Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

Discuss anything about other motorcycles, accessories, riding gear and other motorcycle related topics.

Moderators: Whiskerfish, ascot, Forum Moderators

Post Reply

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

User avatar
Sidecar Bob
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 7633
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:14 pm
Location: Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#76

Post by Sidecar Bob »

I guess I've been using tubes long enough now to be used to them because I rarely pinch one anymore. I think the trick is using proper bead lube so you don't have to wrestle with the levers and inspecting all the way around to make sure the tube isn't between the bead and the rim before you start inflating it.

As for wives, I've only ever had one and we've been married for almost 43 years. There was a time when we might have gone our separate ways but we were both too stubborn so we're still together. I think the biggest breakthrough that contributed to us staying together was when she learned not to keep everyone waiting if I was late coming for dinner (because I was in the middle of something in the shop and couldn't stop right now or if I was talking to one of the neighbours or something) and that I would accept that it was my own fault and eat mine cold after everyone else was finished and without complaint.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
User avatar
rcmatt007
Treasurer
Treasurer
Posts: 31305
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:48 pm
My Album: http://www.ngwclub.com/gallery/v/wingmans/rcmatt007/
Location: New River Valley, Virginia

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#77

Post by rcmatt007 »

I have been in the opposite position I had not used tubes for a long time until we got Beth's Heritage Softail
-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
User avatar
chewy999
SUPER BIKER!!!!
SUPER BIKER!!!!
Posts: 3214
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:21 am
Location: Haddenham, Cambs, UK

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#78

Post by chewy999 »

I rarely use a tube for a motorbike, but if I do, I just use washing up liquid on the bead as lube. I also inflate the tube slightly to make sure it's in the right place and not twisted. Then deflate and fit the beads. They shouldn't take that much force in my experience.

I did learn a very important lesson years ago when fixing a puncture. I was meeting my girlfriend but had a puncture on my bike. So wheel off, patch fitted and reassembled. Still had a puncture!!!!! Wheel off, tube in water, patch applied, reassembled. STILL had a puncture. Long story short, this went on a couple more times and I was down to my last patch. Almost in tears and getting desperate, I asked my dad if he had any ideas.

He took his glasses off, looked at me in a condescending way that only people who wear glasses can, and said..............







'Have you checked the tyre (tire) to see if the cause of the initial puncture is still there?'

Guess what? Yes it was, a nice long and sharp thorn.

From that day I have marked the tyre at the valve so when I find the puncture on the tube, it is easy to see where the tyre was penetrated. May seem obvious, but............

anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1
Previous Rides,
1980 CB250N Good to learn on
1981 CX500 good mid range tourer, went to Austria on it!
1983 GL1100C Pride and joy, sold when I bought my 1st house, big mistake
1985 GL650 Silverwing another mistake, horrible bike
1986 CBX550 Good commuter
1989 Suzuki GS750 (1976) cheap and cheerful until a dog ran out in front of me on Xmas Eve, 1991
Current bikes
2010 CB1300 back on a bike after 19 years, two divorces, children grown up etc
1980 GL1100 NOW ON THE ROAD, still use CB1300.
User avatar
Sidecar Bob
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 7633
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:14 pm
Location: Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#79

Post by Sidecar Bob »

The tires I use on the sidecar outfits all require tubes so I don't have a lot of choice.

Re "From that day I have marked the tyre at the valve": Because of the places where each layer's ends are overlapped during production, no tire is perfectly balanced. They usually come from the factory with a balance dot or mark that is supposed to go next to the valve stem on installation to minimize the need for balance weights. Whenever a tire is removed and re-installed (or even saved for future emergency use) the same part should be at the valve to maintain balance so if the original mark is no longer visible the tire should be marked, whether you need to look for the cause of a puncture or not.

Using dish washing or laundry detergent to lubricate tire beads on aluminum rims is a recipe for disaster as Howard Halasz (tech contributor for Wing World Magazine) says in this article on Randakk's site http://www.randakksblog.com/easy-method ... #more-1132

When I used dish detergent to mount tires I always had to remove the corrosion from the inside of the rim with a wire brush but since I changed to using proper bead lube there is hardly any (including on Eccles that is driven on salted winter roads). Also (& this alone is worth the extra cost) detergent seems to almost glue the rubber to the rim but proper bead lube doesn't so it is much easier to break the bead when bead lube was used during installation.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
User avatar
Lucien Harpress
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 4077
Joined: Sat Dec 24, 2011 11:41 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#80

Post by Lucien Harpress »

To answer the question truthfully (I think I added some snark on page 1- I forget), the only thing I haven't done myself is replacing tires- and even then, I take the rim off (and put it back on) myself. Mostly this is for financial reasons- I mean, I could only afford a bike in the first place if it was less than $1500. Paying someone to fix it is out of the question.

