The amazing forum member who helped me learn how to service my bike

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to write in and let people know how great this forum and our motorcycling community are.

I'm a new rider, with a low income and knew my bike (2009 Yamaha XJ6 N) needed servicing. Quotes from garages ranged between £250 and £350. More than the price being unaffordable I seriously wanted to learn how to service and maintain my bike myself. But I was not confident to do so, even after watching YouTube videos and reading manuals. So I posted a message on the forum asking members if anyone had the time, experience and desire to help me learn.

Megawatt (Alan), a long-time forum contributor, came back to me really quickly, asked a few questions about my bike and incredibly kindly said he'd be happy to help teach me. He invited me down to his place and put aside a day of his valuable time.

I turned up at Alan's and a nicer, more welcoming person you'll not meet. He’s a straight talker who's honest to a fault. The kettle was on the go all day and we had lots of laughs as we worked. Moreover Alan has grown up on as well as built and raced biked for years and is clearly an expert who is super knowledgeable about every aspect of motorcycle maintenance.

Alan made a perfect teacher as he was patient as I got to grips with the servicing. He explained what to consider before each stage and step before we we got our hands dirty. He did some of the work and I did some of the work - a perfect way to learn for me. Changing the sparks plugs in particular was complicated with the removal of many hoses and clips as well as getting at the plugs in a tight space. Alan made a job that terrified me into something manageable and fun. I would have seriously struggled on my own and he guided me through it seamlessly.

On top of the practical steps of the service he also showed me many tricks of the trade such as how to undo worn/stripped bolts, undo greasy filters, reseal bolts to stop them leaking, release stubborn clips, clean grime from difficult to reach places, drain the oil whilst the bikes warm, crush washers and how they work, which tools works best for which job, how to straighten bent levers, etc).

I attached some photos of the day to give you an idea of how busy we were:

Draining Oil

Messy work

Old Oil Filter Removed

New Oil Filter

Tight link in chain

Worn sprocket

Carefully measuring the new Oil

Fuel track propped up whilst getting to Air Filter

Air Filter change

No easy way through to the Spark Plugs

Got to the sparks plugs in the end

Bent Gear Lever

Straightened and repositioning Gear Lever

Straightened Rear Brake Lever

Essentially Alan provided a masterclass in bike servicing. We actually ran out of daylight as there was so much to pick up and learn from him. The little tricks that made jobs easier were just as useful as doing the main parts of the service. I left his place 100% confident that I could do my next basic service alone and importantly safely and professionally.

I know there is a lot more to learn about maintenance but I now feel I have a solid platform on which to build more knowledge. Alan even offered to help me change my chain and sprockets next time so I'll report back on how that went also. I'd like to publicly thank Alan for his generosity and kindness. Whilst Alan cannot always give his time for free I would highly recommend him to anyone else looking to learn and get work done at super competitive rates.

Cheers Alan (Megawatt) – you rock!!

top stuff [mention]megawatt[/mention]

Well Done [mention]megawatt[/mention]

Yeah [mention]megawatt[/mention] is a decent bloke.......even if he is a northerner!......

Kudos [mention]megawatt[/mention]

It's nice to be nice, well done

Legendary. Well done mate.

Top bloke, indeed.

We (@Megawatt and I) spent a good while chatting over the phone about issues that I was having with my bike. Although, my mechanic skill isn't new, and I have some degree of knowledge, I was concerned about doing the valve clearances by myself.

I also had a number of other issues that I was trying to diagnose, but didn't have the full picture in my head about how I would go about doing it.

After we sat down and had a chat, he had made sure that I knew everything I needed (and more) to get me going.

I have to say, he is incredibly knowledgeable about so much, and all in all, he has saved me in excess of £600 in labour, and probably a few bob on parts as well.

Currently, my bike is sat there, on the drive with a disconnected (brand new) fuel pump, and an empty tank, until I get time to go fill her up again. Valve clearances are perfect, compression is fine, new rocker gasket, new ladder seals, fresh plugs. And, all of it is thanks to Lord Megawatt.

If I am still having problems with the bike, I know full well that I can fix it, because I now have the confidence to do absolutely anything with it.

So, cheers to Megawatt

Top man megawatt