Cost of First Service

[jim216]

I bought my FJ-09 late last fall, it's now due for the first oil change and service. The dealer estimated the cost at $300. He also told me that unless the dealership did the first service Yamaha wouldn't honor the warranty. My son and I have been involved in motocross for years and I have rebuilt bikes and motors many times. I prefer to do my own work, but I am concerned about any loss of warranty. Is $300 reasonable for the first service? Any comments would be appreciated as this sounds a little sketchy to me.

[rocky5000100]

That is a lie the dealer told you to get your money.
If you read the warranty section in the Owners manual, it states you can perform your own maintenance per the recommendations in the manual without voiding warranty. It wouldn't hurt to keep logs/receipts as records.
 
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance
 
 
First maintanence is easy, basically change the oil, lube the chain, and inspect for loose bolts and parts. Throttle Body Synchronization is on there, but unless you're having issues, the dealer isn't going to run a diagnostic on it.
 
First maintenance should only cost you the price of oil and a filter.
 
One part I would check is the hand guards allen bolts, mine had vibrated loose on the right side.

[josh]

I second that they lied to you, Just keep every receipt and document everything you do.

[checkereddemon]

My local Yammie dealer charges $200 for the 1st service. For me it is well worth the price because my tools are all packed away pending an imminent move. And I really don't want to futz about with the throttle body syncing anyway. And I'm going to insist they do the syncing, $200 damn sure better pay for more than oil and a filter!!
 

[clint]

I bought my FJ-09 late last fall, it's now due for the first oil change and service. The dealer estimated the cost at $300. He also told me that unless the dealership did the first service Yamaha wouldn't honor the warranty. My son and I have been involved in motocross for years and I have rebuilt bikes and motors many times. I prefer to do my own work, but I am concerned about any loss of warranty. Is $300 reasonable for the first service? Any comments would be appreciated as this sounds a little sketchy to me.

RUN...don't walk, away from that (st)ealer. $300?!?!? Does that come with a ?

[wessie]

I long for the days when motorcycle shops were family owned small businesses and there was always an experienced master mechanic in the shop. I'd still be willing to pay a premium for that. But, these days most of the shops near me are big box dealers that make more on desert and water toys than street bikes and that's reflected throughout the business.

 
Fortunately, my local dealer is exactly that - a small business owned by the sales manager and the senior workshop guys. Yamaha is the only brand of new bikes sold and they don't mess with any of the other power toys.
 
They also stick to the UK tradition of including the labour for the first service in the purchase price of the bike. All I paid was for the oil, filter & crush washer.
 
Sadly, these small businesses are becoming rarer as is the included labour charge. Most other local franchises are owned by the same regional motor group that has VW/Audi/Harley/Honda car/Triumph/Seat/Skoda.
 

[jim216]

Thanks for all the feedback! I was was concerned when I first bought the bike(new) that some of the set-up was poor i.e clutch cable was adjusted uneven completely extended on lever side, shift lever was too high etc. As suggested I will be doing the work myself using an OEM filter with Yamalube and documenting everything. I have another dealer locally who can do the throttle body syn. Love this bike, can't wait till spring to stretch those rpm's out past 6k.

[cman]

@jim216, with regards to the throttle body syn, it's really not hard. This is my first motorcycle and I was able to do it with the help of the information on this site and some googling. Not saying you have to do it if you don't feel comfortable or want to, but I wouldn't be hesitant to do it either.

[rocky5000100]

Oh and by the way, the manual says nothing about a 6k RPM limit. Just no prolonged high RPM runs. Taking it past 6k is totally ok.
 

[BVEBRAD]

I paid $170 for my first service.  I must admit, the bike did feel a bit smoother.  I'm pretty sure it's not mandatory to have a dealer perform your first service to maintain the warranty.  I've been hearing that since 1973 and have been told by several dealership mechanics that it's not true.  My dealer, Delmarva Powersports in Salisbury Md. is a small family owned business that I enjoy dealing with.  I got a decent deal on the bike and get a 10% discount on service and accessories.  It looks like I'll probaby buy mostly aftermarket products as compared to Yamaha products.  The aftermarket stuff seems better and cheaper.

[jjb]

I paid around $200 for my first (600 mile) service and was disgusted by that. I went back to the supplying dealer in the UK (P&H) as I thought they operated in a similar way to what Wessie described earlier on, that you simply pay for parts of this minor intervention. This had been my experience with the Kwaks and Hondas I've owned during the past 20-odd years. The FJ is now due a first service in April - based on 12 months' ownership rather than 6,000 miles, unfortunately - and I've already booked it in to an independent I've always had good service from in the past; they've quoted me $300 and I'm happy enough with that.
 
Oh, and I'm having them fit Andreani forks and a Nitron R1 shock, too, so P&H can blame their greed for losing my business. They won't get another penny out of me.

[joeszup]

Unless it's major work, I do it all myself. Shop manual has all the info you need for specs, internet has the rest (demo's).

[crosshairs]

Doing your own 1st service or maintenance in no way voids your warranty and stories such as this are why dealers get a bad name.
 
I dont understand why some dealers tell their customers this, do they think we wont find out the truth?
 
In any event, not all of them are bad , so if you have a good one, reward them with some business.

[DavidS]

When mine was due in March, the dealer closest to me wanted $600+, so I did it myself. I opted to NOT do the throttle body synch, as it seemed to be idling fine. That was the only recommended service at 600 that is more involved than most backyard mechanics could easily handle. Even the synch isn't that hard, just a pain in the butt to get everything off the bike to connect the meter

[washufiddyfo]

I just paid $180 for mine. Called the dealership first, and they said since I bought it there they charged $130 + parts for the first service, so it all rang out at just over $180. Was told that this was a "significant" discount w/ buying it there, so based on everyone's replies, their all-in cost was pretty fair.
 
I made a point a few times about the throttle body sync, and I was told that it was checked and they were all in sync. It did seem to drive differently though when I got back on it. When starting from a stop, I had to give it more throttle on the very low end before letting off the clutch. I lugged it along a few times before I adjusted for it.
 
So the question is, would adjusting the throttle body sync have that effect? Or should I suspect that they did something to the ECU? I have the 2WDW flash, and didn't mention it to the service tech. Called the service tech back, and he said they didn't touch the ECU settings.