Maintenance question, what do you do?

[Stoss]

​
Maintenance question,

Hello all, I wanted to know what most of the members here are doing for service on their bikes? I've been reading online about the servicing on my Bonneville and feel I could do quite a bit of it myself. Oil changes, chain maintenance and some of the other visual inspections (do the dealers really do this?) plus checking the torque on the bolts would be enjoyable to us OCD types.

The service guide shows 'Autoscan - Carry out a full Autoscan using the
Triumph diagnostic tool' every time a service is done, is this something that the forum members are doing every time? Is it okay to do the servicing I feel okay with and they have the dealer perform the scan and other work I am not comfortable doing?

I work in a large Toyota dealership and know that a large portion of the servicing checks are nothing more that a 2 second glance from a tech while they wait for the oil to drain. I am looking forward to doing some of my own maintenance and having the dealer do the stuff I cannot do, though my trust level is not always there with dealers (but I have not experience with the Triumph dealer here in Ottawa).

Just wondering what the members here do, some, all or non of their own maintenance.

Thank you

PS. Suggestions for buying a oil filter removal tool? generic or from the dealer?

 

[Motley]

I do, and have done, all my own maintenance. These bikes are quite simple to work on, which is a great part of their appeal to me.

I've not heard of this "Autoscan", but then again I've just recently bought an EFI bike. What's to scan? Perhaps throttle body balance. Is Autoscan even applicable to modern classics?

If you don't intend to re-install the oil filter then any one of many options will do for removal. I use filter pliers myself.

 

[qwenzel]

I do all my own oil/filter changes, chain maint, tire pressure checks. suspension work etc. It's easy and a good way to get to know your bike.

 

[strokerlmt]

Haynes manual and I do all my maintenance.
LMT

 

[klem]

I am not a mechanic and have done all my services so far including the 20000km valve shim check. Very simple bikes imo if you read up about them, i have done all my own mods and re tuned to those mods. The bike has done 28000km and runs beautifully. i have neve heard of the autoscan thing but i have the tuneECU free program and OBD cable that allows me to check issues regarding the ECU on these bikes.
Oil filters are removed by hand if they are too tough the stilson soon shift them and always replace with a new one.

 

[Motley]

...Oil filters are removed by hand if they are too tough the stilson soon shift them and always replace with a new one.

Now there's a word I haven't heard or used in a long time..."stillson".

 

[Stoss]

The autoscan is showing in my owners manual as required for every maintenance. I would like to here more about the OBD tool you have. I have a bluetooth one for my car is it the same plug in as the OBD2?

 

[klem]

Now there's a word I haven't heard or used in a long time..."stillson".

Yes in Australia its a wrench that is often associated with the plumbing trade but they are handy for a lot of other applications to.

 

[klem]

The autoscan is showing in my owners manual as required for every maintenance. I would like to here more about the OBD tool you have. I have a bluetooth one for my car is it the same plug in as the OBD2?

This is from TTP Tune website
The TTP OBD-2 USB Cable uses the latest design FTDI chipset with the advantages of proven reliability and minimal disconnects in use. There are many OBD2 USB cables available on the market, but many use an inferior chipset and have continual disconnection problems which can prove to be a nightmare when trying to download a tune to your ECM.

Latest FTDI Chipset based design for stable communication.
LED light indicating communication status.
Proven to work with the Keihin ECM and TuneECU.
High quality "UL" certified Serial Cable.

The Triumph Twin power website has a photo there to view if necessary.

Serial port design, supports the most challenging time-critical application like serial EEPROM programming, ECU Tuning.

 

[strokerlmt]

Removing oil filter....
One stainless steel ice pick...
One rubber mallet...
One oil pan...
One cold beer....
Big gulp of beer...tap ice pick through old filter....spin off filter letting it drop into oil pan....drink beer slowly sitting on a stool....remove ice pick from oil filter...clean it and your hands....get another beer...
LMT

 

[Dsinned]

If you don't have a center stand, doing your own maintenance can be quite challenging. A CS is almost essential for lubricating the chain on any motorcycle. It also makes it easier to put more air pressure in the rear tire and check the oil level in the sight glass.

I recommend buying and using K&N oil filters. I believe the P/N is "KN-204". They have a "nut" on the end making them much easier to remove on subsequent oil/filter changes. The "free" EcuTune PC app is useful to determine what trouble codes - if any - are stored in the ECU, as well as clearing them. This cable is essential if you ever mod your bike and want to remap the ECU. TTP sells "tunes" for most Triumph models and a PC program called, "TuneLoader" to upload your ECU with a pre-programmed map. This program can also determine fault codes stored in the ECU as well as clearing them. It also can be used to balance your throttle bodies and perform the idle reset adaptation procedure.

