Rip off or not?

[MAW]

Only been riding for a couple of years and whilst I am reasonably mechanically minded, I don't do my own maintenance and am not particulalry knowledgable on all things motorbike.  Just had my 2012 650DL V strom's annual service and MOT. It's in amazing condition and only done 13.k miles. It was serviced last year and had new Iridium plugs + new oil and air filter and oil change.  12 months later and just had it serviced with the same mob and they replaced the plugs, filters and oil. I've done 700 miles in between. Seems to me excessive as I know, for example, the plugs can be good for 50k. Would it be reasonable to do this under the guise of preventative maintenance or is this a bit of a rip-off?  End of the day I can't really say much as I live fairly remotely and they are the only game in town, but I wanted to satisfy my own curiosity at least and perhaps ask them next time to consider not replacing parts unesessarily, if indeed this is the case.

[Upt North]

I don't know if you're being ripped off or not, but they're certainly doing unnecessary service work. But if you agree to it, where is the ripping off?
Tell them or someone else to do what you require and enquire on here before booking in for guidance.
If you've got the old plugs......
Send them to..........................
Big Lad
Wooler
Northumberland.
Ta me duck.
Upt.

[kwackboy]

I'd personally go back with last year's  paperwork and ask why they replaced a virtually brand new set of plugs and airfilter that's only done 700 miles.

[pichulec]

Mate, I will tell you something about iridium plugs. They last almost forever. My plugs after 60000miles were still in very usable condition. (picture, kwackboy) Change mechanic..... You are definitely being ripped off!!

[porter]

RIP off, doing unnecessary work. Did you see the old plugs, air filter they removed?
 An old car trick (main Ford dealer in admittedly 1982-83)was to keep an old set of plugs, air filter, brake disc's etc and if the owners car parts looked good, low mileage like yours,  leave alone, show owner the old workshop parts and charge for new parts. Not saying this happened in this case but it does happen.

[Brockett]

On the other hand..... If you ask for an annual service, they will do whatever is on the annual service list.
You should consult the service schedule and decide what you want done and tell them.
Annual oil and filter change is a good idea as some fuel blow by is going to contaminate the oil and of course if the bike has completed the mileage.
Air filter should be good for two or three years if the bike is laid up in the dry for the winter months and not run in dusty conditions. You can lube the chain yourself.  I use a battery tender ( Optimate)  but I don't have it on all the the time .Once per month I connect it and when it's fully charged I disconnect until next month.  Tyres - buy a good quality guage and check it now and again.  Stick to the mileage for valve clearance checks.  If I feel I've been ripped off I would have zero trust for that service shop to do the work properly so maybe you should start looking round for an alternative. At best they couldn't be bothered to look at last years record to see what needs doing this year. At worst they are doing unnecessary work and you are paying for it. Ask other bikers for their recommendations in your area.

[Barbel Mick]

I presume they followed the 'service schedule' which may (or may not) have involved a plug change?
As Upt North says, know what you want doing on the service & tell your man that's what you want, no more, no less & get a price for it. I write it down for my man & ask him to put the quote at the bottom so we both know where we are. (I provide the consumables & happy to give or take an hour or so labour, just in case).
Although 700 annual miles wouldn't normally warrant an oil & filter change, nor a new air filter, personally I would still change the oil each year.
If that's your mileage next year, or less than 2/3000, I'd just have the oil & filter changed & have your brake pads & chain/sprockets checked/renewed if necessary, although I'd still expect them to be good for a bit longer.
Your valve check will be due soon too, normally I'd have my plugs & air filter done at the same time but in your case, definitely not.

[nigel s]

MAW
It does sound like they did a scheduled annual service,so TECHNICALLY no rip off .However apart from the oil change I  would not have swapped the rest.If 700 miles is going to be the sort of miles your doing a year maybe just change the oil yourself? easy to do,Keep the receipt marked with the mileage for a record.Also how are you doing those miles,spread out or in clumps.If you are basically storing your bike for long periods between rides some preventative maintenance might be called for.Try to fill the tank when you put the bike away to help prevent rust inside and think about the battery/ tyres too.Be prepared to check it all over if you have not ridden in a while.
Motorcycle engineers are quite happy to do just what you ask for ,so next time you take it in a little research on here(everyone is friendly and willing to help with any enquiries) and maybe  get a Haynes manual for a quick reference guide/light reading,and with that info to hand you will feel confident enough to  make clear to the engineer what YOU want done.

[Rusty Nuts]

I'd be surprised if the schedule calls for new plugs and air filter twice consecutively. Isn't it laid out in the back of the owners handbook as to what should be done at set mileage / age intervals? Worth checking.


Could it be the garage has lost or not checked their record of last year's work?

[nigel s]

Rusty, it is one of those grey area things.Not got manual to hand but paraphrasing it says on ? miles OR annually whatever comes first.No mention of not doing things listed just because mileage is low.
Stupid I realise, but you know how manufacturers are,any excuse.

[Gert]

Perhaps an incentive to start learning how to do your own bike service instead of taking it in to a dealer?
There are many how to guides available, besides the service manual info, for example a guide on valves, https://circlenz.co.nz/Suzuki-v-strom-DL650-valve-check-and-adjustment/ or look up an example of the work to be done on Youtube

[NellyP]

https://www.v-strom.co.uk/downloads/Revised%20Maintenance%20Schedule%20For%20DL650AL5.pdf

Unbelievably the schedule calls for replacement plugs every year, though the filter just needs inspecting.
Next time I think you need to be prescriptive about what yiu want from them. I initially thought Rip Off , but seems not