Well, it’s time for the awful truth. No shims needed. £922.77.
6.25 hrs labour @ £85 = £531.25
Service kit @ £153.30
Plus sundries and of course Rachel from accounts share.
It does make me wonder if it is worth buying a so called premium product, when the depreciation is astronomical and servicing seems so expensive. If it wasn’t for the terms of the extended warranty, I could probably do it myself, although I’ve never been into an overhead cam engine, how difficult can it be if one has a tidy mind?
Anyway, it’s done for another 6,000 miles and I have to admit, it feels like a new bike again, although I have run the odo up to 28,000 miles.
I am going to visit Mark Grinnall next week to have a lengthy chat with him about the Voge 900 adventure bike at £9,000, same spec as a Tiger 900 at £14,000+
We may be swapping bikes next Spring and I want to see how the numbers work.
Mine was due to have the shims checked, so I did it myself. At just under 12k miles all the gaps were as they were when it left the factory. Took 2 to 3 hours for me to do as I have not done it before. For an experienced mechanic, no more than 1.5 hours.
The Tiger 800 I had covered 36000 miles - shims were still fine. The Tiger 900 was serviced at 24000 miles and shims were fine, but the service bills were not!
Finding out the Nightstorm battery is on its last legs, nearly stranded at work 100 miles from home. Luckily someone randomly appeared with one of these small jump packs. I guess I’ll be battery shopping later. To be fair I suspect it’s the original battery, I’ve had it since '18 and it’s a '15 plate so it’s not done bad.
Not today, but yesterday. Fed up with not being on the bike I strapped up my knee and ventured out for ride to my sons in Shropshire. Circa 80 miles round trip in the hot sunshine. Stopped for a breather and to cool down on the A49 before the final stretch to home and a pint at my local.
Just dropped the Nightstorm off at SWB Racing in Ebbw Vale to replace the rear shocks and put emulators in the front ones. Will Burchell is a road racer and really knows his stuff when it comes to suspension set up, highly recommended if you are looking to transform your ride with just a few turns of a screw
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