2015 R1200R - 36,000 mile service cost
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At 10'000 km (= 6'250 miles), I paid Swiss Francs 1'300.00 (= USD 1'400) for service, new tires and istalling a handlebar riser. It is lot of money, but it is not possible for me to think about money and my bike at the same time. Since my wife is riding as well - she can't either. 
For this service, the dealer will likely recommend an oil change, brake and clutch fluid change, new alternator belt, valve check/adjust, maybe spark plugs, new air filter, and replace rear drive oil and transmission oil. If your bike is liquid cooled, they may also recommend a coolant change. (I have a 2010 which is air cooled.) What I did to save money is to provide the dealer with all of the parts/consumables, including the alternator belt, gear oil, motor oil and filter, air filter, brake fluid, etc. so that I was mostly paying for labor. That's what I did back in 2017. I live in San Francisco and it cost me $900 then but would be closer to $1200 or more, now. If you don't provide the parts, add a few hundred more.
Shop labor rates are high no matter where you go and this service takes a fair bit of labor. Happily, I like my local dealer. They do good work and they pay attention to what they are doing so I have no problem paying their rates.
If you do the rear drive oil change, you might want to ask the dealer to lubricate the rear splines at the same time. It's not a service item but many people (including me) have it done. I supply the dealer with the moly grease to do the lubrication. I use the LocTite moly paste.
There’s no alternator belt on a 2015 and neither clutch fluid (mineral rather than brake fluid) nor coolant change are listed on service schedules.
Plugs are changed with valve check at 12,000 mile intervals. Adjustment is unlikely to be required unless the mechanic is a pedant and wants to bring them closer to the lower ends of the clearance specs to quieten the engine a little.
Air and oil filters will be changed, along with engine and rear drive oil. It’s a good suggestion to have the rear spline greased - many dealerships will do this despite it not being listed on the service schedule, and they are prone to rusting.
Brake fluid is changed after one year then every two years. Little benefit in doing it more frequently.
They’ll also charge for the basic checks like steering head bearings, side stand operation and start lockout, clutch switch operation, lights etc - they’re all on the service checklist, so they’ll tick them off if nothing else.
I can’t imagine taking along my own consumables and asking the dealership to use them. Quahog’s dealer must be very understanding and desperate for work, as that would eat into their profit margins. Like taking ingredients to a restaurant and asking that the chef use them to cook your meal.
To Panzermann's comment, I don't think my dealer is desperate for work. But on a more important note, is it tacky/uncool to supply my dealer with the consumables in order to save on costs? My dealer has never busted my chops about that but I don't want to be a jerk either. What say the rest of you?
Yeah, don't complain about how it tastes or if the meat is chewey...
Even in my own line of work, I only sell hardware I have experience with, know that the brand delivers support and service, and I can stand by the product.
If customers want anything else, they are free to leave.
Let's hope so... It costed me almost € 700,--
(including the rubber between the gearbox and the driveshaft)
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I would never supply the parts for reasons mentioned above, and because the margin on parts is part of their profit model, and we do want them to stay in business. I do think its okay to do some service tasks ourselves however. I change my own oil but pretty much have them do everything else and they are fine with that. If you have done some of it just let them know.
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I don't know about uncool, but I would never try it, and I'm really surprised that there is a shop anywhere that would use customer-supplied fluids and such. They do guarantee the work, after all. However, I do use whatever lubricants etc. I like if I do the work myself.
I am in CA and I would expect the 36k service at the dealer to be around $1400 or so...maybe more, assuming nothing outside of the ordinary is needed or additional things like tires. The labor for the valve inspection adjustment is one of the things that makes any 12k interval service more pricey. My dealer would never allow me to bring parts and fluids for them use. Maybe a private mechanic would.
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I did permit customers to bring their own brand of oil if it was something that they were very passionate about that we didn't have in stock and it met requirements. Anything else like filters and such was a hard no since we sold those. There were only a few who did this.
Two weeks ago, I was quoted $1200 for a 36K service here in TX. This was on the basis that the valve clearances were likely out of spec - had never been adjusted - would need the cams removed and shims adjusted. I was told the service would be less costly if the valves were within spec but the lower amount was not stated. I was quoted an extra $145 for a brake fluid flush. I proceeded to check the valve clearances myself (at 34,040 miles) and I found that six out of the eight clearances were well within spec while two were in spec but on the edge, on the large end. I am retired, I had time on my hands and I was interested to learn more about my R1200RT maintenance so I did not have the dealer do the 36K service. I did some work myself, including: engine oil filter and engine oil change; final drive shaft inspection and lube both splines; final drive oil change; spark plug change; top up clutch fluid reservoir; flush front and rear brake fluid systems. Doing this work myself caused me to buy the GS-911 so I could actuate the ABS pump during each flush and also reset the service light.
Some surprises:
a) The valves were still within spec after 34K.
b) The blue clutch fluid level was very low despite the lack of an obvious oil leak.
c) It was a while before I figured out how to re-insert the drive shaft splines at the engine end.
d) The Castrol Power1 5W40 oil I ordered ended up being 10W40 but I had ran out of time so it went in. I'll revert to 5W40 at the next service.
I took some pics as proof of work done: 36K Maintenance Record
I also added some farkles: an Aeroflow tall windshield and some Grip Puppies. The bike will be scheduled for a dealer valve clearance adjustment, fork oil change and coolant flush at the 48K service.
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315 Posts
[QUOTE="Panzermann, post: Adjustment is unlikely to be required unless the mechanic is a pedant and wants to bring them closer to the lower ends of the clearance specs to quieten the engine a little.
[/QUOTE]
Hey! I resemble that remark.
But then I clean the calipers and compress the caliper pistons to change ALL the brake fluid. And have full sets of Torx Plus bits.
[/QUOTE]
Hey! I resemble that remark.
But then I clean the calipers and compress the caliper pistons to change ALL the brake fluid. And have full sets of Torx Plus bits.
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