"Reach around and wrench it off!" Where do you fit in?

[ttewejnodnarb]

When I bought my Bandit (3rd bike) I swore I would try never to take it to the dealer. Nothing (much) against them I've just always wanted to do it myself. So far, starting from scratch, I have learned to change the oil (duh), adjust the valves, synch the carbs, put in bake pads, change a rivet link chain and sprokets as well as a few other things. This pole doesn't include installs or mods, just maintanance. Where do you fit in?

[chornbe]

I do most work myself. After being a former Concours owner, the idea of ripping tupperware off and spending more time getting TO the stuff to fix than it takes to ACTUALLY fix it is no longer a PITA to me.

Shim and bucket valve adjustments continue to be a stupid design and their only saving grace is that they don't to need as many adjustments over time as screw type. So... they're fine when they're within spec and suck greatly when out.

If I even smell a warranty issue, back it goes, and I'm a picky customer.

[MadMax96]

I'm with you Brandon - I try to do everything I can.  It seems that all I hear are horror stories about the local stealers.  Besides, I'm a cheap-ass and refuse to pay some monkey my hard earned money.  There's pretty much nothing I'm afraid to take a stab at..  all you need is the Suzuki service manual and the great peeps at Maximum-Suzuki.com  

Pretty much all I haven't done is change my tires.  I just found a local guy here who will put on my mail-ordered tires for $20 which includes a computer balance - so now I don't think I'll ever bother.

[Andrew]

I have been working with sooo little for sooo long that if feels like I can do almost anything with nothing.
That and being a professional mechanic for more than 20 yrs, I have a nice collection of duct tape and bailing wire   Also one cheap SOB

[evilmedic13]

Oh ,this is about mechanical aptitude? Well I thought it was umm nevermind, just forget I said anything

[Morgan]

I've been trying to do more and more of my own stuff as I trust the local dealers less and less.  This winter I'll be doing the fork oil on my FZ1 and I've done brakes, carb sync, valve inspection (haven't done the full on shim change/adjustment), and brake line bleeding.  I'll be asking a buddy to help me do my chain here in a few weeks and then after that I'll do it myself.

[Dichotomous]

I figure out how to do things as I need to with my bike, so right now I have rebuilt a pretty easy carb on my old savage, changed up the bars and all the gear attached to them on the SV, adjusted the TPS, soon I shall have adjusted the throttle cables, clutch cable, sync'd the throttle bodies, checked the valve clearances, done the adjustments that are required for a 15k schedule....

[MilleArp]

I voted for "I can take apart my entire engine and bike"..... there was nothing after that about re-assembly and making it run again !

 

[forester]

I've taken the entire front end of the Radian apart, most of the back end apart, more than half of the engine apart (including removing camshafts, replacing a piston, etc.), I've rebuilt the forks a couple times (damned rusty seal parts making the seals leak), replaced the head bearings with better bearings, drum brakes, etc. etc... even welded a couple of pieces and parts together...  Replaced part of the electrics, etc.

When it comes to checking/adjusting valve clearance on the 'strom, I'll be the one who does it.

Basically, I'll do everything and anything I have the parts and time for and the shop will do the rest.  I don't change my own tires because I want them spin balanced and don't have a balancer.

[Gaolee]

I can take anything apart.  It is the putting it back together so it works that is sometimes elusive.

[Shizoku]

Mostly just the oil and filter.  
Paintwork is no problem though.

Shiz

[M.Brane]

 I can do pretty much anything short of machine work/serious fabrication. Don't have the equipment for that kinda stuff.

 I quit doing my own tires though. It's easier to let the shop do that since I found one that doesn't rape you on the labor.

[rodm850g]

Guys,
I am a Mc just not mcguyver, I maintain my screenname sake from front to back, my TL most everything except valve lash changes, My ST1300 is in the same catagorey.....I do have a friend that does the tires reasonably, both for a case of beer{provided after said change}. Thankfully I have a tech friend who I trust implicitly,long time racer,bike builder....For me I do all I can that prolly should have been included in the poll.....It is a sad state of affairs that many shops have a bad reputation for a lot of what they do..whether sales, service, parts or any other aspect of business...but that is another thread alltogether.
I do like the sense of accomplishment that after I have begun a job and finnish up to whereI back the bike out of the garage and thumb the starter and it does what its supposed to....thats me....makes me feel good. Heres hoping anyone that aspires to can get there...its not magic, knowledgeg is what it is.
A simple maintainance class at a community college is a good first step....then some good hand tools....you really dont need a double stack of Snap on tools and you really dont need a huge box full of 12 point sockets you may lose half of....Tihs is another thread too so I am outta here!

                              Rodm850g

[Chick]

After doing valve adjustments on the ZZR, (A true PITA!)  the boxer is so simple, I feel it's cheating to say I can take it apart.  No shim and bucket, no carbs, don't pull plastic for an oil change, no coolant, etc.
Anyway, I can take it apart if need be, so I do all my own service that doesn't require special stuff, like computer links.

[atypical1]

I can do a lot of my own work. Adjusting the valves is not something that I am comfortable with on the Duc quite yet though.

[Yankee Dog]

Its not that I dont trust the dealer.  It just that taking a bike to the dealer is such a PIA.  Especially in the case of the Beemer.  Waste a day bringing it to the dealer, wait a week or three and then waste another day picking it back up.  Even if the work takes a full day its still faster.  

Yankee Dog

[swalterj]

Times the big factor for me.  I hope someday to take some classes and do basic engine work myself.

[StacyT]

I CAN do a lot more than I LIKE to do.

I am finding that I am liking wrenching less and less.

[Tony T]

"I can take apart the entire engine and bike."

I try do everything myself cuz I’m a cheap bastage and a gear-head. Plus when on the rare occasions that I let my dealer works on my bike it tends to come back with flaring panels missing screws, horn assembly swinging in the wind by the wires, ect

I get tired of working on the bike after I just paid someone good money to work on the bike.  

[MisterEd]

As others have said, there's a difference between what one CAN do and what one typically does, desires to do or has time to do.

CAN I strip the whole bike down to its frame and have the engine spread out all over the bench as a collection of individual parts and then put it all back together again and have it work?  Sure.  WOULD I do that?  If I ever decide to buy an older bike that I only ride occasionally, yeah.

My bikes are my primary transportation.  And while I have a handy lift, air compressor, air tools and a fairly complete selection of hand tools, manuals, fluids, parts and shop supplies, I still take the bikes to a shop to have work done.  For instance, tires - I just plain don't want to be bothered with doing them myself.  I'm more than happy to have the local shop do them.  I also tend to dropp the bikes off for major interval maintenance (18000 mile service, etc.) - mostly because I don't feel like taking up an entire weekend to get it done myself.  The advantage of a shop is that I can drop the bike off, go to work, and pick the bike up that afternoon and continue to ride.

I do oil changes, filters, plugs, basic tuning (TwinMax level stuff only) chain and sprocket changes, brakes (pads, rotors, bleeding) and similar stuff.