Originally Posted by
Lombard
The OP never told us how many miles 8 years was. 500 miles per year or 5000 miles per year? This makes a huge difference in how often general maintenance needs to be done unless the bike is stored in a hostile environment exposed to the elements.
Yes and no to an extent. I tell people once a year bring it in for maintenance nearly regardless just to keep everything in tip top shape and ready to ride when you want it and just keep an eye on it. If you have a regular schedule once a year it will help and if you are riding that 5k or more a year than probably a bit more often. But it is good to just get it out of the house once and while and recognize you still have it and just make sure everything is adjusted and any old worn parts are replaced to keep it going for a long time as possible.
It may not need a full tune but even asking a mechanic to just go over it and just lube stuff and clean a little is never a bad thing but in many cases if you are using it, it should need some love especially in situations like this where the bike is being put into situations where serious damage is occurring to parts on it. When housing is worn through and the cable is rusted and the cables haven't been replaced in 8 years the numbers of riding matter less and less because you can tell the bike isn't maintained regardless of mileage.