How much Maintenance can I do myself?

[craftymarco]

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Here is the full service manual for the R3: Yamaha YZF-R3 Service Manual.pdf

Basically gives you a step by step guide on how Yamaha wants things done. Endless amounts of youtube's on each service interval and how to do specific services on the bike. My suggestion would be to try what you can and take it to a mechanic / someone reputable for a once over. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know and can miss things as mentioned above.

That being said it is a fairly new bike with low KM's so a lot of it is straightforward. if you have some level of mechanical inclination and patience than pretty much everything can be done by yourself. Bikes are relatively simple, small scale, and you can access nearly every part without major disassembly (compared to a compact car for example). I'd imagine most mistakes come from people being overconfident and not understanding what they are doing/referencing a manual, or being a hack and not buying the right tools.

honestly the hardest / frustrating part about doing the 6000km service on an R3 is figuring out how the fairings are removed / reassembled. Its a bit of a jigsaw on this bike.

just looking over the owner's manual service interval the big ticket items are:

Fuel Injection - synchronization. This is done by "syncing the throttle bodies" using a carburetor tuner (look up the motion pro one). This is one of those services that looks way more complicated that it seems but is really dead simple once you understand the process. A lot of people question if this is worth doing - I would suggest not skipping it. It relieved the heavy engine braking i developed + improved the overall smoothness on my bike.

Front / Rear brake - for obvious reasons this is not something to skip over and probably a little intimidating for a beginner. Brake pads should still be good at 6000km. Do a visual inspection to confirm there is not any leaks, check brake light switches, deglaze rotors. Brake fluid does degrade even if the bike was sitting most of its life - If it still has the factory fluid you will want to get this changed out. Relatively straightforward procedure however getting a good lever feel (no air in the system) can be a little tricky.

Wheels / Wheel bearings - check runout. I'd bet this gets skipped by most people. You can measure the unwanted variances / play using a dial indicator. Realistically on a recent low mileage bike getting the wheels off the ground, checking they spin freely and do not rock back/forth is what most people are doing. Runout can also be related to tire / tire mounting - check for any flatspots and give the rubber a good once over.

Steering bearing check - any weird clicking, clunking, resistance / handling issues will give this away. You need get the bike off the ground with zero weight on the forks and check for any movement. Fork should not move in any direction it isn't supposed to. Probably fine unless the previous owner was really bad at wheelies.

clutch - relatively easy adjustment that any rider should be familiar with doing. Check the lever snaps back (no significant drag), and make sure there is no cable fraying. May need to be cleaned / lubricated.

Oil change & filter - the gateway drug of home wrenching. Very simple process on this bike. If you are going to start anywhere this is the first service to build your confidence up. The oil change interval is short compared to most bigger bikes so expect to be doing this 2-3 times a year.


The rest of the service items are basic visual checks and confirming things are still torqued down:

Anything rubber (e.g breather hoses, coolant hoses, etc.) - check that the rubber is pliable / no cracks. Take a look at the hose clamps for any movement. * There was a recall on the 2017 for the coolant hose due to bad clamps, make sure the previous owner did this.*

Tires - at 6000km you probably are only at halfway to a third through the OEM tire life. Be mindful that tires are good for about 5 years before the rubber starts to go bad.

suspension - look for any fluid leak near the seals. IMO this is really something that should get checked more often than every couple thousand kms. Clean out any dirt that's caked on the seals. unlikely you'd be seeing any issues this early on.

bolts - go through with a socket set and confirm everything seems decently torqued. I use a torque wrench on things like the brake mounting bolts, triple clamp bolt, etc.


IIRC the dealership I bought from was offering the 1st + 2nd service for $400 at time of purchase. Doesn't sound that crazy until you realize how routine most of this stuff is and how little work it can be. I ended up taking that money and getting all the service specific tools i eventually needed instead.

I wouldn't be too worried about not having a record of the first service. its basically just an oil change (although that part is REALLY important it got done).

Thanks for your post, it's great to see your breakdown of stuff that needs to be done. fuel inject synchronization sounds a little technical for me though lol.

Also had a random question, not sure if it's just a motorcycle thing or an R3 thing, so if anyone wants to jump in that'd be great. I just thought of it now so might as well post it here.

When I practise in a parking lot and use the clutch frequently, sometimes when I release the clutch I can hear it (or something else) scraping/grinding slightly for a second or two, then goes away. My kindergarten level of understanding of how a clutch works tells me it's the plates catching up to engine speed, is that correct? Is it anything to worry about?

