DIY Motorcycle Maintenance in 9 Steps

You’re out on a ride, your eye drifts to the odometer for a second and, wouldn’t you know it, a service light suddenly flicks on somewhere in the back of your mind. You remember the interval and realise it’s time to change the filters and fluids, along with a handful of other jobs that keep your machine performing.

That inner service light comes in a few varieties, depending on whose head it lights up in. Some riders break out in a cold sweat immediately, refuse (or don’t dare) to touch a thing themselves, and end up at their dealer faster than a Marquez or a Martin crosses the finish line.

But there are also riders who’ve caught themselves wondering, more than once: couldn’t I just do this myself?

This article is for that second type of rider, because yes, you can do this yourself. With the caveat that you’ll need the right tools, a bit of basic technical know-how, and a left hand that’s just as capable as your right. After all, self-knowledge is the beginning of wisdom, and prevention is still better than finding a cure.

Straight to business:

Prep: what do you need?

You don’t need a thousand-piece toolbox to service your motorcycle. A basic socket set, a few spanners (and the toolkit that came with your bike) are often enough, though a few extra tools are worth having if you want to save yourself time and, more importantly, a lot of fumbling about.

Here’s our list of the bare essentials:

• Ratchet set
• Socket set (1)
• Allen and Torx key set (2)
• Ring spanner set
• Torque wrench
• Phillips and flathead screwdriver (3)
• Oil drain pan
• A few rags
• Brake cleaner
• Brake piston push-back tool
• Brake bleeding kit
• Paddock stand

With the kit above, you’ll handle most jobs without a hitch. But take it from experience: a bolt can sometimes be properly stubborn, and turn a five-minute job into a five-hour ordeal. So if, like me, you like to be thoroughly prepared and leave nothing to chance, you can round out your toolkit with these:

• Heat gun
• Calipers
• WD-40
• Lubricants
• Dielectric grease
• Copper grease
• (Electric) impact driver

(1) Most motorcycle brands use the metric system. Riding something British or American? There’s a good chance it uses imperial sizing instead.

(2) Especially relevant if you ride a BMW, KTM, Husqvarna, or a recent Ducati or Triumph: these brands use Torx bolts more often than the usual Allen or Phillips screw.

(3) Motorcycles from Japanese brands don’t use ordinary Phillips screws, but Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) screws. You can spot them by the small dot next to the cross. Use a JIS screwdriver to loosen or tighten these wherever possible, it’ll save you stripped screws and a fair bit of hassle, now and at your next service.

Getting ready: a clean bike holds no secrets

Before you start turning spanners, it’s worth giving your motorcycle a wash. Good maintenance doesn’t start with the first bolt, it starts with a proper clean. Dirt and caked-on grime hide exactly the things you want to see: an oil leak starting at a gasket, a small crack in a rubber hose, corrosion around a bolt. A dirty bike gives those things away far more slowly, so you might only spot it once it’s already turned into more work.

There’s also a less technical reason: working on a clean machine is simply more pleasant than getting your hands into months of built-up grime.

Changing the oil (and filter)

Before changing the oil, it’s a good idea to warm the engine up first. Warm oil flows out more easily and carries more dirt with it than cold oil does. A quick fifteen-minute ride around the block is enough to bring the engine up to operating temperature.

Park your motorcycle somewhere with enough space to work around it, and put it on its centre stand if you can. No centre stand? A paddock stand is an excellent alternative. A lift with a clamp is even better, but we don’t count that as standard kit.

You’ll find a drain bolt underneath the engine; place the oil drain pan below it. If your motorcycle has a sump guard or skid plate, you may need to remove that first.

Loosen the drain bolt and let the oil run fully out of the block. We’d suggest finishing the last turns by hand, so it doesn’t drop straight into the drain pan by accident. Wipe the bolt down with a rag and a bit of brake cleaner, and remove the copper washer, we’re going to replace that.

Once all the oil is out of the block, fit a new copper washer to the drain bolt and thread it back into the block. Always start a bolt by hand before bringing it up to the correct torque with a torque wrench, that’s how you avoid stripping the thread. Never guess a torque value, check the workshop manual or owner’s handbook for the correct figure. Then wipe the area around the drain bolt down with brake cleaner. You wouldn’t be the first to go hunting for an oil leak that isn’t actually there.

