Getting Started, Doing Your Own Maintenance
gettingstarted.htm
© Copyright, 2011, R. Fleischer
There are many reasons to do your own, or some, 'wrenching'. Just a few of these are:
1. Makes you
feel good...ego, etc.
2. A quiet, peaceful time for yourself (when not practicing
your swearing and other epithets).
3. You may save LOTS of $$.
4. You will know the
motorcycle better, and hence feel better
when out and about in case of 'trouble', whether
perceived, or real.
5. You will avoid poorly done
dealer work by knowing what is good
work, proper work, right type of work,
proper pricing for such
work, and you will know about the
consequences of poor or bad work.
6. SAFETY you can count on,
in-so-far as mechanicals are concerned.
7. Learn new skills, that may
well be useful in other areas of
your life.
8. You will begin to covet
tools, and your workshop area MIGHT take on a more professional
look.
9. To know when to go to
an expert, or perhaps to a favorite BMW shop, is part of being a
mature
person. You will know when to farm out
jobs...and to whom....for those things you decide you are not yet
qualified to do. This website contains names of recommended
airhead-servicing folks. There are some
people in
that business whom I do NOT recommend. Fearing
lawyers and liability, I have not, so far, listed
them in this
public forum, but I will be happy to give you my analysis and
recommendations, via e-mail;
contents of which are to remain
private, between you, and me.
10. Your fear of the unknown will diminish; you will become
less shy, you will want to ask questions on the
AIRHEADS LIST,
and the answers will sometimes educate you on technical details;
and, sometimes,
re-affirm that you ARE gaining knowledge.
I hardly know
everything about airheads, and I have been at this for a long
time.
I am not being modest
in saying that, it is the
plain truth.
Sometimes...rarely though....contrary opinions on
some topic are expressed by so-called 'guru's' on the Airheads
internet mailing LIST, or elsewhere's.
If you
are trying to decide who is correct, or most correct, politely ask for someone's
reasoning behind their statements, explaining your confusion
with
the differing opinions. You should not question their
competence, nor try to make them 'prove' their opinions; but, if
they are secure in their
reasons, that should be made clear to
you.
Once in awhile, such questioning might
result in a terse or testy reply. We don't always
have
perfect days ourselves you know!
Probably if all of us agree on
something, one might take that as gospel....of some sort or
other! Sometimes we so-called
Guru's (I humbly
put myself
in the class of some sort of expert here) disagree, and sometimes
we have off-LIST discussions
between ourselves. Sometimes
we
disagree and we never discuss it.
.....Professional courtesy!
(I am presently laughing!.... I've had some real arguments at
rare intervals about things posted.. Most of the time
this is
carried
OFF such as the Airheads LIST)
SOME people get a LOT of pleasure by tinkering with things
mechanical. Some get a lot of pleasure making sure that no
speck
of dust will be
anyplace on that pristine showpiece....(and might
even ride it now and then). I know of a few folks who
will
pay a trusted mechanic
to do all the maintenance on their
airheads. I actually know one person who does not
even do his own cleaning and waxing. Takes all
types.
For those who want to learn, even if they are
totally ham-fisted and
tend to break things (especially if they
have convinced
themselves that
they ARE inherently, genetically,
that way, and hence
have not previously TRIED (with instruction,
perhaps, to be otherwise)
.....we can teach
them if they
want to learn. Sometimes
the transformation is very
interesting to behold.....and they become
do-it-yourself
addicts.....sort of like
getting, suddenly, '''religion'''.
For ME, the best part is seeing the light turn on
in someone's head at a TechDay; or, maybe on the TechLIST
(Airheads LIST);.....and,
watching
that person
do a competent job, and understand what
he/she is doing.....why....how....etc. Don't
let that "she" throw you. MANY a woman has
become a competent wrench.....and, guys, I am sorry to have to
tell you this, but the gals tend to follow instructions!
Snowbum says: Die knowing something, you are not here
long. He also says Docimus Discimus (We learn by teaching).
[Come to think of it, Snowbum (that's MEEE)....has
also said, "We are here to help others'...(so...what are
THEY
here for?)"....and,
of course....one of my favorite sayings: "Nothing is foolproof
to a sufficiently talented fool".]
Whether you are a total beginner with few
wrenching skills; or, a seasoned airhead do-it-yourselfer, but
probably
not a fully-qualified wrench, well below are some ideas from me
about jobs
you CAN do. I have to
make certain
assumptions here, so you should
know what those are:
You
should at least
have a reasonable feel for
how much force you can turn a screw
into metal or
fiberglass, before something breaks.
