I enjoy working on engines when it’s not urgent, and it’s fairly low stakes if things take 5x as long as I plan, or I need more parts than I thought. OTOH, it’s incredibly stressful when my motorcycle throws an engine code that tells me there’s an electrical fault, and I know that I’m going go end up needing to tear it down, go through the wiring loom, and not be able to ride for a few weeks when the weather is finally getting really nice.
I had a Honda Nighthawk 650 once. The perfect bike, for me, if a little underpowered. But it was comfortable to ride, not too heavy, and looked good.
But it always had electrical problems, and I could never figure them out myself. It would just sporadically have a phase where the starter wouldn’t turn over. I had it in the shop off and on for about 6 years, and finally gave up on it. Never replaced it, didn’t keep up my license, and haven’t ridden in years.
If I ever do take up riding again (which will be an epic fight with the wife who’s mom was a nurse, and is dead set against me riding motorcycles), I want something in that form factor again. I keep looking at Ducatis.
Hmmm. I’ve been known to hit the junk yard for replacements for a Ford LTD, way back in the Oelden Daiz, but a) I’m not sure about trusting second hand parts in a motorcycle, and b) I’d probably be unsuccessful at rewiring it.
By the Nighthawk, we’d started entering the phase where vehicles were becoming essentially solid-state devices. There was no space, and to do anything serious, you had to basically take the whole thing to pieces; and I’m not mechanically inclined. If I can reach in with my hands, I’m fine, but multi-part disassembly and - more critically - correct reassembly challenges me.
Also, motorcycles are death machines. At least if a professional works on it, it’s one less thing for me to worry about going wrong on a ride, and taking me out. A sudden loss of power at 65 might not be guaranteed fatal, but I still wouldn’t want to risk it, or something falling off because of my own incompetence putting it back together.
I enjoy working on engines when it’s not urgent, and it’s fairly low stakes if things take 5x as long as I plan, or I need more parts than I thought. OTOH, it’s incredibly stressful when my motorcycle throws an engine code that tells me there’s an electrical fault, and I know that I’m going go end up needing to tear it down, go through the wiring loom, and not be able to ride for a few weeks when the weather is finally getting really nice.
I had a Honda Nighthawk 650 once. The perfect bike, for me, if a little underpowered. But it was comfortable to ride, not too heavy, and looked good.
But it always had electrical problems, and I could never figure them out myself. It would just sporadically have a phase where the starter wouldn’t turn over. I had it in the shop off and on for about 6 years, and finally gave up on it. Never replaced it, didn’t keep up my license, and haven’t ridden in years.
If I ever do take up riding again (which will be an epic fight with the wife who’s mom was a nurse, and is dead set against me riding motorcycles), I want something in that form factor again. I keep looking at Ducatis.
Anyway, electrical issues are the worst.
At a certain point, it ends up feeling easier to just replace the whole damn wiring harness.
And for that cost, you could just buy a new bike.
They’re usually not too bad, if you get a working one off eBay. Buying a new loom from the manufacturer? Yeah, that’s a few grand.
Hmmm. I’ve been known to hit the junk yard for replacements for a Ford LTD, way back in the Oelden Daiz, but a) I’m not sure about trusting second hand parts in a motorcycle, and b) I’d probably be unsuccessful at rewiring it.
By the Nighthawk, we’d started entering the phase where vehicles were becoming essentially solid-state devices. There was no space, and to do anything serious, you had to basically take the whole thing to pieces; and I’m not mechanically inclined. If I can reach in with my hands, I’m fine, but multi-part disassembly and - more critically - correct reassembly challenges me.
Also, motorcycles are death machines. At least if a professional works on it, it’s one less thing for me to worry about going wrong on a ride, and taking me out. A sudden loss of power at 65 might not be guaranteed fatal, but I still wouldn’t want to risk it, or something falling off because of my own incompetence putting it back together.