just hit 600 miles and wondering if i really need to bring bike to dealer for service?what do they do beside tighten chain and oil change for 200 bucks?do you void warrenty if you don't bring it in for first service?

 

Good question, It can come back to bite you on the bum if you don't have your bike serviced at the recommended service intervals. Lets say you ignore it, and something happens to go wrong with the bike, then they have you by the short & curlies. As for being a rip off?, I always suspect so, but isn't the 1st service a freebie?, from memory mine was, only charged for the oil. It's a good idea to change the oil on time with the 1st & 2nd service, there is a lot more metal suspended in the oil from running the bike in. Tighten the chain!, in your dreams

 

they would have to prove that the broken part is due to the fact that you didn't do first service with them or others.
it's just visual inspection of fluids, check torque specs (most rarely do this), clean/lube chain, oil/filter, apply lubricants where need be and adjust throttle, clutch, etc. within manual spec (which means mess up your settings mang).

do it yourself, keep your receipts and document what work you did and there will not be any issues as long as you don't put the wrong oil weight in, etc.

 

It should actually say in your warranty. Most standard warranties, they have to cover the items they list. But extended warranties can be a different story. Some third party warranties require that the work is done by a professional and you maintain the receipts. I wouldn't be surprised if some dealerships if the dealership tries to sell a non-Honda extended warranty that requires work to be done by them. You really need to check out the fine print.

 

Honda's Warranty? No. Someone Else's? Read the fine print.

If maintenance items are not provided by the manufacture for no cost, doing it yourself will not void any warranty unless Honda proves that your lack of regular maintenance is what caused the failure, as Tahoe has said. is $200 a rip off? well lets look at this from a business perspective.

Going rate for a typical shop is $45 in my area (YMMV)
A BTB Oil change will take half an hour by a trained and familiar technician.
Depending on what kind of 600 mile service check they offer, that could take another half an hour or more.
$20 for the GN4 oil (4 x $5) or $32 for HP4
$15 for the Honda filter
$4 for the Chain Lubricant
$4 for the degreaser
A quick detailing with S100
and throw in $5 for environmental fees.

so, ~$150 to $175 is about what i'd expect to pay. Since you might live in a higher cost of living area, perhaps $200 isn't so bad to have someone else do your maintenance for you.

Personally? I enjoy doing my own work. My time is free to me, but will cost someone else. i know what to do, so i'll do it little by little. oil change here, chain adjustment there, clutch doesn't feel right today, maybe i'll adjust it after work... chain's dirty, maybe i'll clean it... bike's filthy, i'll wash it today maybe... None of it is critical (except the oil change). invest in some tools (you'll need them for other things besides the bike) and i encourage you to attempt the services by yourself. who knows, maybe you'll learn something along the way!

 

Oil disposal can be an issue. I know that Sears (at least around here) will dispose of your oil for you as long as you purchase it there. Also, I'm relatively near a trash dump. They have a receptical there for me to take my used motor oil.

 

also, many popular auto parts store (such as advance auto or Autozone) have a used oil recycling bin that you can use for free. i personally use Advance Auto.

 

I not sure about the rest of California, but up here in Norcal, you can put your used oil with your recycle bin. If you call the waste disposal guys and tell them you have used motor oil, they'll drop off a plastic conatiner and zip lock back for the filter. Just leave it out on trash day and they take it for free.

 

Wow! $150-$175 was a rip off. Mine was only 1 hour labor plus cost of oil change which came to ~$107. My chain was cleaned and lubed at 500 miles like it said in the owners manual so they didn't need to do anything there.

They changed the oil and addressed any concerns I had about the bike. They test rode it to make sure everything was working like it should and that it handled like it should. They should have checked throttle free play, bolt torques, chain tightness, oil change, fluid levels, suspension and handling, engine running and sounding normal, and any of my concens.

You also start a relationship with a Honda dealer and find out if this is the Honda dealer you would use at a later time when warranty work comes up like a stator failure. You can find out if they are jerks to deal with or if they will go out of their way to keep you happy.

If you need to know what the cost is just call in advance and set up a time to bring it in so you don't have to leave it there all day. The dealer I bought my bike from wanted it all day but the one I brought it to allowed me to wait for it for the hour.

 

In many states (believe it is a federal law, but not 100% sure) if they sell oil they have to accept waste oil. Same with battery cores. Just don't be a dick and bring in a bunch of 5 gallon buckets of it or anything.