| Author | Message | ||
     Azfirebolt |
Just called my dealer to inquire about a 10,000 mile service. They told me $725.88. I just shit myself! I know the forks gotta be looked at, but ouch.... Bubba any recomenadtions? That's damn near four bike payments plus insurance. All for something that will take the 6 hours. Am I wrong here. Will they at least use lubricant before they ram it into me? HELP!! It costs more to operate the bike than it does to buy it.... | ||
| Xb9 |
Buy a shop manual and do-it-yourself. Even if you need a couple of special tools you'll be money ahead. Shit, I think the forks retail new for around $265 ea., you could buy new ones for that price and have money left over!!! | ||
| Fullpower |
Head on down to Crazy-Davidson's our prices are INSANE. get your service appointment now. web special: 10,000 mile service special only $725.00 plus parts, labor , taxes, environmental remediation fee, franchise surcharge, freight allowance, and documentation charges. ask for your badweb discount at Crazy-Davidson's. | ||
| Skully |
These guys are right: buy the manual and do it yourself. Keith | ||
| Bads1 |
Get the manual its the BUELL Bible. | ||
| Easyflier |
Too bad you're not within easy driving distance of Waterloo. $725?!! Ouch! | ||
| Kaese |
I'm creeping up on that service myself. I think the front fork oil needs replacing and to do that one needs to take off the forks. You guys have talked me into doing this service myself. I think I saw over $1100 posted for the 10K service out here in the Bay Area. Labor rates are as high as $89/hr. Will be saving some cash for some more race parts. edited by kaese on January 26, 2004 | ||
| Oconnor |
Kaese- dudley perkins says 390 on their website. Am I missing something? http://www.dpchd.com/vip_plan.asp | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
dude...for the 10K the biggest deal is R&R the plugs...and new drain plugs for the trans and oil...$750 for that? The only thing I couldn't do would be the reset on the TPS...btw has anyone noticed that is like a regular thing? WTF? the TPS on cars don't need reseting that often... | ||
| Bykergeek |
Can you imagine if autos had so-called "required" maintenance intervals? Most cars only have a TPS calibration when their TPS is replaced. Would the shock absorbers or struts on your car be due for replacement at 10k miles? Inspect Fork Oil? Absolutely. Replace? Only if indicated. A car owner would balk, even outright laugh at a supposedly required 10k service that cost $700. That is plain nuts. Can you imagine car tires that were worn out after 4000 miles? I applaud preventative maintanence and am meticulous about how I maintain my Buell but one of the biggest reasons I bought this bike is so that I could do 95% (or more) of the req. mainenance. | ||
| Mikej |
Oconner, Thanks for that link, printed it out to be put into the service manual. Azfirebolt, I'm not sure what the XB's recommend/require for a 10k service, but on the 'tubers the book calls for removing and relubing/inspecting the front forks and steering head bearings, removing the swingarm and relubing/inspecting the swingarm bearings. Pulling the forks and swingarm and all the residual attachments takes time. A local shop quoted me the $750+/- price, which was after a discount. Even if it takes me 20 hours labor to do it on my own that's still $37.50/hr I'm paying myself not counting parts and grease. Plus I'll be taking the time to ensure I put it all back together right. Plus if I need any new tools that $750 savings pays for a lot of tools. One of the major reasons I don't like the f.i. stuff is the unbilical cord to the dealershit for resetting the system. I like my independent options, I don't like being forced to go to the dealership, make an appointment, come back and drop the bike off for the appointment, come back and pick up the bike after the appointment, and so on and so forth. But things are changing, in many cases for the better. But $750, or $725.88, is still a lot of cost for "routine" maintenance. Think of it this way, the people who don't work on their own bikes and put on a fair amount of miles on their bikes, they have to set aside $100-$300 per month just to pay for service, tires, lubes, resets, and that doesn't include the gas. All of a sudden that $60 for the service manual and the added cost for the parts manual (if XB's manuals are setup like the 'tubers), that doesn't seem so costly anymore if the first time you really use it it saves you hundreds of dollars. YMMV. | ||
| Buckinfubba |
$725 seems a lil extreme to me. heck if you want do most of it yourself or all of it. if you don't feel comfortable with doing the fork oil take it in for that. as far as the tps thingy. you can't compare these to a car....there is much more vibration in our motors it does shake. like I always say. if your bike is running fine don't worry about it. It is routine maintance. Buy the manual! it is listed as 7.7hrs in the time code book plus parts. so I guess if labor was high thats where they got there price. I am not defending anything just putting up facts. I'd say do what you can by yourself and save some money. But if you don't know how to do it then don't. | ||
| Smadd |
Buy the manual... dig in. I really can't speak for the XBs, as I have an S3... but the fork and steering bearing work is more grunt work than anything. You just have to get that front end suspended and start unbolting everything that's in the way of removing the tubes from the tree. I've had my forks out a couple of times, and have done the bearings using a home made stand, and I had no special tools. I don't recall it ever taking more than an afternoon. And if you're doing it in the comfort of your own garage... take your time... so what if you do it in a day or two. $725! Wow! | ||
| Mikej |
"And if you're doing it in the comfort of your own garage... " Lately my garage has varied between -10°F to +25°F, snowy footprints on the floor remain unmelted until swept away. Comfort? Hah! Until I can see the grass in the yard I'll be working on bicycles in the basement instead. Anyway, back to the discussion..... | ||
