service advise

nickyH

nickyH

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Hiya!

My bike is now out of warranty, and its due a service. The Yam guys want to charge over £200 for the 12K service. Ouch!
I think its just an oil/air filter change. Seems extortionate. Any reason I can't just do it myself, or is it necessary to use the computerized doodads they have to do the servicing?

Also, anyone have experience with the K&N Air filter over the stock one... is it worth the extra beans?

Thanks guys.

Nicky
 
The oil change on a FZ is as easy as it gets, fifteen minutes tops. I run a BMC filter very much like the K&N. In stock form you won't get much in the way of gains. You can maximize your stock filter by Modding the airbox and removing the metal screen attached to the stock filter and this won't cost you anything.
 
Never take a car or bike in to a dealer and ask for a '10k, 20k, whatever' service. You will get reamed as most of the items are visual checks you can do for free. Instead, look at the owners manual and see what the real items that need to be done. The simpler ones, like an oil change or adjust/lube chain, you can do. The trickier ones, like brake fluid change or coolant change, may be done by the dealer if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself. But have them price those items separately.
 
johnnyontherocks said:
The oil change on a FZ is as easy as it gets, fifteen minutes tops. I run a BMC filter very much like the K&N. In stock form you won't get much in the way of gains. You can maximize your stock filter by Modding the airbox and removing the metal screen attached to the stock filter and this won't cost you anything.
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Brilliant. I figured it would be easy enough. Even a girl like me can change the oil without issues :)

Just looked at the book, and its spark plugs replacement time.. how tricky is it?

Nix
 
nickyH said:
Brilliant. I figured it would be easy enough. Even a girl like me can change the oil without issues :)

Just looked at the book, and its spark plugs replacement time.. how tricky is it?

Nix
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Well I have a GenI, but if you go nice and easy, plug changing is as easy as changing your oil. The trick is to go slow and think ahead. I can change my plugs, with only tools from under the seat, in less than 20 minutes from start to finish. Once you figure out how to position the tool in each cylinder, write it down on paper or take a snapshot so next time you already know. Each cylinder has one good way to insert the socket and thats pretty much the whole ordeal. You'll be fine, just be careful when moving around harnesses and connectors, and if your lifting your gas tank, remember NOT to kink your fuel line when bringing it back down. That's one of the most common things that happens.
 
Gen 2? I havent taken my bike in for any service, most of them are fairly straight forward. Between a manual and the kind folks here it's a piece of cake. Plugs are easy, I don't even remove the radiator, I just undo the bolts and gently push it down out of the way. The tools the bike comes with work great, just do one at a time, make sure they are gapped right. Its a little tight in there, especially if you AIS system is still in place, I removed mine and installed block off plates.
I also run a K&N, but I've modded the airbox and flies, have velocity stacks, and run an aftermarket exhaust. I prefer the K&N to stock, not just for HP but for convenience. You just clean it and oil it, reuse it. If ya need help post up. Somebody here can help fo sho. :)


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Great advice (spelt correctly this time)... thanks guys! Ordered my feeler gauges and spark plugs etc so will probably do it all next weekend.

Love this place :)

Nix
 
Most important thing to have for any maintenance is a manual so you can be aware beforehand what is involved and what to expect. The plug thing may be easy for someone with small hands but I found it necessary to push the radiator as far forward a I could and I also had a hard time getting a couple coils up and off the plugs. It's definitely worth doing yourself and not difficult just takes some time
 
Lonerider59 said:
Most important thing to have for any maintenance is a manual so you can be aware beforehand what is involved and what to expect. The plug thing may be easy for someone with small hands but I found it necessary to push the radiator as far forward a I could and I also had a hard time getting a couple coils up and off the plugs. It's definitely worth doing yourself and not difficult just takes some time
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Thankfully my hands are xs according to Alpinestars so I should be ok, but i'll defo keep you updated. I really should get my hands on a manual, you are quite right...

Fingers xed anyways. Gotta be worth saving £200! That's a new Arai, nearly. My Shoei has over 30,000 miles on it and definitely needs replacing!

Nic
 
i actully work in a yamaha dealership to change the plugs its easyer if you take the radiator off and that gives you more room to get the plugs out but when you refit the rad make sure the wires from the loom dont get cought in the fan
 
Nicky, I am a new Gen 2 2008 FZ1 owner and I just did some maintenance things that were overdue....(I still have Yamaha Extended warranty for 2 years). I changed the oil and filter which was very easy and continued using Mobil 1 4T 10w40 as had the previous owner. I also changed the air filter which was the original and was very dirty after 16,000 miles which doesn't surprise me. I did my own research on the filters debating whether to order K&N or use the OEM filter again. Since none of the local dealers stocked either...I had to order one anyway. I opted to use the OEM filter which is a paper element because the OEM paper element will stop much smaller particles...dust etc than the re-usable cotton/oil coated filters (which cost more than twice as much as the OEM). I know the K&N type reuseabl filters are popular but I also figure that Yamaha engineers are smarter than me and if they put in a paper element there had to be a reason. I read an article stating that throttle bodies are susceptible to fine dirt and the writer stated that as the reason the OEM paper element was best. I found one on Ebay for under $30.

