[AustinBuilder]

I recently bought my bike from a retired Motorcycle cop- so he knew how to take care of it I assume. The bike only had 4200 miles on it and when I asked him about service history he didn’t have much to say In hindsight. so the question is this: what preventative Maintenence should I do to make sure everything is in good running condition? I changed the oil and oil filter and cleaned and lubed the chain but besides that, does anything else really need to be done before 5000 miles? Disclaimer- I’m a bit ignorant to these things. My last bike I just took to the BMW dealer and let him maintain it. The previous owner told me I should probably flush and refill the brake fluid but he didn’t think it needed anything else. The bike runs great and I don’t think there is a thing wrong with it yet but I did notice a loose hose hanging down near the base of the kick stand- it looks like it could be a vacuum line of some sort but I’ve also read the fuel tank has a fume vent line this might be? I’ll try to attach a pic when I have one. Any suggestions would be appreciated- I’m pretty handy in the garage and would like to learn more about this bike so I can do these things myself.

 

[z-lover]

Welcome, the hose by the kickstand is a vent hose. Search this site for a free service manual. Bleeding the brakes sounds good. Ivans flash is the sh#t! You have a 3rd gen Z, 2010-2013. Have a look at the air filter maybe. One good thing about older bikes is the histories of mods and problems of past owners. BTW, my 2011z has 60ish k miles and smiles.....I'm sure others here will chime in with info.

 

[Z1000Biker]

Nice bike dude. 3rd gens are the fastest! (No, really) they have a hotter intake cam than the 2014+ bikes and really wake up with Ivan’s tune.

As far as maintenance items go, this bike is solid and if you did the oil and chain it’s probably good to go. Brake fluid should be done every couple years anyways so good to do it. Other than that the valves stay in spec for a long time and the clutch is pretty long lived.

Two big things to watch out for is the chocolate 4th gear, they strip gears easy trying to clutch less upshift and I’ve always been wary of putting a quick shifter on mine for that reason. Also the reg/rec is a common weak point as it’s kind of exposed to the weather.
The first mod on these things everyone does is going from the 190/50 to the 190/55 and I’m going to recommend it heavily as it changes the handling dynamics of the bike a lot. With a good exhaust system I’ve noticed it’s not all that loud even without the baffles, and as I mentioned they really come to life with Ivan’s tune. Pulling a little rebound from the shock and adding some preload to the front was the ticket for me but the suspension really improves if you tweak it.

 

[AustinBuilder]

Thanks for the responses. Good stuff- glad to hear you think this is the quickest version of the z1000- I don’t have much to compare it to but it sure seems fast to me- light years quicker than my last bike. It is so hard not to drop the hammer and lift the front wheel off the ground running through the gears- too much fun not to! Also happy to hear that’s just a vent. I will def do the brake flush soon- fluid still looks good and clear but who knows how long it’s been in there. Good info on the clutch as I often do clutchless up shifting- will try to avoid that going into 4th. I will also do the 190/55 rear suggestion soon- i rode to work after lunch the other day and picked up a small staple in the rear I had to plug so while these tires are practically brand new, I’ll be replacing them soon unfortunately. Any thoughts on how old is too old for the date codes? I dont know much about this but I think I saw a date code from 2015 - is a 7 or 8 year old tire less sticky than a newer tire? I was considering new tires anyway for this reason before I had to plug it but dont really know how old is too old. They seem to stick well so far but I have yet to really push them.

 

[z-lover]

Regarding tire life:

Also in the great post by z1000biker, the reg/rec potential problem stands for regulator/rectifier. On our 3rd gen bikes it is mounted in front of the rear tire and water damage to the electrical system has happened. Worth a search here imo.

 

[Skrip]

With such low miles, it has been sitting for most of it's life. I'd also check the condition of the coolant by draining a little from the pump, just because. Don't rely on what's in the reserve bottle on the right hand side cover as he may have just put in fresh coolant to top it off. Never know what water people put in these if it's distilled or not. If its bright green your fine. The tube by the kickstand is more than likely a vent to the tank. Sounds like you got a pretty good find!

 

[Davo231481]

With such low miles, it has been sitting for most of it's life. I'd also check the condition of the coolant by draining a little from the pump, just because. Don't rely on what's in the reserve bottle on the right hand side cover as he may have just put in fresh coolant to top it off. Never know what water people put in these if it's distilled or not. If its bright green your fine. The tube by the kickstand is more than likely a vent to the tank. Sounds like you got a pretty good find!

Id change out the coolant just for piece of mind as well as fresh rubber if they are still original.