| Author | Message | ||
     Shwinston |
I'm at my 12,000 mile service check. I just talked to my service dealer and they said it would be $142 for the spark plugs and $200+ for the Valve Clearance check. Are there any alternatives? Is this something I can do myself? Has anyone else done it themselves? What tools would I need? $350 is way spendy for what's being done. | ||
| Xbswede |
They did say $200+ for the valves. I would be very surprised if you can get it all done for $350. To do it yourself you are probably looking at the full weekend your first time through. But if your not handy with tools I wouldn't attempt it. Buy the service manual and go through the procedures. This will help give you a feel for if you are capable of doing it. | ||
| Dentguy |
I would say $200+ for valve check is pretty good. Unless they call you later and tell you it's another $200+ to adjust them. | ||
| Chadhargis |
$200 for a valve adjustment is pretty cheap. Now, $142 for spark plugs....that's a butt raping. | ||
| Krassh |
Especially since the plugs will be easy once the engine is rotated for the valve check. A few people have posted their experiences doing themselves plus some having the dealer perform the service. | ||
| Doerman |
Just a FYI.. The mechanic at my dealer spent 12 hrs the first time he did a 12K service on an 1125. The second one, it went down to 8 hrs. My bike was the 3rd one to get the 12K service and he spent 7 hrs. Considering he is a pro and I am not, I think I'd be at it for 20 or more hrs and probably screw something up in the process. +1 on getting a manual and study to see if you want to take it on yourself or not. As far as special tools. I do not think you need anything beyond a well equipped garage mechanic's set. You will need to be able to unload the frame with a lift or suspended from the ceiling to rotate the engine. A front and rear stand comes in handy as well. | ||
| Ccryder |
My 12k service was right at $400. I supplied the plugs and air filter. It's also nice to have on hand valve cover gaskets, header pipe gaskets (where they go into the muffler). The valve cover gaskets s/b re-useable but, one may get damaged and then you are waiting......... The way I'm riding (I'm already on the high side of 16k right now), next April I'll need another valve clearance check. Guess you can say that I love riding this bike ;+}! Later Neil S. | ||
| Rocketray |
I did the 12000 miles service myself, and I did a short writeup about it. Im handy with tools, and it took me around 20 hours, but I am VERY slow. First step is to buy the service manual, I think it is really well written and has good detail. Right at the midpoint of the whole job, while checking the clearances, I was feeling a lot of stress wondering if I would get it all back together, but like I said, the book is good, with the assemble procedures clearly stepped also. This may sound goofy, but I'm looking forward to doing the 24000 service. There is a ton of satisfaction doing it yourself. Ray | ||
| Thedavyboy |
8 hours for a valve adjustment seems like allot of time , I'm sure it could be done in less time . Just because these mechanic's work at a dealer does not make them pro's .I will do mine when the time comes and post pic's . Don't need a degree to do this work just a little patience and good service manual. | ||
| Stormy |
8 hours? $350 is 4 to 5 hours these days even if there wasn't any parts cost, which there is. Shwinston is in CA- labor rate there is probably $90+hour. They are giving hime a great deal. The only mention of 8hrs was for a whole 12000mi service, which is more than just a valve adj. | ||
| Ccryder |
The real time to check/ adjust the valves is not the time consuming part. The engine rotation is the time hog. Zac did his and posted some helpful hints along with some others. DO a search and you will find some helpful hints. Neil S. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Rocketray and I did ours at the same time. There were several phone calls thru the process for help and moral support. Between BadWeB, some tech-sense and each other's ideas... we both did it OK! Make sure you have a jack under the motor once you get to the Engine bolts. Rotate slowly up and down and check wires/linkages constantly. Read the Service manual and be slow and methodical. The bike is DESIGNED to be worked on. Z | ||
| Rocketray |
+1 Zac Ray | ||
| Shwinston |
I think I'm going to give it a try. I've ordered the service manual. What other significant tools do I need? I need a jack for the engine, right? I don't think my car jack would work, any suggestions? And I also hear I need to stabilize my rear tire, is that right? What would you recommend for that? Am I missing anything? | ||
| Zac4mac |
I put Loretta up on a rear stand then put about 150 pounds of steel and lead on the tail. Floor jack with a piece of 2 X 4 for a cushion, under the motor.  When rotating back up, the top right motor-mount bolt goes thru a sleeve. It can stop the motor from getting to the top by about a quarter inch. Pull it out a half inch or so or watch it as you come up. Good luck Z | ||
| Ducxl |
Oh boy,i'm very envious of you guys'. I remember MY first valve check on my Ducati Superbike. The second one led to cam removal. The third one led to COMPLETE head disassembly. Practice makes one more proficient. I also remember (in my professional machinist career) the first time we called in service techs from Index Corp. to repair our new CNC lathe. THey had the most funny saying: "We're factory trained,Yeah,every time we get called into your factory for repair we get more training". So...do you want to train your dealer service tech? Or do you want to get the training yourself? | ||
| Shwinston |
Zac4mac: Thanks for that picture. It's helpful to see how others did this. Why did you put 150 pounds on the tale? Shane | ||
