Factory-Scheduled Maintenance

[Warren]

Hi guys.  You all are very helpful and interesting on this BBS.  Thanks for the help on one of my previous posts.
I have one question on factory-scheduled maintenance.  I have 11400 KM on my year 2000, Bandit 600S that I purchased last fall.  I brought it to the dealer to get the 12000 Km maintenance done. According to the manual, the plugs and the air filter should be changed. They only adjusted the valves and told me to do the plugs and air filter on the next schedule maintenance.  It seems to me that after 4 ½ years those might need changing. The bike rides ok, however this is my first bike and I cannot compare it to anything else.
If I put new plugs in my self, is there anything else I should be doing?  Are the plugs pre gapped from the dealers?  Is the air filter hard to change?  I see you have to remove the gas tank to change the filter.
Any tips will be well appreciated.  You guys are a great help. Thanks.

[PeteSC]

Plugs aren't that hard to change.   The plug wrench in the OEM tool kit works.
   You'll want to check the gap of the plugs as they come out of the package.  Check your manual for gap specs.   Most of the time, the plugs I've been using have been OK out of the box.
  Don't get the plug wires mixed up when you change the plugs!  Do one at a time.
    There's a rubber boot that fits into the plug recess in the head.  Make sure you get that back in place correctly.
    If possible, after you pull the plug wire, blow out the plug recess with some compressed air...(Old plug still in place.)   If there's any dirt or junk in the recess....you don't want it to fall into the hole when you're changing plugs.
     Of course, you'll be in tight places on the engine.  change the plugs with the engine cool!  (Can burn your hands..)
    When you're  inserting the new plug, use the socket portion of the plug wrench, and turn it with your fingers.   You want to make sure it's threading right, and straight.  Put the plug in finger tight, then use the wrench to snug it up a bit.
  It's kind of time consuming, and you may want to remove some body parts for access.  It's not really difficult.

   As far as the air filter goes, you can pull it out, and check it.
  If it looks dirty...change it.  You can also blow compressed air from the ENGINE side of the removed filter to blow some dirt out.

   Maybe your shop checked the plugs and filter, and they looked OK, and left the old stuff in.   That's OK.

  Changing/checking the plugs and air filter are kind of a basic procedure with bikes, that you'll need to know how to do eventually, anyway.

  They're kind of the first steps when you're having problems starting the bike, or it's not running right.

  If you don't have a Haynes or Clymer manual, you may want to get one.
   

[Red01]

Pretty much what Pete says.

The spark plugs don't care about calendar time, it's operating time. Same with the air filter - unless the bike is kept somewhere where it's collecting serious dust or it's a long enough time for the filter to start rotting away.

According to my '01 B12's service manual (and I can't imagine why your '00 B6 would be different), the plugs should have been changed at the 12K km (7500 mile) service, but it doesn't call for air filter replacement until the 18K km (11K mile) service.

Personally, I change my plugs at ~10K mile (16K km) intervals because I like to use easy to remember round figures - the plugs should be able to go even longer, say if you wanted to go 20K km (12.5K miles), that shouldn't be unreasonable. Actually, I find it refreshing your dealer didn't install new plugs and let them stay until next time.

As for the air filter, it is called out to be inspected at every service interval. With that, I wouldn't change it until it's dirty, though by the time you rack up the numbers on the odo the factory calls out, it'll probably be dirty enough to change.

The only other thing I can think of is the brake fluid. The book calls out for the brake fluid to be changed every 2 years, so if this hasn't been done in the last two years, it should. Even if the bike sat in indoor storage for the 4.5 years, moisture can still find its way into the brake system and flushing it is the only way to rid it.

[Warren]

Thanks for the great advise guys.  I’ll be ordering that shop manual soon.
It seems that after I got the valves adjusted, she does not start as easily.
It is not all the time.  Yesterday it gave a big back fire and then started.  It scared the living hell out of me.  What in hell caused that?    I use the highest octane gas, and when it starts it runs fairly smoothly.
It’s great being a “newbe” around you guys.  You seem to love giving out good advise. Thanks.

[PeteSC]

don't use any octane higher than what is stated in the manual.
 87 Octane is fine, anything higher and you're wasting your money, and the bike runs worse!
 (It's an old myth about 'more octane, more power/mpg' etc.  If the bike isn't pinging or knocking on lower octane fuels, you're fine.   Stick with what the manual states, unless you're having problems.)
Altitude, regional variations may vary stuff a bit, but a STOCK bandit will run fine on 87 octane.
  (I've run my B12 at 85-86 octane at high altitudes.)  

[Red01]

Yesterday it gave a big back fire and then started.  It scared the living hell out of me.  What in hell caused that?  

Was the backfire thru the exhaust or the carbs?
I'm guessing since it scared the hell out of you, that it was a bang out the exhaust, and not the slightly more subtle big sneeze of a carb backfire. A number of things can cause an exhaust backfire. In the case you describe, the most likely cause is excess fuel getting set off from a flooding condition - or your choice of high octane fuel. Keep in mind the higher the octane number, the harder it is to ignite the fuel. This is why you want to run the lowest octane fuel you can without getting pinging.