Ok time for my rant. I am so sick of hearing "buy the manual". When you pull up to somebody broke down on the side of the road do you tell them they should have bought aaa and drive off? I bet you get punched in the nose if you did! I have been riding for over 20 years, I rode Honda's, Kawasaki's and anything I could find because I never had the money for a Harley. It took everything I could muster to buy my first Harley and half the fun is figuring out how it works. $45 or $60 for a manual was out of my budget(I bought the bike and never had money for a helmet so the dealer gave me one) and I figure some on here are in the same boat. I am in better shape now but I am not too good to help out another! The manual is alot of help but if you do not want to help then just keep your mouth shut and leave him or her alone.
I am more than happy to look in my manual to help them out. ok im done

 

$40 to $60 is not out of anyones budget who can afford a harley...

people typically only get chided when they ask stupid questions over and over again. and really if i need to know something simple like how to check my oil hot or cold or something i'll just google it.

sometimes i'm convinced people just ask things because they're lonely.

 

If you don't like questions, stop clicking on the ****ing thread. Wow...simple, huh? If you are too good to answer a question that you know the answer to, then wtf are you even doing on a forum?

 

exactly what I am saying! some just think they are better than others

 

If a person wants to save the hundreds of dollars on labor to work on the bike themselves they should take the money they've just saved and spend it on a manual.

And the first thing I ask somebody broke down on the road is whether or not they have a manual and if they say no then I leave them. Without water and food.

 

I joined this forum for the help - now through experience I`m able to give some help - oh happy days.

 

I ask for, give and receive help on here. The only time I feel like throwing out the BTFM part (don't think I have though?) is when someone is way over their head and it's obvious.

I am a pretty fair shadetree mechanic, went through school 30 years ago paid by wrenching but my how things have changed. But I would not touch doing the cam replacement for example without a manual for reference. That or I better have iclick or Dawg on speed dial. (like that's gonna happen)

But OP I have seen some pretty easy to answer or easy to look up and relate questions get that thrown back at the poster and thought it was wrong.

 

That is what forums are for. When I go to any of the other forums I am a member of (for my Mopar cages, guns and video game consoles), everyone is more than happy to offer their advise and is more than ready to drop some knowledge on you. Sure, there are pointless threads, jokes and arguments about the hundreds of different ways to do things, but nobody tries to swell up just because of a question.

A lot of members here act like everyone should just be worshiping them for all of the knowledge they have but refuse to give you. Or they post about how they think some question is stupid and they wish they didn't even look at it... like it was impossible not to or something.

People like that should take a look at real helpful people like NSCoyote. That dude would offer you his advise if he was mid pump or on the can. His build thread is awesome and he seems to answer questions with pics when he can.

Yes, I own manuals. I am also a career mechanic and couldn't imagine telling one of my crew members off when they have a genuine question. Maybe I'm just not a "REAL" biker. If being a constant dick is a prerequisite, then I don't want to be one anyways.

 

The only guys that break down on the side of the road are the ones who didn't buy the manual and decided to figure out how things work on their own...LOL.

 

to a lot biking is a lot more than just riding a motorcycle, it's getting knowledgable about the machine, the more you work on it the more you and it become one entity. it's a source of pride to work on your bike and know it inside and out.

and yes from these people you will not garner respect with questions like "how do you change your spark plugs" or "how much engine oil goes into 'insert bike here'...." or "where do you put your gas cap when filling up".

just the way it is... you'll get your question answered but you'll have to weather the people who think you're helpless.