The other (darker) side of DD....
 

Evenin'

Much DD stuff gets written along the lines of 'kept the throttle open a just a touch longer, then dived down the inside to take him under the brakes' type stuff, but not much on the more cerebral pasttime of keeping the little 600s running, so I thought I'd put some thoughts down.

For a few of this years DD entrants I'm sure the lure of getting to work on a 'cheap' duke, and prepping a bike for racing, will have been a large part of why they entered in the first place. I know it was for me and, despite having to spend most of my time rebuilding the bloody thing, it's done exactly what I thought it'd do; give me practical experience of all types of problems, and teach me some decent service skills.

I've just got back from the garage, where 'practical experience' meant taking a high-pressure shower in wildly-expensive Brambo LCF brake fluid (30psi is about 25psi too much for the bleed kit :lol: ), learning that halfrauds silver swingarm paint can be removed by merely looking at it in a stern manner, and finally understanding that I can spend an entire day without hitting the bike with a hammer. (There were a couple of 'love-taps' on the clip-on, but it was a rubber mallet so it doesn't count!) Despite the fact my skin is now coated in caustic gunk I loved every minute of it. :D

I still don't know why I love doing this kind of work so much, but it struck me as the kind of thing that everyone should do. I may only have changed the oil, checked the belts and changed the front brake line, but it's the fact that the more times I do work on the bike the more natural it becomes that feels so good. I love the fact that tasks that I wouldn't have touched a year ago are now second nature, and my mind can go off and wonder about more interesting stuff like fuelling, gas flow and whether a bent swingarm may be affecting handling!. I'm not saying all the tasks get done perfectly (anyone who's seen me in a paddock can confirm that!), but at least I've stopped stripping threads and leaving the bloody fuel tap closed!

So to anyone thinking of doing DD next year for an excuse to get dirty I'd say 'get it there my son', nothing finer than eating your dinner with bleeding hands while stinking of burnt hydrocarbons!

Cheers,

Ali :D

I know you're about to do me a favour, but that has no bearing on the fact that...

You're posts are hilarious :lol::lol::lol:

Good stuff Ali, I used to love doing stuff like that, more out of neccesity than choice most of the time, but I do miss it. I'm sure that this new (insert fake chinese Honda name here) bike will let me rekindle my love for swearing and skinned knuckles.

Happy days! :biaggi:

:lol:

Nice one Ali, you seem to be enjoying yourself there. I've got some gaffer tape if you need to borrow it ;)

See you tonight.

ali, i know what you mean.

DD is a great learning curve in terms of both riding and bike prep and on different levels for different people.

i just managed to change a battery over on my bike, put all the fluid stuff in it charge it up put all the leads, (transponder, charger leads) etc back on. and bugger me if my bike actually starts now. everyday stuff for most people im sure but something i've never done before.

now for that top 10 place.................yeah right!

:o

Farkin ell! You feeling alright son? You should have called, I could have done it this evening! ;)

Right, off up that garage to re-fiberglass the entire bike! Again!!!!!

Ali

Ali, it's exactly this type of stuff that put me off DD :lol:
Nice read :)

lol good read, id love to get an old duke and learn these skills.

/ian

Ali! :o

Alan says welcome to the ranks of split fingernails, permanent black stuff under your nails & an inherrent ability to swing all conversations at home to 'I wonder if I just did this to the bike...........'

:lol: have fun mate, Alan seems to get more out of any fettling, than anything else

C:)

Well done greasy.....It's definitely a love thing:frog::frog:

[Edited on 12-6-2005 by rob41b]

Welcome to the world of "Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". Wish I had the time and the tools to do full on engine work, but keeping the rest of it fettled is strangely satisfying - just ballanced the throttles on my 1150GS and I feel mellow all over!