Next up is the oil filter, because pushing clean oil through a dirty filter is a bit like having a shower and putting your dirty pants back on.

You’ll usually find the oil filter on the underside, side or front of the engine block, the exact spot varies with the age and type of motorcycle.

Depending on the type, you may need an oil filter wrench: some motorcycles have a cartridge-type filter housed inside a canister, others a bolt-on spin-on filter you remove with this wrench. Got a filter with a hex nut at the base, like K&N’s? Then you can just use an ordinary socket or ring spanner instead. Unscrew the old filter and let the remaining oil drain out into the pan with it.

Check that the old filter’s O-ring came off with it, it sometimes sticks to the block instead. Remove it with a plastic scraper if it has. Never use anything metal to clean dirt or residue off your engine block: screwdrivers and picks are generally harder than the aluminium of the block, and you’ll quickly leave nicks in the sealing surface, with a leak the likely result.

While the remaining oil drains from the block, let’s prep the new filter. Don’t fall for the old advice to pre-fill the filter with oil before fitting it, it isn’t necessary. An oil pump builds up enough pressure within a fraction of a second on start-up to fill the filter straight away. It’ll also save you a messy job.

What you should do is coat the new O-ring with a thin film of oil, that gives a better seal and saves you a fight with a stubbornly stuck-on filter at your next change. Fit the O-ring carefully, checking it for any cracks as you go.

Thread the new filter, or the housing with the filter inside, into the block by hand. On many motorcycles there’s no torque figure specified for this, but check the workshop manual to be sure. Nothing specified? A good rule of thumb is: hand-tight plus a quarter turn.

New filter fitted, drain bolt back in? Now we fill up with fresh oil. Pour fresh oil into the engine through the filler opening, up to the correct mark. Your motorcycle’s workshop manual will tell you how much oil to add.

The easiest way is to measure out the exact amount in a jug first, that way you’re sure you won’t overfill. Some motorcycles also have a sight glass showing the correct level.

No jug or sight glass to hand? Then top up in stages, checking the level with the dipstick as you go. Check your workshop manual to see how to read the oil level correctly. Some motorcycles need to be on the centre stand with the dipstick simply resting on the rim of the filler opening, unscrewed. Others expect the dipstick screwed all the way back in to give an accurate reading. The only reliable answer for your bike is in the workshop manual!

Once you’ve topped up, start the engine and let it idle for a minute. Check around the oil filter and drain bolt for any leaks while it’s running. Then switch it off, let the oil settle for a moment, check the level again via the sight glass or dipstick, and top up further if needed.

Used oil doesn’t belong with your regular rubbish: do the responsible thing and take it to your local recycling centre.

Changing the air filter

The next step is a bit less involved, but no less important for it. Your engine breathes thousands of litres of air on every ride, and all of it passes through the air filter first. A clogged filter restricts airflow and throws off the mixture, which costs your engine performance.

Like the oil filter, the air filter’s location varies. You’ll usually find it under the tank, under the seat, or behind a side fairing.

Remove the tank or fairing panels to get at the airbox. It’s usually secured with screws or a clip. Lift the filter out carefully and check inside the airbox for dirt and debris. Dust, leaves, even a mouse’s nest, none of that is unusual on a motorcycle that’s been sitting for a while, so don’t panic. Clean the airbox out with a damp cloth and/or compressed air. Just be careful not to blow debris further into the engine.

Most motorcycles use a paper filter: cheap, simple, and you just replace it once it’s dirty. At RAD we also stock K&N cotton filters, a reusable alternative you clean and re-oil each time instead of throwing away. Which type fits your bike comes down to its make and model, not your own preference.

Some motocross and off-road bikes come from the factory with a foam filter instead. That works on the same principle as a cotton filter: it too can be cleaned and re-oiled once dry, following the same steps below.

Give it a wash before it goes back in. Clean it carefully in warm soapy water or with a dedicated filter cleaner. Let it dry out completely, then treat it with air filter oil.

