| Author | Message | ||
     M_bison |
For the last couple of days i've been wondering if it would be cheaper and safer to take my bike in to a harley dealership. The problem is i've heard they charge an arm and a leg for services. I realllly want to work on the bike myself but i feel that i might mess something up if i replace or change parts EVEN with using the service manual. So my question is would it be cheaper and is it easy to work on your own bike using the service manual? Anything i need to look out for when taking a component apart? Is it like puzzle solving? Thanks. -Bison | ||
| Blazing_saddle |
I've found that motorcycle repair ain't rocket science. If you keep track of the parts when you take it apart, I've found taking pictures helpful, and get them all back when you put it back together, and it looks right, it probably is. Just my thought about it. | ||
| M_bison |
Wow i never looked at it from that point. That's a pretty informative technique. Thanks Blazing saddle. | ||
| 4dwuds |
Try and keep components together along with the fastners. Just don't throw all the nuts, bolts and screws in one big box and hope you will remember where they go. Some bolts will be only a 1/4" different length but can cause serious problems if installed in the wrong place. Get some baggies and label them with the contents as you go along. Yep, Take pictures, pictures, pictures, and of course WE want to see them. | ||
| M_bison |
Sweet i'm lovin the feedback from all of you. Thanks for the help. Nothing is wrong with my bike, it's just a 97 model and i know some maintenance will have to be done sooner or later ie. Gaskets, headers, air filter, etc. I'm not a mechanic in anyway but i'd love to know my bike inside out. | ||
| Blazing_saddle |
No better way to get to know your bike than to take it apart and put it back together. | ||
| Buellistic |
BUELLers: The way "i" got 107,444.5 miles as of the last ride on my 1997 S3T was "NOT BY TAKING IT TO A HARLEY-DAVIDSON DEALER" ... These are the things that you have to put up with: OVER FILLING of the oil system on oil changes ... Primary Chain adjusted TOO TIGHT ... Drive Belt adjusted TOO TIGHT ... CAN NOT the Clutch ... OVER FILLING of TRANSMISSION ... Bending/Breaking THINGS ... OVER tightening AXLE NUTS ... The REAL PROBLEM is finding a HARLEY-DAVIDSON DEALER that has REAL BUELL MECHANIC's working for them !!! THESE REAL BUELL MECHANIC's ARE THERE, "BUT" THEY ARE HARD TO FIND AND WORD OF MOUTH IS THE BEST WAY TO FIND THEM !!! If anyone wants the "INFO" that "i" have learned over the years, "i" will be glad to e-mail it to you ... MAY THE LONG LASTING BUELL BE WITH YOU !!! | ||
| M_bison |
That's some good insight buellistic. I think i'll take care of my bike myself. Noone can really take care and treat your bike better than yourself. I would also like that information you have learned over the years if you don't mind. I'm trying to learn as much as i can from as many buellers on here. "Knowledge is power!" | ||
| Reepicheep |
You should go into it with eyes open and know there will be a learning curve. When you start you will learn a lot from stripped and broken fasteners, sub-optimal tools, and hard won lessons. Also expect to spend a lot accumulating the necessary tools (though Harbor Freight makes that a lot more tolerable these days). I started learning to wrench as an adult, and now completely rebuild dirtbikes for fun. There have been a few pretty dark moments, and some luck, but I wouldn't trade it, and it definitely pays back over the long haul (if you enjoy doing it). | ||
| Kyrocket |
I love wrenching on my bike! I have found, when possible, put the bolt/screw back in the same hole it came out of when you take it apart, it's a lot easier to keep track of that way. If that's not possible get yourself a cardboard box and make a simple drawing of the component, cut holes with a pocket knife/box cutter and keep up with bolts and screws that way. I'd post pics if I had any right now but I'm anal about bolts going in exactly where they came out. I have all my top end drawn out on boxes with the bolts located and what size they are written next to them. If they're really small parts then ziploc baggies and permanent markers help alot. If and when you take hoses loose wrap a piece of tape around them and write what it went to. Same thing with electrical connectors, I mark both sides with a number then connect a 1 to a 1 for instance when reassembling and if by chance there's more than one way for it to go back together draw a straight line across both for realigning purposes. it'll save a ton of time when things go back together (if ever)  | ||
| M_bison |
