| Author | Message | ||
     Bob_thompson |
With the many occupations we have represented here on BWB do any of you think your chosen work now or in the past helps you be a better rider or mechanic on your motorcycle? What? How? Care to share? Bob | ||
| Blackbelt |
not at all... CAD operator/martial arts instructor.. So i can rip my bike apart like no other.. lol | ||
| Bomber |
my experience as a Technical Writer (creator of manuals) has helped me be a better wrench, in that, when I stop and think, my troubleshooting skills are much better than they would be if I had chosen a different field now if I could find a job that helped me stop and think more often ;-} | ||
| Daves |
My job has helped me realize I am better off doing what I do, sell bikes and Buell parts and let the techs do what they do, work on bikes. I do most of my own oil changes but that's about it. The good part is the newer bikes don't need as much work(not nearly as much) to keep running than the ole 62 and 82 did when they were my primary bikes. | ||
| Buell666 |
im a mercedes tech, so im pretty handy with a wrench, im not afraid to tackle anything on my bike. but when we all get together at new12r's barn to tackle a big project over a few beers it makes it that much more fun. there are quite a few guys in our group with automotive experience. thats what real friends are all about. coming together to share one common love. that covers the mechanic part. now the better rider part......thats a different story. i love riding with all of the guys in our group, the 3%ers. we all learn from eachother and all become better riders because of it. we dont think everything is a race and we all ride at our own level. there are 2 or 3 guys in our group that try to out-do eachother everyonce in a while, but its all in good fun. we all wear all of our gear, even in the summer. the only time we get crazy and dumb is on the way to and back from the vortex on thursday nights and on the occasional backroads when there are no other people around. i will never ride in the mt's without my suit. i dont care if its 200 degrees outside. i got to a point where i was getting really confident trying to keep up with one of our faster riders, new12r.i lowsided at about 60-70 mph around a 25 mph corner. my bike got pretty trashed, and i broke my wrist. that happened right before halloween. since then, shred has been to a couple of track days, and new12r has been to 1. new12r said he probably wont ride on the street nearly as much anymore. the point of all this rambling is that there really is no job that will make you a better rider, unless you are a professional rider. take it to the track. its alot safer there. | ||
| Tramp |
as a trained BMW tech, I really learned much about the whys and hows of factory service and insurance repair. as a pro ski and then snowboard racer, i really, really learned, both consciously and otherwise, how to hunt the best line, utilize centripetal and centrifugal forces, inclination, big and small angulation according to turn radius, etc. as an advisor i've learned that all peoples and cultures and beliefs are eseentially similar and based on goodness, peace and love. in any given group, the zealots of each simply scream louder. i also learned that it's not the technology of a cuture or tribe which dictates it's ultimate victory or defeat, but, rather, the ability of it's people to improvise. from operating amongst considerable death i've been gifted a perspective, which i really need to reference, more often, of the imminence of mortality (in any random form) and the absolute and final truth of love. those who profess to love others whom they don't even know are really only in love with their own ability to love... i am confident that any higher authority shines far more broadly and with far less judgement upon us than any of us might even guess. yip- that's my answer. | ||
| Ducxl |
As a CNC/CAD machinist i've had the opportunity to make some of my own replacement parts for my Buells' thus saving myself some money.Also by nature i love all things mechanical.Part of the reason i like motorcycles is dismantling/reassembling them. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I am an electronic tech so I don't fear any electrical problem. I see the fuel injection as a reasonably simple thing compared to what I normally work on. I usually wuss right out if anything heavy needs to be done inside the cases. Sheldon's usually takes care of me alright so I have less insentive to do it myself than if they were buffoons. | ||
| Oldog |
I have a broad and varied background, Motorcycles started my affair here, I went to school to be a machinist ( turn the handles kind ) did that for a while because I wanted to be able to make and repair engine related stuff on my own it paid ok too. when an opportunity to branch out came along i went into industrial electrical controls, I am still doing that this has helped me understand complex aspects of things like DDFI and why things work like they do, near the end of my stint in "CorpUSA", I learned stuff about manufacturing, right & wrong. My being part of this comunity has given me a leg up on the experience that I needed to maintain my Buell, Not to mention meeting some real nice folks. | ||
| Bake |
Yup, My job is in the wilderness. Most days I ride my dirtbike, quad or snowmobile into work. The workday is usually 2 hrs or so(including the ride in and out), so I do a lot of free rideing in the mountains or go home in the summer and ride one of my street bikes. With so much rideing there come the maintance and repairs (Message edited by bake on January 05, 2006) | ||
| Diablobrian |
Some people have a mechanical aptitude and by nature are good at fixing things and visualizing from schematics. Others cannot, and some talents/skills cannot be taught. Intuition and experience play a part in the mechanic's trade. I've had the aptitude my whole life and have held jobs as a machinist, welder, mechanic, field service tech, and technical representative for several makes of machinery. On the other side of the coin there are those that have a natural talent for riding. They just "click" with the machine. My brother has far more of that than I do. He is, and always has been, faster than me on a motorcycle. You can study the books, go to race schools, practice like crazy. One of these truely fast guys will show up (like Eric Bostrom, does not street ride in the off season) having not ridden for months and they will blow you into the weeds. | ||
| Dragon_slayer |
Yeap, been some kind of service mechanic for 35 years in different fields. Also an important question you forgot to ask, is what other hobbies and interests has helped you. I found over the years that ANY thing I learned could be crossed over to many other interests or jobs. It's called well rounded experience; must be earned by doing things for years or careful listening and working with someone that has it! You can also pay that person to practice it for you! | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
No, I'm a Jarhead. When I work on my bike I just break $&it! Edit: I forgot attention to detail! I can detail my bike like no other! (Message edited by charlieboy6649 on January 05, 2006) | ||
| Thunderbolt3 |
Working for IATSE building sets, stages, props,and any thing else you could think of for a rock-n-roll show or country show.Ihave avery good mechanical back ground.problem solving ect.As for motorcycles dirtbike in the late 70,s motocross. always work on my own bikes because then iknew what was getting fixed.just the love and passion of open road in the breeze. | ||
| Buellin_ri |
I (like buell 666) am a Mercedes Benz tech (former GM guy). That helps in the wrenching area, XB is like a lawn mower compared to the crap I have to deal with day to day, I love that. I am also in the Air National Guard. That chews into a lot of riding time, but its fun in its own way. |
