I’ve been riding motorcycles for a decade and a half. I’m at the point where I feel pretty confident getting around on two wheels but when it comes to tearing the suckers apart I must admit I still feel like a virtual child.
Sure, I do some of my own basic maintenance. I’ve held a carburetor in my hands more than once, done minor electrical work and changed out a few tires. But the truth of the matter is I don’t have a ton of time to be digging into my bikes, have them apart for weeks waiting for parts to come in, and I certainly can’t afford to experiment and mess it up so usually I just leave the big jobs to the pros.
Then I saw the promo for Moto Shop’s Engine Re-build class where you get to tear into someone else’s motorcycle, learn how to do the work correctly from a skilled tech using their tools, and then go home to a clean garage! How could I pass on that opportunity? Well obviously, I couldn’t.
Today was day one. We spent the first hour looking at slides of engines, covered general terminology and examined the four-stroke cycle. And then we got right into it. There were six of us for two bikes, a Yamaha R6 and a Suzuki SV650. I worked on the SV. After a couple of hours we just about had the engine ready to drop. But first we drained the fluids and did compression and leakdown tests. Another few bolts and she’s out. That will be next week’s class. Can’t wait!