 

[KingBear]

A centre stand and a couple of high quality torque wrenches are invaluable if you want to do it yourself.

 

[Stoss]

Thank you all for the responses. I've order the Triumph center stand and Haynes manual off Amazon.

I've also been watching 'Delboy's Garage' on youtube and it is really helpful, the scrambler and bonneville videos really make it show how simple it can be and I've found the perfect excuse to buy some tools

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=delboys+garage

 

[Dsinned]

The autoscan is showing in my owners manual as required for every maintenance. I would like to here more about the OBD tool you have. I have a bluetooth one for my car is it the same plug in as the OBD2?

Yes, a generic Bluetooth OBD2 dongle can be used on the Bonnie as well, but requires a different OBD2 compatible app. I use OBDLink with my OBDLink LX dongle ($50) with a 7" tablet. This combination works quite well. I leave it connected under the seat to my ECU all the time, because this particular device supports an auto sleep mode to prevent discharging your 12V battery when the bike isn't being used for long periods of time.

In addition to checking for DTCs, this app also can be monitor a bunch of other parameters like engine oil temp, IAT, throttle position, MAF, MAP, instantaneous mpg, cumulative average mpg, fuel rate, and even real time HP and TQ.

 

[arts eye]

I'm joining this discussion a little late, but here's what I learned.
I bought a 2008 T100 in August with almost 18,000 mi. It's a beautiful bike, and in addition to some nice accessories, one of the reasons why I chose this bike was it had a full service done by the dealer at about 17,500 mi.
New tires, Oil, Filters, new fork seals and oil, chain and rear wheel adjustment.
A few years ago, I bought a Honda Goldwing from the same dealer, so I knew them and felt good about the work done on the Bonnie.
The area where I test drove the bike had bumpy roads, but the bike felt strong, so I made the deal.
When I got on the highway, the ride felt a little bumpy, but being new to Triumphs I kind of ignored it and was working out other bugs as I got the opportunity. Had a couple of nice days and took the bike to work. On the second day on the way home I smelled something like brakes burning and thought the guy in front of me was driving with his brakes on.
Then I realized it was me! I pulled over and saw that 2 front fender bolts had come loose and burned a groove in the tire. They were wedged in there and I couldn't get them out. I limped the bike home like that since the tire was shot now anyway. I pulled the front wheel off and saw that the other 2 bolts were also loose. I took it to another local bike shop. They said they worked closely with the dealership who was good about backing up their work, maybe I should take it to them. I felt that since it had been 6 months since they did the work, and that bolts can come loose, I'd just bite the bullet and have this shop set me up with a new tire. Hoping also that that was the bumpy feeling I was getting from the ride.
But after putting the front wheel back on, the bumpiness was still there.
So hoping the dealer would stand behind their original work I went to them about the "Hop" in the ride.
I got a call later on, they said they had to take the tire off and clean the inside of the rim and the "hop" was gone.
Charged me $95, and said if I had any other issues let them know.
The bumpiness was still there.
I finally bought a center and put it on the other day. I cleaned the chain, thinking that could also be contributing to the hop. While it was up on the center stand I started the bike and put it in gear. Then I saw the problem. The spoked rim is out of true! I tapped on the spokes, and could hear that many of them sounded loose.

I'm not a mechanic, but If I could figure this out, shouldn't the dealer be able to. Since, that's the reason why I brought it to them? And, they had the wheel off and on the balance? All you have to do is spin the wheel and you can see it.

My long winded (sorry) point is this.
I think the dealerships are under a lot of pressure to get the repairs out quickly and can't put the proper time in to troubleshoot problems like they should.
Naturally, we can't do everything ourselves, but I'm going to do as much as I can because I just can't trust them to do it right!​

 

[rbirkey]

I have done and still do almost all the maintenance on my 2008 carbureted Bonneville Black, and have ended up doing a lot of custom mods and upgrades in the process. I remember feeling as you do when the bike was new. I encourage you to jump in and do what you are comfortable with to start, and then you'll gain knowledge experience and more confidence.

FYI - I have switched to using K&N oil filters as they come with a hex nut on the bottom that makes installation and removal a breeze.

 

[chutneypooper]

there have been instances of the nut tearing off slightly from the K&N filter can during install and leaking. of course the nut is to aid removal, not for tightening it in place which should be done by hand

 

[rbirkey]

WOW arts eye! I have never had a bad experience anywhere close to yours from a Triumph dealer. ALL of the dealers in the Chicago area would never do something like you experienced, or take a shortcut like that. If for some reason an employee screwed up, I am sure they would own up and make it right. Sorry you had a such a bad experience! No excuses for that!