Owning a motorcycle is a great thing these days. You can go on an adventure anywhere you want; the fuel consumption is very low, but what will you do if your motorcycle ran into a problem during your adventure?
You will most likely drag it to the maintenance shop, where you will have to pay a good fee and wait for your motorcycle to get done as well. To avoid all this fuss, you should know the basics of how to work on your motorcycle, so you can get out of the trouble with little effort and save yourself from professional paid work.
Maintaining the motorcycle you are riding on is not that difficult, but you should know some small details so you can fix it up by yourself. You never know what the situation will be next time your motorcycle ran into a problem; you could be off-road or far from a maintenance shop.
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Importance
Not knowing how to fix your motorcycle just to reach the maintenance shops quickly can waste your entire day. So it is good to have some tools with you that will help you take a look inside the motorcycle. Knowing fixing your bike can make you unstoppable to hit far adventures you could not go before.
There are very easy methods to understand the basics of your motorcycle and the right tools. So you can handle the mechanical problem by yourself as quickly as possible.
Be worry-free while riding
You can ride fearlessly anywhere you want, as the satisfaction of knowing how to fix your motorcycle while traveling is very comforting. In addition, you can be worry-free while riding.
Most of the time, motorcycle-only requires a simple tuning. You don’t need any spare parts for that. If you just keep an eye on the maintenance of your motorcycle every week, you are good to go for adventures worry-free. Some easy methods of how you can work on a motorcycle are mentioned below in detail.
Learning from Manuals
You will get a manual of start-up, maintenance, and how the motorcycle works with every motorcycle. The manuals consist of all information for the owner in order to make the owner understand every bit of his motorcycle.
If you have a user manual of your motorcycle along with the right tools, you can almost quickly fix the motorcycle if the problem is not so technical. For example, you can adjust the chain and maintain the fluid levels of your motorcycle.
You can also maintain the pressure of the tires and some service techniques as well. All you have to do is to understand the user manual. Don’t worry about it if you don’t have a manual with you, or you don’t get it in the first place, or it is far away somewhere. You can always purchase a new one from the market, such as from Haynes or Clymer.
The manuals you will get from these will be very comprehensive and detailed so you can understand them very quickly. They even contain information about how to rebuild engines and the fixing process as well.
Follow the Manual
The right tools for the right jobs are enlisted as well in the manual. Therefore, whenever you face some mechanical problems, all you have to do is follow the manual step by step, and you will be able to fix the problem so easily.
In addition to that, you can have these manuals digitally stored in your smartphone, so you don’t need to keep a separate book for fixing along with you all the time; it will save effort and space.
Update your Manual
The manuals sometimes contain the older models of motorcycles. They may not contain the present models that may have a new addition in them. A new addition means a new problem. Therefore, it is always better for you to keep an updated version of the manual on your smartphone all the time.
If you don’t find a solution for the problem with your motorcycle, you always have access internet. There you will find the solution to every problem you face. Even the most professional mechanics sometimes use manuals to get a better understanding of the problem.
Workshop and courses
The most useful and effective resource for learning about a motorcycle is to attend courses. It is not uncommon for motorcycle dealers, chassis shops, and aftermarket dealers to offer different quality courses throughout the year.
Courses range from puncture repair, general safety inspection, and intensive adjustment courses to advanced topics such as chassis adjustment and valve testing. These courses are usually aimed at newbies or people just getting in touch, making them a great resource.
You can also contact your local community centers or colleges to take an auto mechanic course. With proper courses, you can have an in-depth understanding of the internal workings of combustion engines and the knowledge of necessary tools to become a skilled mechanic.
Importance of participating in events
Suppose you can’t find similar courses or workshops near your area. In that case, the best way is to participate in motorcycle events that provide seminars such as Overland Expo or Toura tech Rally. Much basic knowledge of automotive mechanics is directly related to motorcycles.
Like most other large gatherings, these events bring together leading industry experts to hold seminars on various useful topics. Manual teaching in such an environment can create miracles for increasing knowledge and building trust.
One other way to gain experience is to participate in the “maintenance day” of the community motorcycle club. These Motorcycle groups often organize maintenance activities, allowing more experienced mechanics and even professionals to help people who want to learn about motorcycle repairs.
Many people think that these direct events are the ideal way to improve their knowledge of mechanical aptitude, so pay close attention to the exercises around you. However, sometimes the most useful guidance may come from a knowledgeable friend or forum member who wants to share their knowledge to help others.
Help from the Internet
In terms of learning, it is difficult to ignore the importance of the internet as a powerful tool. The abundance of motorcycle maintenance and repair information that can be found on the internet is staggering.
The biggest disadvantage of the internet is that, unfortunately, it is full of opinions, which means you should have reservations about all the information you get. However, this does not mean that there are not so many reliable sources; you just need to be careful before trusting any source you find on the internet.
YouTube is a superb start line that has hundreds of videos on renovation and restores tasks. In addition, many aftermarket components manufacturers use YouTube to make educational videos as well. Therefore, YouTube is a great source of learning, even for mechanical purposes.
Learn from mistakes
Despite some research, being able to see what has been done, learn from the mistakes of others, and learn some skills on the side are just some of the potential benefits before you try it yourself.
Try learning by fixing your motorcycle in the garage first. Mistakes will make you perfect, and it is better than spending hours fixing your motorcycle in the field. Every time you fix your motorcycle, you will learn everything new. In addition to that, you will save the repairing cost of your motorcycle as well.
Help from a Mentor
There is no substitute for the benefits of real-life experience. There are a lot of things that a manual doesn’t tell you, or you can’t learn from watching mechanical videos from YouTube as most of the time, some tutorial videos won’t help us until someone shows and teaches us how to use the tools and how to repair a bike personally.
A mentor is a person that can help you and guide you properly so that you can have a better understanding of what you are dealing with. Your “mentor” does not have to be an excellent mechanic but an experienced and helpful person.
Final Verdict
Remember that the key to success is always hard work and dedication to learn. You can achieve the best results if you are willing to do what you started. The mechanical learning about the machine is not only going to help you once but your entire life.
This mechanical learning about your motorcycle will make you more confident. You will be able to go on any adventures without fear of mechanical problems you can face because you will be able to fix them anywhere.
As we mentioned the possible ways you can learn to fix from, such as manual, the internet, every professional mechanics out there learned from these simple ways. If they can master it, so can you. The key to every success is practice and research. You will use your hands, the tools, the digital help, and soon you will be able to achieve what you desired.
