How much time do you spend on maintenance of your bike?

[Front Royalty]

How much time would you say your bike requires in maintenance per 25 hours of riding?

Am I the only one who has put as many hours into working on my bike as I have riding it?

[bowhunter007]

Originally Posted by Front Royalty

How much time would you say your bike requires in maintenance per 25 hours of riding?

Am I the only one who has put as many hours into working on my bike as I have riding it?

The nicer the bike, the more time I spend on it. My KX gets no love, other than basic maintenance. I do clean the chain thoroughly, after each ride. Doesn't amount to much...an hour here & there. I did pull apart the rear suspension assembly upon purchase, to grease & inspect. I've never been OCD on the overall cleanliness of a bike. I have cut back to only cleaning the air filter...to when it actually needs it

[Jakobi]

Yeah I've never been able to make an old bike look new again. It takes hours to get it close and only seconds to restore it back to its filthy status so for me I only do maintenance as required, and clean it to get it to an acceptable state (clean, but not immaculate). Its not uncommon to lose a whole day in the shed tinkering though. It seems like almost every other week theres something to clean, lube, replace, realign, or service so even though I don't think I'm over the top I still spend a fair bit of time in the shed. The catch being the more time you spend riding, the more time you have to spend servicing - these combined make it feel like you spend all your time on the bike.

[desertgasser300]

My answer, not enough!
The wifes, to much!

[Front Royalty]

Just trying to get a feel for what everyone else has had to do. Ive had to repair/replace quite a few things that should not nearly have to be replaced this soon. I prefer not to go into details but the list is half maintenance, half premature failure. I think i may have purchased a tempremental little bugger.

Originally Posted by desertgasser300

http://www.gasgasrider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14285

He might still have it?

My next bike is going to be a Victory Highball

[Jakobi]

Go into detail! We're all up for the good and the bad.

You also need to specify are we talking 25 race hours, or 25 trail hours. I average 30km/hr as I tend to only cruise on the transport sections and the rest is 2nd/3rd gear singles. That means in 25hrs I'd cover around 750kms. Say around 7 decent trail days, or about 2 months time. In that I'd be dropping the trans oil at least once. Changing a real wheel at least once. Probably doing around 7 airfilters. Have both wheels off at least once to repack the grease under the seals and make sure the axles slide in and out easily. Realistically suspension should be serviced around the 25hr mark aswell and definitely would be if you were racing. Trail riders tend to stretch this out. Brake pads maybe depending on conditions and brand of pads.

Then you get into wear and tear damage. Broken levers, tweaked pipes, busted pipe mounts, torn seat covers, smashed bark busters, etc.

Thats on a bike thats already truly dialled in too. For a new bike you start adding in time for tunining suspension, getting to know the bike, ironing out any Gas Gas related quirks, and jetting and it can seriously feel like you're pushing shit uphill. The light at the end of the tunnel is that once you've got one of these bikes dialled you'll see many hours of trouble free riding following the maintenance schedule above.

[Front Royalty]

But how will I sell this beautiful bike once it puts me over the edge if I share with the public my trials and tribulations?

[Jakobi]

Surely it can't be that bad ..can it?

[Todd5774]

Depends on the age of the bike, and who maintained it before you if it's secondhand..

My older gasser needs more maintenance hrs spent on it now than it used to, but then I'd rather spend the time getting it ready in the garage than spending time by the side of the trail fixing stuff I'd put off! Something some of my friends never used to grasp!

[Rick]

I am a little weird when it come to my bike maintenance. I use a 4 prong approach: I guess it come from all my years in the transportation field while in the Marine Corps. Being combat ready is a big deal

1. Cleaning = can't find problems with a dirty bike, muck hides problems

2. Inspection = Keep a note pad handy during the cleaning process to write down issues and concerns you find during cleaning.

3. Corrective Mantenance = Corrective maintanence is identifiing a fault;
Why did the wheel bearing fail? no gease? Wore out wheel seal? Missing master link? Chain not aligned properly? Chain rubbing on chain guide? Pipe rattling?

4. Perventitve Maintenance = Setting up a plan to inspect, service and replace items on the bike to prevent from failing under normal operations. Replace brake pads, bleed / replace brake fliud, replace piston / rings, reed pedal inspection.

I spent more time cleaning after a ride. If I race a 2 hour harescramble, then I will spend at least 6-8 hours on my maintenance program.

I spend several hours washing, detailing my bikes after riding or racing. I use a pressure washer, Dawn dish soap, Simple Green to get the muck off.

Before a wash the seat is removed, air filter is removed and a cover goes on to keep water out of the intake track, seat back on and I wash. I keep my note pad handy to make notes of damaged items (if any) while I am washing the bikes. I use a fine and very fine green / brown pads to scrub the entire bike. I do it this way, for example; clean each spoke, (take note if I find any loose spokes, brake pad wear) I will also lay the bike on it's side and clean the entire under carriage and also perform inspection. I will remove the tank / shrouds and wash the back bone of the frame as well, this also serves as a inspection of all the wiring under the tank area.

I use my air compressor to blow dry the bike

If I see corrision on push / pull connection for wiring, I will make a note and during my maintenance phase correct the problem, by using a small rifle / pistol bore brush cleaner to brush off corrosion, reapply electrical grease.

The owners manual has a section of items that should be checked and how often. This is a great tool to use. I think most people just think that they don't need to refer to this section, because they think they know it all

Others it could be very helpful for one to build an checklist of items to look at either after the bike has been cleaned or before the next ride.

I like to use my summer break to do a complete tear down, regrease, inspect, replace, items that have high failure rate. Which on a GasGas is not much! My Yamaha, has been pretty solid so far.


I will spend as much time as I need in the evenings to work on both bikes. It is easy for me, as my wife and I have no kids at home, in college or working, but have all moved on.

I don't concern myself with how many hours I work on my bike. I will turn on the radio in the shop close the doors and be just fine working on the bike....replacing safety wire is relaxing!!!

I like for my bikes to look good, perform and be ready to ride when I unload it off the trailer.

I have said this before, I will say it again, my GasGas EC 200 has been the best rock solid bike I have ever owned. It is 13 + plus years old and it is still a very soild machine, having a solid maintenance program helped maintain the bike what it is today.

If you don't put in any time into it, don't expect it to last!

Sorry for the rant, but taking a little pride in your machine goes a long way