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4K mile tune-up and tires?

8K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  theotherbigjoe 
#1 ·
My bike is almost to 4K miles. I did the 500 mile tune-up with the shop cause I was an idiot. And the shop sucks. I found a better dealership. They actually have a pretty good reputation. At 500 miles the first place changed the oil, screwed up like three things and charged me $300. Talked to the service manager at the better shop today and asked what the 4K miles service included. He talked fast, but basically check evap emmission, check spoke tightness, check brake fluid and hoses, etc. Check battery. There was more but it basically boiled down to changing the oil and giving the bike a good looking over. $180. My wife is all for it (she is convinced I am totally mechanically incompetent whereas in actuality I am only about 75% mechanically incompetent). I don't know. I believe they would do what they claim they will do and the price doesn't seem all that bad.

Side question. My rear tire is about gone. Never had a bike with knobbies before. What would be the cons on leaving the front stock tire on and putting a gripster on the back? Does it feel weird? All I've ever dealt with is street tires before. Any and all thoughts and ramblings appreciated.
 
#3 ·
Deal. Start riding. :) :16a: :16a: :16a: :16a: :16a: :16a: :16a: :16a: :16a:
 
#4 ·
Hey Lockjaw,
If your ridin' on the highway a bike isn't a thing to take shortcuts on. If you don't have the skills, don't want to learn them or can't get help from friends who do I would rather pay the money to an expert than risking doing work on a component that could get me and/or someone else hurt.
I've heard you are not supposed to mix tires with differant compounds. I'm on my 2nd scorpian with the same stock front @12.5k miles. I haven't had a problem. I have rode some in the rain. I bought a mefo explorer for the front that I will put on soon and will put the same on the rear when the scorpian wears out. I just wouldn't push it too hard 'till you know how it acts on differant surfaces.
good luck,
Rick
 
#5 ·
Mixing and matching tires to suit your needs is not a problem. I have 30k on my bike and haven't had a matched set of tires on it since the stock rear wore out. Just don't mix a mostly dirt tire like a Dunlop 606 with a mostly street tire like a Kenda 761. Ya could do it if you had to but it ain't gonna handle worth a crap on any surface.
 
#6 ·
When a shop starts saying they are going to check things like spoke tightness it sounds like they are trying to justify the price. They'll change the oil and roll it back out. This has been my experience with every single dealer, auto and motorcycle. The ONLY way to be sure something is done and done right is to do it yourself. If you screw something up at least you'll know whats broken. If they break something they're either gonna A.) patch it up so it fails on you when you leave, or B.) tell you it was broke when you pulled in, charge you to fix it and then make you feel like it was a good thing you brought it in when you did. The KLR is a really easy bike to work on. Enough that your 25% mechanical ability should be more than enough! Get yourself a manual and follow it. Another thing you can do is go to youtube and watch video's. There are alot of vids on doing these things yourself. Heres a step by step of an oil change. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9coU5IOUNmI

Once you get the hang of it, working on these things is almost as fun as riding them.

As far as riding two different tires. Different brands aren't an issue but I wouldn't ride a dirt and street combo. You only have two wheels. If you loose traction on one of them it's not gonna turn out well. A street tire in the rear is gonna plow a knobby right through a turn. A street tire on the front is going to instill confidence to lean a little farther on the street until that rear knobby breaks loose and sends you flying.
 
#8 ·
Tzuk, you're thinking is pretty much right on I think. I already change the oil and monkey around with the bike some. Doing the doo was the biggest thing I've done, but I had lots of direction.

And thanks for confirming what I thought about the tires. It just didn't seem right.

Thanks y'all.
 
#9 ·
BTW, (tried to edit last post and couldn't)...I know that they won't do anything I can't do. I guess I just thought it would be peace of mind, but you're right...who knows if they would do a good job.

I can't wait to see how the bike rides with streetier tires. :)

Does it void the warranty to skip the 4K service?
 
#11 ·
SLO-KLR, that's super generous, thanks. My wife's Dad is dying right now, so we're sticking close to home base, but I might take you up on your offer later down the line if that's cool.
 
#13 ·
Thanks man.
 
#14 ·
Lock,

I would take SLO KLR's offer and just add two words, Clymer Manual.
 
#15 ·
I ran the gripster on the back and the factory tire on the front and the bike handled better than any setup I had since that. I also keep the tire pressures high, not the factory recommended setting. Usually 28 to 30 in the front and about 35 in the rear with the gripster.
 
#16 ·
The Clymers is one of the first things I got when I bought my KLR. A lot of it is hard for me to digest, but certainly a valuable resource.

DX...Hmm, the plot thickens. Anyone else have experience running the stock knobby with a different rear tire? Not that I doubt, you DX...just curious.
 
#18 ·
What am I talking about? I'll just do the back and if I don't like it I can do the front. Save some cream. Wow, having a baby makes you completely braindead. ;)

It hurts, too!
 
#19 ·
I switched out my stock rear at 3800 miles on my 08. Still had a bit left but I did a road trip to TDA in fla and back. Didn't want to strech it out and have a slick down there in the sand.

I put a kenda 270 on the rear with the stock tire still on the front. Handles great...much better then the stock rear. I run 60/40 so I needed a more aggressive rear. The kenda 270 is doing well so far with about 1000 miles on it.

I air it up to about 35 on the street and air down to 20 in the dirt. real happy with it so far. Only thing i notice different is a humm on the hard ball. not real loud but noticable...no biggie for me.

If I REALLY lay it over on the street it does feel a bit squishy but it holds great no issues. normal driving is fine. For $45 I feel I got a great tire and am plenty happy with it....oh yea in the dirt.....it's an animal now!!!!
 
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