4 maintenance questions

[tkd]

Ok, 2 Dealers within reasonable driving distance. Both have the same consensus that it will be $300 with parts to do the "7500 mile services". The second dealer I talked to brought up the fact that the swingarm needs to be checked and lubed.

If I do it myself:

Motorcycle Jack: $100 for a cheap one
Torque Wrench: $50
Time estimated 4hours. For me.....3 days

Replacement of broken parts because Murphy watches over me.....unknown. Cost of having someone haul the bike to the dealership to fix my mistakes....unthinkable.

To be honest, I've read the guides and I'd only screw it up.

I'm thinking it's easier to to sell the bike every 7500 miles

Now I'm really bummed *sigh*. Y'all have got me so freaked on the maintenance I'm parking the bike till I have the cash to get it done.

[formikec]

All I can say is one only learns by trying and failing. I didn't get any help or training in how to rebuild car engines or transmissions, but I can do it. Can set up rear-ends as well. Trial and error.

I mean, if you really don't like mechanical stuff, and don't want to learn about your bike, then take it to the dealer and hope for the best. If you do, make the time, take the cash, and get-r-done. Even if you mess it up, and it takes you 3 days, is it not worth the knowledge? Later, when you hear that "noise" coming from that area of your bike, you'll actually know "what" is back there, and have a pretty good idea what it is.

Again, my $.02.

[cactusjack]

My dealer hasn't yet given me a reason to not trust them. That said, I do my best to double check their work. I am capable of servicing my own bike, but they gave me a good deal on a 3 year-prepaid service contract, so all my scheduled maintenance is covered. I will probably be going in for an oil change next week at 15,000 and I am going to ask them to service the swingarm.

[tkd]

formikec,

You make a good point, but my biggest problem is that IF something were wrong, I wouldn't have the knowledge to recognize it. More than likely, I would end up putting it back together with the problem unfixed which doesn't do a lot of good.

I guess I'll figure it how to handle it sooner or later.

Thanks to all

In the old days we used to say, "If ya wanna ride, ya gotta wrench."

Of course we were poor. If you had money you could hire a wrench, and if you're really well-to-do, you could hire a great wrench. We had to do it ourselves or do without. This is a big reason why motorcycle clubs exist. It's tough to find a good mechanic and expensive to pay him, and guys would band together to help each other keep things running. Mac may not always type real fine, but he is a thorough and meticulous mechanic, and he's done you a great honor by offering to fix your bike. Of course you'd have to ride it to New Hampshire, and I'm sure you can find somebody closer.

That being said, if you don't have the cofidence to tackle this kind of work personally (and it seems that you don't) find a good mechanic to take it to. It doesn't have to be a Kawasaki dealer. It just has to be a guy that knows machinery well and can read the manual and has some decent tools.

You're life rides on this machine and if you can't maintain it you simply must find someone who can. That is the only real option.

[cactusjack]

Not having the ability or resources to wrench on your own ride is no disgrace. Personally, I've been tinkering with engines since I was 11 or 12, starting with minibikes and go-karts to muscle cars, fighter planes, boats - you name it. I have the tools and I have pretty good skills. Years ago, I couldn't afford to pay somebody to maintain my stuff. Now I can afford it, and still do most of my own maintenance because I enjoy it. Not everybody has the same experience and that's no big deal.

It doesn't matter who works on your bike, what does matter is that it's done right. Try and find a decent guy in your area that you can trust. They're out there, you just have to look for them. The lousy mechanics are easy to find. I wonder why that is??

[tkd]

Thank you all for the help. I would love nothing better than to ride to New Hampshire and let a fellow Kawanow member help me with the bike (of course I would have to find a way to repay him for my own piece of mind). I probably could do the service if I were to put my mind to it. What I don't have is patience. That plus I'd probably knock the bike off the jack or something.

Maybe I will nut it up and try it.

[macmac]

I guess I am like Jack. I came from the school of hard knocks, and money runs through my fingers like water, and as of late fees for burro cats seem to take no sooner than I get it, as if money was on radar alert.

If I want something I make it, if something breaks i fix it.

The 2 seals are 12 bux and a little change. A tube of grease will last a lot longer than the 1 bike will if thats all you use it for.

The rest is BS labor.

The fee would cover the lift and the torque wrench. I can beat that 4 hours easy, so the dealer must be thinking of a experiment to see if they have a tech that can un-do bolts, and put them back, with out screwwing up.

My problem is so far as I can tell these days no one give a rats A$$ about what they do.

I took off more than I needed to but wanted to get a clear shot, not that it is..

i dunno where in the world you are, but your bike don't weigh as much as my tools... and the bike has wheels. I don't see any snow, do you?

