Hey all,
Need a 'major' service on my 2010 pro, i bought it second hand 6 months ago and didnt check the service history 
. I have covered 10-20 miles a week since mainly xc with a little FOD and Lake district as well. Any idea what im gonna need assuming it'll be forks/shock strip and new bearings... 
Last of all whats the likely cost...any examples welcome...money IS an object here!
cheers
Only service the forks if it really needs it. There will be self-help guides online to enable you to pull the lowers, clean and regrease.
Bearings etc? Only service them if they have play or squeek etc.
Anything else?
Is there anything you feel really needs doing? I've never heard of an annual service before.
What Hora said.
Fork shouldn't need more than a lowers service, if it needs more then seals are easy enough DIY, bushings should be OK, if not the fork might be salvageable as long as the stanchions aren't worn, but its a job for the pro's (£120ish at TFtuned or the like).
Shock, should be serviced anually profesionaly (£100) for longest life/best performance, but it'll (probably) be rideable for years without. You should give it an air can service every so often though (see the internet for guides).
Shock eyelet bushings, hold the back of the seat and lift the bike up and down gently, any play/knocking is most likely worn shock bushes, ~£25 DIY repair (cheeper the next time once youve got the bits), see the net for guidees.
Frame bearings, take the rear wheel and shock out and put the bike in a stand, feel for any stickyness or play in the suspension, if there is any then its an £80-£100 job at the LBS unless you've a blind bearing puller the right size. DIY the bearings are about £40 (get good reputable ones), and a bearing puller £60+.
Everything else, the park tools website has guides.
ha ha cheers hora, ive read quite a few horror stories on here of servicing forks every 4 months so was wondering what everyone else does...
planning a snowdon trip so really dont want anything to decide to break before hand...was hoping my xmas bonus would pay for tyres, tubeless and a proper service...
keep them coming
I had a Pitch. I never serviced the forks and they died after 3 years so I kind of wish I had.
Full replacement of frame bearings used to cost me £90 from LBS and I used to need to get this done annually as the frame went all waggly (riding maybe 20 miles a week in peak district grinding mud).
I had my Fox 36's for almost two years- NEVER washed them. I just wiped the stanchions clean after every ride, popped abit of oil on them, pumped the forks then wiped away the dirt ring left midway up the stanchions.
Never had any stanchion wear.
I did come unstuck though when I tried experimenting with different types of oil in them though but thats another story.....
Pulling the lowers is alot easier than you think. It really is a monkey-ability job. I always thought the lowers would magically spit out numerous parts everywhere or the forks would fail and I'd died if I touched them. The open bath forks are the simpliest looking things.
I've pulled the lowers on Lyriks, Pikes and 36's.
Shock? I've never done a air can service. Never needed to. I change my frames too quickly... but seriously my Blur (2yrs) didnt feel bad so didnt need to.
The only things I regularly replace are the bearings in my Hope hubs.
Stupid question, are air forks and shocks different to the above method, RP23 and Pikes
Not really. Pikes are very simple. I'd hate to even think about pulling apart FIT Fox's though.
This may help (and there will be others)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl0GdF0w5hI
I once bought a set of badly scratched coil Lyriks (huge scratch on stanchion). I used this following guide http://www.cycletherapist.co.uk/step-by-step-guides/rock-shox-lyrik-lower-service/
(the forks had obviously been powerwashed as there was alot of water in the lowers. Once I'd pulled the lowers, I inspected, cleaned and repaired. Heres the thread: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/scratch-on-lyriks-stanchion-rockshox-advice
Similar principle to your Pikes IMO.
After a frame respray, the new bearings in my Pitch cost £70 inc fitting at my LBS.
Fork service on the Fox 36s was £109 with Mojo. The forks came back like new. The frame came with an X-fusion rear shock. I'm waiting for that to die so i can replace with a Fox so I'm never going to service it.
I love my Pitch. The whole bike cost me half of a Yeti 575 frame, and it rides much better. (although, i did spend another grand and a half on upgrades - don't tell the wife).
I took my 2008 pitch out to the alps last year and it pissed it down all week with rain and sleet. Shedloads of gravel and mud all over it combined with jetwash to look for frame cracks at the end of each day. Sounded like a rusty gate when I got back.
Took it into the Specialized shop here to enquire about new bearings. The head mechanic said don't bother, most bearing services are not needed - just clean them and put some wet lube around them. I did this and the bike has been right as rain ever since. This is why I rate the service I get from Specialized - excellent people to deal with.
I get my forks serviced once a year to make sure that they don't piss oil everywhere on a big trip and that's it. Brakes get done when they stop working (like last weekend).
If it ain't broke don't fix it.
meh - depending on the forks they may not need much for a while. I bought some secondhand RS Revs on stw, never been serviced, and I eventually serviced them after another couple of years of riding them. Fox forks, on the other hand, you may want to get checked out.
IMHO, you can often tell when stuff needs to be serviced, really - forks start not working quite as well as they did; play in bearings and bushings etc.
Top work all, have got a slight creak coming from the frame (somewhere) thinking about it so may drop it into my LBS
many thanks peeps 
Annual service is an amusing notion! I've got a 2010 Pitch and its 18 months old needed the following doing when they screamed to be done.
Bottom bracket 6 months - £20
Cables 6 months - £20
Front wheel bearings 7 months - £10
Rear wheel bearing 9 months - £10
Complete drivetrain 12 months - £150
Headset 13 months - £30
Rocker linkage bearings 14 months £20
Remaining bearings in stays etc 18 months £15
As for shock and forks I've replaced mine with Lyriks and RP3 and will change oil on the forks and keep them clean but other than that nothing unless they scream for attention.
There is a guy who oposts on here and sells bearing kits on fleabay for a reasonable £35 for the Pitch. That is all 14 bearings for the rear end. They can be frustrating to remove and depending on your skills/confidence/workshop you may think it better value to pay you shop to do them.
My bike is battered and bruised but feels great with new bearings and quality suspension. A bit of tlc makes a big difference and there is a fine line between preventative maintenance and doing stuff when its screaming out to be done.
is hora giving people fork advice 
must be a parallel universe 
My eight year old Enduro has only had one change of bearings in it's life, even then it was more to do with my own paranoia than any real need to get the job done.
The original Spesh bearings are pish and you should periodically gently pry the covers off and regrease the bearings. I've opted for BETD replacements back in 2007 and the bike feels just fine since. I've had the shock out and have cycled the suspension through it's travel and nothing feels rough or makes any creaking noises.
It's far easier on the wallet to keep on top of maintenence on a rolling basis as per tomaso's post above.
is hora giving people fork advice
I was hoping no one would notice
Rolling maintenance programme - more of a constant battle against the wetness of the Lake District. regularly corssing fords, bogs and riding paths that resemble water courses turns all moving parts in rusty crap.
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