How Often Should Your Motorcycle Be Serviced?
Wondering how often you should service a motorbike? Find out in our guide, plus a full and interim motorcycle service checklist to save for later.
Do you own a motorbike, or plan on owning one in the future with the help of motorbike finance? You’re probably wondering about all the costs involved such as taxing, insuring, financing and servicing your motorbike. Unlike insurance, tax and getting a motorbike licence, it's not a legal requirement to have your motorcycle serviced in the UK. However, it does maintain the safety of your bike, as well as build a servicing history which can be useful when trading or selling.
There’s no one specific time you need to service a motorbike - this will depend on the type of bike you have and how often you ride - so keep reading to learn more about motorcycle maintenance and when you should schedule a service.
How often should you service a motorbike?
Any motorcycle over three years old must have a valid MOT certificate. In order to pass your bike’s MOT, you’ll need to service it to identify any faults and pay for the repairs it requires.
The “how often” part is a little tricky to answer, as it depends on many factors in relation to your motorbike, such as:
- The age of your motorbike
- How often you ride your motorbike
- General upkeep
- Speeds (particularly if you do competitive racing)
- Weather conditions you tend to ride in
- This is particularly true if you use special motorbike wheels for better grip during the colder months
- CC of your bike
- Previous service history of your bike
- The condition of your bike (whether it’s used or brand new)
Every motorbike is built differently too. Some are known for their practicality, whilst others are known for speed. As you can imagine, heavy and aggressive use of your motorbike will require servicing more often than the average user, so bear this in mind when figuring out how often to service your bike.
I don’t use my motorbike often - do I still need to service it?
In short, no. However, if your motorbike hasn’t been SORNed, then you’ll need to update your motorbike’s MOT. If you barely use your motorbike and want to save money on taxing it (and MOT costs), read our how to SORN a motorbike guide to get your bike off the road legally.
Why service a motorbike?
A thorough motorcycle service will make sure that any mechanical or electrical issues are resolved in time for your MOT and, of course, before they jeopardise the bike's (and your!) safety. Plus, regular maintenance on your motorbike will not only increase its lifespan, but it will also likely make it more efficient and enjoyable to ride.
What does a motorbike service include?
There are four types of motorbike services to look out for, and the one you pick will determine what’s included. We’ll describe these briefly below, as well as provide a full list of components an MOT garage will typically inspect for later on in this guide. For now, here are the four main types of motorbike services.
1. Interim
An interim service can be thought of as a frequent ‘in-between’ check, or quick service on your motorbike. It’s still a thorough inspection but doesn’t go too deep into the inner workings.
2. Annual
An annual motorbike service is a ‘best practice’ service if you will. As the name suggests, it’s a yearly motorbike service that covers everything an interim inspection does, with a few extra steps, such as a spark plug change. This can vary per MOT garage.
Typically, annual servicing is normally sufficient to keep your motorbike in check, with interim servicing needed when you may be riding higher than average speeds or ride for longer trips than usual.
3. Major
A major service will cover everything from the above plus more, all while taking the motorbike’s history into account and giving it a thorough check. It may flag issues that could recur in the future, especially if they’ve happened before. Typically, a major service be specified by the manufacturers at specific mileage or when a bike reaches a certain age, but these can be requested sooner if there are safety concerns.
4. Full
A full service will examine every component of a motorbike from front to back, plus everything a major, annual or interim inspection would. It’s the most thorough motorbike service you can get, and is usually used in circumstances where you’ve experienced recurring problems, or bought a second-hand motorbike that you wish to fully service to ensure it’s safe to ride.
Just like with a major service, a full service is typically done in accordance to the manufacturer’s guidelines, but it can be requested if faults and safety concerns are raised between annual inspections.
Which motorbike service should I choose?
An interim service should be enough to keep your bike on the road and looking excellent if it’s been maintained well and serviced most years. You might wish to upgrade to a major or full service if you’re taking your bike back on the road, or you bought a bike with little or no service history and want to know what faults it may have.
It goes without saying that if you haven’t had your bike serviced at all, it’s worth booking in for a full service, and then keeping up to date with an annual service, particularly if you experience issues with your spark plug (or other faults you wish to flag at the service centre).
