When it comes to wrenching on your bikes...

stangkag
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stangkag
Edited Date/Time 5/20/2020 7:11pm
Just wanted to see an honest show of hands, what do most of you do when your bike breaks down.

Let's throw in maintenance to

Wrenching options

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Spooner
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Spooner 5/19/2020 10:42am
5/19/2020 10:42am
I think you need one more option of "I do almost everything, but major motor or suspension work I use a shop"
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KX500
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KX500 5/19/2020 10:45am
5/19/2020 10:45am
I realized as a young lad, that there was no way I could afford dirt bikes if they had to go to the shop every other Monday, after being ridden on the weekends.

Fixing them myself was an excellent learning experience that has served me well for a long time.

I figured it was the same for everybody, although I suppose some embrace it a little less.
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Indian_Dunes_4ever 5/19/2020 10:49am
5/19/2020 10:49am Edited Date/Time 5/19/2020 10:50am
Spooner wrote:
I think you need one more option of "I do almost everything, but major motor or suspension work I use a shop"
Agreed.

I do ALL my own maintenance (bikes and cars).... I do MOST of the repairs. For the things beyond my skill level or for jobs that require specialty tools I do not have....it goes to a good independent shop.

The University of Youtube is a wonderful thing.
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MZ193
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MZ193 5/19/2020 10:58am
5/19/2020 10:58am
Spooner wrote:
I think you need one more option of "I do almost everything, but major motor or suspension work I use a shop"
Yeah cause that's 80% of the the people that race mx

The Shop

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stangkag
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stangkag 5/19/2020 11:16am
5/19/2020 11:16am
Spooner wrote:
I think you need one more option of "I do almost everything, but major motor or suspension work I use a shop"
Cant seem to add it after i click edit, but I agree I should have added that!
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731chopper
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731chopper 5/19/2020 11:46am
5/19/2020 11:46am
I do everything but suspension and most motor work.
Mossy
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Mossy 5/19/2020 11:51am
5/19/2020 11:51am
Spooner wrote:
I think you need one more option of "I do almost everything, but major motor or suspension work I use a shop"
This is me Cool
kb228
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kb228 5/19/2020 11:56am
5/19/2020 11:56am
Cant afford to pay anyone else. Do it all myself.
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mattyhamz2
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mattyhamz2 5/19/2020 12:01pm
5/19/2020 12:01pm
I do everything but suspension and motor upgrades. Motor rebuilds I will do with my pops
crowe176
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crowe176 5/19/2020 12:36pm
5/19/2020 12:36pm
I do all my work, beside suspension and if there’s a motor issue, I sell it. (4 stroke)
Tenacious P
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Tenacious P 5/19/2020 1:37pm
5/19/2020 1:37pm
Won't do suspension valving or engine work below the top end... I do everything else myself.

May attempt a 2 stroke bottom end this summer on my project CR250 engine. Knowing myself though, I'll put 1 part on wrong/backwards and get really mad then pay someone else to ultimately fix my mistake. Jack of all trades... master of none :-(

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Andy7
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Andy7 5/19/2020 2:01pm
5/19/2020 2:01pm
Spooner wrote:
I think you need one more option of "I do almost everything, but major motor or suspension work I use a shop"
This 100%
sandman768
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sandman768 5/19/2020 2:17pm
5/19/2020 2:17pm
I do everything 2 stroke, 4 stroke not so much...
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Lightning78
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Lightning78 5/19/2020 2:27pm
5/19/2020 2:27pm
Since I own a 2 stroke I can do 90% of my engine work...I even branched out to doing my fork seals .....bike shops are outrageous!!
stangkag
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stangkag 5/19/2020 2:35pm
5/19/2020 2:35pm
Was curious because I keep getting deeper and deeper into my motors and have realized if I can do it anyone can. Take your time, read the service manual and have fun! Ive made some mistakes but thats the best way to learn and you save a ton of money. Doing cam chain, piston and cylinder on my xr400 today!
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Falcon
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Falcon 5/19/2020 2:38pm
5/19/2020 2:38pm
I do all my own work. I've only ever had to split a case once and I'm now learning how to do my own fork seals. Pretty soon, I'll be able to do anything on a 2-stroke. That's all I'll ever need, I guess.

