Said the jackass with 126 posts. Oooohhhh.

 

There is something to be said for having an experienced mechanic do maintenance and repairs on your bike.

Few would be happy however if that dealership had someone doing the work that had absolutely no experience doing so.

Yet they will recommend other forum members, who say they have no experience with such repairs, to jump in and do the services themselves.

To do it yourself, you need to take the time to learn and understand the proper way to do the services. You then need to source the proper tools and supplies, then you need a proper work space, put aside the time, and give it your best shot, knowing that the first time is the hardest, and has the smallest chance to go perfectly.

You also need a plan "B" in case something goes well. Easy to drive your bike to the dealership and hang out in the waiting room for an oil change. Much more difficult to have your bike transported there on a trailer because you cross threaded a drain plug.

 

I agree. I've been changing my own oil since the first two dealer oil changes. It gets easier as you go on - and from there I learned to unmount/mount my tires, perform routine maintenance on just about anything. I've had my share of issues, and there have been some times when I just didn't have the time to do the repairs so it had to go to the dealer.

Wrenching on your own motorcycle can also benefit you if you get stuck out there on the road somewhere and need repairs. This has happened a few times - and without the experience I gained from doing a few simple things at first, I would have probably been at the mercy of a tow truck and dealer which I didn't know or trust to work on my motorcycle.

However - there are items I don't do because I either don't have the tools, or don't have the time (or space) to perform those repairs.

Oil changes and routine maintenance - got that. Changing out cams (or cam bearings) - I'd defer this to a solid mechanic. Since I ride almost 30,000 miles a year - it only made sense for me to perform my own 1k, 5k, 10k etc maintenance.

 

Oh dear. I hurt your feelings. My bad.

But - as you wrote BigMike... 'If you don't like what I write, don't read it. If it irritates you, plus 1 for me!'

 

O M G
You folks getting on londo-cat's case do realize he's kidding, right?
The statements above are so ridiculous and you don't see the humor in them?

 

Not likely. But when a no-nothing noob comes in calling people idiots and moderating the way people post - they are a jackass. Pretty simple really.

 

I guess there are reasons some people shouldn't work on their own cars/bikes.

 

All you need for basic stuff is your owners manual and basic tools....a service manual will have all torque specs and more in depth stuff to do. Spend the money on a jack and some specialty tools you may need...money well spent.

 

For some, common sense ain't so common. For others, they lack the mechanical aptitude. For others, they do not have the time or patience. For a few, they have money to **** away and could care less.

Those are the people that SHOULD bring it to the dealer, plain and simple.

I like to tinker, have a typical farm boy's mechanical aptitude, barely scrape by $$ wise, and feel that why have someone do it if I can do it myself. Granted there are things that are beyond my know-how or skills. For those, I bring it to the dealer. I am in the camp that believes that you should learn your vehicles, it may help you some day by the side of the road.

 

I used to work on my own bikes, cars, etc. I dont have the time (or I choose not to make the time) for this work now. So for my bike I use the local independant Harley mechanic. Some people do their own taxes, some don't. Not really any different. To each their own...