STOP GIVING ADVICE WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW!!!!

Maybe this is not the right place to place this, but then I don't care.

Rant starts:

WHY do people who do not know ALL the facts, continuously give advice about a particular question, problem or general enquiry Would it not be better to stay silent and let the ones that DO KNOW reply

They are giving advice on a particular question based on experience of their own motorcycle, which in some cases is the first one they have owned and far too often that advice is wrong or incomplete. At best it confuses people at worst it could prove to be dangerous and life threatening.

If you wish to give advice on a particular subject that you KNOW is correct to that particular motorcycle, enquiry or question then fill your boots, information sharing is the way forward and it makes us ALL more knowledgeable. But at least make sure that you know what you are talking about and that the "facts" that you divulge are just that. FACTS and not what you believe, think or have heard down the pub etc etc.

Rant over:

Sorry about that but I am seeing it more and more and some of the "advice" that's being given is quite unnerving.

Originally Posted by BigApe

WHY do people who do not know ALL the facts, continuously give advice about a particular question, problem or general enquiry

I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, I think, but don't quote me on that. I may be wrong.

Hope this helps.

i am of course exepmt from this . . . . as i have a disclaimer in my sig.

to be honest tho. . .
mabe its good for someone to give the wrong advice, as they will soon be corrected. therefore the advice is benefiting several people.


and surely someone wouldnt be so stupid to put grease on their brake discs to stop them binding just because they read it on a forum ?

Originally Posted by bikageboy

to be honest tho. . .
mabe its good for someone to give the wrong advice, as they will soon be corrected. therefore the advice is benefiting several people.

I had a similar thought. And TBH we have such a wealth of knowledge here, the "offender" is bound to be corrected shortly.

And what if the person looking for advice gets the wrong information and totally knackers thier bike, or worse, makes adjustments made on what someone has stated and goes and bins thier bike with bad results

Surely it would be wiser, if not totally convinced about the thier own advice, wait for the properly educated to post and see if what the "thought" was correct.

Whilst I agree in principle that giving "advice" without knowledge is incorrect, so is taking it without due consideration. This is a forum after all and dicussion is the whole point at the end of the day.

However there are one or two people (okay just the one then) that really winds me up as they'll post a comment on anything that moves pretending to be all knowledgable but being so new to biking and lacking common sense spout nothing but foolish nonsense (and I'm not naming them it could be unlucky).

The other point is that there is always more than one way of doing things and several opinions often shed more light on a subject than just the one.

So let's talk, discuss and opinionate but sensibly and with aforethought.


.

Whenever I need help and I am using a forum for advice I always wait for 5 or 6 responses before I start to form an opinion. That is the whole point of a forum = collectieve thoughts.

Sounds like you are worried about people breaking their bikes on the whim of one wrong synopsis. Would you really really go ahead and perform open heart surgery on the advice of something someone you don't know has posted. Doubt it. If you do, maybe you deserve the trouble.

Coupla weeks ago I posted a thread about a lumpy idle on my SV. I really appreaciated everyone's thoughts on petrol, carbs and choke valves.

The bloody spark plug had failed and was only noticable at full temp. None of you got that. Probably because new spark plug failure is rare. Won't stop me mentioning it next time someone has the same problem and posts it.

Dan

[northwind]

Unles someone represents themselves as an expert, I don't see a problem- if bad advice comes along people who know better will usually offer a contradicting opinion after all. And then we can all have a pointless argument for about a week from which nobody benefits, like we do every time someone mentions braking

Originally Posted by northwind

like we do every time someone mentions braking

or restrictor kits.

I'm with the general thrust of the posts before me. It would be nice if people made more checks on their information first, but if you do something drastic without being sure of it yourself or getting multiple opinions then you're asking for trouble.