Recommend me...

A book on how Motorcycle engines work and maintanence guides... because im sick of issues with my bike i cant fix, then get someone to do it and it was so stupidly easy anyway..
i want to learn and no - one seems to be able teach me, and it P's me right off,
also i wouldnt keep asking silly questions on here...

Haynes! I just changed a front cylinder head and all the stuff that needs to be done with it. I'm pretty good with engines but it does go in to really good detail, and made the cam timing really straight forward.

Originally Posted by sideshow46

Haynes! I just changed a front cylinder head and all the stuff that needs to be done with it. I'm pretty good with engines but it does go in to really good detail, and made the cam timing really straight forward.

is it done by pictures? lol, that would be really handy,
(waiting for children books jokes)

Originally Posted by lylej

is it done by pictures? lol, that would be really handy,
(waiting for children books jokes)

LOL. Should get the "My first haynes" edition. Yeah sort of. It is all written out and then it will say eg. refer to picture 14.1a etc etc. Really easy....
Some might say even a child could do it

[Spanner Man]

Morning all.
There are many people out there in your position, who would like to learn at least the basics.
I have always worked on bikes in front of customers, & have on occasion turned a service into a training session. I have found that most people really learn from it, & it gives them the confidence to tackle some of the simpler jobs.
It's important to realise when something is going awry, I see many bikes which are literally deathtraps, & the customer is blissfully unaware that their steed could kill them!
Two months ago I had a girl bring a Zephyr in for fork seals. Not only were her brakes contaminated with fork oil, the headraces were shot, there was 18 psi in the front tyre, & the swinging arm bearings were incredibly worn (rear wheel steering or what!)....Her previous bike was a CBR400, & she just thought retros were meant to handle like that, & BOY did she notice a difference after everything was put right.

I did put a post up sometime ago regarding maintenance tuition, surprisingly I had few takers.

As Sideshow says, Haynes manuals are pretty good as they do things step by step with lots of photographs.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Spanner Man

Morning all.
There are many people out there in your position, who would like to learn at least the basics.
I have always worked on bikes in front of customers, & have on occasion turned a service into a training session. I have found that most people really learn from it, & it gives them the confidence to tackle some of the simpler jobs.
It's important to realise when something is going awry, I see many bikes which are literally deathtraps, & the customer is blissfully unaware that their steed could kill them!
Two months ago I had a girl bring a Zephyr in for fork seals. Not only were her brakes contaminated with fork oil, the headraces were shot, there was 18 psi in the front tyre, & the swinging arm bearings were incredibly worn (rear wheel steering or what!)....Her previous bike was a CBR400, & she just thought retros were meant to handle like that, & BOY did she notice a difference after everything was put right.

I did put a post up sometime ago regarding maintenance tuition, surprisingly I had few takers.

As Sideshow says, Haynes manuals are pretty good as they do things step by step with lots of photographs.

Cheers.

i might buy a haynes manual as suggested and a really old engine... for say £50 then strip it and rebuild it, like a big lego set... question is where can i find an old engine? lol,

eBay is the place mate. if i get the 1000 back stick that lump in your 650 and play with your 650 motor

Originally Posted by kwak zzr

eBay is the place mate. if i get the 1000 back stick that lump in your 650 and play with your 650 motor

could i do that? swap the 650 motor for a thou?

haynes is a good start

Haynes is a good start.

Also if you have a local college, why not see if they do a basic automotive DIY class, or if you're lucky you may have a bike maintenance course available.

When you do start working on it, don't rush it. If you get so far and begin to feel less confident. Stop take a break and see if you need to put it back together and get a mechanic. Otherwise take slow steady steps, take notes and pictures if it helps.

Top tip, keep a roll of scotch tape and a marker pen handy, label everything if you think you'll forget where it goes back.

Cheers