Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Question for Yamaha or for that matter any brand; I have a 3000 mile service coming up and I was quoted from the dealer $300+ for this. What exactly is involved with this? At the 600 mile I spent over $200, I thought by driving the bike more I would save in the long run. but at these rates I would save more by driving my truck... What are reasonable rates and what exactly are they doing that is so expensive????
Don't get me wrong I enjoy the bike but it is quite abit compared to the 4 wheel service. I mean if it is just an oil change i wil go for it; but these sites always suggest using the dealer for service when possible...

Your owners manual should list everything that needs to done to the bike at each service interval. If you don't have the manual you may be able to find it on the Yamaha site depending on the bike you have.

I have the manual and don't see a big change in the service; almost like they are getting more out of the labor than anything else... I guess shopping around may help. being in the arean that I am provides me with a lot of choices,,,although you would think where you bought it would be the place that wants your return business...

I have, as a result of personal experience, developed a very bad opinion of dealer service departments. I perform all of my own maintenance and repair work, warranty or not. I guess I'm on the extreme in this respect.

I don't have a lot of money, so obviously extravagant labor charges cause me to scrutinize the work being done.

My advice to you - If you are mechanically inclined, do the work yourself. I GUARANTEE you'll do a better job. If not, have it done at a reputable shop, find someone you can trust. Have them follow your owners' manual. An independent shop will most likely be cheaper than the dealer.

I would do it yourself as well. I only took mine in for the 600 mile service just for warranty. I know two of the mechanics though, so it made it much easier for me. Even if you're not that inclined in maintainence, if you really just get a service and repair manual, and follow it, you'd be suprised how much you can really do. I could barely change the oil when I bought my Nighthawk, and within 6 months, I completely tore the entire bike apart, and put it together, and it worked! (to my suprise )

When warranty is involved, just keep all of the receipts with your service record. $300 sounds pretty steep to me. My 600 mile service was only $100. The shop I bought from is pretty good though. Great service. They usually will tell you it will take about an hour or so less than it actually will, but still only charge you for what they said.

Doing your own work is going to be more rewarding in saving you money as well as giving you knowledge. The valve adjustment is probably going to be the hardest thing maintenance wise. It's not hard really, just kind of aggravating. If your bike uses shims you need to measure the clearance and then order the shims. Then just wait for the shims to come in and button everything back up.

One important thing about the valve adjustment, make absolutely certain everything is put back in right. Double check the timing if you have to pull the cams loose. If it's off by much the valves could contact the pistons causing serious damage. But the dealer could screw it up just as easily so don't let that scare you. Good luck.

Derek

If you have the time, watch 'em do it.

I always like to watch when I take my car into a service station.

This has a couple good benefits:

1) You get to see first hand how they're working, and what they're working on.
2) You get to learn, at least visually, about the problem.
3) The mechanic is less likely to take a half-hour phone call while you're footing the $40+/hour bill.

Telesque wrote:If you have the time, watch 'em do it.

I always like to watch when I take my car into a service station.

This has a couple good benefits:

1) You get to see first hand how they're working, and what they're working on.
2) You get to learn, at least visually, about the problem.
3) The mechanic is less likely to take a half-hour phone call while you're footing the $40+/hour bill.

I have never seen a motorcycle service department that would allow you to watch the work. Not many automotive service departments will these days either.

I'll add my vote for doing it yourself as well.... IF you feel confident in your abilities. It's not really that involved and well within the reach of most folks to do it themselves.

BuzZz wrote:I have never seen a motorcycle service department that would allow you to watch the work. Not many automotive service departments will these days either.

I'll add my vote for doing it yourself as well.... IF you feel confident in your abilities. It's not really that involved and well within the reach of most folks to do it themselves.

The bike shop here allows me to sit there while they work on it. I never really asked though, just kind of did it. I do know a couple of the mechanics outside of their job, not well, but good enough I guess. Maybe that's why.

You really should just try to jump in and do the work yourself. It will be very rewarding to you. Nothing like doing the work for the first time, then starting it up and realizing you just did everything perfectly fine. And if you have problems along the way, all of us here will be more than glad to help.