In threads elsewhere on this board I have moaned about the shoddy workmanship I have experienced on my bike. Some of it has been life-threateningly dangerous. It has occurred to me just how much trust we place in the guys down at the workshop.
Recently, I practically took apart the whole rear of the bike fitting an undertail and replacing the wheel from the one the mechanic buggered up with badly fitted bearings.
It's like a new bike back there. Brake pads don't sound like like they're on the metal, (fitted properly now?), wheel bearings correctly fitted, chain adjusted properly and lock nut tightened, and everything degreased and cleaned. Take your chainguard off. Mine had truck-like goo one inch thick on it.
Face it, no one will treat your bike as if it's their own, except you.
I agree. I'd love to be servicing the bike myself. But there are reasons against it. Tools. If I do a job I want the proper tools to do it, and especially when its on something like my busa I won't get any cheap crap. I want a decent Torque wrench for starters, that'll set me back a couple/few hundred $$, but could be feasible in the future considering how much some places charge for a 'general' service on the Busa.
I don't have any confidence in stuff like valve clearances or anything internal. I also rely on the bike as my commuter every day and believe I don't have enough time on the weekends to service it myself. There's also the peace of mind/ignorance/trust thing when you take it to someone to get serviced. I do trust who I take my bike to, even though the cost seems a bit exorbinant [??].
I even shelled out $120 for the workshop manual from Suzuki and got those CDs with the parts guide from someone recently.
I don't know what my point is, just adding my own 2c.
If you have any advice, let me know.
Oh, one thing I do want to know, am paranoid about, is rear wheel alignment. If I remove/adjust the rear wheel, how am I supposed to re-align it properly? I generally don't trust the stamped on guides. I adjusted the wheel on my last bike once and was always thinking maybe I'd done it wrong and any quirks/funny feelings while riding would worry me.
-jon- out.
maybe its generational or geographical ( could be a thesis for a buding sociologist ?) but back at the dawn of time when I was first besotted by the two wheeled wonder ,every man and his dog did all the wrenching on his own machine ( as an aside I,m an ardent disciple of the FTPCBS principle f*** the politically correct bull shit so I will not be using politically correct language ) we employed many methods to achieve our aims ,yours truely sort help from my more experenced elders eg DAD yes they were a common sight back then in those old fashoned functional neuclear famlies , good ol dad would donate time and tools to the cause one was encouraged to" have a go " in these informative years one would learn the time honored art of f*&^ing up real bad as we moved on we were encouaged to "purchase" our own tools , as good ol dad became a cranky ol fart who did not appreciate the loss ,damage and abuse of said tools , so we started to acquire a range of tools and one learned quickly that cheap shit was precisily that so quality was sort yes I still have many tools purchased 35 years ago that function well today ,next knowledge was sort from books , working for FREE down at joes garage , and spending countless hours over many years at TAFE courses ,this was over and above ones training in what ever vocation one was earning a crust from ,this and spending all of ones spare time on "projects " started small and worked up through all the fads , a common social event was the "mates getting together over a a beer or 10 dozen at the shed " where one could share ,do ,learn and perfect the art of bullshitin ,there were also bike clubs ,racing clubs and other groupes where like minded lads would gather , so for me over the years its allways been do it your self and do it right , but in the end its up to each of you to decide how you do things for me the journey has been long and extreamly satisfying and thougherly enjoyable
the best way to keep your front and back wheel aligned is to "string line them " give me a holler if ya want to know how
Gary
I know what you mean by the whole dad and son thing. My oldest brother got that, but it ran out by the time I arrived.
At the last Sydney motorbike show I stood by the Kawasaki that was cut in half and listened to a guy explaining to his fifteen-year-old son, "...there are your clutches...that's the choke...those are the injectors...so what happens as you turn the throttle..." I spoke to the lad for about five minutes. He knew it all already anyway. At fifteen. His thing was motocross, and he was building bikes and competing. We even spoke a bit on the different techniques in rear brake use on motocross and sports bikes.
As they walked away, quite seamlessly they were replaced by another dad and son. "...that's the choke...etc..." They went through the same script practically. I envy those lads. I'm operating on books and commonsense. Anytime I see myself mucking up, (usually cos I don't have the tool), I take the part down to the shop and watch what the mechanic does. He gets paid, and next time I know what I'm doing. He'll always get the big infrequent jobs - I know my limits.
