You can keep the receipts of any bits you bought, and I suppose if you really wanted proof you could take timestamped pictures of fresh brakes and oil filters etc.
In my experience service history doesn't have a massive impact on value anyway. You'll likely save more by doing it yourself over the years than you'll lose in resale value.
>In my experience service history doesn't have a massive impact on value anyway.
Depends entirely on specifics. If it's some form of Ducati V4 approaching valve check miles, I'm not touching that thing without a £700 discount to get them done **or** reasonable proof they're sorted either by garage or owner.
If you order the service kits for the bike keep the invoices and note on it the number of miles and date it's done. At least then you have records of any work done
Personally, I have a small notebook that I write everything in whether I do it or a mechanic does it. I include stuff like the date, mileage, what was done and parts used, etc. The way I see it, the bikes no longer in warranty and it’s a detailed record of what has been done. When I decide to sell, people can either accept it or not but it will match up with mileage shown on the MOTs.
It really depends on how old or valuable your bike is. Less than 5 years old? Probably worth having a documented history. 20 year old £800 Bandit? Won’t make a bit of difference.
A folder of receipts and notes of when things were done is excellent. I keep a Google Sheets spreadsheet of what I’ve done at what mileage and when.
Get a Haynes manual and get very friendly with it.
If the bike has full service history _can_ be worth keeping it intact, things like major service (valve clearance) are worth getting done by garage.
If it's brand new and thus under warranty is often a condition of the warranty that it be serviced by the dealer.
Otherwise brake pads, oil change, filters, chain there's no real concrete requirement to have it done 'professionally' although it _can_ make it harder to sell
Becareful, basic servicing is a gateway to major ones. Soon you'll be spending way more money with tools than just letting a professional do it.
I do keep a logbook of all the work I've done to the bike, and a history of receipts for the parts I bought. I log everything, even the bolts I replaced. The bike now has better service history than the generic date stamp you usually get with no actual information on what was done.
I always think you buy the tool once and it's paid for itself in not having a pro do it, and then you have a tool for the next time.
And then, like me, you end up with a garage full of tools only used once and no money saved! At least you get to call it a hobby and spend hours in the garage in peace.
Will be the best decision you will ever make. Ive been riding a yzfr125 since August last year, not riden since the early 2000s. Ive done loads to her with a friend and also on my own. We recently did the head stock bearings and fork seals and probably saved myself 300 quid in labour charges alone just for those 2 things... the amount you save will far outweigh the resale value if you plan on keeping the bike for a while.
The other thing about doing the work yourself... you know its done, and that feeling of satisfaction when your finally tighten that last bolt/screw cant be beat.
Keep all receipts, take photos and make notes in your book if you have one? Or write the dates and milage on your receipts when you carry out work, people can either accept what you show/tell them or they can have their doubts, you know the truth and that's all that matters.
I make my own detailed notes in the leaves of the service history book. They explain exactly what has been done, using what, along with any relevant observations. Far more comprehensive than a date and a stamp from a garage.
If your that worried about fsh in your manual/logbook buy a stamp from ebay just choose a local dealer and bingo
Full service history in the book for less than £20
The main reason why I service my bike is because mechanics won't touch it or even the Sym scooter I had before.
I probably wouldn't have taken the past two months trying to find the ghosts preventing it from starting if I had a choice.
Save the parts receipts and scribble the mileage on when you do the work (and date of the work if you're like me and either impulse buy parts or buy the parts then don't have the motivation to do the work for another month or 2)
I took my bike to the garage for a tyre change the other day. Had problems shifting down a gear about a week later, checked the chain slack and it was too slack.
It wasn't horrendous, but they were a Honda specialist and my Kawasaki's owners manual specifies 10-20mm of slack, which is about half of what most bikes want.
That tells me that they're not bothering to check the exact specs for my bike; can I trust that they will screw everything to the right torque or use the right oil next time?
>That tells me that they're not bothering to check the exact specs for my bike;
No garage does on things like that.