Wrenching on my own bike has taught me not to be afraid of disassembling other things as well: wife's car, my MTB, kids' toys... I can fix it.
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Fonzarelli
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Fonzarelli 5/19/2020 4:00pm
5/19/2020 4:00pm Edited Date/Time 5/19/2020 7:26pm
With Youtube I am not sure what holds anyone up from doing anything for themselves. Youtube can teach you to build a nuclear missile in about 10 minutes, modern four strokes are only slightly more complicated than that.
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Pit Row

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Falcon
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Falcon 5/19/2020 4:07pm
5/19/2020 4:07pm
Fonzarelli wrote:
With Youtube I am not sure what holds anyone up from doing anything for themselves. Youtube can teach you to build a nuclear missile in about...
With Youtube I am not sure what holds anyone up from doing anything for themselves. Youtube can teach you to build a nuclear missile in about 10 minutes, modern four strokes are only slightly more complicated than that.
Grinning True
blusmbl
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blusmbl 5/19/2020 4:24pm
5/19/2020 4:24pm
I don't have a tire machine so I'll take my streetbike tires to a shop, otherwise I've done pretty much everything else to a motorcycle myself. I have had a friend who used to work in a shock lab help me respring a set of forks before, we had to make one tool to get it apart. Engine work is easy but I've built car engines before and dirt bikes are significantly simpler.
Caseclosed713 5/19/2020 4:47pm
5/19/2020 4:47pm Edited Date/Time 5/19/2020 4:48pm
I can do it all including rebuilding cranks and boring cylinders if I had my own equipment. 2 stroke, 4 stroke, anything. I was a mechanic for 7 years. I still think doing suspension is a messy pain in the ass Laughing
FWYT
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FWYT 5/19/2020 9:01pm
5/19/2020 9:01pm
Caseclosed713 wrote:
I can do it all including rebuilding cranks and boring cylinders if I had my own equipment. 2 stroke, 4 stroke, anything. I was a mechanic...
I can do it all including rebuilding cranks and boring cylinders if I had my own equipment. 2 stroke, 4 stroke, anything. I was a mechanic for 7 years. I still think doing suspension is a messy pain in the ass Laughing
Semi related - and I've tried to get a thread started on this before- I'd love to see some cheap DIY suspension
work spaces. Nothing big or fancy. Just something that sorta contains the mess a bit.
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zac_k3
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zac_k3 5/19/2020 9:44pm
5/19/2020 9:44pm
I’m on a very tight budget so i attempt everything myself. Last year i did a frame up build on a 06’ rm125 and was balling out while leaving at home, not one thing on that bike hadn’t been cleaned or replaced. I started to do a bottom end rebuild but realized real quick i wasn’t ready for that and just paid a shop to reassemble it for me. Because i’m a dumbass and sold it im now sitting on a 96’ cr250 with very limited money to spend on it so i’m trying to save money by just doing it everything but the suspension myself. I currently have the cases split and in the process of redoing the engine but often get hung up on something i’m not sure how to do so i end looking at photos, videos, service manuals online and so on. It all looks easy until you go to do it but i try not to get frustrated and just figure it out!
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bh
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bh 5/20/2020 2:15am
5/20/2020 2:15am
I do everything with the exception of putting nitrogen in the shock. And I’ll occasionally have my father weld something for me.
austin_bo
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austin_bo 5/20/2020 3:17am
5/20/2020 3:17am
Fonzarelli wrote:
With Youtube I am not sure what holds anyone up from doing anything for themselves. Youtube can teach you to build a nuclear missile in about...
With Youtube I am not sure what holds anyone up from doing anything for themselves. Youtube can teach you to build a nuclear missile in about 10 minutes, modern four strokes are only slightly more complicated than that.
*The FBI has entered the forum 😂
captain.olives 5/20/2020 4:16am
5/20/2020 4:16am
Backyard mechanic. I do all my own work, including motors. Only thing I use a pro for is rebuilding a crank if I don't just purchase a new one, cutting valve seats, and rear shocks (they are a mess to bleed with new oil.) WIll do all my fork maintenance, but use a pro to revalve and pay for their knowledge in that department. I pretty much assumed everyone was like me, couldn't afford to ride if I didn't.

As I'm older now, probably better at wrenching than riding with all the practice... Laughing
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nascarnate326 5/20/2020 4:27am
5/20/2020 4:27am
I do everything except for suspension. I kind of want to learn but I kind of want to not mess it up and let the pro's handle it. lol Some things are better paying for and not watching a YouTube video.
Timo_2824
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Timo_2824 5/20/2020 4:42am
5/20/2020 4:42am
FWYT wrote:
Semi related - and I've tried to get a thread started on this before- I'd love to see some cheap DIY suspension work spaces. Nothing big...
Semi related - and I've tried to get a thread started on this before- I'd love to see some cheap DIY suspension
work spaces. Nothing big or fancy. Just something that sorta contains the mess a bit.
This catches 90% of the oil mess.
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mxryan25
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mxryan25 5/20/2020 5:09am
5/20/2020 5:09am
I do most my own work unless it comes to splitting cases or suspension. For engine I know a (uncle,friend,neighbor, etc.) I usually pay said person in beer (and or smoke) and its usually done right. take suspension to a local guy to save $ on shipping
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dl117
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dl117 5/20/2020 5:19am
5/20/2020 5:19am
Timo_2824 wrote:
This catches 90% of the oil mess. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/05/20/428374/s1200_20191123_132631.jpg[/img]
This catches 90% of the oil mess.
that's a hell of an idea, I have all that .....in garage already.
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