What exactly do they do in a service.

[Kiwiinoz]

So I was just wondering what all is done in a service at the bike shop. In Australia its around $250-$300 a service. I take good care of my bike. oil replaced every 1500km. Just changed over the spark plugs. Air and oil filters. Bearings(although mine are fine, I've just hit 9000 KM). what else is done. Also. Which kind of Oil is everyone using out there?

cheers

[Iarn]

As far as the maintenance they perform in shops in Australia,  I can't say with certainty, as I don't live there. I would assume they follow the maintenance schedule out of the manual for the bike, depending on bike mileage and last recorded service.

As for oil, I personally use 10w-40 synthetic. I prefer it to conventional because it maintains integrity longer and is more resistant to making sludge. Honestly, as long as you use the proper weight, change it regularly and avoid oils with energy conserving additives, any oil within those parameters will serve you just as well.

[syntax_error]

They should change your break fluids and pads. Change your oil, check your sprocketsand chain for wear, rre balencedyour tires, teat your battery, and check your rectifier for proper voltage.

[twocool]

What they do is this:

They take money out of your wallet, and put it in theirs!

Cookie

They should change your break fluids and pads. Change your oil, check your sprocketsand chain for wear, rre balencedyour tires, teat your battery, and check your rectifier for proper voltage.

[rg500gamma]

Hi  all ,  motul  300v  10w40  racing oil ,  awesome color green  ,  keeps  engine clean ,  have not had to change any shims  ,  have  12,000 miles  , motul  300v  10w40  speaks  for itself  ,  good  day  to all  , rg500gamma

[sledge]

Big fan of Motul oils myself 

4lts of Motul 300v full synth runs to about £60-65 in UK, (that's about 100 of your Bucks).  4lts of Motul 500 semi synth comes in around £18-22 (or $35)

Is the 300v worth it??...........not in a GS5 its not, least not to me 

[rg500gamma]

 Hi all  , I  know  motul 300v  10w40  is worth it BIG TIME  in a gs500f  ,   people  that  think different  are only  saying  so because  they cannot  spend the money , if people  got the  motul  300v  10w40  for free  , tell me they would want to use something else  ,   once again   my valves  tell  so , and camshaft lobes as well ,  I  say good  day   rg500gamma

[twocool]

At $300 per service, it would be cheaper to do NO service at all..just put the money in the bank...by the time the bike craps out, you'll have enough money to buy a NEW bike!

My bike is past 45,000 miles...I've done 92 "services" myself...92 x 300 = $27,600...coulda bought 6 bikes for that money!

Learn how to service your bike yourself and pocket the money....

For the couple of items which may be too involved for an "amateur" find a mechanic who work out of his own garage...around here, dealerships have a shop rate of about $100 per hour....independent mechanics will work on my bike for $25 per hour.


just sayin'


Cookie

So I was just wondering what all is done in a service at the bike shop. In Australia its around $250-$300 a service. I take good care of my bike. oil replaced every 1500km. Just changed over the spark plugs. Air and oil filters. Bearings(although mine are fine, I've just hit 9000 KM). what else is done. Also. Which kind of Oil is everyone using out there?

cheers

[noworries]

Twocool's spot on here.  It's an easy bike to work on.  And if you do it yourself, you can guarantee that the valve check HAS been done on schedule - and not just charged for! Oils? a clunky, under-stressed air-cooled donk...just shoved a brand name cheapie oil in there and you'll be fine.

[twocool]

Are you making the claim that with this fancy oil, your valves will NEVER wear and NEVER need shim change?   Hmmmm...

At over 45,000 miles, I've done 13 oil changes....with an extra $65 per change....I would have my wallet $850 lighter....(actually more like $1000, since I use $4 a qt oil)...

With the recent cheap gas here in USA, that $1000 "saved" on oil, means I can buy enough gas to ride another 30,000 miles.


Yes, I do check my valves, and occasionally need to switch a shim....so what?  You must check the valves anyway, so once your in that deep, a switch of shim is easy..

My bike got to 45,000 miles WITHOUT ANY ISSUES....with plain old conventional $4 oil....the bike runs and looks like new....I expect another 45,000 miles...on conventional oil....

Tell me again what I would get for the extra $2000 for fancy oil?

Usually people with money are smart enough to not waste their money.

Just sayin


Cookie

Hi all  , I  know  motul 300v  10w40  is worth it BIG TIME  in a gs500f  ,   people  that  think different  are only  saying  so because  they cannot  spend the money , if people  got the  motul  300v  10w40  for free  , tell me they would want to use something else  ,   once again   my valves  tell  so , and camshaft lobes as well ,  I  say good  day   rg500gamma

[gsJack]

My 02 GS which I bought with about 4k miles on it back in 03 went all the way to 100k miles on the Rotella T 15W-40 type oils and still had 140 psi compression in both cylinders when checked last spring.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=67148.0

My 97 GS bought new on which I set valves at Suzuki specs one exhaust valve was down to a min 215 shim at 80k miles when it was totalled.  When the 02 was showing the same wear pattern I began setting exhaust valves at the wider spec at around 30k miles and they have 260 and 245 exhaust shims at 100k miles.