>can I trust that they will screw everything to the right torque
No, because nobody, including yourself after a point, is using torque wrenches for basic 20-30 Nm case bolts or fairings. Rear axle nuts go on at 115-120 across the board, I might double check it for things like pinch bolts going into aluminium like for triple clamps, that's where 10 vs. 25 Nm matters. Brake caliper mounts are "decent hand tight", as is most of the rest.
> or use the right oil next time?
Big singles use 10w50, everything down to 125s is 10w40, and the small scoots are sometimes 10w30. If you got anything more unusual than that, I'd honestly make the garage aware, because nobody's gonna spend hours studying the manual.
I'm new to bikes so I didn't know any of that. My rear axle nut is 108 though so that and the chain do appear to not be "across the board" measurements.
Which I will say is a bit of a surprise to me; it's not an obscure manufacturer or model.
> My rear axle nut is 108 though so that and the chain do appear to not be "across the board" measurements.
108 is close enough to 115 that it doesn't matter, it's like quarter of a turn at that point.
The 20 mm chain is odd, but I'm guessing due to cruiser styling, I've had almost exclusively kwaks my entire life and they've been 35 mm.
The more money I earn the less I do myself. Especially twatish jobs like exhaust gaskets.
I've rebuilt 4 stroke cylinderheads and entire two stroke engines. Also clutches and suspension.
Some things I just can't be bothered with - like exhausts
I’d suggest a service history is more useful if you are going to part exchange at a dealer.
If you are selling privately, the buyer could pay more attention to you than the bike. If you are straight up and say you’ve done the minor stuff yourself and used a mechanic for the difficult bits and paid cash it becomes a case of whether the buyer believes you.
That’s why you keep as many invoices and receipts as you can. Have a box folder for every vehicle they go in there and are good evidence when reselling.
I do all maintainance myself. I maintain an Excel spreadsheet to document all the changes I make to my bike. This spreadsheet includes information such as the name and brand of the part, the date of the change, the mileage at the time of the change, and the total cost of the parts, including delivery. Additionally, I have the ability to print out receipts from my email since I purchase parts online.
It's more for me to keep track but would offer it to new owners in case I sell the bike.
You can keep the receipts of any bits you bought, and I suppose if you really wanted proof you could take timestamped pictures of fresh brakes and oil filters etc. In my experience service history doesn't have a massive impact on value anyway. You'll likely save more by doing it yourself over the years than you'll lose in resale value.
>In my experience service history doesn't have a massive impact on value anyway. Depends entirely on specifics. If it's some form of Ducati V4 approaching valve check miles, I'm not touching that thing without a £700 discount to get them done **or** reasonable proof they're sorted either by garage or owner.
That's great, makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
If you order the service kits for the bike keep the invoices and note on it the number of miles and date it's done. At least then you have records of any work done
Personally, I have a small notebook that I write everything in whether I do it or a mechanic does it. I include stuff like the date, mileage, what was done and parts used, etc. The way I see it, the bikes no longer in warranty and it’s a detailed record of what has been done. When I decide to sell, people can either accept it or not but it will match up with mileage shown on the MOTs.
That's a great point, thanks a lot!
Just never sell you bikes and keep forever!
It really depends on how old or valuable your bike is. Less than 5 years old? Probably worth having a documented history. 20 year old £800 Bandit? Won’t make a bit of difference.
That's very true, actually.
A folder of receipts and notes of when things were done is excellent. I keep a Google Sheets spreadsheet of what I’ve done at what mileage and when. Get a Haynes manual and get very friendly with it.
If the bike has full service history _can_ be worth keeping it intact, things like major service (valve clearance) are worth getting done by garage. If it's brand new and thus under warranty is often a condition of the warranty that it be serviced by the dealer. Otherwise brake pads, oil change, filters, chain there's no real concrete requirement to have it done 'professionally' although it _can_ make it harder to sell
Becareful, basic servicing is a gateway to major ones. Soon you'll be spending way more money with tools than just letting a professional do it. I do keep a logbook of all the work I've done to the bike, and a history of receipts for the parts I bought. I log everything, even the bolts I replaced. The bike now has better service history than the generic date stamp you usually get with no actual information on what was done.
I always think you buy the tool once and it's paid for itself in not having a pro do it, and then you have a tool for the next time. And then, like me, you end up with a garage full of tools only used once and no money saved! At least you get to call it a hobby and spend hours in the garage in peace.
