I have a general question for everyone here.

[whynotmarmar]

I'm 19 I just got a 1982 yamaha xs400 seca. I'm just now learning how to do a check over and maintain my bike, but before long I wouldn't mind delving deeper and actually taking stuff apart and working on things more in depth then just looking at the exterior. now im not going to just rip apart my engine without cause but if the cause arises I want to be able to know how to. Here's my question, where did you guys get your knowledge about engines and the workings of a motorcycle? How long was it before you trusted yourself to do work on your bike. currently I'm thirsting for more know how and knowledge but i dont know where to look, any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nico]

Welcome! I just started riding this year myself and I have done all my maintenance so far. I think it depends on the person. For some people the mechanical things just click.

Honestly, and I'm not sure what others think, but I would just dive in! That's what I did. I had never rebuilt or taken apart carbs on car or bike and I did that a couple months back. This site and the help/advice of my father and grandfather helped out tremendously!

I think as with most things experience is the best way to learn. If you don't know someone you can shadow or get help from there's google, YouTube and the friendly folks here.

And like you said if it ain't broke don't fix it! But when that time does come my philosophy is its already broken, so if I have a go and fail I can still take it to the professionals.

 

[xschris]

Get yourself a good manual Then just start reading it and studying the bike.

 

[speedsville]

Look for some books, maybe at the Library or magazines.

I went to school for Automotive Technical students then to 4 years for a BS in Automotive Engineering.

So keep working on it.

Find an old motor, a air cooled VW bug motor would be good and take it apart.
They are very easy to work on, and kind of easy to see what does what.

Larry

 

[jmd_forest]

I learned by doing. When I was young I simply couldn't afford to take it anywhere (especially a dealer) to get fixed. It was either fix it myself or I had no transportation. I learned fast.

 

[bentwrench]

The factory service manual for your bike is on this site - I used it to replace my head gasket, and will be using it to change my tranny this coming winter. It's invaluable.

Also, ask questions on this site. Take pictures. There are a ton of really knowledgeable people here willing to lend a thought (accuracy of thoughts not guaranteed...)

 

[sly409]

I'm with Nico and others on this. For some people, mechanical things just click and then the next step would just be to dive in. I think a lot of people who take the time to join a forum like this find that they are capable of doing things like this themselves. Otherwise they would have skipped all this and paid someone to do it. For some of us, paying others to repair our bikes just isnt within our budget. I've learned in the short time that I've been here that a lot of simple maintenance is really cheap to do yourself. If you've got the time and patience to do this then it shouldnt be a problem learning.

A little background on myself, this is my first bike and I'm learning to do all the stuff on my own too. Never worked on bikes before ever. I don't find it unusually difficult or anything like that. I though happen to be one of the fortunate ones that pick up on mechanical things easier than others. Lots of information here, search and if its not found in search then post a question and it's usually answered fairly quickly by one of the many knowledgeable users on this form.

Maybe to see how capable you are try doing a basic oil change on your bike and see how that goes. If you get stuck at trying to remove a worn out oil drain plug, do a quick search and read all the other users techniques for removing it and go from there. Good luck!

 

[arfstrom]

I guess I started when I was pre-teen, My step dad had me help him with car stuff. None of that really stuck, as far as What we really did, but in hind sight, I remember getting a huge Fly-wheel for an old car of ours, and watch him replace it. His whole family was always chatting about repair jobs on their autos. When I started to mow grass, the Lawnboy lawn mower I had, broke. I think I watch him repair it once. then the next time It broke, I ran down to the Coast to Coast hardware store, bought a half-moon key, to replace the one I just broke by running into a tree stump. A couple years later, I was in Small engine class in the 9th grade, while attending Gillette WY, Jr Highschool, 1985 (Go Eagles) Fast forward to 2008, I replaced the Intake manifold gasket on the 94 Olds Cutlass ciera, to finally start the bike project in 2010 or so. I was in no rush to get the bike on the road, I just wanted to be safe. (okay as a young marine i enjoyed hanging out with the Fire Truck mechanics MOS 3526, I was 7051 firefighter, learning more about the Diesel engine/water heater/pumps...Why, cause you never know if it breaks, where you will be at. either local or deployed overseas) I like to have an informed opinion, back by experience. That is where I learned was from my step dad.

 

[halfbreed4lyfe]

I'm with a lot of these guys, I've never worked on a bike, and just dove right in using the manuals from the site and other threads in which similar issues arose. I had to diagnose an engine issue then tear apart my block to find a jacked piston and now have swapped in an entire new engine and it runs again, you just have to take time read and have patience. My biggest issues I'd say are hesitating to do things because of fear of ruining something but after taking apart most of the bike theres not much you can really destroy, you can only make jobs harder, by losing bits and dropping things in holes they dont belong. I did read the manual three times over before attempting to take the engine apart tho and it made the job a little quicker.

 

[Boomstick]

Taking stuff apart on your bike does seem a daunting at first, but the more you do it, the more confident you'll become in your abilities.

I bought my 400 less than a year ago with no mechanical knowledge whatsoever (didn't even know how to change oil!). But since then, I've gained a lot of knowledge through this site on how to work on my bike myself. I had no idea of the satisfaction of being able to work on/fix something myself. It is a learning experience though; I've stripped/bent/broken many parts and been really frustrated at times, but persistence is the key.

 

[whynotmarmar]

thank you everyone for your encouraging words. Its reassuring to know im not the only one who started off knowing nothing a built their knowledge to be able to maintain their bike by themselves.

 

[drewpy]

we were all born with no knowledge, that means if we put our minds to it, we can do anything

 

[RevrdMark]

I'm like most of the people posting up. I was too cheep to send my cars or motorcycles to a mechanic to have them fixed. I started out when i was about 16 with an old '75 Ford Maverick and a Chiltons Manual. Kinda' learned how the basics of an internal combustion engine worked and how basic suspension and transmissions work on that car. Motorcycles (especially older ones) in my opinion are sooo much easier to work on and in my experience cheaper. If you kinda get the right mix of fuel, air and spark they pretty much work, the demon is getting all three to play together at once in the right time. And i agree the manuals you find here are top notch, not to mention the wisdom, experience and advice these folks offer. Odds are, what ever problem you're facing mechanically someone on here has had the same issue and can give you great advise. They helped me track down a couple solutions to a couple of problems I had on my XS400 project. Great to have you on the forums with us buddy!