Hello,
I have few things going on with my 2004 ST (almost 60k km) and some stuff I postponed for a while, so I want to somewhat create a plan and order all parts I need. Plus here in Edmonton summer is nice when it falls on the weekend , so I want to squeeze the most out of good weather and have a dream of riding until November.
I always changed oil in fall before putting ST in the garage. I kind of think it is not the best idea (I guess there is a reason why on cars they change it every 8k or 3 months whichever comes first), but I do not want to deal with it in spring simply because up until now I changed oil only at the dealership. However, after countless times of removing and assembling back tapperware, getting to know bike better and getting sick of $$$ bills and honestly so-so service (missing clips, inability to give honest advise, constant push to "sell to me more than I need" ("you have to change brake pads immediately"... I did it on my own and found that they were almost new on front and would probably run for a whole season on the back) from the local "stealer" I decided to do next maintenance myself.
Is there any pros/cons on doing oil change in fall/spring?
Plus I want to:
Plus I have strange issue with idle. When driving in the morning (sometimes after work) and coolant temperature showing 3 bars on the dashboard idle RPM drops to 600-700 and bike can even stall if you not operate throttle cautiously (so I have to revv up like HD guys do to keep it going). Issue persists for few minutes, but then disappear (idle RPM goes back to 1k).
I would like an advise on what else to do while performing service listed above (please do not suggest to buy new bike instead - I kind of like doing car/bike maintenance/improvement on my own and ST gives me great opportunity ).
How important and "mandatory" is valve clearance check-up? I did it three years ago @ dealership.
I presume I'll have to check clutch while dealing with mechanical seal - will it make sense to pre-order new one at my mileage or there is a good chance it will still be good (I tried to do wheelle few times long time ago but gave up ). Will it make sense to replace all coolant hoses or not? Just in case
Also wiser part of me says "do not touch working thing". What do you think? Will it be OK to postpone everything but oil change? Sounds like quite a few owners experienced coolant leak. I have exhaust pipes wrapped in some hi temp-resistant material (previous owner did it to prevent bike heating) - maybe smell is so noticeable because coolant drops on this fabric?
How important is rear wheel maintenance (re-applying moly)? I do not think so it was ever done for my bike
Thank you!
Andrei
I have few things going on with my 2004 ST (almost 60k km) and some stuff I postponed for a while, so I want to somewhat create a plan and order all parts I need. Plus here in Edmonton summer is nice when it falls on the weekend , so I want to squeeze the most out of good weather and have a dream of riding until November.
I always changed oil in fall before putting ST in the garage. I kind of think it is not the best idea (I guess there is a reason why on cars they change it every 8k or 3 months whichever comes first), but I do not want to deal with it in spring simply because up until now I changed oil only at the dealership. However, after countless times of removing and assembling back tapperware, getting to know bike better and getting sick of $$$ bills and honestly so-so service (missing clips, inability to give honest advise, constant push to "sell to me more than I need" ("you have to change brake pads immediately"... I did it on my own and found that they were almost new on front and would probably run for a whole season on the back) from the local "stealer" I decided to do next maintenance myself.
Is there any pros/cons on doing oil change in fall/spring?
Plus I want to:
- Change oil/filter and air filter
- Change breaking fluid
- Replace mechanical seal (on the regular basis I smell coolant, but there are no "puddles" under the bike and I triple check all hoses - no leaks. I will check again, but something tells me that it is that mechanical seal issue) and this one
- Install 12v/USB charger (I have Y-harness installed already) and install brake lights flasher. Plus figure out why my stop/perimeter LED bulbs not working in dual mode.
- Clean rear splines and apply Moly and this one
Plus I have strange issue with idle. When driving in the morning (sometimes after work) and coolant temperature showing 3 bars on the dashboard idle RPM drops to 600-700 and bike can even stall if you not operate throttle cautiously (so I have to revv up like HD guys do to keep it going). Issue persists for few minutes, but then disappear (idle RPM goes back to 1k).
I would like an advise on what else to do while performing service listed above (please do not suggest to buy new bike instead - I kind of like doing car/bike maintenance/improvement on my own and ST gives me great opportunity ).
How important and "mandatory" is valve clearance check-up? I did it three years ago @ dealership.
I presume I'll have to check clutch while dealing with mechanical seal - will it make sense to pre-order new one at my mileage or there is a good chance it will still be good (I tried to do wheelle few times long time ago but gave up ). Will it make sense to replace all coolant hoses or not? Just in case
Also wiser part of me says "do not touch working thing". What do you think? Will it be OK to postpone everything but oil change? Sounds like quite a few owners experienced coolant leak. I have exhaust pipes wrapped in some hi temp-resistant material (previous owner did it to prevent bike heating) - maybe smell is so noticeable because coolant drops on this fabric?
How important is rear wheel maintenance (re-applying moly)? I do not think so it was ever done for my bike
Thank you!
Andrei