Honda First Service

[OB1]

Three weeks ago, a mate and I bought a pair of Honda CRF250 Rallys. These bikes are going to be used for a big 25,000 mile trip over to the east coast of Russia via Eastern Europe, Iran, the ‘Stans and Mongolia. As this is a trip of a lifetime, my mate decided that we should have a blog and all of the social media presence of a 15 year old… okay, we don’t have a SnapChat account.

Anyhoo… after much discussion and deliberation, we settled on the 250 Hondas as they would (probably) be the most reliable bike out of our shortlist and, if things were to go wrong, parts for Hondas should be available in most parts of the World.

So, we’re three weeks in with 600 miles accumulated on both bikes, we took them back to the Honda shop to get the first service done. This involves, as many of you will know, changing the oil and filter, followed by a thorough examination of the bikes to ensure that nothing had come loose and that everything was all well and good.

Now, this is the first time that I’ve bought a new Honda but I’ve had new Triumphs, a Cagiva, a Kawasaki and a Harley-Davidson in the past so I’ve been through the procedure plenty of times. Both Mike and I were astonished when, just before the service, we were told that it would cost £150 each! As far as we were concerned, first services are generally free and you just pay for the parts (oil and filter). Is this just a Honda thing or did we just get done over by the Honda dealer?

[Zookman]

The days of getting the first 600 mile service free is long gone. For a while they used to give you the service labour free and just charge for parts like oil & filter. But even this they took the piss with and overcharged for these items. Now they charge for both.
Unless, you do what i do, every time i buy a new bike i tell them i want the first service included free of charge. If you make a big deal about it, they usually give you it ime.
150 quid for the first 600 mile service on the CRF is a total rip off, it only takes 1.5 L of oil and a filter that only costs a few quid. But as you never negotiated this service to be thrown in you're pretty much stuck with having to pay it, unless you try to get some prices from somewhere else.

[scotsy]

If this is how you prepare for a trip i don't see a very successful expedition ahead for you. A free service these days is a treat by the dealer to sweeten the sale deal. Mind you £150 does sound a bit steep, they are usually about £100 'ish.
The itemised bill will show every single thing they charge for right down to the new crush washer for the sump plug but by far the biggest expense is LABOUR.

As anthony29040 always says "Fail to prepare...............prepare to fail"

[Zookman]

You could also use an independant. As long as they use correct spec oil and a Honda filter, your warranty legally should still stand ok.
A local independant to me will charge £45 for this and stamp the book.
But there's always a nagging feeling that if its not stamped by a Honda dealer, it gives them a little get out argument for any warranty issues. So i always use main dealers for first 600 mile service. Then do services myself thereafter.

[OB1]

So i always use main dealers for first 600 mile service. Then do services myself thereafter.

This is exactly what we planned to do: return to the main dealer for the first service and, from then on, service the bikes ourselves.

After a trip of this magnitude, even if we were to sell the bikes, I'm not sure how many services would have a dealer stamp or whether anyone would be interested!

[Zookman]

Well, you have 4 options.....
1) Suck it up and pay the £150
2) Get a quote from another Honda dealer.... although i doubt there will be much difference in price.
3) Go to an independant.
4) Do the service yourself and probably kiss goodbye to your warranty..... But the CRF is reliable as an anvil, has a bulletproof rep, so you're unlikely to have an issue.

Your choice.

[OB1]

If this is how you prepare for a trip i don't see a very successful expedition ahead for you. A free service these days is a treat by the dealer to sweeten the sale deal. Mind you £150 does sound a bit steep, they are usually about £100 'ish.
The itemised bill will show every single thing they charge for right down to the new crush washer for the sump plug but by far the biggest expense is LABOUR.

As anthony29040 always says "Fail to prepare...............prepare to fail"

As you can see from the countries listed in my signature below, I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to motorcycle touring and with just 70+ years of riding between me and Mike, we'll need all the help that we can get when it comes to helpful advice... who'd have ever thought that labour could be so expensive?

[scotsy]

As you can see from the countries listed in my signature below, I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to motorcycle touring and with just 70+ years of riding between me and Mike, we'll need all the help that we can get when it comes to helpful advice... who'd have ever thought that labour could be so expensive?

This apparently doesn't excuse you from asking surprisingly inexperienced questions on an open forum though does it?

Are we supposed to be impressed by your signature list?

(back at ya)

Good luck on your big trip , no hard feelings

Ian

[Jaystevens1971]

My BMW G310GS first service was £110 so BMW who are known for high service costs work out cheaper for similar cc bike, with shopping round Honda dealers and say you will name drop on blog for a cheap services

[OB1]

As you can see from the countries listed in my signature below, I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to motorcycle touring and with just 70+ years of riding between me and Mike, we'll need all the help that we can get when it comes to helpful advice... who'd have ever thought that labour could be so expensive?

This apparently doesn't excuse you from asking surprisingly inexperienced questions on an open forum though does it?

Are we supposed to be impressed by your signature list?

(back at ya)

Good luck on your big trip , no hard feelings

Ian

I didn't think it was an inexperienced question: I have had five new bikes previously, all of which had the first service included in the price. This is the first new Honda I've owned and the first that I haven't serviced myself. The reason for having the first service completed by the Honda dealer is to ensure that, if anything should happen in the first year of ownership, I would be covered by the warranty. All five of my previous new bikes had their first service carried out at the dealership from which they were purchased with subsequent services completed by me or at independent workshops.

My travels are not meant to "impress" anyone; they are for my own enjoyment. I was pointing out that, just from a cursory glance, you can see that I'm not a beginner and the question had nothing to do with trip planning but rather the usual practice of, specifically Honda dealerships, charging for the first service on a new motorcycle.

I'm not here to fight or impress anyone, I was merely asking for advice on something that I hadn't encountered previously. Your initial response seemed rather condescending and offered nothing that I didn't already know.