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The bit on quality might resonate more if you have to ask someone else to maintain your motorcycle. It's extremely hard to get someone else to care as much as y

The bit on quality might resonate more if you have to ask someone else to maintain your motorcycle. It's extremely hard to get someone else to care as much as you do. I think the decline of companies often comes down to the departure of people who really care.

criddell 7y ago
I rode motorcycles for 30 years so this is something I've thought about. Any maintenance I chose to do myself was always because I couldn't afford to pay a professional. If you wanted a custom suit made, would you do it yourself or would you find a great tailor to hire? I'd certainly hire the tailor not because he cares more but because he knows what he's doing. What companies were you thinking about in your last sentence?
- barrkel 7y ago
  I've had swingarm bolts not tightened on a scooter after a tyre change (one bolt come entirely free and lost on the road), a load of fairing clips missing after a service, steering head bearing notchiness not noticed on presale service, brake caliper bolts (!!!) not done up tightly enough or with threadlock so that the caliper came loose while riding - I only noticed because the ABS light came on. More insidious things like final drive in scooters getting prematurely worn due to use of impact wrench for undoing wheel nuts; doesn't show up as much until you start getting grinding noises after 6k miles. Like I said, delegating quality is hard, IME. I always do brakes myself now, making sure to clean the pistons and not minimize time spent. I've done 3 final drive rebuilds on three different SH300s with new bearings because the parts cost about £50 but labour is closer to £1000, was recommended by a dealer to scrap (!) a £4000 scooter when the bearings failed the first time at 10k. I've done a couple of steering head bearings replacements too. These things don't save me time, but they do increase my connection to the machine I'm trusting my life with - I commute by bike every day.
  - criddell 7y ago
    Wow! I've had much, much better experience with the shops I've dealt with. I'm the type of person that after putting everything back together has a little baggie of parts that I have no idea where they go. Mostly though, there are only so many hours in a day. Every hour I would spend in my garage with my motorcycle in pieces is an hour less that I spend playing my guitar, walking my dog, or playing board games with my kids. You know, quality time.
    - barrkel 7y ago
      I use freezer bags labelled with function / location for all the parts I remove that aren't recognizable by themselves, and phone photos for assemblies that need sequencing. I understand the time argument. It makes sense as a trade-off. For me, the trade-off is different, until now at least - no kids, but one on the way. It's imbued riding with more meaning, like when you cook a meal yourself. Feel a niggle, fix it, feel the improvement, the increase in quality.

criddell 7y ago

I rode motorcycles for 30 years so this is something I've thought about. Any maintenance I chose to do myself was always because I couldn't afford to pay a professional. If you wanted a custom suit made, would you do it yourself or would you find a great tailor to hire? I'd certainly hire the tailor not because he cares more but because he knows what he's doing. What companies were you thinking about in your last sentence?

barrkel 7y ago
I've had swingarm bolts not tightened on a scooter after a tyre change (one bolt come entirely free and lost on the road), a load of fairing clips missing after a service, steering head bearing notchiness not noticed on presale service, brake caliper bolts (!!!) not done up tightly enough or with threadlock so that the caliper came loose while riding - I only noticed because the ABS light came on. More insidious things like final drive in scooters getting prematurely worn due to use of impact wrench for undoing wheel nuts; doesn't show up as much until you start getting grinding noises after 6k miles. Like I said, delegating quality is hard, IME. I always do brakes myself now, making sure to clean the pistons and not minimize time spent. I've done 3 final drive rebuilds on three different SH300s with new bearings because the parts cost about £50 but labour is closer to £1000, was recommended by a dealer to scrap (!) a £4000 scooter when the bearings failed the first time at 10k. I've done a couple of steering head bearings replacements too. These things don't save me time, but they do increase my connection to the machine I'm trusting my life with - I commute by bike every day.
- criddell 7y ago
  Wow! I've had much, much better experience with the shops I've dealt with. I'm the type of person that after putting everything back together has a little baggie of parts that I have no idea where they go. Mostly though, there are only so many hours in a day. Every hour I would spend in my garage with my motorcycle in pieces is an hour less that I spend playing my guitar, walking my dog, or playing board games with my kids. You know, quality time.
  - barrkel 7y ago
    I use freezer bags labelled with function / location for all the parts I remove that aren't recognizable by themselves, and phone photos for assemblies that need sequencing. I understand the time argument. It makes sense as a trade-off. For me, the trade-off is different, until now at least - no kids, but one on the way. It's imbued riding with more meaning, like when you cook a meal yourself. Feel a niggle, fix it, feel the improvement, the increase in quality.