Servicing schedule/intervals

[OoFafoO]

Hi All,
I've searched but can't find anything that answers my question so thought I would post here.
Having ridden and liked the look of the Super Meteor, I went to my local dealer in Watford to ask about the cost and maintenance etc. I was flabbergasted when he told me that the service intervals are every 6 months starting at 300 miles. The costs went something like this. 1st service £350 2nd £100, 3rd £350, 4th £100 and onward recurring.
Is this right?
Apart from the cost at such short intervals, I'd be forever at the dealership taking time out of work and so on rather than riding the thing.
How do you guys get on with this, do you follow it or do your own thing after a period and the bike looks like it might not have any warranty issues?
Thanks in advance for any input.
Steve

 

[smilespergallon]

The odd number services are more expensive due to the valve adjustment, and many times will require leaving the bike overnight since the oil should be changed hot and the valves adjusted cold.

The even number services are mostly oil/filter change and inspections.

What you feel comfortable doing yourself and how much you spend on filters and fluids, I leave to the individual to figure out for themselves. There should be some 650 service manuals if you search the forums so that you can see all of what is involved in each process.

 

[wspollack]

Hi All,
I've searched but can't find anything that answers my question so thought I would post here.
Having ridden and liked the look of the Super Meteor, I went to my local dealer in Watford to ask about the cost and maintenance etc. I was flabbergasted when he told me that the service intervals are every 6 months starting at 300 miles. The costs went something like this. 1st service £350 2nd £100, 3rd £350, 4th £100 and onward recurring.
Is this right?
Apart from the cost at such short intervals, I'd be forever at the dealership taking time out of work and so on rather than riding the thing.
How do you guys get on with this, do you follow it or do your own thing after a period and the bike looks like it might not have any warranty issues?
Thanks in advance for any input.
Steve

I have a Meteor 350, not a 650, but the intervals are largely the same. But note that there's a lot of "Inspect" items, as opposed to, say, "Replace" or "Change."

Also, doing all of that on RE's "whichever is earlier" basis seems silly. I mean, suppose I don't ride a bike at all for six months (which is very nearly the case, here across the pond, in many states), then it's time to check the oil, filter, etc., when those six months are up?

Incidentally, in case you're not aware of this: you can get the owner's manual, free, from RE, at https://www.royalenfield.com/in/en/support/owners-manual/ (and then fill in some contact info). I just did that for the 650, and the periodic maintenance chart starts on page 101. I already had my 350 owner's manual as a PDF. On both the smaller and larger Meteors -- and probably on most of RE's offerings -- the real work seems to be recommended at 10,000-kilometer (6,000-mile) intervals.

 

[OoFafoO]

Thank you very much guys, great information.
That's a heck of a lot of valve adjustments!! I could probably do those myself as with the changing oil and filters etc. I just worry about the warranty. I don't suppose there have been many occasions when the warranty has been called upon?

 

[Overdrive]

Warranty issues seem to largely depend on the nature of the fault and the relationship you have with the dealer, almost irrespective of whether the bike’s been dealer or self serviced (with proof and using RE genuine parts)
Personally I’d get the initial service done by the dealer and then go the diy route.

 

[Woodstock]

I echo Overdrive's thoughts. And add that it depends how much you can cram into your riding season. My oil changes are once a year on mileage or time basis. And then I only have a year left on the warranty so that consideration will soon fall away. I believe the service intervals are too low but that is an opinion. I do know they have not been as onerous as I expected.

 

[chippychip65]

Warranty issues seem to largely depend on the nature of the fault and the relationship you have with the dealer, almost irrespective of whether the bike’s been dealer or self serviced (with proof and using RE genuine parts)
Personally I’d get the initial service done by the dealer and then go the diy route.

I've been shocked at the quotes given for a 3000 mile service. My local dealer, which i bought the meteor 350, insists that a valve check should be done at 3000 miles, eve though I had it checked at my last service! another has quoted over £200 for this service, which for a minor one, i think is too high.. I'm thinking of going down the DIY route, as I think the bike isn't going to hold it's value anyhow, so what's the point!??

 

[Ric]

I've been shocked at the quotes given for a 3000 mile service. My local dealer, which i bought the meteor 350, insists that a valve check should be done at 3000 miles, eve though I had it checked at my last service! another has quoted over £200 for this service, which for a minor one, i think is too high.. I'm thinking of going down the DIY route, as I think the bike isn't going to hold it's value anyhow, so what's the point!??

Same as me, I have a complete workshop here at home, just need a valve tool and will be able to do my own valve adjustments, after the first service at the dealer next week.

 

[wspollack]

I've been shocked at the quotes given for a 3000 mile service. My local dealer, which i bought the meteor 350, insists that a valve check should be done at 3000 miles, eve though I had it checked at my last service! another has quoted over £200 for this service, which for a minor one, i think is too high.. I'm thinking of going down the DIY route, as I think the bike isn't going to hold it's value anyhow, so what's the point!??

I'd ask the dealer to explain to you why the valves need checking at 3,000 miles, when the owner's manual says that they should be Inspected & Adjusted every 10,000 km (c. 6,000 miles) after the initial I&A at 500 km (c. 300 miles). That is, why he wants to override what RE says about this, or why he thinks that you're riding in "... [severe] driving condition or if the motorcycle is used in a very dusty environment."

Regarding the cost, it doesn't shock me, given: 1) what I paid for the initial service (USD 351); that he has to pay for increasingly rare techs; and that he has to make money to stay in business. If you want to do the work yourself and feel up to it, I don't know what the laws are in the UK, but in the USA it's fine, and most DIYers make a point of saving receipts for oil and suchlike each change, and take pics while doing at least some parts of the work; armed with that documentation, warranty claims cannot be denied here in the USA.

