Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hello-
I purchased a Honda Shadow A.C.E. Deluxe band new in 2003 and I have about 700 miles on it. I have not been very good at keeping a schedule with the maintenance on the bike, but purchasing it brand new and the low miles, I have not been too worried. Should I be? I am considring taking the bike to a local dealership and having them replace all of the fluids, spark plugs, etc. Is this a good idea? I do my own maintenance on my cars and have considered working on my bike, the only thing is, I have never worked on a bike before.
If I should not have all fluids replaced, etc, should I at least have the oil changed? I am considering doing this myself after purchasing a motorcycle jack and oil. Is this a good idea?
Thanks for you input.

yeah if you can do it on a car you can do it on a bike im sure. ive done a good bit of work on my bike and its way easier than working on my car. everything is where it is supposed to be.

If you bought it new, there should be an owners manual for it. I suggest you follow the guidelines in the manual (just like you might with a new car)

You have a fair investment here, following the schedule laid out by the manufacturer should help you preserve that investment.

Just My Opinion - like my boat, I change my oil at the end of the season - no matter the miles/hours, so I don't have oil laden with acids, soot, and moisture sitting in an engine all winter.

The books say to replace the brake fluid ever 3 years, but I don't know if anyone actually does that.

Cetainly have the plugs checked - they provide a great diagnostic tool about how your engine is running, and you can clean/replace them if they are starting to foul.....

If you don't feel comfortable working on it, take it in or have a friend who is a gearhed show you how.

I know with my bike, if you aren't carefull, you can strip the spark plug threads out of that aluminum head. get the proper torque wrench(es).

Fluids replaced yes, spark plugs? I wouldn't worry about them at all. That bike doesn't even have the mileage to get it much out of the break-in period, so your spark plugs will be fine.

Hell, your oil/filter don't even need to be changed until you hit 3000 miles, but given the amount that that bike has probably been sitting, changing them would be a good idea.