The motorcycle has the most readable schedule of any recreational vehicle: regular, well-documented distance intervals. It is also the one where the calendar intervals — the ones that come due even without riding — are most often forgotten.
The usage axis: distance
Motorcycle manufacturers set intervals in kilometres, with a calendar counterpart for the items that age without use.
In a short-season climate, the gap between the two axes is structural: a motorcycle ridden four months a year will reach its calendar intervals long before its distance intervals. That is something to build into the plan from the start, not an exception to handle later.
What a motorcycle schedule typically contains
- engine oil and oil filter;
- the air filter;
- spark plugs;
- chain tension, alignment and lubrication — or final drive oil depending on the drivetrain;
- coolant;
- brake fluid and hydraulic clutch fluid;
- inspection of the pads, rotors and lines;
- inspection of the tires, their pressure and their wear;
- valve clearance, at a long interval;
- inspection of the suspension, steering and steering head bearings;
- greasing of the pivots and cables.
The intervals that come due on time
Three items age whether or not the bike is ridden, and they are the most commonly neglected.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. Its boiling point drops with time, not with distance. Manufacturers generally prescribe replacement on a calendar interval — that is a safety interval, not a comfort one.
Coolant likewise has a life of its own.
Tires and lines age by oxidation. A barely worn tire that is seven years old is not a new tire.
A plan triggered only on distance would let all three slide past on a weekend rider. That is precisely why there has to be at least one inspection per contract year.
Valve clearance
This is the heaviest single item in a motorcycle plan, and it has to be handled honestly.
It comes due at a long interval — often well beyond what a customer covers in three or four years — and it takes a lot of shop time. If it falls inside the plan's window, that visit is worth several times an ordinary oil change.
It is the clearest illustration of why a flat average package loses money: the "valve clearance check" visit is not worth the same as the "oil and inspection" visit. Every visit has to carry its real value, as explained in filling your service schedule.
What does not belong in a plan
Tires, brake pads and the chain are wear parts. Their life depends on riding. The plan covers their inspection, adjustment and lubrication; replacement is sold at the counter when the measurement calls for it.
A maintenance visit is, for that very reason, an excellent occasion to sell a set of tires — the customer is there, the bike is on the lift, and the measurement is objective.
Building the plan
- Number of services: based on the distance intervals for the model.
- Cap: 24, 36 or 48 months, or a distance — whichever comes first.
- Price: the sum of the visits, your time at your rate plus consumables.
- At least one inspection per year, for the calendar intervals.
See the prepaid maintenance plan explained for the detail of the calculation.