[Rawe87]

Hey everyone,

My name is Jeremy and although I currently don't own a z650 yet I plan on buying one as soon as I get back from my deployment! I picked up my wife a Honda CB500F and I was going to get one myself after riding hers for a little bit, but as soon as I saw the white z650 at the dealer I knew thats the one I wanted. Sat on it and loved the way it felt and how everything was laid out compared to the 500F. I've been doing a lot of research on the bike with my downtime over here and so far have a laundry list of things that I will get for it when I get it, first things first a vagabond fender eliminator.

Only question I really had was first maintenance for the bike, I didn't really see anything drastic for the bike for the first 600mi and nothing for the 1000mi(after break in) services. Is there anything that really needs to be done at the dealer for the 1000 mi after break in service? I'm a diesel mechanic for the Air Force so working on the bike is no issue at all for me, I figured I'll have the dealer do the 600mi service since it'll be a brand new bike and have them make sure everything is golden but other than that I'll do the rest of the maintenance myself and document it all.

Other than that I can't wait to get back home, get the bike and go riding with my wife and to be a part of this community!

 

[JACoH]

Hi, welcome to the forum, and thanks for your service. I also looked at the Honda CB500, but eliminated it after seeing the Z650 and impossible, labor intensive valve adjustment procedures (only because of time getting to the valves, the Z is easier to get to).
The valves don't need any adjusting until 15,000 miles and everything else is doable by the owner, just keep receipts of oil and filters. I have always printed out the maintenance schedule and mark on it in red what and when I do them. There is no reason to see the dealer until 15,000 miles, legally. I am not even having them do the 600 mile service. Like you, I can do it all. If you log on to kawasaki.com, you can download the owner's manual in a pdf for free and peruse. Ebay has the factory service manual for $50.00, a $25.00 savings from dealer.

 

[Stitch]

Welcome to the forums and thank you for your service!

I think the initial service is where they would also go over every nut and bolt and make sure it's all tight like it should be but other than that... don't think there's anything else.

 

[Rawe87]

Thanks guys, I saw the service manual was available for pretty cheap, and if they don't do anything special then I'll just do it all myself!

Now just gotta get home and go get it!

 

[Stitch]

Around what time will you be getting back ??

 

[Rawe87]

Around what time will you be getting back ??

Sometime in July, just before the real heat hits here but returning to the heat of Vegas...yayyyy

 

[Tremonte]

Hey Jeremy, welcome to the forums! I took mine in for the first service to let them scope it out, and check everything. Plus, I had a voucher from buying it, and the only cost to me was the upgrade on the Motul that I used. I will not be taking my bike back in to the dealer at all. Not because they did a crappy job, but because I've pretty much voided the warranty by installing block off plates, and for the Bazzaz and ECU flash that will be happening soon. All of the maintenance on these bikes are rather simple. No need to pay a fortune for someone else to do it. And you should be well more than capable being a diesel mechanic. I am pretty much making a video on everything that gets done to the bike, from performance to general maintenance. So, if you have any questions, just ask!

 

[Rawe87]

Hey Jeremy, welcome to the forums! I took mine in for the first service to let them scope it out, and check everything. Plus, I had a voucher from buying it, and the only cost to me was the upgrade on the Motul that I used. I will not be taking my bike back in to the dealer at all. Not because they did a crappy job, but because I've pretty much voided the warranty by installing block off plates, and for the Bazzaz and ECU flash that will be happening soon. All of the maintenance on these bikes are rather simple. No need to pay a fortune for someone else to do it. And you should be well more than capable being a diesel mechanic. I am pretty much making a video on everything that gets done to the bike, from performance to general maintenance. So, if you have any questions, just ask!

Thank you, and awesome videos by the way! Lol I'm the same Jeremy that asked if you could make a video showing the different rpm displays on youtube! I can't wait to see how much power you put down with the flash and everything installed. Thanks to you I've got a laundry list of things I want to do with the bike as soon as I get it.

 

[roadhawk]

Kawi has a good reputation with bikes as far back as I can remember so even with the warranty voided you can't be in that bad of a position i can imagine. Unless someone here can counter that.

 

[JACoH]

And, if there is a warranty problem, (which there won't be), it is up to the dealer to prove that the issue was a direct result
of the modifications you have performed.

 

[Tremonte]

I just went to the dealership today and cancelled the extended warranty I had purchased. I have this feeling that I will far and above be voiding the warranty as soon as I crack open the gear box.... the dealer said I would be good as long as I didn't open the engine or gearbox. When I told him that was my next move, he said, "yeah, you're going to void your warranty" Even if I needed something major, I will take it to the guys at Superbike Unlimited now. Top notch work for way less than the dealer. Everytime I go in there, I stare and drool at all the track bikes sitting around.

 

[Stitch]

So that's a win-win-win for you in that case lol. How much was the extended warranty?

 

[JACoH]

Never understood buying an extended warranty on a modern motorcycle, maybe a Ural, but not one of the top 10 brands. It is just a big money maker for the dealer. Lucky they can be cancelled with hopefully all money refunded.

 

[Tremonte]

I usually don't buy the extended, but figured I would this time, just because it's a new model, redesign of the ER6. You never know what may pop up when they mess with a design. I negotiated them to 400 on the top tier package, which would easily be the cost of one semi major repair. I should get all of it back, minus maybe a service charge of $30 or so if they even charge one.

 

[Stitch]

I'd take it at that point. That's a good amount of money that could go towards some more mods and videos

 

[Rawe87]

And, if there is a warranty problem, (which there won't be), it is up to the dealer to prove that the issue was a direct result
of the modifications you have performed.

its funny you say that because back when I owned my WRX I had warranty work denied for a failed starter...all because of a catback exhaust, I was furious and told them it wasn't a classic car with longtube headers cooking the starter.....And the dealer ****** me even more by installing a third party part so when I went to corporate they were going to reimburse me until the autozone special was installed.....Super shady dealer in Alaska.

 

[Stitch]

its funny you say that because back when I owned my WRX I had warranty work denied for a failed starter...all because of a catback exhaust, I was furious and told them it wasn't a classic car with longtube headers cooking the starter.....And the dealer ****** me even more by installing a third party part so when I went to corporate they were going to reimburse me until the autozone special was installed.....Super shady dealer in Alaska.

didn't you tell corporate that the dealer installed a shitty part?

 

[Rawe87]

didn't you tell corporate that the dealer installed a shitty part?

I did, and sadly they told me there was nothing they could do for me, I lost an extreme amount of faith in Subaru with that experience.