Leaderboard

I am frankly shocked at some of these stories. TBH I haven't entrusted a dealer to service any bike of mine since 2011. This was because I had been reading that the first service of my particular model back then included checking the valve clearances and doubted that the dealership would bother with it so I applied a small and discreet blob of black paint over the mating joints and sure enough they were undisturbed on completion of the first service. They even insisted I arrive early and not return till mid to late afternoon because the tappets had to be measured cold. I think this was just a

Yes, take the can off, it's dead easy - don't worry about all this gasket stuff - it 'just does' so don't worry The rear wheel's easy to remove (and a PITA to put back on yourself) as is the shock, linkage, dog bones and swing arm. Use a coat hangar to suspend the chain. Write down all the bolt torque values on a bit of paper before you start. I find that better than wiping the grease/oil marks off your laptop keyboard afterwards. I don't know if you're planning on packing all the bearings or not but I recommend you do as well as grease the centre stand

An engineer is possibly the last person you want for repairs. You want it fixed, not in bits pending a total redesign! We can't get good engineers or mechanics because of this language barrier. The bright kids think they'll end up mending washing machines so go to university to study Pop Idle and Big Brother Media Diversity instead. The clever hardworking practical kids think they'll be stuck in a classroom for years so take jobs at PPI call centres as Claims Attribution Discovery Managers. In Germany you can see a clear structure where the senior technicians have earnings and resp

They have no engineers there. None, zero. An engineer is someone who understands the fundemental principles and can work from these to a new, functional mechansim or structure. Honda dealers employ mechanics and possibly technicians. I bet you don't call your hair dresser doctor because they cut bits off you with scissors? You must be a dentist yourself as I assume you brush stuff off your teeth? Your accountant puts stuff through the till at Tesco's? These are all vital jobs and don't think I am denegrating anyone, but confusing the job functions is why we get such poo