Next week I am taking the bike in for its first service. If this is a good shop what will they do, what should I look for and what can I ask them? This is my first bike and I want to take very good care of it, can anyone give me advice on this service.

They should confirm the proper amount of play in your cables and adjust everything properly, change your oil and filter, pull and inspect your plug, and most importantly they should check, and if needed....adjust the clearances on your intake and exhaust valves.  There's a laundry list of items like that but the critical items seem to be the valve clearance and, of course, you want to get the break-in oil changed out for some regular motorcycle oil.

I had a very bad experience when I took mine in for the 600 mile. First , they tried to upsell me on synthetic oil for $25 extra. I said no thank, I'll go with regular oil. Then they told me that the $200 or so they quoted over the phone only included a valve "inspection" and that I will have to pay an extra $125 for the adjustment. I asked how they could know that the valve clearances would be out of spec if they had not looked at the bike. They simply said "They're always out of adjustment".  Sensing a ripoff, I left the dealership on my bike and decided to do it myself. It's not that hard.

If your bike is still under warranty, you probably have to let them do it to keep the warranty valid. I hope you have an honest stealership (an oxymoron), but the good news is that if you don't you've got a very reliable bike that is easy for someone with basic wrench skills to work on.

EssForty wrote on 08/20/08 at 18:50:46:


So now I gotta ask, when you checked your valves were they "always out of adjustment"?

During that service, aren't they supposed to pull that plug and torque a bolt beneath it?  If so, I would ask them to seal it up when they put it back in.

Honestly, if you're not handy with a wrench, find a gearhead freind and buy him lunch and a 12 pack. There's just too many horor stories about people getting ripped off at stealerships. I know there's some honest ones, but it's just so rare.
You should be able to go in with a list of what you expect to have done, ask for it to be written up, and be able to examine the list for error; as well as recieve a realistic estimate as to cost before work gets started. HOWEVER, if you're a newbie, they'll smell that on you like a shark smells blood in the water. Oh, they may smile, take your list, and promise you the moon. They might also manage to "adjust" something so that it fails in such a way that it's long after you've left their shop, and you'll never know it was them. Why do you think they're called "stealerships"?
With some basic tools, a Clymers and this forum, there's not much you can't tackle. I did my own 600 mile service. I've checked the valves twice now. Niether time did they require adjustment. I've had the bike for 4 months and have over 3,000 miles on her. If she was going to fail from a "warranty" issue, she'd of likely done it by now. I may be horribly surprised at a later date. Suzuki may not honor their "warranty" because I did the work myself, even though the law plainly states we can; but then, I've never put much faith in "warranties" anyway.

I've checked the valve lash twice on my '02 but haven't needed to adjust it yet. I bought the bike used and never could find out if the 600 mile service was done on it. From the lack of any type of gasket sealer on the engine I am assuming that the 600 mile check wasn't performed. Most dealership mechanics use way too much silicon sealer and it squeezes out in the strangest places. I have checked some of the head bolts and found them torqued up so I've decided to just leave it alone, look for oil leaks and ride. If you use the dealership to perform the 600 mile service Don't leave the shop untill you check the oil and hear the bike run. If you think it doesn't sound right get the service manager and store owner involved right away, be nice but don't take any BS about it.

  I'm sure my valves weren't check but I'm glad they didn't,Motorcycle mechanics listen to motorcycles all day for years they know if the valves are loose, then they would adjust than.

[\quote]
So now I gotta ask, when you checked your valves were they "always out of adjustment"? [/quote]

The intake valves were at 0.005, the exhaust were smack in the middle at 0.004".  So I really did not need to adjust them. Being a perfectionist, and having the thing apart anyway, I decided to dial the intake in at 0.004 as well. Spun the flywheel a few times, checked them again for good measure and they were still in spec.

I did notice something odd however when I was riding it. My right side was sitting higher than my left. I thought maybe I put the seat on wrong and then I realized it was the $325 cash that was in my back pocket and not the stealership cash register    Cha Ching!