When a bike needs a service is written in its service book, but often the bike shows you itself on the road. Below are both, along with what you can check yourself.
Kilometres and months
The intervals are given in kilometres and in months, and whichever comes up first is the one that counts. That’s why a bike that only goes out at weekends still needs its oil changed, even if it hasn’t done many kilometres. Oil ages even while the bike is standing.
If you bought the bike second-hand and don’t know when it was last serviced, have a general service done now and count from there.
On the road
Often the bike shows you before it reaches the mileage: the engine sounds different, with a metallic noise or an idle that hunts up and down. It takes two or three goes on the starter on cold mornings, or it hesitates when you open the throttle. The brake lever has gone soft. Where you park, you find a patch of oil, or you can smell something burning.
If it’s doing any of these, come by and let us look at it.
What you can check yourself
These take a few minutes, with the bike upright on level ground:
- Oil: in the sight glass or on the dipstick, the level should sit between the two lines.
- Tyre pressures: with the tyres cold, at the figure in the service book or on the bike’s sticker.
- Lights and horn: a quick test before you set off.
- Chain: it should be lubed and not hanging slack.
- Brake fluid: the level in the master cylinder reservoir should be inside the marks.
Whatever you find, jot it down and tell us when you come in. If you can’t remember when it was last serviced, book an appointment here or drop in at 63 Grammou Avenue.