But the part about going against what's specified in the owner's manual needs explaining, and perhaps you should check with another RE dealer (or independent shop):

 

[smilespergallon]

Shop time is expensive in the developed world, but not where these bikes were developed to run. My advice is to learn to DIY.

When I bought the bike my dealership gave me a 'service plan', which was little more than the cost of oil and filters over 3 years, to do all my servicing for me. They do this expecting you to ride a lot less and/or get rid of the bike earlier so that they make money on the deal. I sometimes wonder if that was the wrong choice and I should have just ordered all my oil and filters with the money so I could do the work myself.

 

[fatal]

To the OP, I'd look for another dealer. For my 2021 650 Interceptor the initial 300 mile service was £76 inc valve check (they only charged for materials used), the first annual service (2400 miles) was £165 but with no valve check., this was at Millenium Motorcycles my supplying dealer in St Helens. OK, I live up north things are usually fairly cheaper than London and the south in general. I'd call a few dealers and compare prices. They can't insist you have a valve check at around 3,000 miles, we all know gaps change with miles not time.
I'm now due to have the second annual service done, but as the bike has only now got 4500 miles on the clock I'll do it myself. I'm not too bothered about the remaining 12 months warranty as I'm likely to only cover another 2k miles as I have the use of other bikes.

 

[Doboy]

I have just bought a new scram and a few years ago i had a new himalayan when they first came out . I will have a different aproach this time to my services, the himalayan cost me a lot in dealer services so this time i have had my first service done at my dealers and that will be my last i intend to do all the services myself and risk the loss of warranty .

 

[chippychip65]

To the OP, I'd look for another dealer. For my 2021 650 Interceptor the initial 300 mile service was £76 inc valve check (they only charged for materials used), the first annual service (2400 miles) was £165 but with no valve check., this was at Millenium Motorcycles my supplying dealer in St Helens. OK, I live up north things are usually fairly cheaper than London and the south in general. I'd call a few dealers and compare prices. They can't insist you have a valve check at around 3,000 miles, we all know gaps change with miles not time.
I'm now due to have the second annual service done, but as the bike has only now got 4500 miles on the clock I'll do it myself. I'm not too bothered about the remaining 12 months warranty as I'm likely to only cover another 2k miles as I have the use of other bikes.

I'm thinking of going down the DIY route after my experience of the dealer, but I'm thinking will it invalidate the warranty? I have two years left of my 3 year warranty, and to be honest, I haven't done many miles ( only 2500 in just over a year!) and I'm sure the bike will lose its value after 3 years, so I won't get back the servicing costs over the 3 years- I'd be lucky to get £1500 in trade in after 3 years! I've downloaded the service manual, and I'm happy to service the bike, but what would I need to prove that the servicing was on par? would keeping recepts of consumables (oil, air filters - although I do have a DNA filter, oil filters etc) be a good start? anything else I need to do?

 

[fatal]

I suppose if you kept receipts and had your own service log that would go someway to show it's been serviced. If something major failed within the first few years and if you've below average miles you may be able to claim under the consumer protection act ( i think it was formerly the sale of goods act). Would it be reasonable for a well looked after machine to suffer a major failure within such a short time and low mileage? However it might be a long drawn out process ( I've never had cause to do it)
Looking at potential problems it's seems fuel pumps and regulator/rectifier issues seem to be the main concern. These can be sourced reasonably cheaply and are fairly easy to replace. Fuel pump £134, reg/rect £104 from Wemoto for example.

 

[Stig57]

I was told by my dealer to just keep a note of mileage plus the service date and any receipts for parts and fluids. DIY servicing with RE filters and fluids within spec will not invalidate your warranty.

This vid from Volcanic Brown may alleviate any nerves regarding warranty on a modified bike.

 

[Overdrive]

If you’re really w

I was told by my dealer to just keep a note of mileage plus the service date and any receipts for parts and fluids. DIY servicing with RE filters and fluids within spec will not invalidate your warranty.

This vid from Volcanic Brown may alleviate any nerves regarding warranty on a modified bike.

If you’re really worried about it then take photos as you go, including the display showing the mileage. They’re also dated, which could be useful .

 

[psychobry]

Thank you very much guys, great information.
That's a heck of a lot of valve adjustments!! I could probably do those myself as with the changing oil and filters etc. I just worry about the warranty. I don't suppose there have been many occasions when the warranty has been called upon?

I live near you and recently got my Meteor from Watford. I’ve had the stupidly priced first service, which I’m comfortable they did fully. I’ll take the mid-year £100 jobbie. Whereas 40 years on bikes leaves me with some acquired capabilities,Ii prefer to take the bike somewhere if I can.
There is a great little place on Sarrat Road nr Croxley, on the way to Ricky, called hybrid motorcycles. It’s not marked and is opposite York House - on some farmland, hidden from the road. It’s run by a couple of chaps who love their bikes, worked for a main dealers but didn’t like the way they operated so set up on their own. They don’t overcharge and know/love working on bikes. You won’t have much kudos with them cos they always have loads of old bikes to work on, last time I was there I saw a lovely old silver and black Triton they were restoring among the ‘newer’ Bandits etc. However, they’ll do a good honest job if you don’t want to do some stuff yourself. I’ll probably be going to them for the next bigger service in a year. They have a stamp so your warranty should certainly stay valid. Google Hybrid Motorcycles for phone and address. Let me know how you get on

 

[fatal]

Something to consider if doing your own service rather than the dealer, is not only keeping the warranty valid, but also the RE roadside rescue. I don't know if the dealer updates it after doing the service work. I have separate roadside cover so not an issue for me.