50,000km maint.

stangn99

Well-known member
My bike is getting close to reaching 50,000 kms.

I'm wondering what major things need to be done at this point.

Things I have done:
- new wheel bearings (all front and back) end of last season
- new air filter (last week)
- spark plugs (15k ago)
- front brakes (15k ago)
- rear brakes (8k ago)
- fuel pump (10k ago)
- CCT (2k ago - ape manual)
- coolant drain and refill (15k ago)

I haven't done:
- anything relating to the forks
- anything relating to valves
- the fat spring under the seat

When do you know when forks and valves need servicing?What about the spring?

I'm on a Honda F3

Thanks
 
I'm going to try to go a fork oil replacement this weekend.

I'm wondering if it's at all possible to remove the old oil, and put in fresh oil WITHOUT removing the forks from the bike.
Also, if I'm just changing the oil, am I correct to assume I only need to remove the TOP adjuster part, and pour out the old stuff by holding it upside down?

Last question. I read that if you're doing just an oil change, it's a good idea to pour Kerosene in it, and move the damper up and down a few times to really clean it out.

Thoughts/tips/help
 
I would say, no need to replace them unless they are leaking. Why mess with a perfectly fine bike, it seems u have done most of the maintenance. How about valve adjustment?
 
if you do decide to change the fork oil, open one tube at a time!!! the front end of the bike could drop down , with springs popping out could make it very hard to extend the tubes to full lenght.
 
Hey guys,
Thanks for all the tips.

RockerGuy: No...valve adjustment has not been done. That's one thing I have no idea how to do and will need to take it a shop to get done. I wanted to take it to Ted, but I just don't trust him with "important" things. He's a great guy with great service, but I feel like he might do a sloppy job on the valve adjustments. Not sure where else to take it. I've been to Z1, but they charge SO much for everything!

Stewart: I ended up taking out both forks and draining the oil. The consistency was like WATER...i'm assuming that's not normal (or is supposed to be that thin??). It also smelled really bad and was greyish/black but clear at the same time (weird oil..never seen something like that before). It wasn't gunked up inside at all though, probably because the oil was SOOO thin. It really felt like water. Draining it was super easy too because of the thinness. It's still hanging in my garage just getting the last drops out. I moved the damper up and down about 15 times (moved really easy) and pretty much all of the oil just poured out.

I'm going to head over to Ready Honda Powerhouse and get the SS-8 suspension fluid recommended in the manual, along with 4 caliper bolts (my socket broke and rounded one of the bolts). I figure I might as well change all 4 for the hell of it.

5795148641_04dddb4c06_b.jpg


5795148605_b48b8ebcc7_b.jpg



The only thing left on my list of maintenance is the Valve clearance check...or is there anything else i'm missing?
 
chain and sprockets....

Based on my visual inspection, they seem to be okay still.
I'll have whichever shop I take my bike in for valve clearance check double check for me.


I bought SS-8 oil from Honda and put everything back together. I haven't taken it for a ride yet, but just moving it back and forth in my garage and grabbing the front brake, I can already tell its less "bouncy".

I'll take it for a light spin tomorrow to make sure all is good.
 
Checking the valve clearance isn't hard at all. If you can do what you've done already you can use a feeler gauge and check them yourself. It's when they're out and you need to remove the cams that it becomes a little more challangeing. If you have a service manual you'll be fine! It's really a matter of removing your valve cover and turning your crank with a wrench till the cams are in the right location. Replace the gasket no matter what, don't reuse it to save $25 because if it leaks your going back in and doing it anyway. If you do decide to remove your cams the manual will tell you the proper procedure but an easy trick for re-installing is to mark the chain and the cams so that your not counting teeth and all that not so fun stuff. Make sure you use somthing that won't wipe off everything is coverd in oil under there. Also tie up the chain don't let it drop down off the crank! Don't be intimidated, take your time, keep everything clean and you won't have a problem
 
Checking the valve clearance isn't hard at all. If you can do what you've done already you can use a feeler gauge and check them yourself. It's when they're out and you need to remove the cams that it becomes a little more challangeing. If you have a service manual you'll be fine! It's really a matter of removing your valve cover and turning your crank with a wrench till the cams are in the right location. Replace the gasket no matter what, don't reuse it to save $25 because if it leaks your going back in and doing it anyway. If you do decide to remove your cams the manual will tell you the proper procedure but an easy trick for re-installing is to mark the chain and the cams so that your not counting teeth and all that not so fun stuff. Make sure you use somthing that won't wipe off everything is coverd in oil under there. Also tie up the chain don't let it drop down off the crank! Don't be intimidated, take your time, keep everything clean and you won't have a problem

How do u mark something covered in oil?
 

Back
Top Bottom