Winter Project

My first winter I had a fairly new Ninja 250. The only work I did on it over the winter was change the oil and put a new battery in it after the stock one failed at 2000 miles.

My second winter as a rider I had the old '99 R6. I didn't have a garage, so I pretty much didn't do anything to it after October because of the cold and rain. Just fired it up or rode it once a week to keep the oil circulated.

Then I moved to a place with a garage. I moved in the winter and tore my bike apart within a week of moving in. I repainted the fairings (badly), and attacked various nagging things. Through the summer it was also much easier to work on things in the shade, and be able to leave the bike and tools spread apart overnight when I didn't finish in one sitting. The second winter I tore it apart more, then sold it.

My CBR is overall in much better shape than my R6 was and I'd like to keep it that way. It clicked over 17,000 on my NorCal trip which means its a little late for the 16K service. I'd like to keep it for at least two more seasons so keeping up on engine work is vital. If I was the type to shed my bike every year I'd never have to worry about valve checks and new spark plugs.

Short laundry list of things to get done:
Valve check
Spark plugs
Clean air filter
New fork oil/seals
Engine Oil change

At first I thought maybe I could do it all, then I watched some youtube videos of how deep everything is buried in the CBR and said fuck that. I took my list to my local Honda dealer (if anyone should know how to check CBR valves, they should) expecting a thousand dollar estimate and was pleasantly surprised that everything on that list besides the forks was part of the 16K service and would only cost $250ish. The forks are more labor intense and would cost $250 by themselves. Oh well. I've taken apart forks before and never want to do it again unless I have better tools and a triple tree stand.

All I have to get done after that is select new tires for next season and maybe get a custom seat! I didn't need money in my bank account anyway.