If your concerned about piston/ring life consider engine oil type but if your concerned about valve wear consider exhaust valve clearance first.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GSvalvelogs_zps55f27f5e.jpg

By the way, I ran Mobil 1 full synthetic for about 60k miles in the 97 before changing to the Rotella T type oils.

[rg500gamma]

Hi  all  ,   motul  300v   10w40  oil  (wet clutch)  , no valve  wear at all  in  12,000  miles  ,  good enough  reason for me  to keep on using it  , I like when people tell me I am  wasting my money ,  and  nobody  really knows what I am paying $$$  for it    only people giving  uneducated  quotes  of what they see  on-line  or in some  other  stores  / motorcycle shops ,  so  keep  your uneducated  guess  at what  you might  think  what I am  "wasting my money on ".

[rg500gamma]

Hi  all  , I am  saying  b.s.  to conventional oil vrs.  fully synthetic  , if  conventional oil was better  , why  was  fully synthetic  manufactured   I  rest  my case ......   and a message  to  " twocool"   you do not  have a clue  what  I get the oil for  $$$  the only way you might know is if you worked for motul   so  think  again before you  guess again  at what  you might think  what  " I am wasting my money on "  I  say  good  day 

[noworries]

Oooooooooooooooooh, 'es got is knickers in a knot! Nice....

[sledge]

Synth and semi synth has many advantages over mineral, no one is disputing that. The question is are those advantages of any benefit in the GS5 and is the increased cost justifiable.

My opinion is a resounding NO!!

BUT........If the machine in question wasn't a 35 year old, air cooled, carb fed dinosaur with massive internal clearances and instead was a state of the art high performance high reving, fuel injected, multi-valved/cammed/cylinder liquid cooled piece of race bred exotica I would have a different opinion

As mentioned I use a Motul semi-synth and guess what.....I have had no issues either. I also mentioned it costs about a third of the full synth.

Why should I be paying three times as much to get the same thing?

[rg500gamma]

Cheers  Sledge  ,  o.k. your using semi-synthetic  .  its  just  I am in california ,  summer time  is  100 +  degrees  &  stop -n- go  traffic  plus  I go to  bullhead  city  114 degrees   hot   so  for me  its  300v  10w40 

[twocool]

Dude,

relax!..

If you are getting your "super miracle oil" for free...then great..use the free oil...duh!

For us mere mortals, that oil is of no benefit to a GS500 and a needless expense.

Tell me about valve wear when you get to  100,000 miles....

Dr. Jack going 100,000 ( with still 260 shims) then 80,000 on Rotella @ $3.25 a qt is good enough for me.

I've been using Valvoline MC oil at $3.98 qt....without a single issue at 45,000 miles!

Be careful to not confuse engineering with marketing.

Buyer beware.

There's a sucker born every minute.

It's a free country so do what you want.

And other such quotes

Just sayin'


Cookie

Hi  all  ,   motul  300v   10w40  oil  (wet clutch)  , no valve  wear at all  in  12,000  miles  ,  good enough  reason for me  to keep on using it  , I like when people tell me I am  wasting my money ,  and  nobody  really knows what I am paying $$$  for it    only people giving  uneducated  quotes  of what they see  on-line  or in some  other  stores  / motorcycle shops ,  so  keep  your uneducated  guess  at what  you might  think  what I am  "wasting my money on ".

[Kiwiinoz]

Cheers for the help guys. I'm pretty mechanical minded. I was just double checking there's nothing they can do that i cant. I've given it all a overhaul myself. I dont see how they can justify such a price for a service. I went with Motul 5100 10w40.

This brings me to the next question. This plastic/rubber windscreen mount has fallen out. Im not to worried atm as im going to change it for a black one shortly,. But where would i get a new screw set from? the old ones are pretty low quality. Im looking for aftermarket? would standard M5 windscreen kits work/fit? See pics attached.

<a href="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/commercial-photography/"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/gzcYYeo.jpg" alt="Commercial Photography"></a>

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6-x-black-windscreen-bolts-Honda-Yamaha-Suzuki-Kawasaki-Ducati-R1-R6-CBR-BT206-/231101148885?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item35ceb3aed5

[rg500gamma]

Hi all ,  message  to  "twocool "  yes  I will post-up  information  on  next  say  4000 miles  on  valves  and every  valve check  for now on  using  motul  300v  10w40  , I do not know anyone else  with a gs500 using it  ,  hey  " twocool "   take care  have a great weekend  , kind regards   drew

[rg500gamma]

Synth and semi synth has many advantages over mineral, no one is disputing that. The question is are those advantages of any benefit in the GS5 and is the increased cost justifiable.

My opinion is a resounding NO!!

BUT........If the machine in question wasn't a 35 year old, air cooled, carb fed dinosaur with massive internal clearances and instead was a state of the art high performance high reving, fuel injected, multi-valved/cammed/cylinder liquid cooled piece of race bred exotica I would have a different opinion

As mentioned I use a Motul semi-synth and guess what.....I have had no issues either. I also mentioned it costs about a third of the full synth.

Why should I be paying three times as much to get the same thing?