| Funktron |
Shwinston - Couldn't agree more. I think the picture is awesome....and yes, why did you put 150 lbs on the tail? I think 140 lbs clearly should have done the job  Zac - I wish you were my neighbor. I'd have sooo much more knowledge in my head....and you'd have soooo much more BBQ and beer in your stomach. | ||
| Shwinston |
I just bought the 1125r PitBull rear stand. I wish I had bought that before my last oil change, that would of made things so much easier. Believe it or not, I was balancing the bike with one hand. The oil kept running down the kick stand. Anywho, my service manual just came in today, so I will be picking it up soon. | ||
| Zac4mac |
The weight on the back is just to keep the back end stable. I don't have a wheel chock. Gotta be anchored somewhere or it rolls over when you rotate back up. The motor is real close to the CG, so the whole bike will lift with the jack. Z (Message edited by zac4mac on January 14, 2009) | ||
| Shwinston |
Service manuel in hand. Now I'm just waiting for my pitbull rear stand. I have looked through the service manual some and messing with the valves seems to be the most complicated. It appears I might need some special tools for this? Zac4mac, do you have more pictures of your work on your bike? | ||
| Zac4mac |
Sorry to leave you hanging, Shane. With the valves, you just need a good set of feeler gauges. Metric wrenches, sockets, Allens and Torx. A couple of flat screwdrivers to wiggle the cap out of the crank-nut cover. Here's some pix...   Access to the crank-nut     | ||
| Shwinston |
Thanks Zach. I'm supposed to be getting my rear stand in the mail tomorrow. I just need to decide when the damage will begin. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
According to my dealer, the valve check is 8 hours. Also, I must say for you do it yourselfers (and Zack knows this from experience), one HUGE benefit of having the shop do the job is that IF there is anything damaged in the engine (ie cams), it's already in the proper place for the warranty work. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
PS, $350 for the plugs and valves is a STEAL. DOn't complain | ||
| Shwinston |
Yes, stealing from my wallet. I'd rather pay myself that money then someone else, especially when all they're going to be doing is replacing spark plugs and checking the valves. While I'm a complete novice. They were too at one time and I'm pretty sure they haven't done this procedure too many times before. More importantly I'd like to learn more about my bike and how to work on this, so I'm looking forward to the experience. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
With all due respect, this is not a job for a novice. Do you have any idea what this job entails? Read some of posts in the thread. 20+ hours for those that are mechanically inclined (albeit slow.) 8 hours shop labor at $80/hour plus parts and your are looking in the neighborhood of $750 with parts. You should take advantage of this deal, before the shop realizes it misquoted you. Also, the Buell mechanics might have only done the service in training, but a) this is more training that you have had, b) they work on bikes daily, which will help them even on the Rotax motor, and c) they have BMC as a resource that is only a phone call away. (Message edited by fresnobuell on February 03, 2009) | ||
| Fresnobuell |
also, what are you going to do if you have the whole bike apart and you see a pitted cam or something else amiss? try getting BMC to cover warranty work done by you in your garage. | ||
| Zac4mac |
You don't know how right you are, Harlan. I found this when I pulled off the front lid...  I sent BMC/CS that pic and the next day got a call to put Loretta back together and get her over to High Country for repair. Took me 4 days to button her up for a ride on the crash-truck. As an aside, the particles from the cam were very fine, the follower was virtually unscathed. I flushed the engine once with H-D dino 20-50. Purring like a Bobcat at 15.3k Z | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
thats screwed...any reason why that happened? JT | ||
| Fresnobuell |
That's a good point Jersey. Has BMC identified the cause of the pitting? If not, it is bound to repeat itself if the cam is simply replaced. Hopefully, it has something to do with the cam itself, as opposed to something else in the engine. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I'm chalking it up to bad heat treat on that part. Everything else looked fine and I noticed no problems before teardown. There was about as much black dust on the drain plug magnet as the first oil change, from seating the rings. Z | ||
| Bob_thompson |
I agree Zac and I would suspect something in the quality control concerning the hardening/heat treating process. It is one of the most variables in cam production. As in any kind of mass/semi-mass production a few slip by. I believe only very few companys inspect every part they produce. This part I believe would take a hardness testing guage on each lobe and in severals places on each lobe and the cam journals to totally insure each cam. Practically impossible in this modern world and would push the cost to beyond what we would want to pay for such a great bike/engine. BMC does the next best thing; warranty's almost everything for 24 months. I am satisfied and I think Zac probably is also. (Message edited by Bob_thompson on February 04, 2009) (Message edited by Bob_thompson on February 04, 2009) | ||
| Slypiranna |
Cam issue pictured is isolated and not of a concern to the majority. Spark plugs can be changed without any engine rotation or major drama. Less than 1.5 hour effort by any good mechanic. Valve adjustments should be left to a more advanced tech and/or dealer. |