Then you can simply bin the old one, there’s no point cleaning it, replacing is the rule here.

Fit the new or cleaned filter back into the airbox, making sure the sealing edge sits flush all the way round. Close the airbox and refit the fairing panels or tank.

Changing the coolant and bleeding the system

Unlike the previous jobs, this one doesn’t belong in every service. Coolant is typically changed every 2 years or every 50,000 km, whichever comes first. Ride an air-cooled motorcycle? Then you can skip this step entirely.

Coolant does more than just keep the temperature in check. It also protects the entire system from corrosion, from the inside. That protection gradually breaks down as the coolant ages, even if the level itself stays perfectly fine.

Place a container under the drain point, you’ll find its exact location in the workshop manual. It’s usually a bolt at the bottom of the radiator, or the lower radiator hose.

Open the radiator or expansion tank cap to speed up the drain, and let the old coolant run out completely. If the old coolant is badly discoloured, cloudy, or you spot rust particles, flush the system through with clean water.

Once all the old coolant has drained out, it’s time to refill. Close off the drain point and start by filling the expansion tank, which sits lower down, up to the minimum mark. Then fill the radiator until it’s completely full. Refit the radiator cap.

This is the step most often skipped or forgotten, and it’s exactly the one that matters most. An air bubble trapped in the system can cause localised overheating, and in the worst case, blow your head gasket.

Put your motorcycle on its centre stand, or sit on it if needed to keep it upright. Take the radiator cap off again, start the engine and let it idle. Gently squeeze the lower radiator hose a few times, or give it a few light taps, to help trapped air work its way up and out.

Top up the coolant through the radiator as soon as the level starts to drop, that’s a sign air is escaping. Does the level hold steady? Then the air is out. Only refit the cap once the level stays stable.

Once all the maintenance work is done, take the motorcycle for a short ride to check everything’s working properly. Once the engine has cooled back down after that ride, check the coolant level again. With a cooling system, the level can drop slightly after that first ride as the last small air bubbles find their way out.

Cleaning, tensioning and lubricating the chain

There’s no shortage of myths about chain maintenance. Some riders swear you only need to tension a chain and never lubricate it, on the theory that a layer of grime acts as a kind of barrier against rust.

We’d rather follow the advice any manufacturer would give you themselves: lubricate on schedule, check the tension every 1,000 km, and give the chain a thorough clean from time to time when it needs it. Grime isn’t protection, it’s exactly where moisture collects and wear begins.

The easiest way to check your chain is to put your motorcycle on its centre stand. Only got a side stand? A paddock stand is a good alternative.

As with most maintenance jobs, we’d recommend starting with a visual check: look for rust or seized links on the chain, and excessive wear on the sprockets.

Over time, it’s not just the chain that wears, the sprockets do too. A good way to check this is the chain-pull test. Grab the chain between thumb and forefinger, at the middle of the rear sprocket, level with the wheel axle, and try pulling it backwards away from the sprocket.

Does the chain lift a few millimetres off the sprocket? Then it’s time to replace the whole set. Chain and sprockets are always replaced together, even if one is worn and the other isn’t, because the two need to bed in together.

Beyond wear, it’s also important to check the chain’s tension itself on a regular basis. Exactly how you do that varies from bike to bike. On most, you move the lower run of the chain, halfway between the sprockets, up and down and measure the resulting slack. On some motorcycles, though, tension is instead measured at the top, from a fixed reference point. Check your workshop manual for the right method and the correct slack for your model. On many bikes you’ll also find that figure straight away on a sticker on the swingarm.

Tensioning it correctly is a matter of a few steps. Put your motorcycle on its centre stand or a paddock stand, so the rear wheel hangs free and you can turn it easily. Find the middle of the chain between the front and rear sprockets, that’s exactly where you measure the slack, not just anywhere along the chain. Push the chain up at that point until it won’t go any further, then down until it won’t go any further either. The difference between those two positions is your slack.