I also changed the plugs which had 16,000 miles and looked not bad but I wasn't going to risk a plug going bad and maybe causing damage to the engine. I could not change them without removing the radiator completely because there was simply no room to get my hands in there to get at 2,3, and 4 plugs (plug one was easily accessible). So since the coolant had never been changed and needed to be flushed and changed anyway...it made sense to remove the radiator which was actually easy to do. (I removed the two fans first and let them hang off the side...then removed the whole radiator). I also changed the old brake fluid out with fresh fluid...that was also easy to do. I adjusted chain tension then cleaned the chain thoroughly with Kerosene (which we can buy at the hardware store here for $10/gallon) then lubricated it with a leading brand "X" ring chain lube. With all this done...now I can ride with confidence the bike will be reliable and perform well.

Anyway...good luck and let us know how you do or if you have any problems. There is a lot of knowledge on this Forum and many are happy to help.
 
About spark plugs in the Gen 2. Manual says to replace at 8,000mi. Previous bike was a 2003 Honda CBR 954, changed the plugs at 35K when I adjusted the valves and the plugs still looked ok. Is there a replacement plug for the FZ1 that has more longevity?

Jim R
 
jimedreg said:
About spark plugs in the Gen 2. Manual says to replace at 8,000mi. Previous bike was a 2003 Honda CBR 954, changed the plugs at 35K when I adjusted the valves and the plugs still looked ok. Is there a replacement plug for the FZ1 that has more longevity?

Jim R
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Yes, the Iridium plugs should last a bit longer. Exactly how much I don't know. In automotive applications they typically have a 100k mile service interval, but the FZ1 revs a lot higher. Still I'd say they should be good for 20-30k miles.
 
Spark plugs can be a real bugger to troubleshoot some times. As they age, deposits accumulate, seals start to deteriorate, and even the ceramic insulators start to get dirty and all of these factors can cause them to missfire under high load and high RPM, but run perfectly under a low load, lower RPM condition. You might not experience a problem until you hit near a redline situation and notice a little bit of misfirng. Some people go for the more expensive iridium plugs, because they may fire a little hotter than the standard plug but I've used both and not noticed anything worth paying three times what a standard NGK costs. If the electrical system is in good working order the standard plugs should work just fine at least for the recommended 8000 miles. I left mine in for 12,000 miles and I was able to run it WOT to 12,000 RPM with no misfiring or other problems. As for the replacement proceedure, it is a hellofalot easier if you get the radiator out of the way and as already mentioned, it's a great time to change the antifreeze so you get to kill two birds with one stone.
 
Lonerider59 said:
Spark plugs can be a real bugger to troubleshoot some times. As they age, deposits accumulate, seals start to deteriorate, and even the ceramic insulators start to get dirty and all of these factors can cause them to missfire under high load and high RPM, but run perfectly under a low load, lower RPM condition. You might not experience a problem until you hit near a redline situation and notice a little bit of misfirng. Some people go for the more expensive iridium plugs, because they may fire a little hotter than the standard plug but I've used both and not noticed anything worth paying three times what a standard NGK costs. If the electrical system is in good working order the standard plugs should work just fine at least for the recommended 8000 miles. I left mine in for 12,000 miles and I was able to run it WOT to 12,000 RPM with no misfiring or other problems. As for the replacement proceedure, it is a hellofalot easier if you get the radiator out of the way and as already mentioned, it's a great time to change the antifreeze so you get to kill two birds with one stone.
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I don't necessarily think that the main appeal of the Iridium plugs is that they fire hotter. Copper is still the best conductor so I think regular plugs actually beat it. Iridium's main advantage is that it's very wear resistant so the electrode will last longer. Also since the electrode is considerably thinner when compared to a regular copper plug you may get slightly better flame propagation (but this is debatable). If you don't mind changing your plugs every 8-10k miles then by all means stick to the cheaper copper plugs. If you want to extend the service interval then use the Iridium ones.

By the way my bike currently has 10k miles on the original plugs and it's still running great all the way to redline. I did recently pick up a set of Iridium plugs on eBay for less than the cost of the copper ones so it was a deal I couldn't pass up. They'll get installed in the Spring ;)
 
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