The Pleasusre of working on bikes!!

Low rider

Low rider

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Man do I love to work on my bike.
I find it relaxing, challanging and generally enjoyable. All I need is basic sockets, wrenches, allen keys and a few special tools.

But working on my car, just sucks.
With all the rust, no room to get at thinigs I need to get to.
How about taking things off just to get to the think I want to work on.
You have to jack the damn thing up, get under it, letting rust and grime fall into your eyes.
Cars just suck to work on.

Working on the bike is so much more fun.
 
cars/trucks do suck. you have to take off a million components before you can fix the issue at hand...
 
I'm still in school ad when my teacher asked if i wanted to do motorcycle mechanics or if i ment auto mechanics. I said motorcycle mechanics so fast he started to laugh a bit.

Motorcycles are way more fun to work on, and i find way easier to find out a problem.
 
Funny; I was reading from 'Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' just before seeing this thread.

Owning a motorbike gives one the opportunity to become a self-taught mechanic.
 
That's why I wrench the bikes, the girlfriend wrenches the cars, but it takes both of us to wrench the Peterbilt.
 
I cant work on my own car anymore, its so complicated and so many electronic triggers and sensors my shade tree skills are no longer suitable.

I can work on my bikes (motor and pedal) and feel really happy about the process and result. Actually i'm happy about hooking up a dishwasher and not getting a leak.
 
I agree with the pleasure found working on bikes.But i would love to have someone finish the glass and paint work on the Muffin! Grrrr.
 
Funny that I came acroos this thread as I am just starting to restore my old CB. Not a ton of work but it is my first time undertaking a project like this. I kind of want to start a YouTube channel documenting my baby steps into the process. Mind you for.a 30 year old bike it's in pretty nice shape. Needs new paint, and mechanically its pretty good except for the oil burning and clutch slipping. I'm hoping it goes well. Thankfully I know a few people with great expertise in different areas of this build so even if I get stuck I know I can get the help I need.

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Gioro_T said:
Owning a motorbike gives one the opportunity to become a self-taught mechanic.
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Owning an old British bike puts one on the fast track to graduating with honours from the self-taught mechanics course. DAMHIK.
 
Spiider said:
In all honesty buy a vintage bike...mine has given me a hundred hours of that happiness.
And it never really ends, just when you think you are done you decide to upgrade that or redo this.
I agree, pure pleasure...wouldn't trade it for the world.
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I'd rather spend those hundreds of hours riding for my happiness but to each their own...
 
There is also the satisfaction of not paying anybody a cent to fix your engine.
After you're done putting in a new set of pistons and when you start it up for the first time. You feel so damn good about yourself.
Then the break in porcess means something.
How about upgrading your brakes. Man you're so damn happy when she stops on a dime.
 
Wingboy said:
I agree with the pleasure found working on bikes.But i would love to have someone finish the glass and paint work on the Muffin! Grrrr.
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Totally agree, I love anything mechanical on my bike, but painting or prepping for painting I just plain kind of hate. Mainly because of the dust, overspray and low temperatures to deal with.
 
It could be fun if you know what you are doing, but when things don't go like they are supposed to, it can get very frustrating very fast.
 
Listen man. Things don't ever go as planned.
Something always pops up that was unexpected, then you have to figger a way around that problem.
It's how well you get yourself out of trouble that can be rewarding.
Even if it's just finding a way to get a certain bolt loosened, or how to get you hand into a positon to get the job done.
The simplest thing can ge a challenge. I find it rewarding.

I will never forget the first time I took my engine apart put a cam and pistons in. Not to mention the carb work and exhaust. The first start up was orgasmic.
The first ride was too much.
 
I'm reluctant to wrench my bike. I've done basic maintenance (e.g. oil changes), but even something as trivial as taking out/replacing the battery is a bit of a chore on my bike. Stupid thing is underneath the tank. I was wondering why the video to change the battery for my bike was over 10 minutes long when I loaded it for the first time.

Also, any time for me to figure out how to wrench it is time away from the road. If I had a 2nd bike, I'd do it though.
 
crankcall said:
I cant work on my own car anymore, its so complicated and so many electronic triggers and sensors my shade tree skills are no longer suitable.

I can work on my bikes (motor and pedal) and feel really happy about the process and result. Actually i'm happy about hooking up a dishwasher and not getting a leak.
Click to expand...
I know the feeling so you gotta stop buying new cars, all of my cars and bikes are year 2000 and older and they are much simpler to work on.

Low rider said:
Listen man. Things don't ever go as planned.
Something always pops up that was unexpected, then you have to figger a way around that problem.
It's how well you get yourself out of trouble that can be rewarding.
Even if it's just finding a way to get a certain bolt loosened, or how to get you hand into a positon to get the job done.
The simplest thing can ge a challenge. I find it rewarding.

I will never forget the first time I took my engine apart put a cam and pistons in. Not to mention the carb work and exhaust. The first start up was orgasmic.
The first ride was too much.
Click to expand...

So True! You can feel and picture in your mind every moving part.
Not to sound too warm and fuzzy, but there is a kind of a Zen that happens.
Besides what else are you going to do all winter while you can't ride?
 
Chaos said:
Also, any time for me to figure out how to wrench it is time away from the road.
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Baby steps. Yes, the first few episodes will take awhile, but as you learn the episodes will become shorter. Not right away, but in time they will.


Chaos said:
If I had a 2nd bike, I'd do it though.
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Um, that doesn't make sense... a 2nd bike will keep you away from the road twice as long as a single bike. Unless you plan to completely ignore the routine maintenance/repairs of the first bike, which totally defeats the purpose of getting the second bike.
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