I no longer have a bike - my husband put it in the loft and then gave it away because (unsurprisingly) I didn't use it. However there are few moving parts on a bike and the operation of most of them is pretty obvious if you look carefully.
If it were my problem I'd buy a book on bike maintenance (or find an on-line one, there seem to be a lot about), read it from cover to cover with my bike within easy reach and then sort out the jobs I knew I could do do them and get someone with more experience to check them. In case I needed advice I'd look at forums and find one that was not frequented by idiots.
Most non-electrical jobs are a matter of careful observation and confidence.
The thing I learned in the labs was to do a 'thought experiment' first :- Imagine the whole procedure step by step and work out the tools, spares and consumables I would need and have them to hand. Doing that keeps the job faster and means you have less time to forget how something went together. Always have a stable, deep-sided dish on hand to put small parts in (ceramic cat bowl for example). If dismantling something new, make notes, possibly photograph it and if parts that might be mixed up are involved either mark them (tippex liquid pen lettering is a good temporary marker; A goes to A, three dots to 3 dots, etc.) or lay everything out like an expanded diagram. Last off, first on and in case of real difficulty in reassembling try holding it upside-down, often it is gravity that is the problem.
Seriously, I've cleaned out drum-brakes on my Suzuki, changed wheels on several cars, sorted out virtually inaccessible brake lights, fitted radios, treated rust, checked fluid levels, changed fan-belts and screen-washer pumps, replaced headlights and door-seals, re-hung opening windows inside doors, unjammed a sticking rear-door lock mechanism (OK all I had to do was dismantle the door and remove enough hair to knit a small dog). The only things I needed a manual for were to work out how to get at the the headlights to change a bulb, check fuse ratings and locations and change the fan-belt when the diagram in the book was a mirror image. A friend showed me how to clean the brakes and then watched me do it until I was confident.
It makes sense to learn the basics. Except on a motorway, I'd rather fit a spare than sit around waiting, as helpless as Penelope Pitstop, for hours for the AA to come and do it for me.
My last garage bill was £60 for checking over 2 cars, no parts. The one before was several hundred for removing bits of disintegrated gear-stick from inside the gear-box as an emergency job the day before I drove to Lyon. I pay for work I can't do myself.
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Date: 2011-02-02 11:22 pm (UTC)If it were my problem I'd buy a book on bike maintenance (or find an on-line one, there seem to be a lot about), read it from cover to cover with my bike within easy reach and then sort out the jobs I knew I could do do them and get someone with more experience to check them. In case I needed advice I'd look at forums and find one that was not frequented by idiots.
Most non-electrical jobs are a matter of careful observation and confidence.
The thing I learned in the labs was to do a 'thought experiment' first :-
Imagine the whole procedure step by step and work out the tools, spares and consumables I would need and have them to hand. Doing that keeps the job faster and means you have less time to forget how something went together.
Always have a stable, deep-sided dish on hand to put small parts in (ceramic cat bowl for example).
If dismantling something new, make notes, possibly photograph it and if parts that might be mixed up are involved either mark them (tippex liquid pen lettering is a good temporary marker; A goes to A, three dots to 3 dots, etc.) or lay everything out like an expanded diagram.
Last off, first on and in case of real difficulty in reassembling try holding it upside-down, often it is gravity that is the problem.
Seriously, I've cleaned out drum-brakes on my Suzuki, changed wheels on several cars, sorted out virtually inaccessible brake lights, fitted radios, treated rust, checked fluid levels, changed fan-belts and screen-washer pumps, replaced headlights and door-seals, re-hung opening windows inside doors, unjammed a sticking rear-door lock mechanism (OK all I had to do was dismantle the door and remove enough hair to knit a small dog). The only things I needed a manual for were to work out how to get at the the headlights to change a bulb, check fuse ratings and locations and change the fan-belt when the diagram in the book was a mirror image. A friend showed me how to clean the brakes and then watched me do it until I was confident.
It makes sense to learn the basics. Except on a motorway, I'd rather fit a spare than sit around waiting, as helpless as Penelope Pitstop, for hours for the AA to come and do it for me.
My last garage bill was £60 for checking over 2 cars, no parts. The one before was several hundred for removing bits of disintegrated gear-stick from inside the gear-box as an emergency job the day before I drove to Lyon. I pay for work I can't do myself.