how do i service my 85' VF1000

hi,
my mech wants to charge me $200 for a minor service.
so what do i need to do to service it myself? i figure filter change,
oil change, fluid checks?
anything else?
i have the manual laying around somewhere
thanks Jas

 

"I have the manual laying around somewhere".

Find it, read it.

Boxer

 

Find that manual and figure it out.
When was the last major service? It's an ass of a job but that's your
biggest savings.

justAL

 

All that gets done on a minor service???? Well, that's interesting - I have
a friend who has continuallt tried to tell me I'm wasting money on minor
services because th3ey're basically just oil changes and fluid checks....
Interesting....see, you make it sound so easy G-S - even the bits that you
say are a pain in the arse.... I'd be terrified to do that stuff. What would
scare me is this: I would follow the manual to the letter but I would still
be afraid that I'd missed something or messed something, and I'd be
terrified of getting on the bike again in case I'd stuffed up somehow....So
I reckon the bottom line tip is this: everything G-S said, but make sure you
have somebody with you who knows what they're doing, and can keep an eye on
what you're doing and do the "mentor" thing for you...

Well.... that's what'd work for me.... I got a major service, at great cost,
in late-March, the day before my big ride up to Port Macq/Ballina/Gunnedah
etc.... and after the 4000-odd kms on that trip, and a couple of weekends
away since then, I'm up to my 18,000km service, only a month later. I'm
going to go bloody bankrupt at this rate.... Will have to bite the bullet
for minor services at least, but I'm really scared - would love to have
somebody knowledgeable to look over my shoulder with instructions and
assistance.... am thinking of asking my mechanic if he wants a helper for
easy shit - he can teach me and I can lighten his load.......

chickenshit betty

 

Careful how you word that when offering it to the mechanic; you might be
surprised by his interpretation of "lightening his load" ;-)

---
Bob Milutinovic
Cognicom - "Australia's Web Presence Specialists"
http://www.cognicom.tk/
telephone (0417) 45-77-66
facsimile (02) 9824-2240

 

Not sure what you mean Bob!!!!! My mechanic is very professional......

betty

 

always do a course, tafe offers small engine mechanics, and i think theirs a
few specfic motorcycle courses out their somewere.

im not that good at home mechanics, but after years of trying to do car and
bike things, i can do almost everything on a bike.

the next thing, is these pesky valves, havnt done them before.

but i do breaks, and all the other servicing, pulling down a bikes fairing
and bits is intersting. takes ya days. so if ya got ht etime, try it ya
self. but sometiems somethings are worth paying somebody to do

 

geez, if it takes days, Mad, what am I supposed to ride in the
meantime???????

I keep having really good intentions of signing up for mech courses, and
then my unconfidence gets the better of me... One day I'll be in the right
bloodyminded mindset to put the credit card number on a booking form - and
then there'll be no escape <grin>.

The bottom line <whispering> is that engine stuff seems to come
second-nature to boy-types, and they seem to know intuitively where to find
shit like valves and carbies and stuff... and their brains (from where I'm
standing anyway) seem to process all these words that might as well be
bloody Klingon to me.... like "compression" and "ratios" and shit like that
..... and I would feel like such an idiot saying "Excuse me? What was that? A
Valve? And what does one of those look like?"

It's SO intimidating being ten steps behind Raw Beginners at this sort of
thing....

I'm sure there must be "Bike Mechanics 101 for total bloody idiots" courses
somewhere.....

betty, who hates appearing stupid...

 

It's not that hard, just read the manual carefully and take your time.

Depending on what you're doing, make sure you have the replacement
parts or consumables before you start pulling things down.
__


Cheers
The Happy Drunk
K100RT

 

yeah, us blokes learn quickly coz its expected of us - otherwise the other
blokes put shit on us.

plenty of books out their, even online, send me an email if ya want me to
send you some basic electronic ones.

the other thing is to get out their and do it.

do an oil change, pull ya plugs out, buy a service manual, and it got very
clear instructions usually, even having a read of it, having a look at
things on ya bike and knowing what does what. might saving ya doing a lot of
walking one day.

and secondly, always good, because sometimes if ya want a job done right, ya
gota do it your self.

 

Thanks mate - I will take you up on the offer! Mostly I'm scared shitless
about doing anything to the bike coz if I stuff up I'll be walking..... yuk!

betty

 

$200 bucks is looking good value if you haven't figured out where the manual
is and what is required.

How do you know it needs a minor service?

How many k's? Have you got the receipt for the last brake pad change?

Do you feel confident that you will also be able to identify any other
defects during the minor service?

 

bikerbetty wrote:

Betty, you're a Canberran, right?

I am changing my oil in a few weeks, feel free to come and watch...bring
an oil filter and some oil and I can even give you a few pointers on how
to change your bikes oil, as long as you're willing to actually do the
work.

I did the motorcycle maintenance course organised through CIT adult
education a few years back, run by a local bike mechanic, was lots of fun.

 

I'd be terrified to do that stuff. What would

That would be really helpful, thanks! I'm already booked in now for a
service on May 1, so will have sparkly new oil, but can I still watch when
you change your oil? It'd certainly give me a bit of a start.

CIT's running that course again - I think it may be the guy from Dahlitz in
Qbn who's the instructor - but the next course, from memory, is the weekend
of 11-12 May, when I'll be doing my
Canberra -Wandiligong-Mallacoota-Canberra ride. Timing, timing....

thanks again,
betty

 

you can ride them, or work on them. I know what I prefer

 

Yeah sure, feel free! 28th/29th good for you? Flick me an email if
you're free. Only takes an hour max, if you really take your time. Also
a good excuse for a test ride afterwards. ("Yes honey, just going out
for a test ride, back in a few days!").

Yep that sounds like the same guy, Matt I think his name is.
He is (well, when I did the course) a mechanic who works at Canberra
motorcycle centre.
He is friends with Greg, the owner of Dahlitz, and he used to work at
Dahlitz originally, and runs the course in the Dahlitz workshop, because
there is lots of room there for people to move around and work on their
bikes for the purposes of the course.

 

If ya do it wrong, then you take it to the bike shop

 

Mechanical stuff is not necessarily a boy thing. Last weekend I was
asked (by their non-mechanical single mum) to show my 19yo niece and
nephew how to change a tap washer and rejuvenate a spindle so they could
do it themselves. Guess which one had no problem sorting out the rather
odd method used to connect the tap handles, and which one wandered off
scratching his head saying "I'll just call a plumber"

Moike

 

NEVER feel foolish about asking a question. You may be surprised how
many don't know.

Many years ago, in a first year physics lecture, our Chinese lecturer
was discussing 'R-Jason-Tango'. Now I felt very very foolish, 'cause I
had not heard the term before - and I considered myself pretty well up
on physics. Eventually, I raised my hand and asked "What is
R-Jason-Tango". He drew two intersecting lines pointed to the angles
formed by the lines and said "This Ango and that Ango are
R-Jason-Tango". Adjacent Angles!! The penny dropped - and about 60 other
voices ALSO murmured 'ohhhhh'.

---
Cheers

PeterC [aka MildThing]


'01 Yamaha FJR1300

www.dmcsc.org.au
http://eladesom.com.au/ulysses/
# 37181

 

The Downs Club has spanner days once or twice a year. Tools are shared,
as is a helluva lot of knowledge. See if you can hook up with a club
that does likewise, Betty.
---
Cheers

PeterC [aka MildThing]


'01 Yamaha FJR1300

www.dmcsc.org.au
http://eladesom.com.au/ulysses/
# 37181