Motorcycle Problems and Solutions: Optimum Intervals for Routine Motorcycle Maintenance

Optimum Intervals for Routine Motorcycle Maintenance

By Walter F. Kern

Part of a Series, Motorcycle Problems and Solutions

Our Motorcycle Views Forum members often seek solutions to important repair and maintenance problems from the experts on the forum. Many of our best experts are professional motorcycle mechanics or those who have done their own mechanical work and have seasoned practical experience. I've decided to publish a series of motorcycle problems submitted to forums and their solutions. Only the most universal problems will be addressed so most readers will see a problem that may be affecting them. I'll state the problem exactly as posed by a reader and then give a solution based on responses given by our most knowledgeable forum members.

Problem from Pacificador:

That seems like a very long interval to me, and I see others on this forum and elsewhere talking about changing their oil every 2500-3000 miles, even if just as cheap "insurance." That makes sense to me, even though my MOM says otherwise. When I changed the oil today, the old oil was black, and noticeably thicker than the new oil. Is it possible the MOM is simply wrong on this point, or will I do damage of some sort if I change the oil more often? If 8000 is too long to wait, what interval makes sense -- 5000 miles? 3000 miles?

Also are there other types of routine maintenance that should be done more frequently (or differently) than outlined in the MOM? For example, most of the following are supposed to be checked every 4,000 miles, and changed or replaced every 8,000-12,000 miles. What do you all do on these routine maintenance items?: air cleaner, spark plugs, carburetor synchronization, radiator coolant, final drive oil, and brake fluid"

Solution by Hondamototech:

Oil Change Interval: The manufacturers push the envelope on these things to bring down the "cost per mile" of ownership. In some countries this seems to be a very important item as it is here for automobiles. Some Honda MOMs suggest oil changes at 7,500 and FILTER change at 15K! As a matter of fact, when a Honda auto or motorcycle, that is part of their fleet program, comes in for service, the oil filter is only changed every OTHER oil change! Now this may be OK for Honda and the vehicles they own but personally I'm going to change my oil AND filter every 3,000 to 3,500 miles.

Air Filter: I run K and N re-usable air filters and when they get dirty (inspect them every oil change), I clean them with K and N aerosol cleaner and hot water. I dry it with a blow dryer and re-oil it.

Spark Plugs: These things last forever in modern motorcycles. If you are not in the habit of frequently flooding your motorcycle and fouling the plugs, you should be able to get at least 30,000 miles out of a set of spark plugs. If it's a two-stroke, you will be changing them a LOT sooner than that. To be on the safe side (and due to how inexpensive non-platinum plugs are) you could change them at 15,000 miles and not feel the least bit guilty.

Carburetor Synchronization: On a new bike, I would synch the carbs at the first 5,000 miles, then probably every 15,000 after that. (Unless it runs a little flat at idle. I can usually tell when they get a little out of adjustment.)

Coolant: Change every 15,000 miles due to the fact that coolant is cheap insurance to prevent a number of things starting to corrode, like radiator cores, water pump impellers and housing, head gaskets, and causing problems with the T-stat and the thermoswitch for the fans.

Final Drive Oil: Change every other oil change; also cheap insurance.

Brake Fluid: Should be flushed once a year no matter what the mileage. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and it attracts moisture. This moisture turns into acids that eat at the master cylinder bores and the caliper bores. Also cheap insurance.

Now these recommendations may or may not jibe with the manual but these are what I do with my motorcycles. You can choose to do it any way you want but if everyone who owns a car or bike followed my suggestions, I wouldn't have as much work as I do! (Unless I was changing oils, coolant, and brake fluid for folks all day long!)"

If you have a motorcycle repair or maintenance problem that you feel has wide appeal, just post your problem in the Motorcycle Repair Corner of the Motorcycle Views Forum. Only the most universal problems and the best solutions will be considered for inclusion in this series.