Another problem I've heard while practising is when turning at slow speeds, for some reason when I do a full lock turn to the left I hear squeaking, but don't hear it on the right side.

 

[Wingboy]

One more little tip. Take pictures before and during disassembly. Lots from different angles.

 

[Trials]

Squeaks and parts that rub you need to find when the bike is stationary, off the ground and the motor not running.

You should not hear a wet clutch unless you have gasoline or water inadvertently mixed in with your oil. Clutch plates are composed largely of rubberized cork and cork swells in the presence of water which will cause your plates to make some nasty groaning noises. If the plates are physically damaged they will chatter or fail to engage or not disengage if a chunk of cork breaks loose or folds.

Front fork oil change is the most over-looked service item on almost any motorcycle. They only hold a little bit of oil, that oil is critical to performance and in a terrible operating environment where it Never gets filtered, the fork oil continuously accumulates dirt, water and small metal particles that turns your fork oil into grinding compound. Failure to keep the oil clean and parts moving freely, will wear the round holes in your aluminum fork legs oval, at which point they become garbage.

 

[mistersouthpaw]

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This looks like the R3 chart is it an R3? I have an R3 and the design of the bodywork makes it somewhat more of a pain to work on that most. Body work has to be removed to do an oil change, coolant change basically for everything the body has to come off etc lots of little annoyances with that bike. Also the right side chain adjusters on them often move when tightening the rear axle and you end up with a loose adjuster on one side make sure your axle adjusters are tight in the swingarm. Also when doing new brake lines almost always the R3 gets an air bubble at the top of the brake line

 

[craftymarco]

This looks like the R3 chart is it an R3? I have an R3 and the design of the bodywork makes it somewhat more of a pain to work on that most. Body work has to be removed to do an oil change, coolant change basically for everything the body has to come off etc lots of little annoyances with that bike. Also the right side chain adjusters on them often move when tightening the rear axle and you end up with a loose adjuster on one side make sure your axle adjusters are tight in the swingarm. Also when doing new brake lines almost always the R3 gets an air bubble at the top of the brake line

Yup, 2017 R3 . Thanks for your input, it's great to hear about experiences from owners of the same bike.

 

[Brian P]

On another note, how did everyone here learn the skills that they have now? Would be cool to know how you got where you are now in terms of knowledge. I'm sure most of you have owned bikes for decades by now lol.

In the beginning? By necessity, needing to fix something but not having the money to pay someone to do it professionally.

BUT. My dad was a machinist by trade. My dad paid off the mortgage on the house using the machine tools in the garage. I probably started "helping" when I was about 8 years old, I don't remember a time before spinning wrenches. Started driving the tractor when my legs were long enough to reach the pedals. Rural property meant stuff broke and needed fixing long before motorcycles entered my life. Machinist father led to mechanical-engineer son. Real job involves robots and tooling and welding fixtures and hydraulics and pneumatics. Hobby involves motorcycles. (I hate working on cars)

I wish I still had the machine shop equipment that my dad had ... but parents moved into a retirement community and dad had to sell it all before I owned a property big enough to keep much of it. (I did keep a few small things.)

 

[TK4]

You can do all the maintenance you want - just don't do it wrong...

 

[r3r3r3]

This looks like the R3 chart is it an R3? I have an R3 and the design of the bodywork makes it somewhat more of a pain to work on that most. Body work has to be removed to do an oil change, coolant change basically for everything the body has to come off etc lots of little annoyances with that bike. Also the right side chain adjusters on them often move when tightening the rear axle and you end up with a loose adjuster on one side make sure your axle adjusters are tight in the swingarm. Also when doing new brake lines almost always the R3 gets an air bubble at the top of the brake line

You shouldn't need to touch the fairings to do an oil + filter change. There isn't a belly pan so if you angle the front wheel you can get at the drain bolt and let it drain through the bottom. Filter can be pulled the same way - it can be a little tight if you are trying to use a strap/filter wrench so I usually buy the K&N's with the removal nut.

I also found a pretty good trick for the coolant. If you pull the top right black plastic fairing (the small skinny pieces that wrap around the fork opening) you can get at the radiator cap with a long funnel. Then you just need to pull the left hand knee panel and undo the 12mm bolt that holds the larger fairing (and pins the coolant reservoir). You can slide the reservoir out to the side to fill/drain. There is still enough room to get your hand behind the side fairings to squeeze the hoses to purge any air. No need to pull any of the larger/stubborn pieces.