If not,
approach
things with extra caution. You should
have at least the tool kit that
came with the motorcycle....and
you have
reviewed this article:
tools.htm
I will also assume you have the basic idea of
eventually, sooner than later, obtaining some literature, such as
the owner's
manual, and
possibly
Clymers or Haynes or
both (keeping in mind they contain errors), have some
space
to work on things, maybe even a workbench
in a garage, and are
willing to learn without being too shy
about it. You
are willing to admit you don't know it all. It might
be helpful if you are not the type that forms strong
spoken or otherwise communicated messages, on something you
inwardly know you can't back up.
Note that
the factory service
manuals are NOT all that helpful for
beginners to even fairly-seasoned BMW airhead 'Wrench's...
due
to these manuals ASSUMING that you
have been to the factory schools.
On the other hand, the
older airhead owner's
booklets,
as opposed
to the much later ones, is full of useful
information.
Be sure to get an owner's booklet.
There are a number of good sources for information
on the Internet. The website you are on,
http://bmwmotorcycletech.info
is only one
of these.
The following will be useful:
http://www.airheads.org
Go to the left side and click on
TECHNICAL TIPS.
There are numerous
pages of
information.
Some I even wrote.
For parts information, if you want to identify a
part by number or description, and maybe the price:
http://www.ascycles.com/illustrated_parts_catalog_main.aspx
http://www.realoem.com/bmw
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/fiche.asp
Each of the above 3 dealer sources uses a different format, and
method, and sometimes one has to use all three!
This is a very knowledgeable independent
West Coast BMW shop....which you may
want to use not only for repair work...but
for parts and
information
on parts, information on what you want to do, etc:
www.beemershop.com
Ted Porter owns this shop; and does much, if not all, the Airhead
work here. Highly recommended.
Airhead Master Guru, who will answer questions
directly:
AskOak@aol.com
Oak writes a
technical article, published in the monthly Airheads Beemer Club
magazine called AIRMAIL.
See
joinclub.htm
for information on joining the Club.
http://w6rec.com/
Duane Ausherman's website. LOTS of BMW
information here, particularly /5 and prior models. Duane's
website has
expanded considerably
over the years. A lot of
useful information!! This is also the home to Randy Glass'
major
illustrated article on /5 and later front fork
alignment.
Duane quite often has a 'different'
way of looking at things.
http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/
This is Phil Hawksley's website.....lots of
information there.
http://largiader.com
Website of Anton Largiader. Lots of GOOD stuff. Very
trustworthy information, and a nice website!
I
recommend Anton's site.
You can also use:
http://www.largiader.com/tech/
http://www.beemergarage.com/bulletin.html
Has factory bulletins for the pre-/5 bikes.
http://www.beemergarage.com/literature.html
This URL has a LOT of literature, all sorts of
things, definitely worth a long look-see. This one is NOT
just for the pre-/5.
http://members.aol.com/vechbmw/index.html
That is Craig Vechorik's website for pre-/5 bikes. Good stuff and information.
"Vetch" stocks a tremendous
amount of parts for the
really old BMW's....and quite a few for the
later bikes, including manuals and other literature.
Well worth your time to browse this site.
For help on PRE-1970 BMW motorcycles:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vintagebmwmotorcycles
There are also model-specific web
groups. Some are good, some are not. I list a
number of them on my URL
page, and
that IS a hyperlink to that page in this website.
Keep in mind that the information on the Airheads LIST is THE
PRIME SOURCE.
MY RECOMMENDATIONS:
Note: The list and placement
that follows is hardly to be taken as any absolute.
FIRST!....start by joining the Airheads Club, and receive the monthly magazine, AIRMAIL. The magazine has a calendar for TechDays, outings, etc. Be SURE to attend a TechDay or two, right away; and maybe have one at YOUR house. Don't put off joining the Club, and definitely do not put off attending some TechDays. You WILL be glad you DID! Bring your Airhead to a TechDay, and maybe you will have someone 'help you' to fix some problem you have. You will LEARN!
1.
For absolute beginners to slightly advanced beginners:
a. Washing, cleaning, waxing, re-oiling
and/or re-greasing levers, cleaning electrical connections, basic
soldering (there
ARE things to learn about how to do it
correctly) and mechanical attachments of electrical
wires. Checking battery
levels, oil levels, tire
pressures, looking about for obvious developing
problems. Quite a few
folks have poor ideas
about how to properly maintain paintwork, rubberwork, plastics. Some overfill.....or do not
even look...at batteries.