Is that slack outside the range given in your workshop manual? Loosen the rear axle nut, just enough to turn the adjuster bolts on both sides of the swingarm. Turn both adjusters in equal steps, half a turn more on one side than the other and you’ll be riding around with a misaligned wheel. Use the alignment marks on the swingarm to avoid that. Measure the slack again at the same spot until it falls within range, then tighten the axle nut to the correct torque.

Chain not too badly caked up? Then you can easily clean it while it’s still on the motorcycle.

Spray the chain with chain cleaner and work it in with a chain brush while turning the wheel. Get in properly between the links and around the sprockets, that’s where the toughest grime sits. Spray it with chain cleaner once more and wipe it down thoroughly with a rag. Then leave it to dry for about five minutes.

Loosen the rear axle nut, just enough to turn the adjuster bolts on both sides of the swingarm. Use those bolts to bring the chain up to tension, turning both sides evenly. The alignment marks on the swingarm are your reference here for keeping the wheel straight, ignore this and you’ll ride around with a misaligned wheel, even if the chain itself feels properly tensioned.

Check the slack as described earlier and compare it to the figure in your workshop manual. Once the tension’s correct, tighten the axle nut to the specified torque. Check the slack one more time after tightening, it can shift slightly as you do the final torque-up.

With the chain clean, fitted and properly tensioned, all that’s left is lubrication. Always use proper chain lube, never engine oil or a penetrating spray. Chain lube is specifically formulated to hold up under high pressure and high rotational speeds.

Apply the lubricant to the inside of the chain, between the rollers and the links, not on the outer edge. A thin, even coat is all it takes to properly lubricate the chain and sprockets.

Let the lubricant soak in for 10 to 15 minutes before you carry on. Finally, wipe down the outside of the chain with a rag, that stops the excess lube from making a mess of everything after five rides.

Unlike a chain, a shaft drive needs hardly any maintenance. Hardly any, though, isn’t the same as none.

Inside the final drive housing sits a right-angle gear set: a small pinion gear meshing with a larger crown wheel, which redirects the rotation of the drive shaft to the rear wheel. Those two gears turn in a surprisingly small amount of oil, often no more than a quarter of a litre.

Locate the drain plug on the final drive housing. Place a drain pan underneath and let the old oil run out completely. While draining, take a moment to look at the oil itself. Metal glinting in it, or a gritty feel between your fingers, points to wear on the gears inside. A small amount is normal after years of riding, a lot of metal is a sign to get it checked before you go any further.

Refit the drain plug and fill the final drive through the filler opening with the specified oil, up to the correct level. Some motorcycles have a separate level plug next to the filler opening, others use the same opening for both. More often than not, the guideline is to fill until the oil reaches the threads of the drain plug.

The only reliable answer for your motorcycle is in the workshop manual. Most manufacturers give 40,000 km or every 2 years as a guideline for changing this oil.

Cleaning and, if needed, replacing the brakes (discs and pads)

Of everything in this guide, this is the one job where you can least afford to cut corners. Your brakes are the one part of your motorcycle that has to work at the right moment, without exception.

Most brake pads have a wear indicator groove. The less visible that groove is, the more worn the pad. You can check this by shining a torch along the disc into the caliper. No visible groove on your pads? Then the rule of thumb is: replace once less than 2mm of friction material remains.

When replacing pads, you’re usually choosing between two types. Organic pads are made from a heat-resistant resin that hardens at braking temperatures, giving quieter, softer braking. They’re most common on road bikes. Sintered pads are made from compressed metal powder and offer more bite under hard use, the trade-off being that they dissipate less heat, so your discs heat up faster. It’s worth pairing sintered pads with a floating disc, which stops the disc warping under that extra heat.

First remove the caliper cover plate, if there is one. If your pads are held in with a threaded pin, undo that before removing the caliper. If they’re held with a retaining clip, that can wait until later.

Take a few reference photos before you go any further, so you’re not left guessing how everything goes back together.

Take the caliper off and remove the retaining clip from the pin holding the pads in place. Take the old pads out. Clean the caliper and the disc with brake cleaner. Use a different rag from the one you used on the chain, ideally a clean one. Go over the disc with a fine abrasive pad if needed to lift the last bits of grime. That won’t do any harm, though there’s no need to polish it.

