It’s been a good 3500 miles with the GZ250, but I’ve been itching for more power and better cornering potential. Also, I somehow spent $1000 in maintenance in 10 months for a “beginner” bike. So, I sold my GZ250 to buy this crazy motorcycle. I always wanted a high-revving inline-3 engine, and this bike was a good deal.
What a difference it is! I went from being slower than 99% of cars on the road to faster than 99% of cars on the road. That and the difference in ergonomics make it feel like my first time riding again because I feel like a noob again.
It pulls so crazy hard in lower gears that I don’t think I’ve ever gave it full throttle below 4th gear, and it sounds amazing doing so. And whenever I take a corner, I consistently underestimate just how much I can lean, so I go almost unsatisfyingly slow, and the bike seems to say, “c’mon, chicken. Believe in me. You could’ve gone way faster than that.” I hope to do a track day to remedy this mismatch between me and my motorcycle.
Oh, shit, I misread your title! I had been thinking Speed Triple the whole time! This should be the correct manual for your bike.
That does make paddock stands a lot easier though; you don’t need a single-sided stand. Other things–valves, coolant, etc.–still apply.
As far as costs go… Yes, probably, unless you find a less expensive mechanic (and Triumph dealers tend to be pretty pricey). When I looked at a quote for service on my Speed Triple, 3/4 of the quote was for labor. All of these things just take time, and some of them can take a very long time. Of the maintenance service items, aside from oil and air filter, the most critical is going to be valve clearance. As valves and valve seats wear, you’ll end up with less clearance; if you don’t shim it back into tolerance, the valves won’t completely close, and you’ll lose compression. (It has the potential to do other terrible things as well.) Fork service, well, you’re going to lose performance as the oil breaks down. If you lose a seal and start leaking oil, you’ll need to do that immediately. Coolant flush is mostly not critical, as long as you always have a decent coolant level. A brake line flush is mostly about purging water; brake fluid is hygroscopic, and will absorb atmospheric moisture. As your brakes heat up, the water in the lines can boil, and then that creates a compressible bubble of steam that will limit your ability to brake. (Water in your lines also leads to rusted components.) If you do a lot of sustained braking–riding on a track, downhill through mountains–that’s going to be very bad. Otherwise, it’s not as critical.
…And honestly, service on any motorcycle where you’re really keeping on top of things is going to be expensive, if you have someone else doing the work. I think that I ended up paying $500-ish for the labor on replacing a wiring harness, back when I was uncomfortable taking my bike apart on my own. Now it would be a hassle, but easily done in a day.
Labor costs , combined with the frequency of certain maintenance–like cleaning and lubricating chains–are the two primary reason that so many motorcycle riders do their own.