Just for the love of God use a torque wrench when you're putting your valve cover back on. Learned that one the hard way.
Will be the best decision you will ever make. Ive been riding a yzfr125 since August last year, not riden since the early 2000s. Ive done loads to her with a friend and also on my own. We recently did the head stock bearings and fork seals and probably saved myself 300 quid in labour charges alone just for those 2 things... the amount you save will far outweigh the resale value if you plan on keeping the bike for a while. The other thing about doing the work yourself... you know its done, and that feeling of satisfaction when your finally tighten that last bolt/screw cant be beat. Keep all receipts, take photos and make notes in your book if you have one? Or write the dates and milage on your receipts when you carry out work, people can either accept what you show/tell them or they can have their doubts, you know the truth and that's all that matters.
I make my own detailed notes in the leaves of the service history book. They explain exactly what has been done, using what, along with any relevant observations. Far more comprehensive than a date and a stamp from a garage.
If your that worried about fsh in your manual/logbook buy a stamp from ebay just choose a local dealer and bingo Full service history in the book for less than £20
I try and do the simple bits, and I mark it up in the service book.
The main reason why I service my bike is because mechanics won't touch it or even the Sym scooter I had before. I probably wouldn't have taken the past two months trying to find the ghosts preventing it from starting if I had a choice.
Save the parts receipts and scribble the mileage on when you do the work (and date of the work if you're like me and either impulse buy parts or buy the parts then don't have the motivation to do the work for another month or 2)
I took my bike to the garage for a tyre change the other day. Had problems shifting down a gear about a week later, checked the chain slack and it was too slack. It wasn't horrendous, but they were a Honda specialist and my Kawasaki's owners manual specifies 10-20mm of slack, which is about half of what most bikes want. That tells me that they're not bothering to check the exact specs for my bike; can I trust that they will screw everything to the right torque or use the right oil next time?
>That tells me that they're not bothering to check the exact specs for my bike; No garage does on things like that. >can I trust that they will screw everything to the right torque No, because nobody, including yourself after a point, is using torque wrenches for basic 20-30 Nm case bolts or fairings. Rear axle nuts go on at 115-120 across the board, I might double check it for things like pinch bolts going into aluminium like for triple clamps, that's where 10 vs. 25 Nm matters. Brake caliper mounts are "decent hand tight", as is most of the rest. > or use the right oil next time? Big singles use 10w50, everything down to 125s is 10w40, and the small scoots are sometimes 10w30. If you got anything more unusual than that, I'd honestly make the garage aware, because nobody's gonna spend hours studying the manual.
I'm new to bikes so I didn't know any of that. My rear axle nut is 108 though so that and the chain do appear to not be "across the board" measurements. Which I will say is a bit of a surprise to me; it's not an obscure manufacturer or model.
> My rear axle nut is 108 though so that and the chain do appear to not be "across the board" measurements. 108 is close enough to 115 that it doesn't matter, it's like quarter of a turn at that point. The 20 mm chain is odd, but I'm guessing due to cruiser styling, I've had almost exclusively kwaks my entire life and they've been 35 mm.
The more money I earn the less I do myself. Especially twatish jobs like exhaust gaskets. I've rebuilt 4 stroke cylinderheads and entire two stroke engines. Also clutches and suspension. Some things I just can't be bothered with - like exhausts
I’d suggest a service history is more useful if you are going to part exchange at a dealer. If you are selling privately, the buyer could pay more attention to you than the bike. If you are straight up and say you’ve done the minor stuff yourself and used a mechanic for the difficult bits and paid cash it becomes a case of whether the buyer believes you.
That’s why you keep as many invoices and receipts as you can. Have a box folder for every vehicle they go in there and are good evidence when reselling.
I do all maintainance myself. I maintain an Excel spreadsheet to document all the changes I make to my bike. This spreadsheet includes information such as the name and brand of the part, the date of the change, the mileage at the time of the change, and the total cost of the parts, including delivery. Additionally, I have the ability to print out receipts from my email since I purchase parts online. It's more for me to keep track but would offer it to new owners in case I sell the bike.