2014 HONDA CRF250L 13 MONTHS ‘Ups and downs

Spanner-novice Steve finds the joy and misery of a home service

WITH A BRANDED main dealer wanting £250 to replace my blown fork seals (RIDE, Sept 21), I found a shop that would do loose forks for £100. Bargain. I’ve never done this before but I’m fairly confident dismantling stuff. So with the bike up on my workshop stand and strapped to my garage beams to make sure I had enough clearance to get the forks out, I had the wheel off, caliper undone and forks (including pre-loosened caps) in the car in no time. While they were away, I degreased the brake pads which were drenched in fork oil and was surprised by how well they came up.

Putting it all back together was surprisingly straightforward too (I took reference photos to make sure I reassembled it correctly). So brimming with confidence, I decided to crack on with a home service. Something else that I’d never done before.

The CRF250 has fairly long service intervals, with the next one not due until 6K. Because I use it mainly for green lanes, it’ll be a long time before it reaches that mileage, so an annual oil and filter change seems a good idea. The air filter is an easy job but reveals a previous owner removed the steel mesh (it’s a much-mentioned mod on the forums for increased airflow and power — yeah right!). Next, I get the bike warmed up and dump the old oil, holding it upright ‘til the last drop of black, 2000-mile-old lubricant is drained. The oil filter is under the R&G protector I fitted, which won’t come off unless I remove the rear brake lever, which means unbolting the master cylinder hidden behind the frame protector. Yawn.

Brake pads work best when not coated in oil