Some overtighten drain and
fill plugs. You want to avoid stripping things by
NOT over-tightening them.
LOTS of things to learn in this
basic area. What wax? what cleaners? how to work with
wiring, how to do any of these things.
YES, there are
little things, tricks, hints, whatever, to everything.
ASK questions! We all started someplace, right?
b. Changing oils (and filter on /5/6
era, with the internal single bolt cap). You own a
torque wrench, and know how
to use it. If your bike has an
oil cooler (or, you have the type of oil filter canister outer
cover of the late type
(no internal metal cap cover with the
single bolt), you will be smart enough to read the article on
this website
detailing the potential problem areas,
ETC. Oil.htm
c. Change tires, tubes, wheel seals,
clean and lubricate wheel bearings (you are not quite competent
to do
shimming on pre-1985).
d. Learn more about the technical side
of your bike by reading literature and websites and LIST
traffic....and
participating in that traffic.
e. Obtain a cheap test light and learn
what it can do. Consider purchasing of an inexpensive
digital volt-ohm-ammeter,
and then learning about it.
Read
the basic electricity article on this website: boxerelectrics.htm
f. Change lamps (including in the
instruments...without damaging the printed flexible material).
g. Change alternator brushes and service
electrical contacts and connections. You are hesitant...but
you do it, use the
correct tools, and have a happy 'done it
right' smile.
h. Remove and replace points, adjust
points gaps, adjust timing, adjust valves, torque head nuts with
torque
wrench, synchronize carburetors by the shorting or gauges
method. You are a bit hesitant, but listen, read, and
then
do it competently...and the bike runs fine afterwards, and you
did not ruin anything (like screw or bolt threads).
i. Willing to spent time reading
technical articles on http://www.airheads.org
and THIS site, whether you fully
understand them or not, with the
idea of getting over-all flavor, feel, and absorbing some information;
even
if you do not understand it all.
j. Properly take apart the throttle grip drive and clean and
lubricate it and get it back together.
k. You understand the 4 stroke cycle
engine operation, at least in basics. You could find top
dead center
(OT mark) on the compression stroke for either
cylinder and know you did this correctly, after all, you
did it
when adjusting the valves.
l. You are beginning to participate in
technical discussions, as you are understanding things more
clearly now,
you now have some ideas on WHAT to ask, and may even
be able to assist novices.
m. You are planning to attend your first
major BMW Rally. You have also planned to attend a nearby
TechDay...and do so, but are probably a bit quiet and unassuming
there. You MAY, however, be
planning or even now
holding a TechDay at YOUR home.
n. You are thinking about
attending a BMW MOA National Rally. You've already
attended numerous Airhead's events.
2.
Into the low-middle-group:
a. Basic trouble shooting for slightly
more complex electrical problems. Willing to at least read
some additional
information on electricity and the workings of
such in your Airhead. You are only partly freaked-out
by electricals.
b. Changing the oil filter on bikes
after the /5/6 era (no internal single bolt cap) (and including
cooler equipped bikes)
hardly is anything
much to you anymore. You have read and understanding the
$2000 O-ring articles. You've read,
and understood
some, if not most, of Oil.htm,
and you have also been reading more articles on this website,
and
your understanding is going up up up.
c. You feel up to following
instructions on changing a RT or RS windshield.
d. You think you can follow
instructions and clean and lube the steering head bearings, swing
arm bearings,
MAYBE the Paralever bearings after removing the Paralever
driveshaft.
e. You can follow instructions and
advice, often without major questions. You are beginning to
figure things out
yourself; understand articles fully.
f. You can competently
repair a bad thread of the simple type; and, of course, use a
drill guide and tapping guide...but
are hesitant about a pulled cylinder stud thread;
but willing to tackle that, if there are complete step-by-step
instructions available.
g. You can clean and lubricate the
transmission input splines (often called clutch splines).
h. You can discuss
quite a few technical items on your bike, with more knowledgeable
folks, and feel confident
in your remarks.
i. You attend Rallies,
TechDays, and feel comfortable. You have or are about to
host a TechDay yourself.
j. You are getting VERY good,
indeed, about synchronizing carburetors.
3.
