How to find out if 20,000 miles service is needed or not?

I bought my Silverwing used. It has 20500 miles when I bought it. How do I find out if 20,000 service has been performed? Dealer has no record. Should I have 20,000 miles service performed anyway?

-Ask the seller for a service history, or at least whether and where he/she had it serviced (call the shop to double-check).  [If you got it from a dealer they should have a record of the prior owner.]
-If you can't find out, I'd presume it wasn't done.
-If you're handy (I'm not), consider getting a factory service manual and do some or all the service yourself.

Bash On , you are right. I bought my 2009 wingy with 28,000 miles and I did oil and filter change right away, looked in the belt case and gave the belt another 1000 miles because the belt was hitting the housing ,top and bottom ( rubbing ) , changed the rear gear oil, new rear tire,new plugs etc. previous owners kept no record.

Outside of oil and filter, I would worry most about is belt---I find after over 90,000 SilverWing miles, left alone taking care of oil and changing belt at Honda recommend intervals with OEM belt, the bike is very trouble free.

Brake fluid should be changed at 3-4 year intervals---my case I get rid of bike before then.`

greenspam wrote:

I bought my Silverwing used.  It has 20500 miles when I bought it.  How do I find out if 20,000 service has been performed?  Dealer has no record.  Should I have 20,000 miles service performed anyway?

Check the area around the Valve cover for signs of cleaning, This will let you know if the valve adjustment was done. If you cannot see that the area has been cleaned, It is a very good indicator that rather than paying for a major service, That the previous owner traded the bike. In that case I would recommend that you do the 20,000 mile service. The clearance closes on the Exhaust valve to the point that a neglected valve adjust can result in a burned valve, This requires an upper engine rebuild, That is a lot more expensive than a valve adjust.

Happy motoring Lloyd 193.

greenspam wrote:

I bought my Silverwing used.  It has 20500 miles when I bought it.  How do I find out if 20,000 service has been performed?  Dealer has no record.  Should I have 20,000 miles service performed anyway?

Adjusting the valves on the Silverwing is a simple operation, Once you have removed the valve cover, Following your service manual instructions.

Mark a sheet of paper with an up Arrow, With each cylinder in top dead center not over lap. Check the clearance's using your feeler gauges, Record the reading on your paper in regard to the cylinder location.

Subtracting the clearance from the Service manual specification will give you the amount that your shim will have to be thinned, Record this on your paper.

Probably your intake clearances will be OK, Probably your Exhaust clearances will have to be increased.

Now remove your Cams so that you can get to your tappets, Follow the instructions in your service manual.

If you can buy correct size shims, Do so. If not take your shims, Marked, To your local machinest and have him thin your shims on his Magnetic surface grinding plate, to the correct thickness.

This must be done accurately so that your shims remain flat, Cannot be done on a home grinder.

Check thicknesses carefully and replace your shims Tappets and cams paying attention to the timing.

Recheck the valve clearances with your feeler gauges, Then button things up.

Happy motoring Lloyd 193.

Lloyd, Thank you for your detailed explanation. But, unless you have access to a selection of valve shims. I sure wouldn't consider this a "simple operation".

my take why bother at 20,000 miles, My experience from 2 new SilverWing each RIDDEN to about 50,000 miles----never bothered, and had no problems valve related.....ride a lot you don't have time to monkey around---my Citroen BX TRD went 400,000km--shims....never bothered to check.

john grinsel wrote:

my take why bother at 20,000 miles, My experience from 2 new SilverWing each RIDDEN to about 50,000 miles----never bothered, and had no problems valve related.....ride a lot you don't have time to monkey around---my Citroen BX TRD went 400,000km--shims....never bothered to check.

Proper maintenance allows the Silverwing to run up 100,000 miles and beyond, I prefer preventative maintenance in the shop, Not breakdown at road side.