How did you learn to fix bikes?

[rsooty]

Just a follow on from the other mechanicing thread. Since there seems to be quite a few people who class themselves as being handy with their tool boxes, how did you all learn the things you know?

[hellkat]

Kind of a bit of all of the above.

Always been a petrolhead, so have hung around lads with souped up cars and/or bikes, and you sort of pick stuff up. I like sitting round listening to the boys jaw about stuff (although I invariably get lost) and watch them fix them. If they let me help them, I get to learn, but I never have the strength to do the stuff they do so quickly, so they always take over and do it for me.

Spent many a happy summers day watching men with Builder's Bottom leaning over/lying under a car or bike

I had a mate, Tigger, who had the patience to teach me stuff, he even used to dictate over the phone what to do, and then come and rescue me when I bodged it up ... but he died last year, bummer. Bastid owed me a ride on his Buell and about £1500.

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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[tatters]

learned from my old man.
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[Blue]

I didn't. That's what the old man's for"

[mr jamez]

Lots of poking and stroking my chin

Infact I know little about bikes, apart from mine which I am getting to grips with now.

[G]

Dunno, at least 50% of the stuff I do works afterwards*, so it must have come from somewhere.
Just fiddled and picked it up probably.


* I didn't saw works better

[Lee_367]

I started off when i met a bloke up my street who owned a R1 and a gsx-r1000. I used to help him bit with simple stuff like oil changes, adjusting chain tension, etc. thats how i got interested in motorbikes. i learned most of the basic stuff from him.

Then i went on ot join a local youth project fixing and repairing old motorcycles. This taught me a lot, especially how engines work and how they come apart. The bloke who ran the project also used to build engines for touring cars so he taught me a fair bit about tuning aswell.

The rest of the stuff i have learned i have done by taking things apart, reading (internet/workshop manuals) or by simply asking people.

And not to forget, i have learned a bit from this very forum.
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?It?s mercy, compassion, and forgiveness I lack?not rationality.?

[Robby]

I started off believing what I read in the haynes manual. Then as my experience grew I learnt to more just do it.

Haynes still has its uses, but best not to rely on it, seeing as it loves to drop in lies at the important moments.

[rsooty]

I forgot to post how I learnt - I'm doing a vehicle mechanic course with the army (landrovers, bedfords, challenger II, DAFs etc). Unluckily I haven't had chance to work on a bike yet.

Sooty

[WildGoose]

Korn, G, Dad

and just generally having a bit of a poke
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[Ste]

I learnt by breaking them.

Some just from poking it and seeing what happened, some by being shown, some by just working it out, some by Haynes type manuals.

[stinkwheel]

First off through necessity, if I didn't fix it myself, it wouldn't get fixed (nae money).

Latterly by buying cheap 125s as non-runners then taking them apart and putting them back on the road.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Big Pete]

some of each option, I grew up around people who were always building /repairing stuff (I had my first toolkit when I was 7 lol). I started off working on plant machinery, then cars, finally bikes. I also read all sorts of tech manuals and text books, usually stuff that goes into the theory and implementation rather than model specific stuff. Last but not least I went off to uni and did a mech eng. degree and ended up working for and R&D outfit.
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Trust me, I`m an engineer
GarageOfPower.co.uk

[Frost]

If its mechanical or eletronic in anyway i allready have a fair idea as to how it works.
that combined with some simple trial and error has taught me all i know today about bikes, PCs etc

[dainesefreak]

Things broke and I tried to fix em.

[skida]

When I was a kid I had various field bikes it was often necessary to take them apart and fix them. If it is a mechanical problem and I can take it apart and see how it works I can normally work out how to fix it.

My first road-legal bike was a Suzuki GT125 two-stroke twin which was before restriction was necessary. It had 16hp and a power band as wide as a pubic hair so it was necessary to scream it in every gear just to keep making good progress on the road. This resulted in melted plugs and stretched chains and lots of associated maintenance. I even decoked it with a screwdriver!

Electrical stuff is different. That is some sort of magic invisible stuff which goes on in wires. Best get a man in!
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