Bike Maintenance Courses

[MCW]

As interested as I am in bikes, I really don't have the time to do a full-time, 2 year motorcycle maintenance apprenticeship, which is the only course available in Dorset, unless I do a distance learning thing which wouldn't work for me. I was sure there would be evening classes locally, but there is eff all.

Does anyone know of anywhere that does something like a 1 or 2 day intensive course that covers the basics and a bit more? I live in Dorset but am happy to go anywhere within reason and stay if necessary.

[P.]

Haynes manual, small 125 (not your own.. I'm not looking forward to working on the Varadero) and just a nice decent socket set and spanner set.

A few afternoons of removing bolts, checking things.. you'll soon pick it up

[MCW]

[P.]

Well...

Personally I enjoy working things out, I like to tinker too.

If you wanted, there are plenty of non runners on ebay that can be had for cheap. You can slip a cheeky bid on one and with the aid of BCF you can remove parts, check everything and quite possibly get it running again!

Small things used to give me great satisfaction, brake pads, fork seals, changing bulbs...

Now I enjoy stuff like valve clearances and carbs

[MCW]

[U_W v2.0]

as paddy says, diving in at the deep end with a cheap non runner off ebay could be the best way for some people to learn. and hey, if you managed to get it running and fix it up you could end up with a nice little second bike to have some fun on or sell on and hopefully make a little profit on the side
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[anthony_r6]

When I started with my NSR I removed the engine casing.. dropped a cog from the gear and put it in the wrong way (I think.) straight after this my bike developed a problem going into neutral while the engine was running.

Upon putting the crank casing back on (after realising the spindle replacement I had intended to do was too much work for me) I snapped 3 engine bolts, 2 in the crank casing and one in the water pump housing - which had it pissing out water.

But you live and learn!
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[Fowlersrs]

This is definately the way to learn, I plan to buy a cheap sportsbike next year to work on, it doesnt matter so much if u mess it up, where as if its your pride and joy its different!!

[Islander]

Have a look at your local FE college - they may do basic maintenance evening classes.

[MCW]

[Islander]

[U_W v2.0]

looks like a fun project

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=257169

seems to need a fair amount of work, but should give you pleanty to learn.
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[MCW]

[Islander]

A book like this might get you started.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Essential-Guide-Motorcycle-Maintenance/dp/1884313418

[TheSmiler]

[cornish]

Paddy's is a brilliant idea. With somewhere dry and kettle-equipped to put it you can tinker and learn in comfort.

I am useless at bike fixing. The bike i did the most work on was the RXS which was unbelievably forgiving. Also it was my only transport for most of the time i had it so everything had to just be done without taking the time to fiddle about and understand what's what. It was outdoors so there was a lot of torch in the mouth, soggy and windswept manual, numb fingers type cursing of Haynes and/or Yamaha. I'll be honest, it put me off a bit

Being on here with The Workshop section would have been a godsend. That and a project in a dry place and no pressure will be fantastic.

There are some brilliant guides in the stickies at the top of that section. I've been reading the brakes ones (first up on the GT) and they're written by people from on here who make sense (not the people who write manuals who inexplicably give a part one name in the diagram and another name in the accompanying instructions )

Also, a small (unofficial) benefit of being laydeez is we can ask anything and no matter how obvious it is there are no man-points lost Technically that's horribly sexist and officially we're outraged and indignant about it. . . . . .but meh, it works

When i can start buying parts i will be on here asking all sorts of questions about the GT so i will be joining you in spamming The Workshop
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[Noxious89123]

[tahrey]

[MCW]

[tahrey]

Basically I was agreeing with you.

Some kind of one semester / one term (1/2 or 1/3rd year) course, one night a week, not too expensive, but held in an actual college workshop with proper teachers, with the intent to get newbies up to speed in the full range of basic maintenance things, without necessarily getting into the deep-hack procedures = yes please.

More "alright, for the next half hour I'll be showing you how to sort the fork oil and seals, lackwits... then we'll be on to checking the valve clearances" rather than stripping a CBF down into it's component parts over 4 1/2 months, then building it back up into something you'd see on American Chopper in the next 4 1/2.

Wouldn't mind an hour or so on just what exactly is inside a carburettor and how you adjust it, too. I've got mine off the bike at the moment and I'm actually more baffled looking it over than I was beforehand. What I thought was the throttle plate is actually the choke, and the throttle itself appears to be a spike on a spring?!

Doing it ad-hoc with a Haynes Book Of Lies, the interweb, and whatever half-suitable tools you have sitting around, in facilities that are very reliant on the weather being friendly as well as potentially risky is all well and good if you have at least half a clue of what you're doing and aren't too bothered if the machine still works at the end of the session, but if you're just starting out in unfamiliar territory it can help if the first time is in better equipped surroundings with someone to hold your hand.

(insert clumsy sexual allusion here)

[MCW]

[MCW]

[SamWise72]

This sounds like an excellent idea, and kudos to you for being prepared to give it a go after being very unsure at the start. Everything I really understand and can do well, I learned myself through doing, practising, cocking up, doing background reading, having another go. Most recent example is building my own sauna and hot tub, powered by a wood burning stove. Built the entire sauna cabin from the ground up, found a boiler that would fit the stove, found a machine shop willing to drill it, figured out what plumbing parts I'd need and fitted them, clad and insulated the tub etc etc etc. It's not the most elegant building ever constructed, and nobody is going to mistake me for a cabinet maker, but bloody hell, I built it, I learned LOADS and my confidence in such things is much improved.

I think, once I have somewhere to do the work, I'll do the same thing you're doing.

[tahrey]

[cornish]

Agreed about someone to show you stuff. The rxs had one carb that you could just take off and have a look at. I had a friend round (bribed with cake) when the float wasn't working properly on mine. When it was off i was having a nosey to see how it worked and (gently!) poked the drainage tube thing that sticks up inside. It immediately snapped off and what could have been a quick job turned into a trip to the breakers But, i got the gist of how it worked cos there was someone there to talk me through it and ask questions to.

Having said that, it's not really transferable to the GT which has a big row of incredibly complicated looking things that need to be set-up by a buddhist monk and can only be cleaned in unicorn tears

Also 2-strokes have some clever thing of lined-up holes that all work nicely and are entirely different to 4-strokes which have complicated fiddly things individually, but then non-singles are also all complicated and precious about how they work with each other too

Indoors is definitely good. Mines outside and we live on a mountain so it's like a wind-tunnel out there. I've been round and round the house to try and find a place to put it indoors but our place is teeny so it's not going to happen unless i bin the sofa or the kitchen table

I've got no bikey mates down here so all the jobs on the GT will have to be books, internet and then pics and annoying questions on here. We need some sort of rental tutor we can pass between us
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