Basic mechanic skills, if you don't have em' should you be riding?
- Thread starter Rothman
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red1100cc
Registered
depends on the car.
i drive my Geo Metro at WOT, everywhere i go.......................................just trying to reach the speedlimit!
SKnight
Registered
It's all relative. Think about a typical cars life. Fired up cold, driven like it was stolen, quick starts, short stops. Idle in traffic AC going full blast for hours on end. Curbs, carrying a load of kids and gear to the beach. Oil changes get skipped, etc.
Now think about a bike. Hard acceleration sometimes, lean hard in a corner other times. In general the car has the harder life as the vast majority of us spend far more time on the road than a track. We warm ours up before whipping them, light weight makes it easier on parts for going and woahing.
Cars do have a hard life, it's just not balls out take offs or max effort turning.
I regularly check my chrome cams and blinker fluid. Tell me what else should I be looking for?
That is sort of funny....but it is a serious thread....What kind of oil..that came stock......i stripped my drain plug...really... i would like to find some oil good enough to NEVER have to change it again.....You call only helicoil up to 20 or 22 millimeters.
piratediverjefff
Registered
lankeeyankee
Banned
Unfortunately some think they have mechanical skills and tools become weapons of busa destruction leading to a high percentage of induced problems.
My neighbor across the street worries me...His forks have been leaking for so long that the front pads are just soaked. He came over and talked to me about not having any rear brakes..... see pic...he's young and prolly has good hearing.........
Seems the most overlooked thing on Bikes is the drive chain......on a modern o-ring chain.....and you have to finally adjust it..it's probably to the point where it needs to be replaced asap....if you see red rust sneaking out past the o-rings...it's TOAST....time to replace. Do not adjust it..throw it away!!!!!And if you catch it early enough.... MHO..you do Not need to replace the sprockets.... 40K on a 900 Ninja....4 chains and sprockets never had to be replaced. Some might say i'm nut's.....sprockets not hooked at all.OK check out this pic...should the kid be riding at all ??.
Seems the most overlooked thing on Bikes is the drive chain......on a modern o-ring chain.....and you have to finally adjust it..it's probably to the point where it needs to be replaced asap....if you see red rust sneaking out past the o-rings...it's TOAST....time to replace. Do not adjust it..throw it away!!!!!And if you catch it early enough.... MHO..you do Not need to replace the sprockets.... 40K on a 900 Ninja....4 chains and sprockets never had to be replaced. Some might say i'm nut's.....sprockets not hooked at all.OK check out this pic...should the kid be riding at all ??.
Is that you expert mechanic opinion
From my dunce stool :cookoo:
I can't have one of those 1) I'm not one 2) I'll get a beating
I set around and BS at the shop by my house sometimes, and it is amazing the stories they tell me about the stuff they have come in there. I've even seen some of it personally. Young guy came in one day a while back wanting to get his chain adjusted on his metric cruiser. I walk out with the counter guy to look at it and found the chain, literally, almost touching the ground, shark fin sprockets and all. Counter guy tells him that he is in desperate need of new chain and sprockets. The guy says, "my dad says all it needs is adjusted". He left sure that they were trying to rip him off for a new chain and sprocket sale. Then there was the Harley guy with the 21" front wheel. Tire was completely bald except for a shadow of tread in the very center. I pointed it out and he put on his HD frown and said, " that tar's good for another 1000 miles", and rode off. Sport bike people are the same way. Guy came in saying that something was wrong with his front tire and it wasn't wanting to turn very well at slower speeds. We go out to look, tire is fine, but the head set bearings were so far gone (from countless wheelies) that there was close to an inch of play at the bars. It goes on and on..
true statement.
check this out (an extreme example but probably not an isolated incident).......YUP, 90K miles without a single oil change
I'm guilty of it myself. When I got the KX250F it was a very low hours bike. Low enough hours that it had the OEM tires on it. I took the rear suspension apart and re-greased all the linkage and swing arm bearings, oil/filter change, clean air filter, new back tire, chain/sprockets, etc.. Front tire was still like new, everything had been tight on the rear part of it, so I didn't think to check that part (can you see where we're going?). Went to the track first time, did some laps, came in for a bit, went back out for some more laps. Third lap almost done and all of a sudden I don't have a front brake. Thought it had blown a line, so instead of stopping then, I figured I'd go around the last turn, over the last jump, and come in to check it out. Over the last jump, came down on the back side and the whole front end collapsed. Ate s**t over the bars, got up, and realized the front wheel had came off. Lesson learned (got a small tear in the muscle wall of my lower abdomen from landing on the bar end to remind me), check ALL fasteners on a new/used bike before riding it.
Guilty as charged, but I'm not completely ignorant. The only thing I really know how to do for my bike is chain maintenance and changing oil. I'm reading as much as I can and trying to learn all I can so if you guys know of good links that cover things that we should all know, add the link to this page. Could be a great source of knowledge and save some lives.Also, is adjusting the suspension something I can do from my own garage or does it need to be taken to the shop?
Gpmo
Registered
People should know the basic checking levers, tire pressure, and brakes. Other than that no people shouldn't have to be a mechanic or mechanically inclined to own or ride. That's like saying people should know how to code on a computer to own one. Some people are not mechanically inclined and would likely do more harm with a wrench than good.
If I see something with someone's bike that's not right I make sure to educate on what to look for and make sure it gets handled.
Also my bike is dirty but maintained. Riding always wins out over cleaning for me.
If I see something with someone's bike that's not right I make sure to educate on what to look for and make sure it gets handled.
Also my bike is dirty but maintained. Riding always wins out over cleaning for me.
I WAS one of these guys. Back in the 90's I had a GSX1100. I never touched my bike and paid someone else to do all the maintenance, because I was too afraid I'd mess something up and make it worse. I have slowly learned not to be so shy about wrenching on my own bike and have gotten better at doing minor stuff to it. Not to mention the enjoyment of wrenching your own bike. Sometimes it's all about having the right set of tools. But no, I still won't adjust my own suspension.
E Zurcher
Registered
depends on the car.
i drive my Geo Metro at WOT, everywhere i go.......................................just trying to reach the speedlimit!
I always think it's funny when folks buy econoboxes or hybrids and drive the crap outa them like they were drag racing.
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