The biggest benefit is if something is going wrong while you're riding, you have a very good idea what it might be, cos you put it together.
Freggen dealers, I bought my Busa from PROCYCLES in Hornsby in May second hand 11500kms, part of the deal when i bought the bike was that they gave it a 12,000k service. I was concerned about the coolant level and took it to Matt Mladin at narellan, told him to check over it as i was going for a ride day this week, I told him the bike had a 12,000K service done already. He rang me up at work said come in, showed me the plugs and oil ( which i should have checked) they hadn't been changed for ages. I rang procycles for a copy of the job Sheet ( what they had done on the service) they said we will get back to you ..... NO REPLY... now i have to Pay Mat Mladin $300 for another service... what do you think are the chances of Procycles repaying me for that.....??FUKALL .......
Any recommendations from you guys on books/manuals aside from what comes with the bike to steer me in the right direction? At the very least, I'd like to be able to check my bike after service from the dealer so I know they did what they were supposed to
I'd love to learn how to service my own bike, but don't even know where to begin! This from a gal that always likes to do for herself, but with a husband that insists he can do it and then I don't have to worry...
Currently, with the Harley, I'm a victim of trusting the guy that just worked on my bike did what he was supposed to, but in my history with Harleys, I've already seen bikes sent home with oil leaks, missing bolts, missing oil caps; hell, I witnessed a pissed tech working on some guy's bike when he beat the hell out of it with a wrench! Thankfully, I also witnessed his boss tear him a new one over his behavior!
...you guys are absolutely right - no one will give a shit about your bike the way you do...your best defense it to be more educated than they are!
I must admit i've had plenty fun (screwing up) tampering with my busa. I fitted the DB and found those little rubber grommits a mongrel to get out and put back but did that job ok. I fitted some bar risers but they were not exact heights and tightening them threw off the triple clamp a few mm, which i noticed. They are straight now with the help of the pro's but the thought of an off triple clamp hangs in your mind for a while. Changing footpegs and adjusting rear brake and gear lever was easy as it should be. But after the triple clamp event i plan to leave any major stuff to the pros. The busa is too expensive a toy for me to make mistakes on.
Viking
oils aint JUST oils..... untrained, inexperienced people "tinker" with their toys at their own risk...... in other words, even a relatively simple oil change can turn to mush in the hands of an inexperienced person... eg a 'stripped sump plug' is mostly caused by inexperience... not to mention the value of a well trained mechanic's instinctive ability to smell potential trouble on a machine etc etc etc etc ...... :
les
Shelley! Go to the Technical section on this board, and get yourself a free Hayabusa manual on cd. It'll be the best e-mail you ever sent.
I agree with leaving BIG jobs to the pros, but a pro who doesn't care will still do a crap job, and worse than you, so you need to be able to tell if work has been done on your bike.
How big a job is, depends on your competence. Know your limits, but don't be too afraid. I found that most of it is easy to learn. Watch someone doing it first if you have to.
Sharp racing make just such a device. Can also double as a hole maker for hot dog buns & probably other uses for the kinky.........
Phone is 03 9459 2513
What special tools? All you need is a screwdriver and a bloody BIG hammer
Shelley? That's definitely a new one!
Thanks Throwdown, I'll check the other forum for info...it's probably something I can get here in the States...
Michelle
Hear is a solution for a newbie like me....
Never been able to tinker with gadgets but always wanted to, started with computers and now tinkering with bikes... there is no better feeling than the satisfaction from working successfully on your own bike, and there is no worse feeling than having to catch the bus cause you cant get the bloody thing to work!
Well here is the solution, bike mobile, he comes to your place with his van, and work on the bike in front of you, anything and everything, you can ask him questions and he does it all, you supply the parts and he does the work, and you learn, excellent, highly recommended, tell him Adam sent you, he worked on my Bandit, and my skills are growing all the time! Never use a shop, who knows what they do in there, tis way you learn, you see and you supply the parts (cheaper !)
Cheers
BXTC
Is he in the Sydney area?
Does he carry a portable dyno in the back of his van?????
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