Interim motorbike service checklist
The following is an example of an interim motorbike service that an engineer will use for inspection:
- Road test
- Oil and filter change
- Coolant check
- Brake and clutch fluid
- Bulb check
- Throttle
- Clutch
- Chain and sprockets
- Tyre inspection (including tread depth in line with regulations)
- Wheel bearings
- Battery
- Brake pads
- Calipers
- Discs
- Suspension
- Exhaust inspection (in line with UK exhaust laws)
- Control cables
- Steering head bearings
Annual motorbike service checklist
As mentioned, an annual motorbike service will check just that bit more than an interim. Below is a typical annual motorbike service checklist an engineer will use for inspection:
- Road test
- Oil and filter change
- Coolant check
- Bulb check
- Throttle
- Clutch
- Chain and sprockets
- Tyre
- Wheel bearings
- Battery
- Brake pads
- Calipers
- Discs
- Suspension
- Exhaust
- Control cables
- Steering head bearings
- Brake and clutch fluid
- Air filter
- Spark plug replacement
Major motorbike service checklist
A major motorbike service will include the following to ensure any faults are identified, including a full look at the motorbike’s history:
- Brake and clutch fluid replacement
- Air filter replacement
- Spark plug replacement
- Valve clearance check
- Carburettor or throttle body balance adjustment
- Detailed fault history check, clear and reset
- Road test
- Oil and filter change
- Coolant replacement
- Bulb check
- Throttle
- Clutch
- Chain and sprockets
- Tyre
- Wheel bearings
- Battery
- Brake pads/calipers/discs
- Suspension
- Exhaust
- Control cables
- Steering head bearings
Full motorbike service checklist
A full service will inspect every aspect of your vehicle, including the inner workings too. Here’s an example of a full motorbike service checklist that can be used for inspection:
- Road test
- Oil and filter change
- Coolant replacement
- Bulb check
- Throttle
- Clutch
- Chain and sprockets
- Tyre
- Wheel bearings
- Battery
- Brake pads/calipers/discs
- Suspension
- Exhaust
- Control cables
- Steering head bearings strip, clean and grease
- Rear suspension linkage strip, clean and grease
- Brake and clutch fluid replacement
- Air filter replacement
- Spark plug replacement
- Valve clearance check
- Carburettor or throttle body balance adjustment
- Detailed fault history check, clear and reset
- Fork oil replacement
How much does a motorbike service cost?
The cost of a motorbike service will depend on:
- The type of service you get
- The faults identified
- The type (and size) of your motorbike
- Which garage you use
The final price could be as low as double-digits, but bigger bikes or more complex issues will incur more costs. Independent garages vs chains can vary in price too and some may have specialisms in particular bike manufacturers. The rarity of a motorbike may also factor into the price, particularly if it’s a vintage model or has complex components that require more time to inspect.
It goes without saying that the price of a 250cc all the way up to a 1000cc will vary drastically, so bear this in mind.
How long does it take to service a motorbike?
A motorbike service can take as little as a quarter of an hour to complete, or up to several days depending on the severity of the issues at hand. On average, you’re looking at about 2-3 hours for an annual inspection, with interim inspections taking slightly less, and your major and full inspections being considerably longer.
It goes without saying that the length of time will also depend on the workload the garage has. It could be days or weeks before they’re able to look at your bike, so keep this in mind when shopping around for motorbike services.
Can I service my own motorbike?
We’d advise going to a motorbike garage to get your vehicle serviced. This is so certain components (like tread-depth and exhausts) are kept in line with UK law.
It’s a good idea to have a knowledge of basic things like:
- Changing motorbike oil
- Greasing
- Chain tightening
- Checking and changing your motorbike battery
If you don’t see any improvement while riding, get it booked in for a motorbike service as soon as you can.
Can a motorcycle service save you money?
In short, yes. Particularly if you come to sell your motorbike. Having a full service history will help traders price it accordingly.
Worried about how much mileage your motorbike has? If you’ve regularly serviced a bike that has tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of miles on it, then it’s probably going to run better than one with lots of mileage but has barely been serviced, let alone maintained.
So yes, a service book will help when it comes to selling your bike on. However, if you find that the repair costs upon having your bike serviced is just too much to maintain, then getting a new bike could work out cheaper. Can’t afford one right this second? Bad credit motorbike finance or 0% deposit motorbike finance are always options you can take to afford your next vehicle.
How much is a motorcycle MOT?
MOT test fees are available on the government website. In a nutshell, here’s what you’ll need to pay, depending on the motorcycle you have:
- Motorcycle (engine size up to 200cc): £29.65 (vehicle class 1)
- Motorcycle with sidecar (engine size up to 200cc): £37.80 (vehicle class 1)
- Motorcycle (engine size over 200cc): £29.65 (vehicle class 2)
As mentioned previously, the age of your vehicle will need to be three years and up to be MOT’d.
Do motorbikes need service every year?
We recommend servicing your motorbike every 2,500-5,000 miles on the road. Of course, this is just an average, and you’d need to take it in for a service even if you feel something is wrong before you reach that mileage range. Assuming all is well if your bike, we recommend a service every 6-12 months, taking your average use into account.
Now that you’re clued up on how often to service a motorbike and how they work, we bet you’re excited to get your motorbike! Find out how much you can pay towards your new motorbike with our finance calculator and find a motorbike lender through Superbike Loans for the best deal. Got any questions? Contact us to find out how motorbike finance can get you the bike of your dreams.