 

[mistersouthpaw]

You shouldn't need to touch the fairings to do an oil + filter change. There isn't a belly pan so if you angle the front wheel you can get at the drain bolt and let it drain through the bottom. Filter can be pulled the same way - it can be a little tight if you are trying to use a strap/filter wrench so I usually buy the K&N's with the removal nut.

I also found a pretty good trick for the coolant. If you pull the top right black plastic fairing (the small skinny pieces that wrap around the fork opening) you can get at the radiator cap with a long funnel. Then you just need to pull the left hand knee panel and undo the 12mm bolt that holds the larger fairing (and pins the coolant reservoir). You can slide the reservoir out to the side to fill/drain. There is still enough room to get your hand behind the side fairings to squeeze the hoses to purge any air. No need to pull any of the larger/stubborn pieces.

My torque wrenches don’t fit any way imaginable, lower fairing gets removed for me. Always put proper torque on your filters.
I’ll either bang up my rad or have to bend the plastic. If im lazy I’ll just remove the rivet at the bottom and separate the fairings but yea my tools don’t fit. I almost bought a 636 engine with a knock for a project because the owner didn’t torque his filter and it unscrewed and leaked out all of its oil on a ride. In my experience I find it results in a lot less broken clips and fairing repairs if you remove them properly to do what you’re doing.

 

[GreyGhost]

My torque wrenches don’t fit any way imaginable, lower fairing gets removed for me. Always put proper torque on your filters.
I’ll either bang up my rad or have to bend the plastic. If im lazy I’ll just remove the rivet at the bottom and separate the fairings but yea my tools don’t fit. I almost bought a 636 engine with a knock for a project because the owner didn’t torque his filter and it unscrewed and leaked out all of its oil on a ride

I have never used a torque wrench on an oil filter in my entire life. Not saying it's a bad idea but for it to come undone, that wasnt a torque wrench issue, that was a filter that was spun on but they forgot to tighten it at all.

 

[mistersouthpaw]

I have never used a torque wrench on an oil filter in my entire life. Not saying it's a bad idea but for it to come undone, that wasnt a torque wrench issue, that was a filter that was spun on but they forgot to tighten it at all.

I torque pretty much everything to what the manua

I have never used a torque wrench on an oil filter in my entire life. Not saying it's a bad idea but for it to come undone, that wasnt a torque wrench issue, that was a filter that was spun on but they forgot to tighten it at all.

For the extra two seconds it takes I always put the proper torque

 

[bigpoppa]

Its all about investment OP, in theory, you can become a brain surgeon sitting at home given enough time + money (how much do cadavers cost?)

You'll have to learn to do things properly yourself(books, manuals,internet, youtube, GTAM), this takes time, and effort, you'll undoubtedly have a few hiccups along the way, after you do things a few times, you'll learn a few tricks and techniques, and not have as many hiccups anymore and you'll gradually become proficient.

You'll also need various tools that you dont have

You'll also need parts and materials and possibly space to do the work



You can invest the time, effort, sweat, and money and do things yourself or you can pay someone who's done all that a million times already, has all the proper tools etc already

 

[GreyGhost]

Its all about investment OP, in theory, you can become a brain surgeon sitting at home given enough time + money (how much do cadavers cost?)

You'll have to learn to do things properly yourself(books, manuals,internet, youtube, GTAM), this takes time, and effort, you'll undoubtedly have a few hiccups along the way, after you do things a few times, you'll learn a few tricks and techniques, and not have as many hiccups anymore and you'll gradually become proficient.

You'll also need various tools that you dont have

You'll also need parts and materials and possibly space to do the work



You can invest the time, effort, sweat, and money and do things yourself or you can pay someone who's done all that a million times already, has all the proper tools etc already

I like your description, but my problem is finding someone that is competent and conscientious to pay (in any trade/field/task). That seems to be a rare person and an even rarer shop with many employees. I spend most of my construction/repair time tearing out crap that other people were paid to do and they either did things that were explicitly wrong or did a half-assed job (eg broken fairing tabs, missing fasteners, clean up leak and don't bother fixing source etc.) and fixing it properly.

