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Looking to learn / an extra pair of hands


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Hi there.


I’m looking to learn about motorbike maintenance, building and mechanics. Just wondered if anyone had advice on where I could do this in the Greater London area without my having to pay huge amounts to do a course?


There is YouTube and self teaching methods of course, but ideally I’d like to work together with someone else / with other people.


Wondering if anyone might need or like an apprentice or an extra pair of hands in their garage on an ad hoc basis?


Really keen. Make good tea. Got good chat.


All advice welcome. Cheers!

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Best bet is to visit the introduction area and introduce yourself there. See if there's anyone near you who does their own work who would be willing to let you look over their shoulder.


The other thing that is worth doing is to get an old bike that you can take to bits and put back together. It doesn't even need to be a runner - just something you can get your hands mucky on without worrying about breaking something. The only snag is that even old scrap bikes go for silly money these days.

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Look for college courses. These are govt subsidised and offer excellent value for the number of hours tuition. Don’t know how old you are but if under 18 there are loads of options that are free. Google colleges near you or type ‘motorcycle maintenance course’ into the marvel that’s the internet and see what’s thrown up.

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Not the answer you are looking for but I would highly recommend this excellent series of videos. Don't be put off by the title , each video explains things in such a way that it doesn't really matter what bike it is . Matt the producer is a natural teacher , he's also funny and swears a lot . He also makes more general videos under the title of The Workshop. Check out a few of them and let us know what you think .

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Not the answer you are looking for but I would highly recommend this excellent series of videos. Don't be put off by the title , each video explains things in such a way that it doesn't really matter what bike it is . Matt the producer is a natural teacher , he's also funny and swears a lot . He also makes more general videos under the title of The Workshop. Check out a few of them and let us know what you think .

 

Just got to episode 10 - fork seals. Unintentionally hilarious, but only because I too have done those "simple" jobs that turn out to multi hour epics

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Not the answer you are looking for but I would highly recommend this excellent series of videos. Don't be put off by the title , each video explains things in such a way that it doesn't really matter what bike it is . Matt the producer is a natural teacher , he's also funny and swears a lot . He also makes more general videos under the title of The Workshop. Check out a few of them and let us know what you think .

 

Just got to episode 10 - fork seals. Unintentionally hilarious, but only because I too have done those "simple" jobs that turn out to multi hour epics

Oh yeah, that one . I watched it before I did the seals on my ER5 and mine came apart so easily I thought I'd done something wrong .Much easier it you leave the forks clamped in the bike . Matt is by no means infallible , I've just watched the one on cylinder re fitting and he left out the two big locating dowel pins .

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I did see a few comments about that. I'm pretty handy with bicycle maintenance but still always learning better ways of doing things, and a few months ago wondered why one of my rear jockey wheels on one of my bikes kept tightening up and seizing every few miles. Tried numerous things (and the problem always seemed fixed before reoccurring a few miles into the commute) before I finally stripped it down and realised that when I'd last serviced it I'd somehow lost a pretty vital bushing (or at least now I discovered how vital it was for such a small part!). Luckily I'd for some bizarre reason kept one from a worn one I'd replaced a few years before. We all do things the hard way sometimes :-)

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Didn't bother to reply to my offer, so don't think I'll bother then.

 

If you was local to me i would jump at the chance mate. Last time I did anything mechanical it was on my MKI ford fiesta back in 90-something.

 

Similar here. Best thing I've found locally would be an hour and a half ride/drive after work, from January, to a sort of local college. Nowhere else more local seems to do similar. 7 week course, £120 covering basic maintenance. Not awful value but a few months away when it's the basics I want to learn now, plus the added three hours of travelling once a week.


I know there's always YouTube but doing it hands on with someone watching & giving feedback is always a bonus.

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I had a google & none around my neck of the woods. It's ok reading a Haynes (mine got delivered whilst I was away), but like many things, tips/hints etc are learned whilst doing, not reading.

 

Never a truer word......so get hold of something clapped-out and take it apart.....and put it back together again! Seriously, that will teach you more in a couple of hours than a month of watching U-[strikeout]bend[/strikeout] Tube

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