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Motorcycle Maintenance Course

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2nd the MC garage video channel noted above.

The host Ari does a great job of breaking the repair or tasks down to easily understood bits and keeps the verbage really simple.
Honestly, if you're still having trouble after looking these videos over, tap out and have someone do the work for you for your own safety.
 
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Just realized I was replying to a post from 5 years ago...
 
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RetroGrouch said:
Town Moto had a free oil change seminar recently. Was very well done and hope they do another one this season.

http://townmoto.com/blog/2012/07/town-moto-oil-change-demo/
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LOL! Don't want to be a dixk but I can't get over people needing a course to change their oil. It is so simple.

1) Place bucket under drain bolt.
2) Remove drain bolt. Wait until oil stops coming out.
3) Replace drain bolt.
4) Place oil under filter. Remove filter. Let oil run out.
5) Replace filter with new filter.
6) Locate oil filler cap. Refill with manufacturers recommended grade and amount of oil. Replace filler cap.
7) Start bike, check for leaks.

Always buy a shop manual for your bike. Never try to do work on the bike without it.
 
A small engine repair course would be what I would take if you wanted some actual classroom instruction, the downside being you might not ever own a bike with carbs and they most certainly would be working on carbs, that might still help you learn more about generally how things work or might work though.

Id also say just watch lots of youtube videos and buy the shop manual. I thought about taking a small engine repair course, because really..why not.
 
Roadghost said:
... Always buy a shop manual for your bike. Never try to do work on the bike without it.
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Manual if you're doing something serious maybe. Changing oil or chain, brake pads, removing the wheels, etc., - this is all very basic and not manufacturer specific. With the amount of info available on the Internet, manuals are not necessary for regular maintance and wear and tear replacement.
 
DemonPig said:
Manual if you're doing something serious maybe. Changing oil or chain, brake pads, removing the wheels, etc., - this is all very basic and not manufacturer specific. With the amount of info available on the Internet, manuals are not necessary for regular maintance and wear and tear replacement.
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even for simple stuff you need a manual, need to know the amount of oil you need, the amount of coolant you need, fork oil requirements, the torque specs on nuts and bolts when putting back on/together, and so on....

I have had a manual for every bike I have ever owned

good for troubleshooting problems as well

always a good thing to have....

.
 
DemonPig said:
MotoRevere - 2nd shameless plug that I've seen so far. If you want to advertise, contact the website owner.
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+1 on that, Infernal Oinker. The D&V forum exists for a reason.
 
GateKeeper said:
The manual does not necessarily mean it has to be in paper format, can be a pdf document and on your computer, it's how I have most of mine,,,,no greasy and oily pages.....and if I need something right beside me just print of the page or pages you need and have them with you.

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Sure. But once again, a manual is not neccessary to be able to do regular maintenance. This is easy peasy stuff that translates across the board.
 
DemonPig said:
Sure. But once again, a manual is not neccessary to be able to do regular maintenance. This is easy peasy stuff that translates across the board.
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Not until you get the new to mechanical work guy and over torques an oil pan plug, or strips a rotor bolt , or some other silly thing like that, maybe the seasoned DIY or mechanic can do without, but even with years of wrenching I will reference the manual for specs, each bike is different

but hey everyone can do it how they want....

had the the pleasure of replacing an entire oil pan, cause it was cracked after the owner over torqued each and every bolt when replacing the gasket, and busting the oil drain bolt as well, stripped the threads to almost nothing from over tightening.
 
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GateKeeper said:
Not until you get the new to mechanical work guy and over torques an oil pan plug, or strips a rotor bolt , or some other silly thing like that, maybe the seasoned DIY or mechanic can do without, but even with years of wrenching I will reference the manual for specs, each bike is different

but hey everyone can do it how they want....

had the the pleasure of replacing an entire oil pan, cause it was cracked after the owner over torqued each and every bolt when replacing the gasket, and busting the oil drain bolt as well, stripped the threads to almost nothing from over tightening.
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Completely agree. Most of the bike failures I have come across were guys who tried to do it without a manual. Not using a torque wrench, improper torque specs, a guy on the internet giving out amateur advice, etc. You use a factory manual as your reference. You can get away with just using YouTube, but the possibility of a major mistake is much higher. How many times have you seen a how-to vid with a "read my NEW update video on this" link?
 
Can the internet teach you about how to tighten a bolt and apply the proper torque? Maybe. But the shop manual will show you the correct torque and the proper sequence. With every dirt bike I have owned the owner’s manual does show in detail how to do simple maintenance items. With each sport bike, I’ll owned the manual says take the bike into a license technician. Sure, you can save some money by doing the simple stuff yourself or you can do want a buddy of mine did, tighten the wheel nut too tight which lead to a failure while on the back straight at Mosport. Result – brain injury and he does (can not) ride any more. Want to do your maintenance learn how to use tools and follow the shop manual. But then again see if I care if you crash because of poor maintenance practice. Just make sure you tell me you did your maintenance so I will not buy your bike.
 
I don't know what am I writing wrong here.... You can find all the specs online, specs is all you need to perform regular maintenance. I'm not saying you should torque the nuts to whatever you feel like, especially if you have never done it before.
My point is that the actual manual is not needed for basic maintenance. Not using a torque wrench has nothing to do with not owning a manual. And owning a manual does not prevent people from stripping the threads.
 
DemonPig said:
I don't know what am I writing wrong here.... You can find all the specs online, specs is all you need to perform regular maintenance. I'm not saying you should torque the nuts to whatever you feel like, especially if you have never done it before.
My point is that the actual manual is not needed for basic maintenance. Not using a torque wrench has nothing to do with not owning a manual. And owning a manual does not prevent people from stripping the threads.
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How are you defining "basic maintenance"?
 
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