| Kaese |
Oconnor, I will walk up and check their posted stuff, if it stops raining. May be my brain cells deteriorating. I did't know D-P had a website. | ||
| Xb9rski |
For my 10k I had them change the fork oil and reset the TPS and that ran me about $190.00 for those two things, The rest I did myself. Don't let them try and BS you about the Ignition timing either. | ||
| Kaese |
Oconner, just got back from Dudley and their fee board displays a $750 charge for the 10K service on a Buell. That site you linked is touting the VIP Service Contract. Looks as if it is a few years old. | ||
| Bykergeek |
Bubba, you're absolutely right and I admire and respect the guys who wrench for a livin. The only thing I object to is the required service intervals and any tying of these service visits to an authorized shop to the manufacturer's warranty. For my own benefit, I keep all receipts and all my service history is detailed in a spreadsheet. And, I loved my Buell. It takes a lickin and keeps on tickin. | ||
| Buckinfubba |
bykergeek what your doing will keep you covered. You are doing it right. I have no objections to it. Thats what I tell folks that say they are gonna do their own maintance.keep reciepts and records. but if you don't know how to do it please don't. | ||
| Marcus_mcbain |
In regards to the forks, I doubt your local dealer would have stripped the forks down to the valves to clean/inspect. More than likely the would just do a oil change. The forks on the Buell quite honestly are a pain to work on for the "do it yourselfer". If anyone says different, then I wouldn't trust them to flush the toilet properly either. IF you decide to service your forks, keep this in mind. 1) You need a spring compressor to properly remove/install the forks springs. (FWIW: I doubt your dealership has this either) 2) You will destroy the outer bushings taking the fork legs apart. Replace them. Every time you take these apart, you will need new outer bushings. 3) The fork needs to be complete disassembled. The cartridge is made of steel rather than aluminum and this promotes sludge. Good Luck. You can look at the tech articles on my site at www.roadracinghelp.com to see the disassembly methods I am talking about. Marcus | ||
| Buckinfubba |
thanks marcus most dealerships do have the compressor but they just can't find it.  but evrything else you said is true and they aren't easy to work on if you don't have the tools. But I didn't want to say it because being a dealer it sounds like I am towing the company line. which I don't do which is obvious but just the same. folks might believe an independent guy such as yourself. thanks | ||
| Marcus_mcbain |
No problem. The thing that is tough is the Outer bushings are an Odd size (You can cross reference them with a Aprilia RS250), and that makes it hard to just go "pick-up" bushings. Showa has an upper fork design that puts a virtual "lip" on the fork that rips the teflon off the bushing. Marcus | ||
| Bykergeek |
But does a bike which is not ridden hard really need a fork cartridge rebuild and fork oil change after 10k miles? Too bad they can't count fork travel inches since forks with a lot of hiway miles have had a pretty easy life at 10000 miles. | ||
| Marcus_mcbain |
Well, it is all relative. I would think that someone who took it "easy" would be more inclined to buy an Electra Glide than a Buell. Seriously, Fork Oil is a petroleum based product. The shims that ride on the cartridge piston create a unique heat/wear situation. You have teflon covered brass bushings that the forks rely on to slide up and down. The teflon is paper thin. Fork oil breaks down quicker than engine oil and yet is changed rarely if ever. You then get sludge deposits by the low speed circuit and build-up on he shims and pistons. If you truly do not care about having optimal performance from the front suspension, then don't tear down the fork, just change the oil and it will be contaminated by dirt that is already in there. Marcus | ||
| Hardluckxb |
I pray I can make it to Texas for my 10,000 mile service. I would love for Marcus to bless my next XB with his magic. | ||
| Hippo888 |
The manual only calls for fork oil replacement at 10,000 miles. The manual does not say that the forks need to be rebuilt. Looks like a PITA. Why aren't there fork-tube-drain-screws on bikes anymore? Anyone notice any improvement in handling after an oil change? This is something I'd seriously consider stretching out the maintenance interval for. | ||
| Hardluckxb |
Sounds like a good time to rebuild the front and upgrade the rear to me! | ||
| Marcus_mcbain |
A good tuner will be able to make remarkable differences. If you go to the listed thread, Brad Kelly dropped about 4 seconds off his lap times with a full service (125.00 including fork seals). I use only the highest quality oil - Silkolene Pro/Race (not street/road). Combined with the other work I do, it will make a huge difference. Remember, your bike came from the factory with the realization that you would be hauling beer and potato chips as much as anything else. http://www.frenzy.com/UBB/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002577 This is what is done during a "full service": http://www.roadracinghelp.com/RPS-Product%20Offerings/Service/Service-List.htm http://www.roadracinghelp.com/TechArticle/December/December-Tech.htm (NOTE: On a service, I do not completely disassemble the valves, but rather remove from the cartridge and clean with contact cleaner). Marcus edited by Marcus McBain on January 29, 2004 | ||
| Kaese |
Marcus, I am one of the potato chip and beer haulers with mostly freeway miles. If I showed up on a scheduled day with my bike around the 1st week in May, would you be able to take care of me? Ball park $$? Most importantly, could I watch? edited by kaese on January 30, 2004 |