Pay extra attention to the pistons: clean up the edges neatly with an old toothbrush or a fine brush, so no dirt gets into the rubber seal. That dirt is by far the most common cause of a piston leaking down the line. Stubborn build-up can also be shifted with a bank card cut to shape, a tip from personal experience.

Push the pistons back into the caliper with a piston push-back tool. Don’t have one? You can also refit the old pads and push the pistons back through them with a flathead screwdriver. The old pads protect the piston surface as you do it. Alternate sides as you push, to keep the pressure as even as possible.

Open the reservoir cap while you push the pistons back: it gives less resistance, and the job goes a lot more smoothly. Pushing the pistons back does force brake fluid up into the reservoir. If you’ve topped it up recently, it may overflow. Personally, I always hang a rag around the reservoir to catch any overflow. Don’t forget to close the reservoir again once you’re done.

Apply a thin layer of ceramic or copper grease to the back of the new pads, where they contact the pistons, or fit the shims supplied with them. That stops squealing brakes. If your old pads already had a metal shim, you can clean it up and clip it onto the new pads instead, with no extra grease needed.

Fit the pads into the caliper, slide the pin back through and secure the retaining clip. Refit the cover plate, if fitted.

Are your discs themselves due for replacement, through wear, deep scoring or warping? Then there’s more to it than a pad change. To remove a disc, the wheel has to come off, and on the rear wheel that also means taking the chain off. Check your workshop manual for this one, the correct order and torque figures vary a lot between motorcycles. Not confident tackling all that extra work? Then leave this job to a mechanic.

The front wheel is the more straightforward job. Loosen the front wheel and remove it from the forks. Take out the mounting bolts on the old disc. Clean up the threads in the wheel by running a matching nut over them, that clears out dirt and damaged threads from the grooves. Fit the new disc and tighten the bolts to spec with threadlocker. Refit the wheel and tighten the centre axle to the correct torque. For now, only hand-tighten the fork pinch bolts, more on those in a moment.

Refit the caliper to the motorcycle, as shown in your reference photo, and tighten it to the correct torque. Apply a bit of threadlock to the bolts too, so vibration doesn’t work them loose. Check that everything’s gone back together correctly.

Before you move on to bedding in, the fork pinch bolts deserve one last bit of attention, especially if you took the front wheel off to change a disc. Roll the motorcycle forward a little and squeeze the front brake firmly a few times. On the third squeeze, hold the front brake in and, while holding it, tighten the pinch bolts to the correct torque. This lets everything settle into place properly before the final tightening, a small trick from personal experience that prevents excess play in the forks.

To properly bed your new pads and discs in together, it’s worth running through a short sequence. Start by accelerating up to around 50 km/h about five times, braking smoothly and evenly to a full stop each time.

Then accelerate up to around 75 km/h about five more times, braking the same way to a stop.

Finally, accelerate up to around 100 km/h about five times, braking a little harder each time down to a stop.

You’ll find that after this sequence, your brakes have already bedded in a little and bite noticeably better. It also stops your new discs from ‘glazing over’.

Checking and, if needed, replacing the brake fluid

Brake fluid is hygroscopic: it draws moisture out of the air. The more water it contains, the lower its boiling point, and the closer you get to the point where the fluid actually starts to boil under braking heat. At that point, vapour bubbles form in the line, the pressure from your lever no longer reaches the pads, and your brakes fade away. This is called vapour lock, and it’s exactly why you change your brake fluid every two years, even if you’ve never had a problem with it. Leftover fluid in a bottle you opened last time round absorbs moisture too, in the meantime, so don’t hang on to an opened bottle for next time.

The cap of your brake fluid reservoir will tell you which type you need, also listed in your workshop manual. DOT 3, DOT 4 and DOT 5.1 are all glycol-based and non-compressible. DOT 5 is silicone-based and quite different: never confuse it with DOT 5.1, and never mix it with the other types. As a general rule, DOT 4 and DOT 5.1 have a higher boiling point than DOT 3.