[macmac]

There are more pics here: http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll275/Mac_Muz/Nomad/

The hardest part was getting a 195/60/R16 lifted by myself.

Note the brake line is still run thru the wire loops, which I chose not to cut, and I didn't want to break the banjo bolt connection at this time. So I did what I needed to on that big barn bucket. By the book and then some what better than the book.

Last, I am not knocking you in anyway, if you or anyone thinks so. But I am knocking on the dealers who take your money and give you nothing in return for it.

The techs are low paid, and most seem to know nothing. The dealers rake 'us' and I dam well don't like to pay for crap service and then find what ever they did was done wrong and to top it off they broke more stuff.

[formikec]

I'm wondering, since this is an '07 we're talking about, wouldn't tkd be able to go on ebay and buy the GTP extended Kawa warranty/service deal for a couple hundred? Would that cover his troubles with a dealer? Anyone know?

I can't say, since my used purchase was an '02, but if I had an '07 and could get the extended warranty, and it would help with these routine things...or unexpected things...for the price you can buy it out of MO on ebay, I would do it.

Of course, you'd still have to find a good dealer to service it...if there is such a thing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Genui...spagenameZWDVW
Unlike many warranties, this is a 48 month* extension that starts AFTER your standard warranty has ended.
It's a 100% parts and labor coverage with NO deductable and NO mileage restrictions.* See http://www.kawasaki.com//HelpCenter/help_goodtimes.aspx for details

[formikec]

Here's another in CO:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Kawas...spagenameZWDVW

At least if they mess it up, you aren't paying for it, and paying for it again...

[tkd]

Ok,

I feel bad that this thread has gone on this long. I'm just going buy a jack and go for it. I figure it will go one of 3 ways.

1. I'll give it my best shot, cuss it, get frustrated, put a wrench or 2 through the wall, but I will finish it.

2. I'll get it apart and never figure out how to get it back together--which means there might be some great deals on Ebay for Nomad parts

3. The bike will fall, totalling it, taking me to intesive care where I will spend way too much time.

The only thing guaranteed is that the wife will tell me I'm an idiot for trying.

anyone recommend a good jack? Torin at Northern Tool seems to be well built ramewise but it is still a bottle jack.

[chspence]

Just had new Rear Tire replaced at 18,300 Klms/11,350 Miles.Went with Bridgestone G722G (Original equipment). Also had dealer check and lube Swingarm, he advised was Good from factory. I wanted to know at the first opportunity. Dealer suggests to do every 2nd/3rd Tire change from now on. Nothing in manual about driveshaft maintenance ??
2007 Nomad

[macmac]

So far as I know warranties don't cover labor for normal service. The swing arm is a normal service item, and the 2 seals are normal wear and tear.

Now if the drive shaft were found to be defective these seals would be part of the job, along with exhaust gaskets if they apply.

That means the stock exhaust is in the way while say V&H baggers are not. I didn't have to remove my exhaust but it makes the work easier.

I had fried the chrome acorn nuts at the head pipe to engine mountings as it was, and wanted to paint the off white and rusting studds hi temp flat black, and add polished stainless acorns.

[macmac]

Originally Posted by chris

Just had new Rear Tire replaced at 18,300 Klms/11,350 Miles.Went with Bridgestone G722G (Original equipment). Also had dealer check and lube Swingarm, he advised was Good from factory. I wanted to know at the first opportunity. Dealer suggests to do every 2nd/3rd Tire change from now on. Nothing in manual about driveshaft maintenance ??
2007 Nomad

I'ld like to know how the dealer checked this?

The swing arm service is also cleaning and inspecting the drive shaft, replacing the grease on the ends of the shaft.

There is no way to grease the J joint unfortunately, but it should be inspected for stiffness one one plane of travel, which does come under warrenty, if it is.

With removing the swing arm there is no way to check the drive shaft, and or the swing arb bearings.

The best one could do would be pull the long swingarm bolt, and inspect that, but the inner races are the other side of the outter spacers and there is a inner center spacer, so any grease that might be on the bolt, does not indicate if there is any grease on the bearings.

The spacers look like short thick wall pipe. The bolt goes thru the center hole. There are no drillings, flutes or any means for grease to go from the center out, nor any way for grease to go from the outside in.

To me this is just another dealer that doesn't know how to check this. I sure would like to hear the asnwer from the dealer on this?

I probably know it. He will BS you, just like they did to me. The service manager began to make up non-existant parts in his head.

Once more this is no reflection on you personally. I just wish the dealers would get the idea there is a service and timed close to a rear tire change , and get with the friggin program.

When a new tire goes on, you are better than 1/2 way to the rest of this. it isn't even hard to do, and one man can do it all in a short time. With the right tools the tire can be done and all ready to be installed again fast.

Anther view