Ok, I got my bike back yesterday from its intial 600m service. I did not take it to the dealer since it was more expensive. I took it to a "Triumph" place per my friend's suggestion - only 90$ instead of the 120$ discounted price the dealer mentioned.
I noticed a few things that felt different with the bike.
1. Gears are a lot responsive - so easy to find neutral now.
2. Clutch is "tighter" - good thing since when i got the bike the clutch was so lose and i would stall frequently.
3. Better throttle response and for some reason i feel a little bit more power on lower rpm's.
It totally feels like a different bike, or am i just being optimistic. I don't know what the heck this place did but it sure as hell seems very well done to me. What would constitute to these changes?
-Chino
Chain tension can affect the "feel" of the clutch and gears. Over here the first (600m) service is free from wherever you bought the beast! (or another Suzi dealer) The first service is a basic oil change and a general inspection and tighten-up it should not make a big difference unless something was not correctly adjusted in the first place. This does happen my headlight was lighting up tree tops brilliantly.
I noticed the same thingss too after the 600 mile service. Did you have the valve clearances checked as well? My manual says that's supposed to be done at the 600 mile service. If that was done too, $90 is a pretty darn good price, an awesome price considering the labor involved in taking off the fairing and getting to the valves. Otherwise $90 for an oil change and adjusting your clutch cable is pretty steep.
My first service cost close to $200, with all but about $30 being labor (3 hours).
Quote from: PACI noticed the same thingss too after the 600 mile service. Did you have the valve clearances checked as well? My manual says that's supposed to be done at the 600 mile service. If that was done too, $90 is a pretty darn good price, an awesome price considering the labor involved in taking off the fairing and getting to the valves. Otherwise $90 for an oil change and adjusting your clutch cable is pretty steep.
My first service cost close to $200, with all but about $30 being labor (3 hours).
yeah i just thought about it...i'm gonna give them a call and see if they checked that. then again even if they said yes, how would i know? i know nothing about bikes mechanical wise. :roll:
Quote from: PACI noticed the same thingss too after the 600 mile service. Did you have the valve clearances checked as well? My manual says that's supposed to be done at the 600 mile service. If that was done too, $90 is a pretty darn good price, an awesome price considering the labor involved in taking off the fairing and getting to the valves. Otherwise $90 for an oil change and adjusting your clutch cable is pretty steep.
My first service cost close to $200, with all but about $30 being labor (3 hours).
well i just gave them a call. the valve clearance wasn't checked. he said that's checked at 3000miles. i don't know....did i get screwed?
he did everything else though, chain adjustment, cables, fluids, wax on chain, etc.
Quote from: PACI noticed the same thingss too after the 600 mile service. Did you have the valve clearances checked as well? My manual says that's supposed to be done at the 600 mile service. If that was done too, $90 is a pretty darn good price, an awesome price considering the labor involved in taking off the fairing and getting to the valves. Otherwise $90 for an oil change and adjusting your clutch cable is pretty steep.
My first service cost close to $200, with all but about $30 being labor (3 hours).
3 hours... WTF... the fairings dont have to come off... Just take off the tank and the valve cover... and its there. On the 89-00's you hahve to undo the tail section atleast 1/2 way... 01-03 nothing, and same with the fairinged 04.
Cool.
Srinath.
Well, my valves were all within spec - so having them checked really accomplished nothing - just peace of mind. If it's a big deal to you, then perhaps the best thing would be to look around here for a tutorial on how to check them yourself. I don't know how either but I know there are many who do and have posted many how-to's (Kerry!).
Hmmm, perhaps I'm remembering incorrectly about the fairing. I do know that the bill was like $195 and change and had 3 hours of labor listed along with oil, filter, grease, and I think a gasket (from memory here...). They did the chain, checked lube points, adjusted cables, tightened bolts (and replaced one that was missing from a bottom bracket on the fairing), checked the valves, and checked for the mysterious 2004 cam-noise knocking "issue" that some of us have reported.
I called around to a couple of local mechanics before hand and they quoted about the same, ranging from $150-$200. I figured that for the first servce I'd rather let the Suzuki dealership handle it.
Anyway, I'll keep that in mind about the fairing next time she goes in at 3K miles for service, that's for sure. Unless I do it all myself - it all seems pretty simple except for checking the valve clearance, and that's just because I've never done it before. I used to change the oil, tighten things up, and lube/adjust the chain on my old bike all the time - pretty easy stuff.