Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I have a 99 Honda Shadow VLX and would like to know what sort ofmaintenance I need to do and how often I need to do it. This is my first bike and I would like to keep it running and in the best shape possible. I am going to oil the chain on the first of every month and clean my bike maybe once every other week. How often should I put stuff on the leather seat? How often should I have the oil changed? Any advice would be appriciated.
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Greece Forum

Buy a copy of your manual.

Oil changes like a car or depending on how much you ride. Some don't do that many miles and only need it done once a year.

I clean and lube my chain weekly when I am riding. Clean and lube after any rain or wet riding (puddles and such).

I wash my the bike weekly as well. I hate the bug goo that accumulates. Some wash every ride, some never wash.

I have a vinal seat. If I had leather I'd use some saddle soap on it now and then to keep it oiled.

R3sp4wN wrote:I have a 99 Honda Shadow VLX and would like to know what sort ofmaintenance I need to do and how often I need to do it. This is my first bike and I would like to keep it running and in the best shape possible. I am going to oil the chain on the first of every month and clean my bike maybe once every other week. How often should I put stuff on the leather seat? How often should I have the oil changed? Any advice would be appriciated.

I've got a book that I've read through partially - "The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Maintenance" by Mark Zimmerman - that talks generally - about all these topics.

He does say first thing you should do is get the manual for the bike for specifics on how to do things on the bike.

What I found interesting was that if you are overly aggressive in washing your bike you could force water (for example in to the carburetor) and actually cause worse performance or problems by cleaning your bike.

He's not saying don't clean your bike, but he is saying there are parts of it that it isn't good to force water in to.

RhadamYgg

goto honda and get the maintenance manual for it. Tells you how to take everything apart and when maintenance things should be done like change of oil. I change mine ever 2500 miles (same bike). I clean the leather whenever I ride in the rain/spring/fall/ and whenever it looks dirty. I also use mothers chrome cleaner at those times as well. when I put it up I spray and spread out wd-40 on ALL the chrome parts as this keeps it from rust pitting.DO NOT put a FRAM oil filter in the bike. Other than that I have replaced my tires/battery/bike chain and sprockets.

Be careful what you put on the seat. Some products are extremely slippery and will take what seems like forever to wear off. I try not to put anyrthing on my seat.

R3sp4wN wrote:I have a 99 Honda Shadow VLX and would like to know what sort ofmaintenance I need to do and how often I need to do it. This is my first bike and I would like to keep it running and in the best shape possible. I am going to oil the chain on the first of every month and clean my bike maybe once every other week. How often should I put stuff on the leather seat? How often should I have the oil changed? Any advice would be appriciated.

Get a shop manual for your bike so you get a good idea of what service is being done or what is needed. Later on you may want to tackle some maintenance on your own. I would also recommend getting Mark Zimmerman's "The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Maintenance."

Oil must be changed within the first 600 miles after breaking in the engine then somewhere around 3 - 5k miles for oil changes after the initial one. If you use synthetic and are easy on the engine then you can hold off oil changes for 5 - 6k miles. petroleum based oil requires shorter intervals.

Lastly don't put any leather protectors on the seat as it may make it slippery. I know many products say this on the packaging. Who knows... maybe there's a cleaner that doesn't make it slippery. I just use plain old warm water and mild soap.