I was a little surprised when someone recently asked me if it was possible to rack up a hundred thousand (or more) miles on a late model cruiser without making any major repairs, and if it was, what sort of maintenance it would take to do it. My knee-jerk reaction was to start cataloging all the things that would need doing, but the more I considered the question, the more I realized that while all devices are subject to the whims of mechanical misfortune, the current crop of motorcycles are for the most part as reliable as anvils, and, barring any unforeseen mishaps, will last almost as long while needing only slightly more attention.
This is particularly true if you purchase the bike new and can control how it's broken in and maintained from Day One. Since this is our Buyer's Guide issue and many of you are no doubt contemplating the purchase of something fresh, we figured now would be the perfect time to explain how to keep your bike alive and well over the very long haul.
Routine Maintenance
The preface in my 1946 Triumph service manual says, "To obtain the best possible result from your investment you must keep your machine in such condition that it will give you long and satisfactory service." Spoken like a proper Englishman I say, and as true now as it was then. The question is, how to go about it.
People in charge of large fleets of equipment (airlines for instance) use routine preventive maintenance programs to forestall any major problems, and that same solution works just fine when applied to motorcycles.
By the way, while commercial airlines don't always keep up their maintenance programs the way we might think they should, let me point out that the newest U.S. Air Force B- 52 entered the service in 1962 and is still flying regular missions. The point is, when routine maintenance is properly done, it is extremely effective.
The hardest part of creating a routine maintenance program is knowing what to check and when to check it. Fortunately when it comes to your motorcycles, the heavy lifting has already been done. Every owner's and service manual has list of prescribed maintenance tasks that, if performed according to schedule, should allow you to run the odometer of any modern motorcycle into big numbers without much strain. Of course, this depends on how hard you abuse the motorcycle between services and your mechanical diligence, but even a relatively lax program can be surprisingly effective.
Deciphering the Manual
Maintenance schedules are based on time and distance, and yes, that means whichever comes first. Doing it that way means the garage queen and the bike that's racking up 20,000 miles a year both receive the appropriate level of care.
All owner's manuals include a chart listing the maintenance tasks, with a notation at the appropriate place describing what needs to be done. Typically, these are the letters I, C, R, A, and L which respectively stand for Inspect, Clean, Replace, Adjust and Lubricate. Of course that's subject to the whims of whomever wrote the manual so be sure to read the fine print. It'd really suck if you cleaned the oil filter five or six times before finding out that 'C' in your case actually meant "change."
While the time periods are generally standardized, most manufacturers currently favor 12-month intervals, though mileage specifications vary. For example, the recommended oil and filter change interval for my 2008 Triumph Scrambler is 12 months or 6,000 miles, On the other hand, even though Honda would also like me to change the oil on my long term VTX at least every 12 months, its mileage limit comes at 8,000. Granted, that's not a huge difference unless you rack up lots of miles in a year-in which case the Triumph's oil will need changing slightly more often than the Honda's.
However, there are some service recommendations that may have a more profound effect. For instance, the Triumph factory would like you to inspect the steering head bearings at one year/6,000 miles and repack them with fresh grease every two years or 12,000 miles. Honda, on the other hand, is just as happy to have you have inspect them every 8,000 miles regardless of time, and doesn't specify repacking them unless there's a problem. We'll return to this subject again, but the message for now is that service intervals fluctuate between brands and even between different models from the same manufacturer. I should also point out that the manufacturer's recommended service schedule applies to bikes ridden under average conditions. If you ride your bike in harsher situations then you'll need to step up the maintenance, and by the same token, if you'd just like to service your bike more often, than by all means do it.