The second reason, especially with my KZ1300, is that simply nobody near me has even SEEN this bike, much less know how to work on it. Carburetors are generally my bane, and I still don't know much about them, but the 1300 in particular has forced me to actually learn what's going wrong with something, rather than just throw money at replacement parts until something works.

Now, to be fair I HAVE enlisted the help of a couple of forum members before, but it's usually been for one-off jobs or advice, not long-term maintenance.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
User avatar
ritalz
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 4090
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2005 10:22 am
Location: St Louis, MO

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#81

Post by ritalz »

A trick I learned some time ago about mounting tires with tubes. Put the tube in the tire and inflate just enough to take shape. Take several large zip ties and close the bead in at least six places. Lube the beads and work them both on the rim at the same time. Line everything up, remove the zip ties and inflate. There are videos floating around showing the process.
Al

2003 Goldwing Daily Rider
1975 Goldwing 'Max'
1984 Goldwing New Bagger Project
1976 Goldwing 'Grocery Getter' Sold
1985 Goldwing Interstate 'NCC-1985' sold
1981 Silverwing Sold
1982 Goldeing Project Sold
1981 Goldwing Parted Out
1983 Goldwing Project Sold
1973 CB500F Long Gone
1966 CL77 First Street Bike
http://www.ngwclub.com/gallery3/index.p ... ans/ritalz
User avatar
Sidecar Bob
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 7633
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:14 pm
Location: Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#82

Post by Sidecar Bob »

That sounds awfully complicated to me....
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
User avatar
ritalz
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 4090
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2005 10:22 am
Location: St Louis, MO

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#83

Post by ritalz »

Not really. A quick search found this video.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/v ... ction=view
Al

2003 Goldwing Daily Rider
1975 Goldwing 'Max'
1984 Goldwing New Bagger Project
1976 Goldwing 'Grocery Getter' Sold
1985 Goldwing Interstate 'NCC-1985' sold
1981 Silverwing Sold
1982 Goldeing Project Sold
1981 Goldwing Parted Out
1983 Goldwing Project Sold
1973 CB500F Long Gone
1966 CL77 First Street Bike
http://www.ngwclub.com/gallery3/index.p ... ans/ritalz
User avatar
Sidecar Bob
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 7633
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:14 pm
Location: Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#84

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Ah, that makes sense. The zip ties are there to keep the beads together so you can lever both beads on at the same time. For the tires I use it would take a lot of effort to lever both beads on together, though and all of my rims are aluminum so I'll continue using proper bead lube and doing one bead at a time.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
User avatar
ancientdad
Cast Iron Member
Cast Iron Member
Posts: 60
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:26 pm

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#85

Post by ancientdad »

Yes, I've seen the video and the idea is a good one. Half the battle with getting a tire back on the rim is keeping it in the low section of the rim while working your way around the tire to take full advantage of the "extra" distance that provides for getting the tire over the rim on the opposite side of the section already on (actually, it does sound complicated...) :lol:
'73 CL450K5 brat
'84 VF1100S naked
among past rides
'79 and '80 CBXs
'75 and '76 GL1000s
(2) '73 CB750K3, '78 CB750K8/F2
wmpotter399
Cast Iron Member
Cast Iron Member
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:57 pm

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#86

Post by wmpotter399 »

I work on my own bikes. Not always because of money. But because of the sense of pride. Especially an older bike Like my 86 Shadow and the 83 GL1100 that I am doing now. When people look at it and ask who did everything....make me feel good to say that I did. My friend has a 2016 Goldwing. I would take mine over his any day of the week.
User avatar
Mike-C
True Blue Steel Biker
True Blue Steel Biker
Posts: 2805
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:26 pm
Location: North Lancaster, Ontario, Canada

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#87

Post by Mike-C »

Good Day Folks;
Yes, WM, I work on mine not only because I save money, but I really enjoy it. The satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself and the knowledge that if any other glitches occur you can deal with it.
Mike Coleman
'84 Wing-Lite (ex-Aspencade)
'84 (un-Terstate)
'84 Standard (as yet un-named)
'96 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 (The Vulcanator)
Mike Coleman
North Lancaster, Ontario
Canada
User avatar
ancientdad
Cast Iron Member
Cast Iron Member
Posts: 60
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:26 pm

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#88

Post by ancientdad »

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...
'73 CL450K5 brat
'84 VF1100S naked
among past rides
'79 and '80 CBXs
'75 and '76 GL1000s
(2) '73 CB750K3, '78 CB750K8/F2
User avatar
desertrefugee
SUPER BIKER!!!!
SUPER BIKER!!!!
Posts: 3947
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:33 pm
Location: Chandler, AZ, USA

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#89

Post by desertrefugee »

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.
- Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning to ride in the rain.
User avatar
x01660
Titanium Member
Titanium Member
Posts: 419
Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2017 11:55 pm
Location: Ventura, CA

Re: Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

#90

Post by x01660 »

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:
-x01660

"The best motorcycle is the one well ridden" anim-cheers1

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “General Motorcycle Forum”