Do you maintain and repair your own motorcycles?

[Track T 2411]

I do all my own work on all my vehicles unless, as mentioned above, it involves the electronics. Even then, I have several friends who can usually help me diagnose the issue, which allows me to do the repair. I've only ever bought one bike that didn't need some work before riding it, and I still dug into it shortly after the purchase. I just can't justify buying a 'newer' bike (and making payments) when I can own and ride several different, dependable, fun bikes.

[rudolphwolven]

***
Yes, by myself.......I saved approx. 1.200 labour hours x (say) $ 45,- = $ 54.000,-.......by restoring my '75 GL1000 K1 by myself......

[Dirty Dave]

I don't do tires.......

[Bugdaddy66]

I do all of the work on my vehicles, mostly because it gives me great joy to see the finished product and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Many here enjoy other hobbies, maybe woodworking, gardening, sailing or whatever where they experience the satisfaction of a job well done. I believe we are filled with the desire to create, and for me that is satisfied in the building of motor vehicles.

[Rednaxs60]

I do my own work as well. When I can't, I take visual notes and realize that I could have done the work. Learning about these bikes and making one go gives a sense of accomplishment. I've learned so much by having an older bike such as my '85 LTD fuel injected model, and still learning. I've found that this and other forums provide a wealth of knowledge/information about these older bikes, and there is not an issue that you cannot find some information on.

I've kept track of my costs to date for my 1200, doing the same for my 1500, and find that old or new, the costs add up. If I can make my riding as affordable as possible, it'll keep me riding for a long time.

Cheers

[scootsx2]

***
Yes, by myself.......I saved approx. 1.200 labour hours x (say) $ 45,- = $ 54.000,-.......by restoring my '75 GL1000 K1 by myself......

Your shop is too clean

[LuckyEddie]

Do it even if it don't need it...

Before

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After

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[Sidecar Bob]

One of my best friends growing up became a bike mechanic. When I got my first motorcycle I asked him if I could bring it to him when it needed work and he said "No. You grew up working on bicycles so you should be able to do most of what your motorcycle needs by yourself. Get a Haynes book and when something needs doing sit next to the bike and read that part of the book and call me if you don't understand what it says". I never did need to call him.

Then a couple of years later we moved to a rural area where bike mechanics were scarce and I couldn't afford to ship a bike to a shop every time it stopped working so I had to learn even more about keeping them running myself.....

[heraldhamster]

I'll swap/mount tires if I have to (Deadwood) but then I'll generally have them professionally balanced.
I do everything else.

[tomk1960]

I do everything myself except for painting, which is a skill not quickly learned. Otherwise, I'm very comfortable rebuilding entire brake systems, mounting and balancing tires, bearing replacement, electrical debugging, minor welding, and now I'm venturing into the world of engine rebuilding with my next CB1100F resto-mod. And I've been known to do a little powder coating. Except for having my first few sets of tires mounted and balanced, I have never had a shop do any work on any of my bikes over the past 20 years. Luckily there are plenty of knowledgeable people here that have helped me get over any hurdles I've encountered. A good support group makes a huge difference!

[tlbranth]

All of the bikes I've ridden are older than me, and I think it'll stay that way for the forseeable future.

About the only mechanical thing older than me is the Kittyhawk. I despise electronic doodads that do all the thinking for you and give up the ghost in the Mohave. Coming from poverty, I had to fix everything myself. Could rarely even afford parts. The old stuff is pretty simple and easy to diagnose and repair. Newer cars and bikes are waaaay too complicated for me although they do tend to be a lot more reliable.
My wife's 2002 Shadow has electronic ignition. It always starts, always runs but if it died on a trip I'd be in a pickle.
While the old Goldwings are old school in every way, I think they're a pain to work on. Everything is difficult to get to. Mine has left me stranded twice - problems I couldn't diagnose on the road.

[chewy999]

You forgot the "I maintain and repair my own motorcycles, but they don't always work correctly afterward"...

Ha! Good one. Been there - done that. Of course that's just an opportunity to work on it some more.

'dale

That certainly applies to me, after all the time, effort and money spent on my 1100, it's still not as good as I think it should be, but at least I can ride it. Think the crankshaft oil leak has returned, just got to get my enthusiasm back to give it another go, along with the jobs I planned to do.

On the GL, apart from the annual MOT, I do get the tyres changed professionally. Mainly so I know it has been done, including the balancing, properly.

The 1300 goes for an annual service and MOT by a mechanic I found in the next village who I consider a genius, and has a very good reputation, and reasonably priced.

[skydog]

I'm with Terry . Learned by necessity to turn wrenches ,nobody else was going to do it.Also learned not to tear things up 'cause I'd be the one putting it back together again . Got good enough at it ,now I work and maintain close friends stuff .

[ancientdad]

I do all my own work except for cylinder boring, valve seats cut and this time around, porting on my 450 (the chuck lock broke on my big dremel and the bearings are about worn out in it anyway). I took the head to a young guy who runs a cylinder head repair service out of his garage, he did a nice job and it saved me the hours of effort I would have put in it. Don't plan to own anything newer than what I've already owned in my life as I'm not at all enamored with what has happened to bikes in the last 10 to 15 years as mentioned above, with the influx of computer controls and the need to take it to the dealer for so much stuff... my big bikes have run just fine over the years with no computers involved and that's good enough for me. I'm still running points in my 450 - nobody (yet) makes an EI that I feel is reliable enough to be worth the money (my signature at HT is "running points... because I'm too old for mysteries that begin with pushing"

edit: my father used to do all my paint work (except frames and small parts), so I might have more skills to freshen up and hone in the future...

[JamesPal]

I do all of my own work with a couple of exceptions. I will pay to have tires mounted and balanced, or in some cases paying to have bearings pressed in. There is some equipment I don't have, but it has always been my philosophy to spend the money to buy the tool vs paying someone else to do the work. My first restoration was a 1972 CB450 DOHC. That was a learning process. Next was a 1985 GL1200 Interstate. That one I had more discipline to the process. Now I'm into a 1981 GL1100 that should get rolling after the holidays are over. I don't know anyone who can afford to pay someone to bring an old Honda back to life.