Servicing your bike yourself

[21QUEST]

...so apart from being a tight fisted wotsit, why do folks prefer/like to work on their bikes themselves. yes I know, answers seem obvious

I'll be updating my post later with pics.


Ben

I'm a mechanical numpty, but I still trust me more than a regular spanner monkey.

In the past, I've paid, and probablt over the odds. Now, because I have a little knowledge (a dangerous thing I know!) I'll be doing most myself.

[jambo]

Because I can and I want to.

because i dont really trust anybody else. I do all the minor services myself, and then get the valve adjustments and carb/tb ballancing done by a garage.

plus im tight

Garages round here are rip off merchs, do oil/filter etc, carb and valve clearances they do.

most of the general service stuff on a bike is relatively simple, oil , filters plug etc easy peasy, with a bit of practice, why pay gold plated fees for a general tin plate service, a lot of garages are poor, there are some good ones, but youll pay a lot.

if you do stuff yourself you know its been done right, i has a gear shifter drop off 2 days after the bikes first service, you cant tell me that was checked properly,
the routine checks and stuff, shouldnt just be done at service, just have a general look over the bike now and again, take the caliper bolts and agrease them put a bit more copper slip on the pad backs or retaining pins, stuff like that,
youll be far more confient that things are sound if you can learn wha to look for yourself instead of trusting it to someone you dont know

[Lissa]

Pete does 95% of the work and servicing on the bike himself. The only one we have always had done elsewhere is the 15,000 mile service.

Pete regularly strips and cleans the brake calipers, we change the oil and filter religiously, and the air filter more frequently than the service schedule suggests. We are meticulous, if not obsessive, about the bike.

Garages are too expensive for my liking. I don't want to pay £200 for an oil/filter/plug change when I can do it for £40 with all the best bits as well. I do all the simple stuff myself (brakes, oil, filter, air filter, plugs, greasing axles and tightening bolts) and get the other bits done by a trusted mobile mechanic. I've probably paid way over the odds on all my previous bikes. New bikes suck as you have to get them done by official manufacturer to keep the warranty, which to me is a license to print money and a rip-off.

Speed - I usually keep stuff I need for my next service "in stock". That way, if I unexpectedly do 1000 miles in one week, I don't have to book it in for a service pronto (which can take 2-3 weeks in summer, anyway), or go thousands of miles past the service limit.

Less hassle - It's less hassle (and time) for me to spend a couple of hours in the garage than drive to the bike shop, get a lift home, get a lift back there, ride home.

Negligible depreciation - The mileage and state it's in means not having a FSH will only lose about £200 off the bike's price. I keep filter/oil/part reciepts anyway, so it probably won't even be that much.

It's done properly - If I'm in a rush and don't have time to check a certain thing, I make a note of it and do it later. I don't get mislead into thinking it has been done, only for it to go unchecked until the next service.

Bits don't fall off - 5 seperate bits have been dangerously close to falling off (and one actually did) immediately after a garage has serviced it. In one instance the garage had a bit of a rep as being shoddy (I didn't know this at the time). In the other 4, they were done by two seperate garages (who in most respects are very good) and who are know as being "expensive but good". This has never happened when I've done it and I'd say the ratio of me working on my bike compared to other people is at least 4:1.

It's cheaper - If you do any sort of serious mileage, it's just not financially viable (or practical in terms of not having the use of it) to have your bike in the garage several times a year, unless you're made of money.

Originally Posted by sv_dan

New bikes suck as you have to get them done by official manufacturer to keep the warranty...

No you don't!