Thanks! This helps alot. I feel a lil bit more confident with knowing my bike now. | ||
| Blazing_saddle |
Right you are Buellistic. Dealerships are for buying new motorcycles and sometimes parts, that's all! | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
zip lock bags, masking tape, and a sharpie. label wires and hoses as soon as you remove them. put the hardware either in the hole it came out of, or keep it in labeled zip lock bags. ive got chaotic looking boxes of parts in the garage but the bags and tape will tell me where it all came from. And get a SERVICE MANUAL! Oh, and you may want to consider buying a second bike. It's nice to have one all put together that you can look at for reference when working on the other.  | ||
| Kyrocket |
+1 on the second bike! But I'd rather have a different one at this point so I could at least ride while the other is down for repairs, or rebuild, whatever the case. | ||
| Shupe |
I find that even if I sometimes muck up and have to buy more parts, it's still way cheaper than taking it to a dealer, and much more satisfying. I bought my M2 from the original owner and got all his receipts. He took it to the dealer for EVERYTHING. I added up the receipts. Over $ 8,000 in a little over 6 years of ownership - and get this - he bought the extended warranty. Most of the cash was for regular maintenance stuff. | ||
| Brinnutz |
Well this is the only bike I've ever owned, and I only ever did normal car maintenance. So far...I'm this far:  I've never torn a motor apart before, and now that I have gone this far, it's really pretty simple. Now, on to building her up for more power! | ||
| Nevrenuf |
you weren't kidding, were you wilson. | ||
| Brinnutz |
No, check the "And so it begins" thread in Old School for more. | ||
| M_bison |
Wow i want to see status pictures on how the bike is coming along your building. That's pretty awesome. Well i have no money to get another bike to work on so if the current bike i own takes a crap on me then i'm screwed. Just gotta dig in and operate. But i doubt that will happen anytime soon. | ||
| Hippyjoe |
Find a local biker to hang with and learn the ropes from. The Internet is a good place to learn what to do... but how to do it comes from experience. If you go playing science project with a Harley you'll find yourself with a busted money pit quick. Me, I'd rather be smart with maintenance so I can get on my bike and ride it any time... instead of posting up pictures on the Internet of my latest mechanical disaster. Consider the source when people you don't know start telling you what to do to your bike. You wouldn't take your bike to a shop where bikes come in running and leave in a pile of boxes, would you? Don't fall into that trap here either.... | ||
| Buellistic |
Hippyjoe: Very good, as that is how "i" got 107,444.7 miles on my 1997 S3T as of the last ride !!! MAY THE LONG LASTING BUELL BE WITH YOU !!! | ||
| Rightpecial |
My Cyclone has been down for a while now with a blown shock. I went in to find out how much a new one would cost and they quoted me $550 and that's before their labor cost. Now I can get a WP for only little bit more and I'm sure with their labor counted in I could get pretty much anything. As soon as I trade off the HD and get another good secondary bike that cyclone is going down to the frame in my garage; it will never see a shop even if it takes me years to figure out how to get it back together. Use a camera. Use the manual. Use the Net. And get yourself some large plastic zip lock baggies, a marker, and some tape to keep track of the bolts and little parts. Use a notebook if you have to. Crap, I just realized all of this has been mentioned. Anyway, I second all that. | ||
| Captainkirk |
You only "don't know it" once. After that you know it. Get a manual. Get the tools. Ever wonder how many "professional" Buell mechanics are head-scratchers as well....you just don't know it? More than you'd want to know, I'll bet... As a professional aircraft mechanic and "amateur" bike mech for over 40 years, I'll tell you with all honesty that I don't trust my life to anyone else's work and/or judgement. Neither should you. | ||
| Cyc02 |
I've been lucky enough to find a Harley / Buell Mechanic that builds one-of's and specializes in the unusual. He and I have worked on my M2 and I've learned heaps just by helping him. It doesn't hurt that he's got a real knack for tuning and dialing in my specific requirements on the bike either! I wouldn't take it to the original dealer because they were a) Unwilling to do what I wanted to MY bike, and b) Were more of a Top Shelf Boutique Dealer that cared about pose value instead of Real World Biking! |
