running a little rough, and perhaps a few easy things that don't take much of their time. Try to get a written quote from them. Auto repair shops are required to provide a written auote if the work is expected to exceed something like $75. Eliminates surprises. When you get the bike home, then do the rest of the exam yourself.

Another good reason to have them do the initial -

These bikes are delivered crated and somewhat disasseembled. Typically it's the low guy on the totem pole (The worst worker or the newb mech) that gets stuck w/ the task of putting together a bike. While the senior techs are -supposed- to make sure the bike is put together properly, alot of times they don't. The first service is a chance for a more experienced tech to go over the work that was done on assembly, especially since he knows what was assembled there in the dealership and needs checking...

Update:
I called the local Kawi dealer where I bought my bike, and the Yamaha dealer that I actually like. This I what I found out.

Yamaha dealer:
He said that Kawasakis and Yamahas do say to do a valve adjustment at 500-600 miles, but that its better to wait until 1500 or 2000 miles.
Then at that time it could be at least 2 hours to do the complete maintenance check, depending on the condition of the valves. Less if they don't need adjustment. They charge $52 an hour. He said what's really important is to change the oil at 500-600 miles, which I have already done.

Kawasaki dealer:
Without the oil change, its about one hour at $60 an hour to do the maintenance check. If it needs the valves adjustmented it would be an additional 1.5 hours. He was kind of vague when I asked him how important the valve adjustment is at 500 miles. "Depends on how much you ride it". Seems like a stupid response, because you know how much I ride it by the odometer. He said it should be done by 1000 miles for sure.

What should I do?

At least with the bike being a Yamaha, the next valve adjust could be at about 26000 miles, twice the Kawasaki.

DOH!
I have a Kawi ZZR600, and then next valve adjustment is supposed to be at 6,000 miles.

I knew I should have gotten the Yamaha YZF 600 R!

...nah, I love my Kwacker

[quote="isnowbrd"]...Kawasaki dealer:
Without the oil change, its about one hour at $60 an hour to do the maintenance check. If it needs the valves adjustmented it would be an additional 1.5 hours...[/quote]

How is the dealer going to determine whether or not it needs valve adjustment? By just listening to the engine run?

I just bought a new 2004 Suzuki Katana 600 two months ago, and face the same issue of the $300 cost for the 600 mile checkup. My understanding is that you can't tell by listening to the engine. Valve adjustment could be too loose or too tight. The only way to tell is to disassemble the bike (fairings, gas tank, carbs, other engine hardware) until you can inspect the valve lash with a feeler gauge. The actual valve adjustment is easy, getting to the valve adjusters is the time consuming and costly part.

I am wondering whether its better to wait until 1,500 or 2,000 miles. By then the valves may be more likely to need the adjustment, and won't go out of adjustment again 400 miles later, like they might if you only had 600 miles on the bike.

Isnowbrd, if you are going to sacrifice the warranty anyway because you hate the Kawi dealer so badly, then it would make sense to do the oil change yourself.

This topic is that old that you have resolved this issue by now. I am reviving an old topic to hopefully get some more input about valve adjustments.

By the way, the ZZR600 is a well regarded bike. More power than competing models.