Just wondering if any of yall do your own service and if so what do u lube cables with and other than lubing cables and changing oil and filter what else do you do that is essential. I know what the service manual says (downloaded on and looked at it) but I dont know when this bike was last serviced and it has 37k on it. So do valve need adjusting... if they are not making any noticeable noise and bike is running good. Plugs look ok and bike doesnt flood or hesitate once it is warmed up so do carbs get any regular service, etc, etc, etc

 

The clearances are supposed to be checked every 24000kays (16000mls). Its something you can do yourself & relatively straight forward, but you will need to get the shims from the Honda shop & have at least one (of two) opposing thumbs & a bit of mechanical ability.
It rates 3 spanners out of 5 in Haynes manual for difficulty.
To be honest, I get mine done by a good bike shop, the rest I do (or attempt to do) myself, chances are the previous owner had it done, but you never know, its not cheap to get done & if the previous owner was selling it, chances are he may have stalled on the idea of paying for it. On the other hand, if he was a typical Honda nut then he would have had it done regardless.
Carbs are something that need to done regularly to, but if its running well, just worry about oil, filters & lubing & maybe get it all checked out in the next 10000 kays or so.

 

Well, since it's winter now I'd go through all the things that should be taken care of that may or may not have been. If you have a heated garage then flush the coolant, don't just drain it and replace it, on mine it wasn't changed in a long time, so drain, add distilled water, run until warm, cool down and drain, repeat three or four times. The airfilter should be replaced immediately since you don't know how old it is, also you'll have to seal up the airbox for the winter, so you'll be in there anyways. Completely bleed and replace your brake fluid, and if there's any notchyness or your brakes act funny other than sponginess rebuild them before you put fluid back in. Also, get the carbs synchronized, but only AFTER you've done the valves, or it will throw off the synchronization when you do the valves.

I think I got most of it, but your best bet is to talk to the local Honda shop and see what they say, they'll be more than happy to help you as long as you are buying parts and fluids from them.

 

Keep up on oil, filter, lube and coolant for the most part. I've checked the valves on my bike before and never had them out of spec. Unless you start hearing strange sounds or change in performance you probably don't have anything to worry about.

 

I'm big about establishing a baseline. That way I'm working with known variables when something goes wrong. Diagnosing poor running for example can be a pain when I don't know when the carbs were cleaned, the plugs changed, the valve clearance checked or the air filter changed.

Some of the guys here recommend doing everything in the scheduled maintenance up to the bike's mileage when buying a used bike and I have to agree. It kinda resets the clocks to zero and from that point on you know what needs to be done. And when.

 

good point... it is a pain trying to track down issues on a bike that is brand new to you. get a service manual and start double checking things.

 

If Your Mechanically Inclined Get A Haynes Manual And Go Over all The Service Points It Lists. Idk If The Bike Is New To You Or Not? But Check Coolant Make Sure It Isnt A Weak Mixture That Will Freeze If Its Cold Enough Depending On Ur Climate. Lube Cables, Check The Valve Clearance, If Your Storing Put Some Sta-Bil, Check Carb Sync Air Filter, Ive Been Told Also When Storing To Spray The Whole Bike Down With Wd-40 To Help From Corrosion?

 

Never heard the WD-40 thing and would advise against it! Can't be good on your plastics for one.... secondly everything would be a goopy mess when you pull it out in the spring.

 

yeah who ever told you to do the wd-40 thing should be punched in the face.
we arent talking about an old car engine sitting on a shelf in a garage its a "complete functioning motorcycle"

 

+1

Honda polish or some kind of light auto detailer imo.