 

[bigpoppa]

I like your description, but my problem is finding someone that is competent and conscientious to pay (in any trade/field/task). That seems to be a rare person and an even rarer shop with many employees. I spend most of my construction/repair time tearing out crap that other people were paid to do and they either did things that were explicitly wrong or did a half-assed job (eg broken fairing tabs, missing fasteners, clean up leak and don't bother fixing source etc.).

Good people are hard to find, in all of GTA I'd trust maybe 2 other guys to touch my bike besides myself

 

[GreyGhost]

Good people are hard to find, in all of GTA I'd trust maybe 2 other guys to touch my bike besides myself

Agree, there are a few that I haven't used personally but would trust based on what I have heard from others (Adrian @ Ace moto, Frekeyguy, the Ducati guy in his garage in the east, John sharrard for suspension love) but that is almost the entire list.

The biggest problem is it really hard to have the list of good candidates available for each trade. When you do eventually need them, the good ones are busy and it's hard to get them to work on your job quickly.

 

[bigpoppa]

Agree, there are a few that I haven't used personally but would trust based on what I have heard from others (Adrian @ Ace moto, Frekeyguy, the Ducati guy in his garage in the east, John sharrard for suspension love) but that is almost the entire list.

The biggest problem is it really hard to have the list of good candidates available for each trade. When you do eventually need them, the good ones are busy and it's hard to get them to work on your job quickly.

Not familiar with the ducati guy

 

[GreyGhost]

Not familiar with the ducati guy

Maybe Ken Livingstone? Although he has his own "real" shop. Not sure if I have blurred a few mechanics together in my mind. I remember the picture someone posted of a garage shop with a review (maybe shanekingsley?) but not the name of the mechanic.

 

[frekeyguy]

@frekeyguy is very well respected. No idea how busy he is. He works out of his garage so he is probably the most economical as well. He is in Brampton.

The vast majority of that list is check for things that look like they are loose or leaking. Going over the bike like that can teach you a lot about where things are and what they are supposed to look like. As trials said, be careful with the brakes. If you decide to do a fluid flush yourself, start with the rear brakes and ride it for a few days to make sure they are happy with the results prior to doing the front brakes. Most people don't do the fluid change and have no issues riding on the street, but it is a good idea (and necessary if you plan on going to a track).

Thanks

The R3 is a easy bike to work on. With Forums its gotten much easier to gather trouble shooting issues.

Like with any other bike, the R3 has its fair share of silliness, if you keep on top of it will have a long reliable life.

If the OP wants to keep a bike for a long time, its all about keeping up with it.
I service a 2015 gsxr600/750 street/track bike with over 120k , Ninja 250R street/track + loner track bike with 105k+, R6 retired street bike now track only bike with 70K+...., 1050 Speed triple with 80K+ ; so they get ridden hard but all of them run like at top.


There are a lot of SMALL things to do be one to keep a bike going for a long time.
My Advise. do the routine maintenance yourself...eg. oil changes, tire pressure, chain lube/ adjust; and get experienced people to do the rest.

 

[craftymarco]

Hey everyone, just wanted to give an update. I made it through the whole periodic maintenance checklist for the mileage I'm at. The only thing I left out was adjusting fuel injection synchronization, which I don't even want to try, seems too technical for me. The first time I took the fairings off, it took me almost 2 hours to put back on, and it was only 2 or 3 of the first couple pieces. I did also try to do it in a dim garage, bad idea. The next time I took the fairings off I left them off all week just so I can slowly work away at the maintenance list. I'm proud to say that I was able to locate all the hoses and parts that I needed to get to, and it's been extremely satisfying getting to know my bike inside and out.

The only things I have left to do are:
1. Fuel injection sync
2. ECU reflash - looking around in forums it sounds like this could be beneficial, even though my throttle roll on/off is smooth (I think), the bike jolts here and there.
3. My front brake is a little squeaky, so I want to try taking apart the front brake pads and just taking a look at it, maybe it'll give some clues as to what's wrong. Also will give me a chance to understand the mechanism. Also found this useful:

Thanks again everyone for the tips!

 

[Baggsy]

One thing that I've successfully used on a bike with a buttload of different sized fairing bolts, was a piece of cardboard with a rough drawing of the fairing shape on it. I poked a hole out in the approx. position of the bolt on the drawing and then pushed it into the cardboard. Once it was time for reassembly, it made it much easier to figure out which bolt went where.

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