Gotta do my own service....

I stopped in my local Honda dealer to order a rear tire for my Liberty and to make the Swing a service appointment. Tire order went okay but the service? Yikes, they are BEHIND! Seems that one mechanic got ill, another has family issues, another "apprentice" is flighty on showing up so its down to one guy. He told me I'm more than capable of doing my own service, but I don't want to do my own service. Guess I gotta man up and get it done. Need to do a: oil change, check anti-freeze condition, check brake fluid condition and check air filter. Thankfully the transmission was overhauled recently. So much for being lazy and paying someone. What services do you hate doing?

tranmission overhauled=what was done? Does SilverWing even have transmission---has belt/clutches and rear end(which has no history of trouble)---my experience SilverWing will run over 50,000 miles with nothing other than oil/filter changes, general checks/tire changes----I hate taking plastic off.

sc00ter wrote:

I stopped in my local Honda dealer to order a rear tire for my Liberty and to make the Swing a service appointment. Tire order went okay but the service? Yikes, they are BEHIND! Seems that one mechanic got ill, another has family issues, another "apprentice" is flighty on showing up so its down to one guy. He told me I'm more than capable of doing my own service, but I don't want to do my own service. Guess I gotta man up and get it done. Need to do a: oil change, check anti-freeze condition, check brake fluid condition and check air filter. Thankfully the transmission was overhauled recently. So much for being lazy and paying someone. What services do you hate doing?

1st what do records show as far as anti freeze and brake fluid? Most anti freeze are 5 year then change now up to 10 years, brake fluid 2 years, note some are and or years / mileage, air filter on mileage.
What do I hate doing? nothing if I can do it now days anything that requires me getting up and down off the floor.

Its been sitting in a non-climate controlled garage. Never started or ran for well over a year and a half. I do have the battery on a tender. Its been rolled around frequently so I hope there are no flat spots on the tires. I rebuilt the whole transmission before the trike kit was installed. The rear torque driver was an interesting design compared to a my other scooters. I did rebuild the whole front brake assembly while I had the forks off and the tree assembly out for a overhaul. I trust my Honda dealership hands down but they don't know when they can get it in for service so I'm stuck doing it. At least I have some thicker cardboard to lay on while doing the oil. I find I enjoy working on engines less and less as I get older. I do love the Cosmic_Jumper quote about "Disappointment".

sc00ter wrote:

... snipped ... At least I have some thicker cardboard to lay on while doing the oil ... I do love the Cosmic_Jumper quote about "Disappointment".

Love Tim's quote too.  Go to Habor Frieght or some such store and buy yourself a folding mechanics mat and a pair of knee pads.  It'll make the up and down and lying down work so much easier.  I even don't mind checking tire pressures after I open and throw the mat down.  My sweetie borrows the mat all the time to help with her planting/gardening work.

https://www.harborfreight.com/folding-mechanics-pad-93896.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/hard-cap-gel-knee-pads-66124.html

To be honest there is nothing I've done to the SW yet that has been a hassle, although if I ever need to go into the engine that might be a different matter.
It takes a while to do some things because of the amount of plastic to remove, but I've got a nice dry garage to work in, I put some music on, ensure ample coffee supplies and I'm as happy as a pig in sh*t. And if anything does get difficult I can down-tools, go have a beer and tackle it another day.

sc00ter, when I bought my Silver Wing, I looked at it and decided it would go to Honda for most EVERYTHING. However since my selling dealer was over 50 miles away, this was a very impractical thought...instead I bought a service manual.

Since then, I have done ALL oil changes, final drive fluid changes, spark plugs, air filter and coolant changed and I would say the worst was the air filter; all the plastic to remove, but with the pictorial on this forum and going slow, no problem and no plastic broken! A friend helped me with the belt change (he had the tools) so that was not a big problem.

I do draw the line at tires,  no desire and not all the tools available so THAT is done at Honda (where I order the tires anyway).  RideNow offers free install if you buy the tires from them so...good luck!

I personally enjoy working on my Swing watching different You Tubes and reading service manual. Getting the job done correctly gives me a jolt of pride. No longer trust two local dealers in Tucson area.

john grinsel wrote:

tranmission overhauled=what was done? Does SilverWing even have transmission---has belt/clutches and rear end(which has no history of trouble)---my experience SilverWing will run over 50,000 miles with nothing other than oil/filter changes, general checks/tire changes----I hate taking plastic off.

 

 Yes it does have a transmission, it's kinda has all the components you mentioned + pulleys, etc and it's called a CVT (continuously variable transmission)  . 
 IAC back on topic, seems like the OP is capable of doing his own maintenance based on previously acomplished work, he just prefers to pay someone and/or avoid the associated hassles, but nowdays "good help is really hard to find" and taking your bike(vehicle) to a shop that's backlog it's probably not smart IMO, I never take any vehicle to shop or dealer unless is warranty work(no way around it), I'm a DIY/DIR(do it right), I guess been a mechanic by trade helps. BTW PSA "do my own service" is very general, but a bike thats been sitting for a while should get a little more than just an oil change.