checking out a maintenance schedule that i found through some links here and i'm just wondering why this bike might require so much maintenance. keep in mind, i'm comparing this to a car (contemplating my first bike now), and not to other motorcycles.

i see oil needs to be changed every 600 miles? even with synthetic? and cylinder head bolts tightened every 600 as well? there were several others that i saw, but you know what they are. i mean, it's worth it to me to do that, but what is the cause for all that? is it just that motorcycles are built to need more maintenance?

how long is a clutch expected to last? i'm looking to use this as a daily and probably looking at around 4-7k miles per year. advise on that matter?

the 600 mile thing is just for your FIRST maintenance.  After that there are much longer intervals between things (3,000 miles on oil, 2 years on brake fluid, etc...).  If your manual doesn't break it down clearly enough there is a link on the main GS twins board that will tell you when things are due. 

Yes, it's worth following

Your clutch will probably last forever, even if you ride the $$$$ out if it. 

Yea... I change oil about every 2-3K. other than that in the past 4 years my GS needed nothing other than tires 

that is just awesome to hear! thanks so much! you'll probably be seeing my "i just got a gs!" thread in a week or so!

Quote from: KasbeKZ on June 02, 2009, 08:42:40 PM
that is just awesome to hear! thanks so much! you'll probably be seeing my "i just got a gs!" thread in a week or so!

The big $$$ items are tires, IMO. Tires is about $150 per set every 10K or so, this is  alot more than for a car ($200 a set for 30K). Other than that, everything is pretty much the same as car. Chain is $100 but that's only ever 20K or so. You also have to do stuff like adjusting cables, adjusting valves, etc but that's not much money and only a few hours work every 4-8K miles.

but even changing the oil is easier than on a car... no jacks necessary, a wrench, a pan and some towels... I bet on a good day it could be done in under 5 minutes for under $10

Quotethat is just awesome to hear! thanks so much! you'll probably be seeing my "i just got a gs!" thread in a week or so!

Hope to see that post soon.

Someone may have told you this before, but I just want you to be aware, maintainance is a DAILY ritual for us commuters.  You need to be vigilant when it comes to the ridability and safety of your bike.  Just because there are intervals for maintanance doesn't mean you don't do anything between the intervals.  Unlike a car, you need to check your oil more often as well as other parts of the bike.

-Porkchop

PS - Learn to do the maintanance yourself.  Dealer provided motorcycle services cost way more then equivanlant car services.

Chain doesn't have to be that expensive. I paid about 50 bucks for my chain and with keeping it loose it looks like it'll last at least 50,000 miles. Only wore about 1 notch on the arm in 15,000 miles. And if you're using the bike for commuting a pair of tires is only about $100. Since I use mine as my primary transportation I've found you really can save a lot compared to what people traditionally think is a high maintenance vehicle.

thanks for all the replies guys. that is some really good news.

could you give an example of what "daily" maintenance needs to be done? i expect you are talking about checking chain tension, oil, adjusting cables, and looking at the brakes?

i have a couple more questions: there are two write ups that i'd like to find.

i'm trying to find out how hard it is to change the starter. not that i expect to find a bike with a bad one, i'm just trying to get an idea of how easy/hard the bike is to work on, and that's one thing i haven't been able to find. i expect that's because it's really easy?

also trying to find out if it's easy or advisable to put on an oil pressure and/or oil temperature gauge. is this common? seems nice to have to me.

i've officially searched a LOT and can't figure out how hard it is to change the starter or the alternator. are these big jobs that require many specialty tools? i'm pretty good at this stuff. just trying to get a feel of what to look for when buying and if i find any turn offs.

thanks!

Bike comes with an oil pressure gauge. Bike does not come with an alternator. It has a stator, which you should not have to replace.

http://gstwin.com/maintenance_info.htm

http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Main.Maintenance

thanks much.

looks like that takes care of it! i'm just now realizing that i'm finding so few write ups because all the procedures are in a manual. i'm not used to that lol. there is no manual for my 300zx!

oh man i'm getting so close. there are several people looking at my car right now so i expect it to sell before next weekend. as soon as it does, i have a pretty decent list of bookmarks of craigslist bikes that i'm going to go down! i've found some great deals! i can't wait!

this is one: http://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/1193055279.html    hate the color but whatever. i'm pretty good at painting.

here's another: http://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/1191118709.html    look like it's been wrecked to anyone else?

and the one that's most likely at this point doesn't have any pictures up. but it's garage kept, close to me, never down, 2006, 5k miles, 3500 obo.

There are quite a few of the GS gods that live in NC. Maybe you could say entice the Buddha or Cafeboy with a 12pack to go with you and check them out!

Mary

Quote from: KasbeKZ on June 04, 2009, 05:08:32 PM
thanks for all the replies guys. that is some really good news.

could you give an example of what "daily" maintenance needs to be done? i expect you are talking about checking chain tension, oil, adjusting cables, and looking at the brakes?

i have a couple more questions: there are two write ups that i'd like to find.

i'm trying to find out how hard it is to change the starter. not that i expect to find a bike with a bad one, i'm just trying to get an idea of how easy/hard the bike is to work on, and that's one thing i haven't been able to find. i expect that's because it's really easy?

also trying to find out if it's easy or advisable to put on an oil pressure and/or oil temperature gauge. is this common? seems nice to have to me.

Daily maintenance? It is all easy stuff, like check your chain tension and oil on some kind of frequent basis. Also, check your tire pressure often. Cables and brakes will become very obvious when they're going wrong and I wouldn't really bother inspecting them any more frequently than oil changes, unless you suspect some kind of problem.

I doubt you'll find a GS with a bad starter. I'm not sure that I've ever seen anyone here post about needing to change one. It would be pretty easy to replace, but you're way more likely to find a bike with a bad battery than a bad starter. My GS with over 90,000 miles on it has the original starter and I don't expect it to ever go bad. Like respite said, there is an oil pressure gauge with a light that indicates problems. Don't worry about a temperature gauge. You really don't need it and having one will just make you wonder about what it is telling you. The GS is air cooled, and is built to get pretty hot without any problems. I'm quite confident that outside of just letting the bike idle without moving on a really really hot day or jetting it crazy lean, you'll never actually overheat a GS.