Well into the middle group:
a. Change left side rear drive large
seal on any model or year of Airhead.
b. Repair a pulled cylinder stud, and
would certainly be using a custom made tool guide for this job.
c. The idea of removing a cylinder and
replacing it, changing a pushrod tube rubber and even piston
removal is
not freaking you out.
d. Capable and willing to do wheel
bearing service including shimming. In fact you WANT to do
this job
YOURSELF, and you have had the proper
tools made up to do it in a professional manner. You
KNOW
you do it better
than most shops.
e. Capable of more serious electrical
troubleshooting. Understand how diodes, relays,
resistors, etc., operate.
Capable of
properly using a volt-ohm-current meter. You think you
MIGHT know
more than the
average moto-mechanic in this area.
f. Steering head maintenance, whether
cleaning and lubrication, or changing a bearing, is not
frightening, not of
any real concern at all. You
saw this done at a TechDay, you've already probably done some
cleaning and
greasing and even have replaced a set of steering
bearings, and was astonished at how much simpler it was than
you
had imagined. You are beginning to get the
gut-feeling that you MIGHT JUST turn into a competent
mechanic;
after all, look at what you have already done.
g. Not much intimidated about anything,
such as changing a rear drive input seal or fixing a drain plug
thread at
the rear drive...or most any damaged threads....after
all, you've done it, or can read and understand, so,
why be
intimidated.
h. Some of your airhead friends are
asking your advice rather regularly.
i. A yearly TechDay at your place
is established. If not feasible for some reason, YOU attend
one, regularly, and HELP OUT.
j. You analyze symptoms presented
by other riders about their Airheads, quite competently a fair
amount of the time.
k. You are competent to overhaul a
Bing CV carb, top to bottom, and to analyzing tuning of same.
l. You are providing interesting
answers, not just interesting questions, on the Airheads LIST.
m. You contribute your first story to
AIRMAIL, and your first technical tips article to Airheads.org
n. You goofed, and you figured out
on your own that you mistakenly installed a flywheel in the wrong
position.
But, you are also the
type that will no longer do things
half-assedly, no! you will NOT remark the flywheel.
You grit your
teeth, chalk it up to a learning experience, and remove the
transmission and clutch again and redo
the flywheel mounting assembly. You
remembered to install the crankshaft blocking tool first, and you
remembered to not forget the clutch marks you
made the first time around. You find this all a bit amusing,
1 or 2 years later,
when you relate this story around a
campfire.
4.
Moderately advanced:
a. Capable of analyzing ANY electrical
faults on your own; the electrical system is not at all
intimidating.
b. Change a crankshaft main seal and oil
pump seal after removing transmission and clutch (this might be
in
the prior group). Replacing clutch parts are not
daunting. You are, more and more thinking: "I
CAN do this!".
c. Change a timing chain, crank
sprocket, seals, etc... by following instructions and asking
questions. The process
is freaking you a bit, this is REALLY getting into
the engine....but you follow directions, and do a good job,
with
only minor problems.
d. Feel competent to make suspension
modifications, such as to front fork innards, rear
shocks...because you
UNDERSTAND what the effects REALLY are of
such changes.
e. You have a pretty fair feeling for
materials and can be faced with something totally new, nothing
you have
seen before, heard about before, or dealt with in any
fashion before, and not be overwhelmed. You are
getting quite good at finding information you need.
f. You are competent to quickly know
if a BMW shop is doing good work or not, understands Airheads, or
not.
g. You are being asked technical
questions rather regularly. You remember obscure details, and
you usually know
you can give good answers most of the time, and are
hesitant to say anything if you do not know the answer to a
question, and may well refer to someone with more knowledge. You are pretty sure, if you have not done
it
already, that you could get Ed Korn's video, and overhaul your
transmission, but you are a bit hesitant, knowing
that folks like
OAK and Ted Porter and Tom Cutter have years of experience at
transmissions and doing
rear drives, and think
that these folks will know all the tricks and finer details and
have the factory tools; so you won't
likely
do your transmission yourself; but are very interested in
watching a Guru overhaul one. You have the same
feeling
about valves/head work; and don't have the tools for that anyway.
h. You attend major BMW rallies, and are
thinking about volunteering for technical seminars, as a helper
for the
main speaker, on a specific topic that you happen
to be very interested in.
i. You not only have your own
TechDays, but you help out at others'.
j. You can sometimes, with no
effort, analyze other folks bikes that have problems that stumped
some people.
k. You contribute articles when you have
time, and a good subject, to the Airheads.org website and to
AIRMAIL.
l. You are absorbing
technical tidbits on servicing such as Oilheads
and K bikes. You can discuss the riding
differences, feel, handling, power, etc.........because you have
test ridden them at a BMW MOA National.
