Maintenance for morons

Ian Watson

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Is there possibly a " standard service checklist" ? I have a Black Shadow. I can't find anything in either Richardson or Stevens and I think many ( most?) Vincent owners regularly check and tinker.. because they know what they are looking for! Ha !
The checklist would include eg. Change oil, clean filter, new plugs, chain tension, tyres, change gear box oil ?, grease all nipples , brake pad wear, clutch , electrics, easy start, test and general trouble shooting.
Your help is appreciated. Ian



 

vibrac

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Nearly 50 years and not seen one on paper yet
I start at the front and end at the back spending quite a long time in the middle
I know some who just do top and bottom (air and oil :-0 )
 

gwild

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Hi Ian,
In a similar novice position, three years ago I went through Richardson and copied down each maintenance job noted and the recommended interval.
I converted this list of tasks into a spreadsheet so that at each mileage the tasks required can be quickly read off.

I can send the sheet to you and anyone else who wishes to see it, but please treat it only as a rough guide as it is sure to have mistakes, does not include info from KTB nor more recent output up to and including this forum, nor verifies whether the tasks have been performed correctly or to a safe standard. However it makes a good starting off point. File is .xlsx, though I can format to .xls or .csv or even shared gdoc if this is easier.

Three years on I am still a novice, but am more wary about following lists without thinking about the contents (or what is missing!).

best wishes,
gwild.
 

chankly bore

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The Rider's Handbook covers most of what you need to know. It is still available from Spares suppliers. Nowadays you need to worry much more about what's in the fuel tank and much less about what is in the oil tank! Another one that can catch new players is: Oil tank mysteriously low- top up oil, warm up engine and oil which has drained to crankcase returns in abundance covering engine with overflow from tank. Note, this should not happen if your oil pump is good. Also tyre pressure recommendations are not applicable to modern tyres.
 
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Bill Thomas

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Hello Ian, What I would say, Is befor any ride,!! Check all the oils and tyre pressures, These are Old bikes and oil is known to go from, Engine to Primary case, From gearbox to Primary case, If the Primary over fills it will mess the clutch up, Also Wipe the gearbox dip stick, Then check it's oil, I got caught out once, There was oil splash on the stick and I thought it was OK, It was Not, Good Luck, Bill.
 

Howard

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Hello Ian, What I would say, Is befor any ride,!! Check all the oils and tyre pressures, These are Old bikes and oil is known to go from, Engine to Primary case, From gearbox to Primary case, If the Primary over fills it will mess the clutch up, Also Wipe the gearbox dip stick, Then check it's oil, I got caught out once, There was oil splash on the stick and I thought it was OK, It was Not, Good Luck, Bill.

At least the primary chain doesn't get starved of oil. :) H
 

BigEd

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VOC Forum Moderator
Dear Gwilym,
Why not put in the "Download" section of the forum then people can have a look and use it if they find it useful.
.........
In a similar novice position, three years ago I went through Richardson and copied down each maintenance job noted and the recommended interval.
I converted this list of tasks into a spreadsheet so that at each mileage the tasks required can be quickly read off..........
gwild.
 

b'knighted

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Can non-members add to the "Download" section of the forum? Will gwild need to convert to blue first?
 

BigEd

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gwild

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I used to have permission to upload pictures, but I can't even seem to access my own photos now let alone upload new files.

I've made my schedule into a google doc [here], but the formatting has been somewhat mangled. However if you were to copy the whole gdocs sheet and paste back into your own copy of Excel the formatting may right itself.
I am happy to email the Excel file to anybody if they want to try uploading the file themselves.
Once again I repeat that the contents are only a guide and no substitute for knowing what to do. If you are unsure, find somebody who is not before damaging your machine!

gwild
 
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