Just a quick question,If a bike has 6000mile or yearly service intervals does that mean it needs to be serviced once a year even if you dont achieve the 6000 miles,or should you just wait until you do the right mileage,in my case it may be 18 months.
Any help thanks
It’s whichever comes first.
its 6000 miles OR yearly
which ever comes first
Thanks that was exactly what I was after,so looks like that unless I up my mileage the servicing will be done earlier than the mileage,might see me in some rideouts to get the mileage up 
a bike standing around can in essence do as much “damage” as it would doing the milage
standing can lead to seals drying out , oil gaining condensation …pivots rusting in their position … tyres cracking/drying out … piston rings sticking … bearings fixing in one position due to mild corrosion, brake pistons seizing due to corrosion … blah blah blah … unless you take precautions …( running engine & drive regular)
corrosion inhibitor treated …
gentle run round the block …
or just thrash it every day possible …
I do ride it to work everyday but it is only a 13 mile trip,dont do much fun mileage though,so tim when you are feeling better I will be joining you on one of your rides
One of those “Zen an the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” questions…
Why yearly… what the hell has that got to do with maintenance… time has NOTHING to do with it… go with mileage!
You can leave a bike in a garage for a year and ride it very occasionally… so are you supposed to service it then too?
Go on mileage…a service fixes the impact of use… so go with the amount you used it, not the length of time you’ve owned it and looked after it,
You pays your money, you please yourself.
Me? I’d go with yearly.
Why? I’ve stripped down nearly new (on mileage) engines where the owners have thought that the mileage was the key and had to rebuild re ground crankshafts, fit new piston rings to re honed bores and fit new bearings and seals throughout, etc.
But it’s your choice.
Thanks guys,well hopefully I can just get out and do the mileage but at the moment I average around 4000 miles a year
on the other hand … I’d bought my bike 4 years old with 500 miles on her in 2009. tax disc had been expired for 3 years. got her serviced straight away, no probs. 6000 mile service no probs. 12,000 due imminently … we’ll see.
so from new at least, no service for 4 years all ok… I did call Yamaha tech before buying to check for potential concerns given how long she’d been dormant and the only concern they had - assuming everything was factory - was any rubber and fluids. Tyres mainly. But like I said no probs.
Draw your own conclusions shrug
B.
on the other hand … I’d bought my bike 4 years old with 500 miles on her in 2009. tax disc had been expired for 3 years. got her serviced straight away, no probs. 6000 mile service no probs. 12,000 due imminently … we’ll see.
Standing around with no use is not too much of a problem. Well, depending on how dry the storage was, and it was a wise move to get an immediate full service after purchase.
500 miles over 4 years with sporadic use would have gone a long way to lunching the mechanicals and seals.
I’ll stand by my annual service recommendation.
Look to the service manual. My bike its oil change every 4000 miles or 6 months. Oil filter every 8000 miles or 12 months. Whatever comes first.
I just end up changing oil+filter every 6 months. Spark plugs every 12 months. Total yearly cost £125
Add:
Coolant and hydraulic fluids changes every 3 years. (Max!)
