Learning bike mechanics

[aum108]

Hi,

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm a mechanical n00b when it comes to bikes (my engineering field is software and digital hardware). But I am very keen to learn.

Does anyone know of any semi-formal or informal training available in the Waikato to help folks like me to start gathering the skills and tools to take care of our rides? Training that can be taken part time and inexpensively.

Initial target would be the basic maintenance chores listed in most bikes' owner manuals.
Then, learning basic through to intermediate fault diagnosis and mechanical repairs.
Then, step by step, towards gaining the ability to strip a bike down to the frame piece by piece and build it back up again, tweaking and refurbishing the components along the way.

(No, I'm not seeking the mining skills to dig for the iron and bauxite, nor the metallurgy skills to forge the steel and aluminium, nor the ... :eek:)

Thanks and cheers
a

[whowhatwhere]

Cheapest option is to buy a Haynes manual for your bike and follow the service schedule. It's amazing how fast you'll find that you'll be able to carry out anything in the manual with a few basic tools.

[aum108]

Cheapest option is to buy a Haynes manual for your bike and follow the service schedule. It's amazing how fast you'll find that you'll be able to carry out anything in the manual with a few basic tools.

Great - except they don't publish a manual for my 1994 Yamaha Virago XVS250. :(

Thanks anyway for the suggestion.

[tnarg]

Here is a start. There used to be a community ed course up here in Auckland but not sure if its still going.

http://www.rideforever.co.nz/your-bike/maintaining-your-bike/

[unstuck]

Hey, everyone has got to start somewhere, I would of thought most polytech,s would have some sort of course you could do. Here is a little sumthin sumthin to help you out. http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm Good luck.

[hayd3n]

http://www.filecrop.com/6377157/index.html

http://www.carlsalter.com/download.asp?p=1332
there ya go

[Flip]

Here is a good place to start

http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm

[tigertim20]

easiest way is to learn at your own pace by doing. the internet is a fucking goldmine. start tapping keywords into youtube and youll find how to vids for damn near every-bloody-thing.

[hayd3n]

easiest way is to learn at your own pace by doing. the internet is a fucking goldmine. start tapping keywords into youtube and youll find how to vids for damn near every-bloody-thing.

is that how shervin got so good?

[SS90]

Hey, everyone has got to start somewhere, I would of thought most polytech,s would have some sort of course you could do. Here is a little sumthin sumthin to help you out. http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm Good luck.

For a laugh, I followed this link, and had a wee read.

I don't normally follow web based information (trustworthy sources not withstanding), but this is as TRUE as it gets.

Every once in a while someone asks about a career in Motorcycle Mechanics or starting your own shop. I'm not real sure what to tell them. I have been a mechanic all my life. My mother told me that, as a baby, I would take the baby stroller apart, and anything else I could get my hands on. So I guess God meant me to be a mechanic. I've loved motorcycles ever since I first rode an old Honda 55... and stopped it by dragging my feet because I couldn't remember where the brakes were. However, I do not recommend Motorcycle Mechanics as a career. I do recommend it as a hobby. Why ? Well, for several reasons. Considering what you have to know and the number of tools you need, the pay is lousy. Unless you live way down south, you will only work half the year on motorcycles. Then they lay you off or you get to work on snowmobiles and snowthrowers... Yuck. Someone once said that working at what you love is like being on vacation all the time... NOT. If you twist wrenches all day you are NOT going to want to twist them at night, on your own stuff. You will want to do something else. (Like Computers !) You also develop a very mercenary attitude toward bikes. Nowadays, when I see a really great bike, I don't think "What a great bike to have and ride." I think "How much can I sell that toad for ?" I read of a guy who collected baseball cards... just loved them. Everyone said he should open a shop and sell them. He did. 10 years later, he said that from the day he opened his shop till now, he had not added one single card to his personal collection. I know how he feels. Do you get the picture ?