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Hello, I am a new motorcycle owner. Have ridden many times over the years but now own my own. I purchased a Suzuki Katana 750 (brand new). It has 620 miles and I am preparing to take it in for its first maintenance (oil change etc…). I am being told it’s a three hour service and the cost will be about $250 - $270. Further inquiry found that the lengthy time is due to a valve adjustment which is needed on this model engine at 600, 4000, 7500 and 11,500 miles. Is this really necessary? I am having a tough time with the idea that a brand new bike with only 620 miles now requires $250 dollars worth of work. If it needs it fine, I’ll pay for it. I guess being a new owner has left me feeling a littler weary of this advice.

It's going to be 250 regardless. Trust me. Just pay the people. I took my bike in for servicing, and hadn't even ridden it hard at all and they had to do the full check. You want them to do that regardless, in case you decide to sell it at some point you can sit back and point to all the work thats been done on it - whether it needed it or not.

Its just like going to the Doctor when you think something is wrong; oftentimes its not as serious as you thought, but you got the x-rays and blood-tests anyway - better safe than sorry.

They say that the first dealer service is probably the most important. Its where they're supposed to go over things and make all is (still) tweaked to spec.

Generally, if something is gonna go wrong, fall apart, come un-adjusted, it always seems to happen in the first 6 months or so (this applies to just about anything mechanical).

If by some chance the valves are out of adjustment, and you bypass this service, you're gonna be screwed as for any future warranty work. Spend the money. Then you can do all future services yourself.

P

ANDS! wrote:It's going to be 250 regardless. Trust me. Just pay the people.

Eh, it depends on the bike if you ask me. Take the SV for example, the 600 mile check up is literally an oil and filter change, tighten all bolts, lube chain. That's it. As far as warranty is concerned, keeping records that you did it yourself suffices.

KatanaMan wrote:Hello, I am a new motorcycle owner. Have ridden many times over the years but now own my own. I purchased a Suzuki Katana 750 (brand new). It has 620 miles and I am preparing to take it in for its first maintenance (oil change etc…). I am being told it’s a three hour service and the cost will be about $250 - $270. Further inquiry found that the lengthy time is due to a valve adjustment which is needed on this model engine at 600, 4000, 7500 and 11,500 miles. Is this really necessary? I am having a tough time with the idea that a brand new bike with only 620 miles now requires $250 dollars worth of work. If it needs it fine, I’ll pay for it. I guess being a new owner has left me feeling a littler weary of this advice.

It's optimal but not totally necessary. The service after the break in though is the most important. Also if you ride the engine hard then you should check the valves according to the manual or less.

I believe those Katana motors have the screw and locknut style adjusters. Easy to adjust at the price of having to do it often. It's not terribly difficult to do it yourself. Think about it: $250 will get you the repair manual and a decent set of tools with a torque wrench. You'll spend a while the first time or two adjusting the valves, but after that you'll be pretty quick about it and save money to boot.

Skier wrote:I believe those Katana motors have the screw and locknut style adjusters.

Are you sure about that? Most manufacturers canned that setup years ago, especially once they went to overhead cams. I'm thinking the Katana has the "shim under bucket system", which is very common on high performance sport bikes. And very time consuming to adjust.

Gummiente wrote:

Skier wrote:I believe those Katana motors have the screw and locknut style adjusters.

Are you sure about that? Most manufacturers canned that setup years ago, especially once they went to overhead cams. I'm thinking the Katana has the "shim under bucket system", which is very common on high performance sport bikes. And very time consuming to adjust.

'06 was the last model year of Katanas and according to Bike Bandit's parts fiche, they still use screw-type adjusters.

Suzuki is special.

For what it's worth, my 1989 Katana 600 uses screw-type adjusters. My replacement motor from a '92 uses shim-under-bucket.

Skier wrote:'06 was the last model year of Katanas and according to Bike Bandit's parts fiche, they still use screw-type adjusters.

Suzuki is special.

For what it's worth, my 1989 Katana 600 uses screw-type adjusters. My replacement motor from a '92 uses shim-under-bucket.

Well, go figure... I wonder what the reasoning behind that was.

I was always under the impression that these services needed to be done by an approved repairer for warranty purposes. At least, that's the case where I am from. If I don't get my service manual stamped, then there's a high likelihood that my warranty will be voided.

As for the neccesity of these services, they do more than just service it the bike. They get to look at things to make sure they're wearing or meshing correctly. My bike just had it's 4000k service, and they found a fault in the rear brake. I had no idea it was there, and wouldn't have seen it if I had of opted to play mechanic myself. The brakes appeared fine, but the mechanic ripped the old one out and put a brand new rear disc and pad in. They know what should be happening at the prescribed intervals. I trust them to do there job. Should I ever need my warranty for something major (or minor), I also have peace of mind that I have done everything required of me to keep that warranty valid.