5.
Advanced:
You feel you can do any job on an
airhead if you REALLY want to, even though you are a bit hesitant.
Still, you DO
feel
you could do ANY
job....but you still MIGHT shy SOMEWHAT from the
following: Transmission overhaul; rear drive
shimming;
crankshaft and camshaft removal and
re-shimming and crankshaft
bearing clearances, differences at the
main bearing
shell. You are curious enough to want to watch a
master wrench do those jobs, because you want to learn
all the
tricks and you want to do it yourself someday. You
have a short list of the better shops, all in
your head,
and MIGHT have
even considered working for one, perhaps part-time.
You understand how to degree out a camshaft,
and understand the
process for any make or type of engine. You feel
competent to analyze worn parts on your
own and determine if they
need
repair or replacement.
Some of your Airhead friends
feel a bit intimidated about asking 'stupid' questions of you;
since
you
ARE A REAL expert, and are
looked-up-to.
You are not overly hesitant in
answering, if asked, as you know MOST of
what there is to know
about the common
maintenance items. You
receive your 100K
badge. You feel competent to do some
technical seminars on
your own.
You are constantly asked about technical things
at TechDays, and otherwise. You have
read every article, in
depth on this website, the .org website, Duane's website, Anton's
website, and
every other airhead-concerned
website. You are
even interested in how other models and makes of engines are
designed and serviced. You are
even
absorbing quite technical tidbits on servicing such as Oilheads
and K bikes.
6.
Well advanced:
You can do ANY job on an airhead.....well,
if you had a machine shop and every needed special tool you could.
You still might
shy
away
from some things, letting a specialist do them; after all, you
don't have certain machine shop
equipment; but if you did
have access,
you could surely do
the job. You
are passing on your hard-learned knowledge to others.
You have developed a fine feel for engineering, materials,
designs, etc., and understand
quite a bit
about what the factory was up
to in its
designs. You 'preside' as honored guest, over TechDays, and are doing
Technical Seminars. You might think about
becoming a BMW MOA Ambassador, and maybe
an Airmarshall for the Airheads Club.
In fact, you may be
thinking about the
later even before you reach moderately
advanced...!
After being
in this Well-Advanced
position for quite some years, you are finding
that you don't always have as much fun wrenching,
as
you did quite some time
ago.
You would rather ride than wrench,
yet seem not to find as much riding time. You meticulously
restore and
prepare an older classic model that
requires extensive work, right down to removing the crankshaft;
overhauling the
transmission, etc.
Folks are always coming up to you with questions, as you have
kept yourself approachable. Some tend to
gather at your
feet, awaiting pearls of
wisdom....and this
might embarrass you at times. You
are more interested in Teaching.
You wonder about how YOU would run
a BMW
dealership. You certainly know lots of Wrenches, lots of
dealerships, and
surely know who is good,
who is mediocre, and
who should never
touch an Airhead.
You own a number of airheads, representing the
pre-/5 to the end of production. You might have a small barn full of old
parts,
old bikes, and strange bikes.
You can talk
about off-the-wall bikes you have owned and wrenched
on. You can talk about
almost anything
motorcycle, mechanical, or electrical related. You have burn and skid and other marks
and remnants of fun and
games on various body
places.
7. Someplace
or other in the above 1 to 6 sections, some in one section, some
in another section, you fit in with these things:
You
have learned to ride
adequately in soft dirt (if you were
previously only a street rider). In fact, you
LIKE dirt
riding.
You no longer have semi-permanent blackened
fingers. You worry about your own kids who
are
drooling at the idea of
riding those dangerous motorcycles, just like
you did. You FINALLY
figured out that
sidecars are fun too,
but you prefer a
solo bike, carving a canyon by yourself, lost in
your own thoughts and memories. You probably ride your own
bike, and your
spouse, whether male or female, is FINE with
YOU doing the piloting, and them on the saddle behind you.
You might
put together a
sidecar rig, so you can ride on snow next Winter, and carry the
spouse and kid or two or
family dog.
You are looking
forward to
your 400K mileage badge. You know you are
looked up to, yet don't take
advantage of that
position. You sometimes
get very grouchy and
have a short temper with incompetent
wrenchers....and then you remember
how things were years
ago.....and you shut up.
DocendoDiscimus
(that means We Learn By
Teaching)
Revisions:
06/02/2009: update by adding many URL's
12/26/2009: Revise
06/07/2011: Revise and clean up.
© Copyright, 2011, R. Fleischer
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