Posted by Ed on May 03, 2003 at 14:12:51:
In Reply to: first service posted by chris on May 03, 2003 at 11:33:57:
I had a similar situation last year when I purchased my 2002 and wanted to assure the bike was serviced properly when recommended. I made an appointment for a specific day & time weeks in advance, in person with the service manager, made it plain I would have to wait for the work to be done, and discussed the need to check valve clearance, oil/filter, torque various bolts, etc. The day came & I was there ½ hour before opening. When one of the mechanics arrived, he told me he can’t do the valves because the engine is hot (I had zero experience with 4 strokes/valves & didn’t know you need a stone cold engine – you’d think the service manager would have advised me?). So I told them to do everything else. 1 ½ hours later I get a $69 bill and all they did was change the oil/filter & rode it around the parking lot – I know they didn’t remove the tank (to torque head bolts) or do anything else. Too boot it started pouring out when I left and I got soaked riding home. At that point I decided going forward I would perform all of my own work on the bike & found this website. If you dig deep enough you can find the answer to literally any question, and I now adjust my own valves along with all of the other maintenance requirements. The Savage is well suited toward self-maintenance because of it’s simplicity, and in doing the work yourself you can be assured what needs to be done is really being done.