Should I have my Kat serviced?

[Eat Dirt]

Hey guys, new member here with a "new" Kat.

I wonder if I should have my 03 Kat 600 serviced or if it's a waste of money. Here's the scoop:
I purchased the bike last summer, when it only had some 5,000km (or about 3,500 of them US miles). The previous owner did not bring it in for servicing, after the break-in period at 1,000km as suggested in the manual. The bike now has 9,500km and is running great.

So the question is, is it really necessary to have the valves checked/adjusted or is this a waste of money? Some say this isn't necessary till I hit 25,000km at least. So I'm a bit hesitant to bring it to a mechanic to have it done if it isn't that important. What else aside from valves is typically checked/done to the bike during these service calls? Has anyone not done this servicing this early and then regreted it later? Just trying to learn from the experts since I'm new to sports bikes.

[The CyberPoet]

Re: Should I have my Kat serviced?

The bike now has 9,500km and is running great.

Were the oil changes done in a timely manner every 3.5k miles?

So the question is, is it really necessary to have the valves checked/adjusted or is this a waste of money? Some say this isn't necessary till I hit 25,000km at least. So I'm a bit hesitant to bring it to a mechanic to have it done if it isn't that important. What else aside from valves is typically checked/done to the bike during these service calls? Has anyone not done this servicing this early and then regreted it later? Just trying to learn from the experts since I'm new to sports bikes.

Do it yourself, save all the $$ and hassles of the dealer.
Here's the maintanence list that's supposed to be done:
98-06 Kat 600 & 750 maintenance schedule

During the routine maint at 600, 7500, 15k services, they are to do:
Oil & filter change
Valve clearance inspection & adjust as necessary
Retorque some 29 different bolts to spec, including brakes, exhaust, etc
Clean, inspect & lube chain
Clean, inspect air filter, replace if necessary
General safety inspection (forks, brakes, alignment, etc)
Spark Plugs/fuel filter changed (7500 & 15k miles)

Since you have an '03, that means it's due for new brake fluid and fork oil as well (based on time rather than distance). That's usually not a part of the standard service.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[bobs]

It's had no service at all in the past 8500km? Haven't you changed the engine oil + filter, cleaned and lubed the chain, changed the fork oil + seals, bled the brakes, or any of those other periodic maintenance tasks outlined in the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual?

Presuming you've been doing all that stuff, why do you supposed the valve lash adjustment should be any different?

[woobie]

The dealer I got mine at doesn't even do the valve adj at 1000kms, unless it running like crap and tapping they do it at 6k. Chances are as long as the oil changes were done she'll be fine if you get it done now.

Your looking at about $300-400 for the valve adj. maybe more or less depending on your dealer. Know too they should want the bike for 2 days drop it off say monday then they let it cool and do the valves on Tuesday.

Also as an 03 it's due for fresh brake fluid and new Fork oil and seals so that will bump up the costs of a dealer visit. The brake fluid is a cheap and easy job, the forks may cost you but that will be a lot of labour I would assume.
I haven't done my fork oil either on my 03 , I'll be building a front stand the next few weeks to get it done before spring.

[Eat Dirt]

Thanks for the heads up on the fork and brake fluids. Did not know these were due. It surprises me it needs a fork oil change this quickly. U guys sure you're not falling for dealership money-grabbing tactics? It would seem that both my forks and brakes are in superb condition and a change isn't warranted. I'm all for keeping things nice and all but I'm against being a sucker to commercialism. Maybe I'm wrong and there is a proven reason why these need to be done but I'm quite surprised it needs to be done this soon.

As for the valve adjustments I found a bike mechanic that knows his s*hit and will do it including an oil change for around 200 to 250 Can$. That's not bad compared to what a shop would charge me.

Btw although the bike is running fine I'm wondering if it's getting as good mileage as it should. In the city I'm only getting around 15 km per litre of gas (without revying it much, typically staying under 6k). Is this accurate for a 600 cc sport bike or could it be a consequence of my bike needing a tune up? As a comparison my old 85 XL600 was getting me some 18km/l (granted it was a lot lighter bike)

[Eat Dirt]

Re: Should I have my Kat serviced?

Were the oil changes done in a timely manner every 3.5k miles?

