Bike Servicing = Expensive :'(

[Flukester]

Guys

Just thought I'd give anyone a heads up on how expensive bikes are to run..

Just booked ZX10 in for a 16k service... so it's a major one with valve clearance checks, new plugs (14 quid each), fork oil blah blah.

Approx £350-£400

That cost is if not much needs doing.. last service was at 12k and was a snip at about 200 quid if I remember!.


So much for biking being cheap, though I remember the last service on my ZX12 to get it through MOT cost 1200 quid!!!.

When you add in tyres at 100 quid a pop every 2-3k miles also and brake pads throughout year, not to mention 4 punctures in 12 months it's a nightmare.


I guess taking to a proper Kwak dealer I get a nice stamp for log book and a lovely 500cc learner bike to borrow for two days, but it still is rubbish tbh

 

[Reppyboyo]

16k service is allways expensive.
Might as well do most of it yourself and ask the mechanic to do whatever you are unable/not confident in doing.

Tyres £100? Every 2-3k miles?
What the heck type of tyres you using?

Last set cost me £200 in total and the rear is set to last at least 8k miles, front about 10k.

 

[Berger]

Your the guy who admits to regularly doing double the speed limit?

So why am i not suprised your bike eats tyres....

 

[Flukester]

16k service is allways expensive.
Might as well do most of it yourself and ask the mechanic to do whatever you are unable/not confident in doing.

Tyres £100? Every 2-3k miles?
What the heck type of tyres you using?

Last set cost me £200 in total and the rear is set to last at least 8k miles, front about 10k.

yeah i'm abit lazy though and not very good with a spanner..

using michelin pilot 2CT atm, they do last quite well... don't think they would ever last 8k though

local guy at garage always has a go at me because I used to just give him list of stuff to do rather than say 'give it full service', he said thats why my bikes fall to bits lol.

 

[Flukester]

Your the guy who admits to regularly doing double the speed limit?

So why am i not suprised your bike eats tyres....

not much to do with it... your tyres don't suddenly turn to dust at 71mph

 

[GSXRMovistar]

I budget £500 a year for bike maintainance, will be a service and then whatever needs replacing at the same time (tyres, chain, sprockets).

I don't actually think its that bad, think what it would cost you to maintain a car that delivers the same performance.

 

[Rilot]

What people need to realise though is that bikes like a ZX10, a blade or my RSV aren't like a Ford Focus and so can't really be compared to normal car servicing prices.

You'd be better off comparing your bike servicing to that of a Porsche 997 or a low-end Ferrari. We're talking about the same levels of engine component stress. When looked at like that, bikes are very cheap to service.

My RSV costs me about £350 ish per service.
My F650 costs me about £50 in consumables when I service it.

 

[Flukester]

yeah v true guys... though my neighbour who used to be yam mechanic said that 1/2 the time at a service the bike is just sat there while they do nothing but occasionally squirt abit of silicon lube on things to make shiny

 

[Finglonga]

Do my own since the warranty ran out on the BM, their service charges are extortionate! They wanted £300 for a standard service and the cylinders are easy to get at as they stick out (boxer engine).

 

[digisatman]

Guys

Just thought I'd give anyone a heads up on how expensive bikes are to run..

This 'heads up' is based on one of the the 'top end' bikes which most people wont have.

A normal commuter bike costs next to nothing to service, (if you dont do it yourself!).

 

[Fireskull]

Sure is expensive lol, been told about £700 labour to fix my gearbox before parts, so thats why im going to have a go myself before paying that much money

Even an off the books service cost me £200 for valve clarances and throttle sync.

 

[Dano]

2-3k for a set of tyres? Nobody to blame but yourself

 

[chaparral]

So much for biking being cheap, though I remember the last service on my ZX12 to get it through MOT cost 1200 quid!!!.

When you add in tyres at 100 quid a pop every 2-3k miles also and brake pads throughout year, not to mention 4 punctures in 12 months it's a nightmare.

Any normal person wouldn't buy a bike like a ZX10/ZX12 if they wanted a cheap bike to run....

 

[PyroboyUK]

Crap! I need that service in about 1000 miles!

I wasnt looking forward to it and i had a feeling it would cost that much...

I will also be needing a manual cam chain tensioner put in and a new chain (maybe sprockets)

Its a CBR 600 F5, so not sure if that will make any difference to the cost...

 

[fullspizz]

My 16k service will be due middle of next year on the gixxer and that involves valve clearances.
I'll budget around £400 notes for it.
Need a new back tyre really, although there is loads of tread down both sides the middle is non-existent, plus it looks like the bike could stand up on it's own because of the large flat spot running down the middle
Quoted £130 fitted for a Pirelli Diablo Corsa, so not too bad.

Brakes I'll do myself when they are required.

 

[Finglonga]

I will also be needing a manual cam chain tensioner put in

You should never put a new chain on worn sprockets as it will wear the chain pot much faster. New sprockets should be used every time the chain is worn out.

Get that wallet out.

 

[PyroboyUK]

You should never put a new chain on worn sprockets as it will wear the chain pot much faster. New sprockets should be used every time the chain is worn out.

Get that wallet out.

I hate getting my wallet out. I will have the sprockets done too. I was tempted to do the Cam Chain Tensioner myself + Chain and Sprockets, will get a quote from the garage and see how much extra it will be for them on top of the 16k service, if its not through the roof will just throw them in, that way wont have to worry about it.

 

[Northwind]

Just booked ZX10 in for a 16k service...
So much for biking being cheap, though

You bought a superbike and expected it to be cheap to run? Seriously, that wasn't clever. They eat tyres (and demand short lived ones if you want to ride it hard), and they've got a fairly short and intensive service cycle. Not to mention that most of the new ones are horrible to work on, very cramped. And you knew all that already having had a 12, but you're still complaining...

What doesn't help is that modern kwaks are particularily badly designed from a servicing point of view, which makes everything harder and more complex and generally slower. Things like bolts fitted the wrong way round, so you can't service the suspension without removing the exhaust, when just reversing them would mean you could. And the fasteners are fiddly and cheap, and pretty vulnerable to seizing, so even removing the fairing is harder work than it should be (not to mention that the fairings are generally a total fiddle) and you're paying £35 an hour or whatever for all of this stuff. If you compare it with, say, the 06 Blade, that bike's even more compact and packaged but it's actually had some thought go into it, so even though it should be harder to work on it's easier.

If it's any consolation, I just did the 36000 mile service on my SV and it cost me £31 And did a big service for my mate's 636 last month and it was under £50 in parts and just a couple of hours of my time.

 

[Simmy]

How much of the £350-400 service is labour? How much would the service have cost in parts, if you have bought and fitted them yourself?

I serviced the ZZR600 last week for under £40 (£18 for oil, £9 oil filter, air filter £10). I had to replace the exhaust, so all of the fairing was off anyway. Not the best bike to work on really, but was still £100+ saved by doing it myself. It's quite relaxing when you get into the swing of it though (apart from that one b*****d bold that takes 30minutes to remove! ).