What did you do to your bike today?

How did you guys pick up so much knowledge about motorbike maintenance? I'd love to be able to half the stuff I've seen in threads on this forum, but I've no idea where to start. Are there any motorcycle maintenance courses which are worth doing?
 
TallPaul_S said:
If you have a flat/level bit of ground there's nothing wrong with a paddock stand (waits for Kreee to suggest an abba stand ;)). Removing it from the stand is the only hard bit, but you just push on the bike as you release the pressure on the stand, to guide it to the left rather than the right.
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My sidestand seems to be ****-scary low so I use a brick under the stand to bring it nearly vertical, makes getting on the paddock stand 100% easier.
 
TripleT said:
My sidestand seems to be ****-scary low so I use a brick under the stand to bring it nearly vertical, makes getting on the paddock stand 100% easier.
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The only problem doing that is the bike is very close to the tipping point already, I don't like doing it this way because of this. I prefer to get the left side cup under the swingarm, push down on the stand which brings the bike upright and puts the other side cup in place - as long as you put downward pressure on the stand the bike will stand upright on it's own - then push more to get the rear wheel off the ground and the bike onto the stand.

Gown doing it's the opposite, wheel onto the ground while still applying pressure, and as you release pressure allowing the bike to fall, take your left hand and place it on the right side of the tail/rear seat, pulling the bike to the left and down onto the sidestand. Simples :D
 
misterjingo said:
How did you guys pick up so much knowledge about motorbike maintenance? I'd love to be able to half the stuff I've seen in threads on this forum, but I've no idea where to start. Are there any motorcycle maintenance courses which are worth doing?
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It's just down to issues that occur on your own bike and a willingness to give it a go.

I'm lucky in that I had a friend help me swap the engine on my old bike and another friend that services trucks and is also a fellow biker. They have been great in helping me look round the bike and what to look for.

Don't be afraid to take the panels and seat off and have a look around....just make sure you know which screws go where and nothing gets unplugged or pinched.
 
misterjingo said:
How did you guys pick up so much knowledge about motorbike maintenance? I'd love to be able to half the stuff I've seen in threads on this forum, but I've no idea where to start. Are there any motorcycle maintenance courses which are worth doing?
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Basically get stuck in, make mistakes, use a Haynes manual and see if you can find the workshop manual for your bike. Once you've tinkered a bit and spend enough time looking into things online or in the book(s) you'll pick up a lot :)
 
misterjingo said:
How did you guys pick up so much knowledge about motorbike maintenance? I'd love to be able to half the stuff I've seen in threads on this forum, but I've no idea where to start. Are there any motorcycle maintenance courses which are worth doing?
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I know very little but youtube is pretty helpful when it comes to things like how to remove panels and to get to certain parts of the bike.

First thing I did was bleed my brakes, change the break lines and fill back up. And while doing so, strip the calipers of the pads and give them a good clean while disconnected from the bike.

The slight brake rubbing that I described after doing the above has gone so I'm all happy with that.
 
If I were buying new today I'd test the er6f,mt07,sv650,zx6r,street triple,Daytona 675

No other bikes really take my fancy
 
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