Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

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Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycle(s)?

Yes, I maintain and repair my motorcycles.
72
87%
I maintain my motorcycles, but leave major repairs to the dealership.
6
7%
I have an independent mechanic maintain and repair my motorcycles.
5
6%
I take my motorcycles to the dealership for all maintenance and repairs.
0
No votes
I would like to maintain/repair my motorcycles, but lack equipment and knowledge.
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 83

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Whiskerfish
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Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#91

Post by Whiskerfish »

See to me that is the biggest advantage of doing your own work. You learn the machine and unless a hard part breaks odds are a road side repair can be done and you can at least limp home.
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Psst. oh and by the way CHANGE YOUR BELTS!!!!
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rcmatt007
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Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#92

Post by rcmatt007 »

had two of those.... a blown head gasket and u-joint failure. on the failure I got a 10' U-Haul, when we got to my daughters in DC I quick shipped an ebay rear swing arm and changed it out in the garage
the blown head gasket meant both bikes went into a 14' U-Haul for the last 500 miles home
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
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"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
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76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
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ancientdad
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Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#93

Post by ancientdad »

x01660 wrote:
desertrefugee wrote:
ancientdad wrote:Yes, there's not much in this world that's better than the feeling of pride when you answer the question of who did all the work... but for me, it's also about money. If I didn't do virtually everything myself, I wouldn't even be close to being able to afford it. Not to mention, you're not out on the highway riding along, wondering if what the other guy did will be reliable...
No, but you're on the highway wondering if what YOU did will be reliable...

Long stretches of open road allow my mind to wander over lots of recent maintenance actions. Sometimes i worry about it, sometimes i dont.
Especially when you're out in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception and rapidly approaching inclement weather...

:shock:
Good points, both... having worked in the industry when I was younger, I don't worry too much about my own work on my bikes, and there aren't many wide-open spaces around me where there's no cell reception either - so, point taken tumb2
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'84 VF1100S naked
among past rides
'79 and '80 CBXs
'75 and '76 GL1000s
(2) '73 CB750K3, '78 CB750K8/F2
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desertrefugee
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Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#94

Post by desertrefugee »

x01660 wrote:
desertrefugee wrote:
ancientdad wrote:Yes, there's not much in this world that's better than the feeling of pride when you answer the question of who did all the work... but for me, it's also about money. If I didn't do virtually everything myself, I wouldn't even be close to being able to afford it. Not to mention, you're not out on the highway riding along, wondering if what the other guy did will be reliable...
No, but you're on the highway wondering if what YOU did will be reliable...

Long stretches of open road allow my mind to wander over lots of recent maintenance actions. Sometimes i worry about it, sometimes i dont.
Especially when you're out in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception and rapidly approaching inclement weather...

:shock:
Yeah. Places like this spring to mind. I'm fairly confident in my repair abilities on the road, but invariably something breaks that you either don't have or can't get easily - assuming there's cell coverage. Again, stretches like this are all to common out here - and can go for many, many miles.
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Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#95

Post by rcmatt007 »

like Kansas.... there are miles and miles of miles and miles
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
menlo
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Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#96

Post by menlo »

Yes, I've always maintained and repaired my motorcycles. Grew up in a bike shop and started twisting at 12 yrs and was a commission only mechanic at 16, until 20. Got smart and went back to Engineering school. Now, at 62, I'm thinking about letting some else at least, change tires, maybe.
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