Just Venting

[free2ride]

Have an '80 CBK that has been in the shop more than on the road since I got her!

This year I had to have an oil leak taken care of [knew I couldn't even attempt it myself]. My mechanic [who is great, but busy as all get-out] figured to have it ready by mid-June but when he cracked the motor [who knew that to change a $20 oil seal it would be such a job?] he found worn bearings . . . took over 2 months for them to come in. Figured on a Labour Day ride . . . boy was I dreaming. On the test drive before handing the bike back the clutch cable was seized . . . and you guessed it . . .
back order .

Total frustration!!!

I'd like to say thanks for listening and it's all out of my system now . . . but it ain't. I'm just hoping to get a day or two of riding in before our short season ends . . . otherwise I'll have insured the thing to sit in a shop bay all year

[Re-run]

Thats the joys of getting an old bike back in order. how many miles on it?

[free2ride]

75km -- a lot on an old bike, but these things are made of indestructable material, it seems. But also hard-to-find indestructable material.

HAPPY DAY [sort of]: call came in an hour ago -- it's ready [but I can't pick it up until tomorrow afternoon]. Add to the cost front caliper, front brake, pads, and more carb work [o-ring, I think he said].

I'll know more when I pick it up tomorrow and see the bill. I'd be hopping mad and think I was being ripped off if I didn't know the mechanic was so busy that he doesn't need my aggravation . . . er, business.

[free2ride]

It's back . . . and boy does it purr. Wish I could do at least some of my own work, but no space to pull things apart and store parts [along with the fact that I am mechanically challenged].

20 hours labour.

But I'm riding and I'm happy.

[sjackson]

dang, 20 hours! But at least it sounds like it's running good right now. Honestly, at this point if I had the money I'd consider just paying somebody to fix it. My problem isn't a lack of mechanical skill. Far from it. I've spent a good portion of my professional life elbows deep in complicated printing equipment. my problem is not knowing whether I've correctly identified the problem and the proper fix.

[free2ride]

a lot easier to ride it in and drop it off for sure. problem is that he is *the* mechanic for classic bikes in town, and he is usually up to his . . . his armpits in work. I htink he has about a dozen bikes on the go at any one time.

break-in period is a thousand km . . . I figure to have that in a week if work doesn't get in the way too much.

oh . . . and I don't have the money, but neither do I have the smarts, so better to pay to get it done right than to pay to fix my mistakes then get it done right.

[sjackson]

There's a guy near me who will work on classic bikes, but he's an immense jerk. Everyone I've talked to pretty much unanimously agrees that he knows what he's doing, and can just about fix anything, but they'll never go back to him because of how rude he is. And since he's one of the few people in the area willing to even look at bikes that old, he knows he can get away with it.

Luckily I found another place a few months ago that said they will work on anything, as long as they can get parts. So if push comes to shove, that's where I'm going. And if I'm going to a mechanic, I probably am pushing the bike. :)

[rm56]

Franko, Buy a shop manual for your bike and start with simple things like oil changes and minor tune up work. In no time you'll be saving your self money and feeling great about fixing a classic yourself. I have been working on bikes off and on since my teens. I'm 53 now. I've run into mechanics like flatcurve mentioned, they know bikes and figure they have you by the short hairs. I once went to a factory trained Harley wrench who worked on an 81 GS 1100 I had. The local shop could not touch it because of its age. This guy lived with his mommy, had a huge shop full of heavy machine tools and a four car garage with full hydraulic lifts. Spent all his change on tools and let mom pay the bills, nice guy. A real huge ego too, he did great work but I could not stand or respect a man that errogant and rude. Sometimes I wish I could find guys like me in my area that are into older bikes and like to twist wrenches, but I have not found any.