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Two years after delivery. Mileage over 30,000km.
It's been a little over two years since I took delivery of my Ninja 650, and I put over 30,000km on it during my summer touring in Tohoku. That's about 20,000 miles.
By the way, this picture isA wide paved forest road in Doshi that dead-ends in the middle.It is.
A little feeling of need for maintenance
First of all, the OHLINS rear shock has exceeded the recommended maintenance period. At the beginning of this yearIt's time to consider maintenance even when the 30,000km mark is in sight.As you can see in that article, I've been feeling a little unreliable, especially in the front suspension. As I wrote in that article, I feel that the suspension, especially the front end, is becoming a bit unreliable. I feel like I can't make a tight turn.
I've been changing the MOTUL oil every 3,000 km to 4,000 km for the Thai-produced parallel-twin engine, and I don't think I need to do any work on it since it's a strong engine to begin with. I still have the desire to add more cars to my collection, but since I plan to keep this car for a long time, I want to give it a good shake up.
Like this? I got a quote from
So, while referring to various information on the web, I listed some points that I thought I needed to do maintenance on. I made a list of some points that I thought I might need to maintain and sent a request for an estimate to my favorite bike shop. The items are as follows.
| Maintenance area | Comment. |
|---|
| Front fork oil change and OH | OHLINS Fork Oil Manufacturer Part Number: 1314-01 |
| OHLINS rear shock OH | - |
| Front and rear brake fluid and pad replacement | - |
| coolant replacement | - |
| Air cleaner element replacement | - |
| Check and grease the stem. | Bearing replacement if necessary |
| Check and grease the wheel bearings. | Bearing replacement if necessary |
| Swing arm pivot inspection and greasing | - |
| Grease and tighten the shift linkage and other parts. | - |
I thought about going to Unopar Uno in Setagaya for OHLINS, but they were closed....
The total cost was about 160,000 yen excluding tax. It's not a cheap price, but considering the scope of work to be done, I think it's reasonable.
Hmmm... Now that I look at it again, I'm missing the hub damper replacement... Also, I'm interested in changing to chromoly shafts... I think it was KOOD, but I remember seeing chromoly axle shafts for front and rear at a motorcycle show that were compatible with the Ninja 650/ER-6F. The front and rear sprockets will need to be replaced in 10,000 km, but I'd like to do what I can... So, I guess I should prepare about 200,000 yen in total.
If this amount of maintenance is done every two years, the total cost of maintenance in ten years will easily exceed one million yen, including tire replacement and other normal costs. It's a costly hobby!
Well, what should I do?
Some of them are "do-it-yourself" items. Coolant replacement, air cleaner element replacement, torque control and lubrication while reading the service manual, and so on.
fortunatelyI found the English version of the service manual for Ninja 650 & 400 (common body) on the web, and it is in PDF format.I have it saved in my hand.
So, to save money, I'm going to do that part myself, but I'd rather have a professional do the parts that affect running, stopping, and turning... I'm not sure if it's because I'm trying to do it all at once that I end up spending so much. I think it's better to do one part at a time so I can feel the effect of the maintenance....
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