Morning all. I've had my 996/1098 bitza for nearly a year and have loved almost every minute of it. However, it's now due the dreaded 12,000 mile service (well, 24,000) and it's all a bit frighteningly expensive. Yes, yes I know these bikes are hardly cheap..... The question is, can I do it myself? I've read through the Haynes book and taken a look at a few forum posts and apparently the tricky bit is the valve clearances. However, I'm fairly mechanically minded and have a decently equipped garage. I've also fully stripped an engine before (not that I'm planning on doing this) and did the clearances on my old VFR800 (all 16 of them) which were horrifically awkward. So, how much am I likely to save doing it myself? Would anyone strongly recommend either doing or not doing it myself? and lastly, if it's just not worth the hassle, can anyone recommend a good place to go and get it done in the Beds, Cambs, Herts or London area? Many thanks in advance.
An authorised workshop is going to charge upwards of 10 hours labour plus your fluids, filters and belts. You may find that your clearances are fine and you don't need to change any of the shims. The question for me is one of convenience, how long do you have to spend on the task and how long are you prepared to be without the bike ? Without specific experience how long is it going to take you, twice, three times as long as the dealer ? Andy
It's not beyond the realms of someone who is mechanically minded. The valves and possibly the belts would be the most challenging and if the valves need shimming then you do need to either be sure of the exact shim or shims you need or consider buying a kit which is not that cheap. The rest other than checks that require special tools or equipment should be straighforward enough. For every bit you do it will save on labour, so you could always find someone to undertake the more specialist work and do the rest yourself. Check out the workshop manual and see if you can figure out what needs doing yourself and farm out anything you are less clear or unsure of.
If you have a trailer/van you can strip the bike and take it to somewhere like Baines at Silverstone or the place @chizel uses that i can't remember the name of and just get them to do the valves and do the rest yourself.
Go for it! I was in the same boat many years ago and decided to give it a go having more than a few years mechanical experience and it really isn"t that bad. Take your time, check on YouTube - there's plenty on there to find and use your camera, also save the pictures to be a part of the bikes service history. And of course ask questions on here if you get stuck. There are quite a few pieces to take off as you go but it's all straight forward nuts and bolts nothing super Hi tech.
Cheers guys. I've had a couple of quotes for £800-1000. yikes. I'm not in any particular hurry as I have alternative ways of getting about. So I think I might see if I can do the whole thing, a bit at a time. Maybe take a monday off and do the engine bits over a long weekend. Then the rest of it the next weekend or something like that. Also I don't need to do the front forks as they've recently been serviced by Brooks. Next step, a big spread sheet with all the checks and all parts and tools required for each one.
Seems to ba a fair price, I know of others that have paid more. Things like fuel filter renewal are easy enough but you will save some time and money on labour if you do that yourself as it's a moderate job that involves more bodywork and tank\pump removal than sheer mechanical work. It's the same with checking the alternator nut and so it goes on (!) Do those jobs and others and it should serve to bring the cost down.
I'm sure it is a fair price. It's just a great big wad of cash is all. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not planning on skimping on anything. Nor was I in any doubt as to the potential costs of ownership when I bought it (well, maybe I didn't think it would be quite this much.). I'm just figuring out how much of the work I can do myself. And in doing so, how much money I'd save. As a side note, I've got a good size garage and a lovely big clear workbench, so I'm wondering if it would be worth dropping the engine out entirely. Or would the advantage of easy access be outweighed by the thing rolling around everywhere? I could make up a jig to mount it to the bench, but it's a bit of a faff.
More trouble than it's worth. Access to the rear cylinder exhaust valves is challenging with engine in the frame but not impossible, plus you may not need to change too many shims anyway. I do mine over the course of a few days so I'm not sure exactly how many hours it might take? but since my time is free to me it doesn't matter anyway. If you plan to do your own servicing and invest in the required kit & valve shims etc. then it will save you a fortune in labour costs. I have 3 bikes and do all my own servicing so it only costs me the parts. That said I do it during the winter when I'm not riding anyway so it gives me some winter blues therapy...
Well in the end i went to Rosso Corsa in Bethnal Green. I thought about how long it would probably take me to do it all and it just wasn't worth all the arsing about. I got several quotes in the end and chatted to a few people. Quotes ran from £700-1400 for the standard service, without any extra replacement parts. Marcus at RC was a really nice bloke who was happy to talk to me about the work. He did a brilliant job as well. How the bike used to ride compared to how it does now is like having a really blunt old kitchen knife and then honing it until it's like a razor. The throttle response is so sensitive in the lower gears and even in top at about 70mph, it pulls like a train. Very, very happy. All in it was a shade under £800.
Well in the end i went to Rosso Corsa in Bethnal Green. I thought about how long it would probably take me to do it all and it just wasn't worth all the arsing about. I got several quotes in the end and chatted to a few people. Quotes ran from £700-1400 for the standard service, without any extra replacement parts. Marcus at RC was a really nice bloke who was happy to talk to me about the work. He did a brilliant job as well. How the bike used to ride compared to how it does now is like having a really blunt old kitchen knife and then honing it until it's like a razor. The throttle response is so sensitive in the lower gears and even in top at about 70mph, it pulls like a train. Very, very happy. All in it was a shade under £800.
