Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

I just purchased a 2018 motorcycle with 600 miles on it...what maintenance would you guys do on it?

 

Might help if you told us what the bike is.

 

Its probably good. You could do an oil change if you're worried. But if it were me, id just ride

 

its a 2018 triumph Street triple...I’ll post pics once I pick it up...it’s 2 hours from where I live

 

Not knowing what it is I'll stay general:

- change the oil and filter for sure, I'm guessing it's original oil in there that's two years old
- I'd probably change the brake fluid front and rear, too. I usually do that at least every two years if not annually.
- Coolant should still be good after two years, especially with that low of miles, but check the levels.
- Get a service or Haynes manual with torque specs for everything and go through the entire bike doing a nut/bolt check, witnessing everything after you loosen/torque it
- Pull both wheels and check the bearing condition, re-lube those, and put em back on
- Clean and lube the chain

Probably at least a solid afternoon of work depending on the bike, and less than $100 in fluids/filters.

Edit: just saw your last post, congrats on the bike, that's a sweet one! List still stands haha.
Edit 2: I'd also check head bearings/races. If the bikes been sitting for a while you might get a weird notch in those.. probably rare but a few back and forth swings through the entire travel of the handlebar should let you know if there are any notchy spots.

 

That's insane. I wouldn't do all that. I havent done that on any of my previous bikes

 

You also hardly keep any bike for any worthwhile time

 

Literally like three hours of work. Changing oil is easy and should be done annually, regardless of mileage, brake fluid only takes a few minutes, and the rest is basically just making sure that everything is tight and working and not going to come loose and kill you while you're riding. Who knows how the last owner treated it. They could have tried to take off the tire, given up, and put it back on with everything loose, sold it, then after you buy it and take it on a few rides the nut falls off on the axle and oop you're dead.

Don't do it if you don't want to, but it's seriously all so easy.

 

ok.. nothing wrong with that. Bikes are cheap and easy to swap out

 

Oil and filter not a bad idea along with checking chain tension. Brake fluid likely okay and can wait until winter. I would call a Triumph dealer though and have them check VIN for any open recalls. Triumph has had a few through the years and it's possible there may be an open one on the bike that could be important. Recall don't cost you anything money wise and don't matter if you're not the original owner.

 

All your recent bikes you’ve gotten from dealers so they obviously do all that stuff for you....

 

yeah i guess so. The Speed Triple was at a used bike "dealer" but it was a guy in his garage.. Still, all my previous bikes, I just rode them. I put synthetic in my bikes, and I never go over 3-4k miles per season.

On my FZ09, I guess I changed out the brake fluid. But bikes are pretty simple. Just oil, chain maintenance, maybe brake fluid, and wear items like tires/pads/rotors, and you will be good for a long time.

 

So this young kid that I know got his first bike 2020 kawa ex650 about a month ago. He already crashed on it. Then pops up at my house yesterday. Instead of buying an actual exhuast system he cuts the muffler off, basically riding it with open headers. Told him it sounds like shit. And your losing power. In one ear out the other. Says I like it.
Ok buddy enjoy your bike then

 

Gotta love it! There was a guy next to me on the highway the other day on a Honda cbr250 with his muffler cut off. Sounded like complete crap.

 

Wow, how did I miss this thread for so many years? I've got a 2013 Ducati Multistrada Granturismo. It's my 9th bike I've owned in the 20+ years I've been riding. I added this thread to my watched list, so hope to contribute in the future.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaIuWKfnGEI

 

nice bike, what others have you owned?

 

Nice and clean now

 

Way better than the ugly stock one!