Re: Doing your own wrenching

On Mar 31, 7:58 am, oasysco <wilderkom...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It is my opinion that the vast majority of MC owners use dealership or
and indie repair service for MC maintenance, even routine mtc like oil
changes.

Let me add that I am not comfortable with a wrench, especially when it
comes to diagnosis, which is one good reason repair shops flourish -
the better ones know how to fix a bike without replacing everything
before they arrive at the real cause.

The local Honda dealer has salespeople milling about out front while
the repair shop is full of bikes. Another indie repair shop I use
always has a full house of bikes with as many as 70 or 80 during peak
periods.

People walk out paying $300, $600 and more for scheduled service and
who knows what for "real" repairs!

Another indie shop my son uses charges $70 for an oil change. Most
shops charge $50. DIY cost: under $20 with an OEM filter, not a
generic like shops use

Brake pads all around on my bike would have cost me $175-250. DIY
cost: $54 (aftermarket, but good quality pads)

My son was quoted $180 to change out the junction/fuse box on his ZX6.
DIY cost: $7.50 (used part).

And then you have tire changes, brake system flush, hydraulic clutch
system flush, clutch springs/plates, coolant changes, valve
adjustments, etc. I haven't gotten to the point of doing these things
yet, but I plan to try it myself when the time comes.

I know some of you here do all your own wrenching. And i'll bet a fair
number of us use repair shops because of the time involved. When I
DIY, I can't count my personal time, else it'd almost always be
cheaper to use the dealer/indie shop :)-

Don't forget the cost of tools. The good ones cost $$$$.
I could not wrestle the oil filter on my Yamaha without an oil wrench.
I guess it was put on by one of those skip-the-gym mechanics.
Most bikes are not made with the ease of maintenance in mind
and even tasks which should be simple cause they have
to be done often (real wheel removal, etc) are a bitch.
I'd guess that's cause most people never did their own maintenance
and don't case how much time it takes to do even simple tasks
such as an oil change.
.

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