It is due for an oil change and I came here mainly to get an idea of the process involved. Ended up learning quite a bit on the procedure. Then I thought that perhaps it would be wise to inquire on the valve checking/adjustment as I could just let the mechanic do both these tasks since he charges a very reasonable rate. Especially after reading on the hardship of removing the oil filter I suppose I'm not too crazy about doing the oil change myself if I can let him do it for fairly cheap.

I was told by the previoius owner the bike had an oil change not long before I had acquired it and it looked fairly clean and was topped up nicely, so I tend to believe this to be true. Of course, the bike was also sitting for a few months prior to me taking it over although it would surprise if this was enough to contaminate the oil. Given this I'm not sure if I need to replace the filter, since it is suggested that if it's a Suzuki OEM filter that I can skip replacing it with every couple of changes.

I need to some more reading here to figure out which type of oil to use and all, although I suspect synthetic appears to be norm.

[The CyberPoet]

Thanks for the heads up on the fork and brake fluids. Did not know these were due.

Most of us who answer the questions do our own work. On brake fluids, yes, it's critical, and I flush mine every year due to the high humidity environment I live in (Black_peter outdoes this and does it twice a year -- at $3.50 in fluids, it's cheap peace of mind). Forks similarly need it because they do break down with both humidity getting past the seals, and with repeated use (hey, the oil only lasts so long). Since performance drop on the forks is slow and linear, you may never notice until you feel the before & after.

At four years (that's next year for you based on date of manufacture), there's a much longer list that includes a number of rubber parts -- i.e. all the brake lines, fuel lines, vacuum lines, and sometimes some of the seals. Over time the VOC's evaporate out of the rubber and they become brittle; personally, I'd rather replace them before they fail than find out the hard way (again... I've been riding & maintaining for over 20 years now). It's a good time to upgrade certain things (OEM brake lines being replaced with steel lines), and many parts can be replaced with generic equivilents (most of the fuel lines and all of the vacuum lines can use bulk hose from the auto parts dealer).

PS- on the filter: it's not actually hard to change if you have the stock exhaust headers and the right tools ($6 oil-cap wrench from Suzuki, plus a 3/8" rachet and a 6" 3/8" drive extension). Oil change interval is 3500 miles, but unless you know for sure the previous owner changed both (filter and oil), change both. Oil & oil filters are the lifeblood for an oil-air cooled motorcycle, and it's a penny-wise/pound-foolish place to go cheap. As for oils, you can learn everything you need here: How to understand and choose motorcycle motor oils for your Katana

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[bobs]

It sounds to me as if you're trying to "go cheap" on maintenance, by second-guessing the schedule in the owner's manual. Don't! You'll only cause yourself trouble. The published schedule is an average suggestion for average bikes under average use. Doing maintenance too frequently is good for reliability, longevity, and safety.

After you've maintained bikes for as long as some of the other folks here, then you can begin forming your own schedule based on your own experience. For example, once you know what brake fluid is, what it does, and why it needs to be changed, you'll be qualified to decide how frequently you need to change it. But until then, you really should believe the schedule in the book. It's not just there to drain your wallet!

[The CyberPoet]

But until then, you really should believe the schedule in the book. It's not just there to drain your wallet!

+1, especially since the factory never knows whether you are going to have a dealer or garage do the service or if you'll do it (and if you do it, odds are they make zip or near-zip off you; they don't make the oil you'll use, the brake fluid you'll use, etc -- the profit to Suzuki on an oil-filter is miniscule and even for that there are aftermarket choices available [although I prefer the OEM filter, which is made by Toyo Roki for Suzuki]).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Eat Dirt]

It sounds to me as if you're trying to "go cheap" on maintenance

You're half right, when you have two bikes to maintain and one is a mx bike, you only have so much time to do all the work and naturally I want to do as minimum as possible. Not so much the cost of oils but finding the time to do it all. And since I don't have a money tree, paying a shop to do mandane stuff just isn't an option.

Can you guys that have been here for like, forever point me in the direction of a detailed step-by-step instructions on how to change the fork oil and bleed the brakes? The owners manual is so helpful when it says to bring it to a Suzuki dealership.

[The CyberPoet]

I'll send you the info on the appropriate shop manual via PM... That's the first place I would start for info, plus using the search feature here.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet