recently occurred to me that i've probably spent at least twice as long working on my bike this year than actually riding it. how much time do you spend working on your bikes versus actual riding time? even if you take your bike to the shop for things, you've got to factor in the time spent getting it there, waiting at the shop, and getting it home. basically anything done to the bike where you're not on the road riding it.
I work on it as little as possible. Does that include polishing it? The time when you are done getting drunk adoring it? I ride it every chance i can.
Adore it with beer mostly!
absolutely. i only wash mine about once every 3 months. i sure picked the right kind of paint job for it that hides a lot of dirt. what's stupid is i actually hate working on my bike. but i spend so much of my time doing something to it. and struggling mightily every step of the way. maybe i enjoy torturing myself. probably need therapy. or a hug.
two bikes together: oil changes, plugs, replacing batteries every 5 years, pulling wheels off to get new tires put on by the shop...
I estimate a total of 1 full day a year at most (for both bikes combined).
exception would be when its time to check the valve clearance - add another day for the VS650, and for the Royal Star, since Ive never done it before... maybe 2 days - but doing the 650 valves every 16k miles, and the RS is every 24k.
Should add: never had anything break or fail on either bike, never been unable to ride when I want to, never been stranded or had to tow a bike home. I ride about 6,000 miles a year between my two bikes.
Vstar - the most reliable (used) motorcycles on Earth.
Basic maintenance on the VStar. The biggest thing I did was remove the wheels to have the tires changed. The Nomad has been a little more demanding, but it has more miles on it so the things I've had to do to it reflect that (fork seals, steering bearings). I still ride way more than I work on it though.
Compared to the amount of time I ride it , I work on my 650 very little. !5,000 miles and only oil changes , a new air filter, two valve adjust , and a new set of tires.
The rest of the time it just keeps purring down the road.
I do all maintenance on all my vehicles, other than tires. Regular maintenance is all I've had to do last few years except for some wiring issues a while back. I enjoy working on vehicles when I want to, but hate working on them when I have to.
I do the majority of the minor repairs on both of our 950’s. Both being Vstars, very little maintenance is required. I’m picky about keeping them clean and checking fluid levels and tire pressure for obvious safety concerns. I’d say we ride twice as much as we do ‘working’ on them. I still consider it a labor of love so to speak. I’m always seeking low budget upgrades, especially going with LED lighting to be seen better.
In the last 15 years i have had a shadow VTX and now the star. Never had anyone into the shop for repairs. Been lucky i guess. The only thing that broke was the voltage regulator on the classic. I do everything my self. I have had tires mounted though. I remove them my self. The thing that i probably do is over clean them. People mistake my bikes for new. When it comes to bike shine i am an over achiever. I do enjoy a few brews while i do it.
Except maybe wiping off the road dirt and grit, my 650 has needed almost nothing in the way of work. Oil changes, one valve adjustment, lube and adjust the cables... In four years I've spent less than $500 on maintenance. Really, it's the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. I wish my car was a quarter as reliable.
I own two street bikes and I ride daily to work switching bikes each day, so they get a lot of riding. They are both metric bikes so true to their reputation, they require very little maintenance. That being said, I still spend a good 20 percent of my time on them not riding but polishing and modding them. They are both now total one-off bikes after 5 years of every third weekend spent on some mod or the other or detailing them to show room condition. My bikes are always immaculate.
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