I could service the bike myself i guess like most on here, but then wouldn't get my service book stamped what does everyone else do regarding this. Do you just pay honda to service so you get the book stamped which I am happy to do. Cheers Jay
Get the bike shop to do it and then you will know for certain that the book has been stamped properly!
Do it yourself mate. I'm doing mine tomorrow, clean callipers, check pads, oil and filter change, clean the piper cross filter and re oil it, check coolant and torque up all bolts, chain tension and clean and oil it. total cost £49, and it's done right.
I can do mine as well but what aboug the warranty? (If u have one?) Honda service charge is a total rip off for a job that's a piece of piss to do!
There's a few ways to look at it, the price difference between bikes when I bought my rr5 between fsh and not was about 800 quid now to me that's not worth the high service costs as you actually loose money however I still stupidly pay the price for the stamp. A few mates get an oil change at local bike shop for the stamp and then do a full service themselves as they trust no one with their pride and joy
Do you think then when you come to sell the bike you might have problems as its not got full honda history,as I know one of the reasons I bought mine was it had full history(I know i am kind of answering my own post here)but I am interested as I service all my own limos I save myself a lot of money ,plus as Si says it gets done right with all the best stuff What do honda charge for a service as not rang them yet as I know my mot is due as well..
If out of warranty you might as well do as Si has said besides the cheap price you know it's been done right and is very satisfying ,bit of music mug of tea job done. If there is a good bit of warranty left then it does make sense to have it serviced at the dealer and stamped. I am not sure if the Honda service is a rip off as you have to remember that its not just a mechanic on wages doing it there is also the shop overheads the guys holiday pay and employers insurance ,machines to replace ect .When I trade my bikes in the book is always stamped as I tend to get rid within the two years but not this time as I have learned that chipping in will always cost around 4k just to buy the same bike as the one you have but my point being with or without the book stamped you will more than likely get the same deal.
IMO the service stamps are a bargaining chip! As Carl says the price seems more when we come to buy a bike with a full service, but Whats it worth on a trade in? Probably not as much as we would like to think? At the the end of the day It only shows the bike has maintainence, what it wouldn't show you is if it's had it's arse screwed off! If your handy with your hands and like the dirty bits, get in there. The money you save is not imense, don't scrimp on parts, it's genuine parts all the way for me, just save all the receipts and you have a paper trail for any potential later sale? Edit: Genuine parts, excluding the K&N
Usually, i have been quoted £200.. fek that. Mines out of warranty (just) and i've only got 2 stamps in the book, but i service it with oil changes 4 times a year!, every 2k miles. Anal i know, but still cheaper than 1 service at a Honda dealer….If i have a tyre change ( 2 times a year average) i get the bloke who does them to once over my bike at no cost, just to let me know if it's perfect. I know it's done right, with top notch stuff and more regularly than needed. I'm not bothered about resale as i've done more than ave miles mate, i'll take a hit anyway. I have a book full of receipts though. On another note, we spend loads of extra money on trick bits, carbon, new cans, mapping etc… and we never get the money back on them… doing your own servicing is not that much of a loss mate in comparison. The first time i ever had something done to my bike, was a tyre change by a dealer i had never used. The fooking idiot gauged the swing arm when his paddock stand slipped and denied it. I won't trust my pride and joy to knobbers like that. Bill Smiths in Chester made a monumental balls up on my previous triumph when i sent it in to service…never again.
My last service bill was just under £1,000 - but it had not had a dealer touch it for 40,000 and included valve clearance check, new pads, oil and filter, dyno test and a load of other minor stuff - the VAT alone was almost £200 If that sounds expensive what would Honda dealer have charged for servicing over 40,000 miles - and the biggest part was the valve clearance check i'd still have had to do at 36k plus other stuff. I've used my bike that much its value is what I can get for it now prob. get more breaking it for parts than selling complete.
Thing is, it comes down to trust when buying, as well as inspection. On here, we all know the Blade, and most of us looks after them fastidiously, regardless of cost..bordering on the OCD in some cases (mine, i admit) Now, would you buy a Blade that has 8k miles, 2 years old, with £5k worth of extras, oil changes every 2k miles, new pads every 12 mths and is immaculate, no expense spared. It gets washed and polished after every ride and comes with original parts. Only 1 dealer stamp (first service) Or, buy a Blade with 8k miles, serviced every 12 mths at dealers 2 oil changes, no extras and is pitted with salt and scratched and unloved. Both same same price. Which one would you go for? The main reason we buy from a dealer is a warranty ( not worth the paper it's written on if the bikes s/h) or we finance the cost to pay for it. I'd rather save up and buy a minter from wherever i find one, and next time i will look through forums, not buy new.
I'd never buy a new bike, the R1 with zero miles but second hand was the closest I will get as it had lost its £2,500 initial depreciation - want to keep miles down on that one to help resale
And there you go 360 deg Al .Pay good money don,t use it just to get that extra £200.00 at the trade in .Use it and take the hit at least you would have had some benefit .
Totally agree Al. Mines done 16k and is just under 2 years old… aint worth a carrot as it stands mate. I've spent in excess of £7k on her since i've had her…there's no way i'll ever get that back, but i love it and don't mine spending out on it. I continue to enjoy it every time i take it out or look at it, resale doesn't enter my head. I'll strip her when i come to sell to put some money towards the next one, but i know hobbies cost money, and bikes are relatively cheap in comparison to a lot of hobbies…well worth it.
i have used a main dealer before! when i got the bike home i noticed the oil sight glass was full to the brim i took out a litre of oil before the level even moved haven't been to a dealer again
Always have bought new apart from this blade. Got it with full service history and about 3k miles For 6.5k...not bad for a 09 bike . I'll be doing all My own work as at least I know it will be done Right.one thing that put me off dealer service's Is my last bike got a valve adjustment and belts costing Me 450 anr the valves were done wrong.had to go to Another dealer and pay more to fix it as the first dealer Argued that it wasnt his mechanic's but my exhaust That was the problem. Never again.
I know lol - The blade I've had my monies worth from it 3 times over - very few bad days on it to be honest (other than crashing in France and even that turned out OK) - was saying to Andy I've still got all my video from last June trip to edit down.