On the brake fluid bottle, you’ll also find two boiling points listed: the dry boiling point (fresh, unused fluid) and the wet boiling point (fluid that’s already absorbed some moisture). The gap between the two can be as much as 100°C, and that gap is exactly why changing it isn’t optional.

Wrap a cloth around the reservoir on your handlebar to protect the paintwork, then remove the cap and the rubber diaphragm underneath so the fluid can flow freely.

Fit a ring spanner onto the bleed nipple on the caliper, then connect a clear tube to the nipple. Route the tube up first and then back down into a catch pot, that way you can clearly see the fluid flowing and spot any air bubbles straight away.

[IMAGE: clear tube connected to the bleed nipple, fluid clearly visible flowing through]

Squeeze the brake until you feel resistance, then open the nipple by turning the spanner anticlockwise. You’ll feel the pressure drop out of the lever. Close the nipple again before releasing the lever, if you let go while the nipple’s still open, you’ll draw the old fluid back in, and air along with it.

Repeat this until all the old fluid has been flushed through. If it’s badly contaminated, you’ll see a clear difference in the tube: fresh fluid runs clear, old fluid is dark and brownish. Top up the reservoir along the way as the level drops, so you don’t draw in air. Got two calipers up front? Repeat the process for the second one.

There are alternative methods too: a hand pump that draws fluid out of the caliper, a massage gun to help work stubborn air bubbles up and out, or disconnecting the line entirely and filling from the bottom up with a syringe through the nipple, which pushes air bubbles straight up and out. All of these work, but the method above needs the least extra kit.

Clean the nipple thoroughly with brake cleaner to remove any residue. Fill the reservoir up to the maximum mark, clean the cap and diaphragm, and refit them. Squeeze the lever repeatedly until you feel the proper pressure return.

Still got a few tiny air bubbles left? Squeeze the lever lightly and leave the motorcycle overnight like that, holding it in place with a bit of electrical tape or a cable tie if needed. The pressure this builds up compresses the bubbles and helps them rise more quickly into the reservoir.

Old brake fluid counts as chemical waste, take it to your local recycling centre.

Checking the battery

A small addition to the original list, but one that belongs in any full service. Where a car keeps topping up its battery constantly while driving, a motorcycle sits idle far more often, and for far longer, especially out of season. Without any attention, a battery will simply run flat, no matter how new it is.

Using a multimeter, check the resting voltage at the terminals with the ignition off. A healthy battery reads above 12.5V DC. Noticeably below that, and it’s time to charge, even if the motorcycle is still starting fine for now.

Spotting a bit of corrosion? Clean the battery’s points with a copper brush or fine sandpaper, then treat them with dielectric grease to prevent corrosion. Corroded points are one of the most underrated causes of starting trouble: the battery itself is sometimes perfectly fine, but the connection isn’t.

Always use a dedicated trickle charger or maintenance charger for motorcycle batteries, never the fast-charge setting on a car charger. Motorcycle batteries have a smaller capacity and aren’t built to handle the high charge current a car battery can take.

Running a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery instead of a traditional lead-acid one? It’s lighter and lasts longer, but it’s more sensitive to the cold. In low temperatures, flick your lights on for ten seconds or so first to gently warm the battery before you start the engine.

Lubricating pivot points and hinges

The last item on the list is also the quickest: the parts that move the most are often the ones that get forgotten the longest.

Work through the following: the side stand pivot, the footpegs, the brake and clutch lever pivots, and, if you can reach it, the swingarm pivot bearing. Don’t forget your throttle and clutch cables either.

Apply a small amount of general-purpose grease or silicone spray to each pivot point, and work it through its full range of motion a few times so the lubricant spreads evenly. For cables, a few drops of dedicated cable oil at the end works best, it draws in through the outer casing.

Always wipe away any excess lubricant. What’s left behind attracts dust and dirt, which defeats the purpose.

With these jobs under your belt, you’re already ahead of most riders who leave their maintenance to the dealer. That service light in your head won’t switch off for good after this one visit, mind you. It’ll come back, and that’s exactly the point: maintenance isn’t a one-off feat, it’s a habit. One your motorcycle will repay with a smoother ride and fewer nasty surprises at the side of the road.