Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
General Discussion => Campfire Talk => Topic started by: Laurence on October 17, 2009, 01:17:13 am
-
What makes this world a better place -The finish line is in sight thread on Bullet Classic Model forum
Wow! what a thread - beautiful to see the exchange of information, ideas, and support from so many folks. You all (including Royal Bulleteer the newbie) are phenomenal!
From the initiator (Royal Bulleteer) starting with “Man this sucks! My wife will f*cking MURDER me if this isn't running and I sold our Vespa....oh crap!” “”Now it won't start (again).” and “Anyone in Northern Cal with more patience and time on their hands looking for a deal on an 02' Bullet? Rides fine when I can actually get it going. “ All the frustration of some one who can’t stand a situation that seems overwhelming, and only wants to get out of here.
thru 289+ posts back and forth, taking it one issue at a time. And such patience you old hands have with a newbie. And so far the list of issues addressed were (as of page 18):
- Electric Start issues- Carb adjustment- Spark plug gap- Idle adjust- Fuel filter- Sea Foam- Battery tender- Cleaning oil from fins- Front brake- Intake manifold- PA-Breather line- Fuel line- Spark plug gap again- Points gap- Moisture exhaust- Jets
- Carb cleaner- Swine flue- Exhaust repair- Silicon- Header pipe- Cleaning the header pipe- Idle adjust again- Airbox replacement
- Classic exhaust- JC Whitney exhaust- Fishtail exhaust- Cable lube- Mystery oil
Horn- High beams- LED lights- Breather hose again
A whole course in basic repair in one thread (with pictures too)!
And then step by step Royal Bulleteer gets drawn in to actually fixing this one thing, then the next thing, his patience grows, he focuses more and more on each problem, and when you get to page 18 he does something that was inconceivable to him on page 1 “I went ahead and took the carb apart so that I could examine the inlet gasket. The gasket appears to be seated appropriately. It was not sticking out into the inlet channel.” Wow! Royal Bulleteer you’re a transformed man! And the teachers you had, too many to list here, such generosity. This is the kind of stuff that really makes the world a better place. Thank you all so much!
-
It's kind of like that old adage,
"Give a man a fish, and he eats that day. Teach him to fish, and he feeds himself for a lifetime".
He came in about as raw and green as it gets.
But, he's doing pretty good now.
-
yes, Ace, that's true. I've seen it happen before on this forum, but never as dramatically as in this thread. What was exceptionally beautiful was to watch you and others shepherd him gently, yet persistently, past his blinding frustration. A beautiful example of the best teaching I've seen in a long, long while.
-
Ace takes credit for most (all) the guys learning. I taught young GI's in the service, it's mighty hard to teach when your are "spot on" with the student. More difficult or maybe near impossible when doing instruction via distance learning.
We all can learn something from the postngs in that thread, unfortunately I had to catch up a bit after being up/down from an infection. We should all print that post off if we ever think anything is to hard to do on these bikes.
Hey Ace when are you going to start an on-line maintenance class? Will.
-
Ace takes credit for most (all) the guys learning. I taught young GI's in the service, it's mighty hard to teach when your are "spot on" with the student. More difficult or maybe near impossible when doing instruction via distance learning.
We all can learn something from the postngs in that thread, unfortunately I had to catch up a bit after being up/down from an infection. We should all print that post off if we ever think anything is to hard to do on these bikes.
Hey Ace when are you going to start an on-line maintenance class? Will.
Hi Will,
Thanks, but there were alot of people on that thread, including yourself, and everybody chipped-in with some good stuff.!
I'm leaving the maintenance courses to Pete Snidal.
That's his department, and he's done a good job with it, and helped nearly all of us in some way.
So, that's all his, as far as I'm concerned.
All I do is jump in with some tips when needed.
-
i find it remarkable how kind, patient and out and out helpful you guys are. Makes this forum worth reading. (Even if I do say so myself0.
-
Been through the mill on auto mechanics, after I completed the master diagnostics course put on by Detroit diesel and Allison Transmission thought I could take on the world. Not so, learned more from practical experience and diving into whatever the task was. Just didn't want to see a new guy shatter his own dreams, life does a good enough job of that on it's own.
Making a bond with anything in life makes things much easier to handle. Making it yours' puts an ear mark on it for the future. I have had lots of maintenance free machines, and now that I'm older wish I had the Norton's, Triumph, BSA, and Guzzi back I ditched for the effortless modern machines with no soul/heart.
Showing new riders these little bikes have that (heart and soul) and so much character is what it's about. Will.
-
It's true what you say 1Blackwolf1 "Making a bond with anything in life makes things much easier to handle." I think it probable that it would have been easier for Royal Bulleteer to have chucked it all in disgust at the very beginning. Instead, step by step he found his way to a richer and deeper experience - and it's all his now, and he owns it, and now he can do the same for some one else. And just like Ace acknowledges Pete Snidal, so Royal Bulleteer will acknowledge you guys, when he passes something on. That's what makes this world a better place, don't you think?
-
Exactly, that's probably what I like about this site more than any other I've been a member of. All differences a side you can actually get help from others when all seems hopeless.
You can't find patience much in life anymore, call a shop and get told basically nothing other than that you need to let their guru's do their magic. I was raised a bit differently, we helped neighbors who needed help. Sure we had garages, but figured they were for folks that couldn't do the work themselves, or who had way more money than us. So yes, I believe in the fishing quote.
Many times I've worked on machinery and found I had a crowd of young kids watching. And starting getting the 40 questions. What are you doing, why are you..hopefully they got some info along the way. Actually picked up a kid for a part chaser and gas pump jockey who turned into a decent mechanic from his want to learn. I believe he still works for the same shop as he did in 1983.
Maybe that thread would be a good place to send future new RE buyers when they think all is impossible. Sort of the gamut happened there. Actually makes an enlightening story. I think, no know at one time or other we've all been at the crossroads that guy was at. Out from the dark and into the light..into the day from out of the night. Good stuff, Will.
-
Give a man a match and he has heat for a day.
Set him on fire and he's warm for life.
-
I was very fortunate as a young boy to have a father who involved me in his hobby as a backyard mechanic. He was a very knowledgeable individual when it came to most things in life. I started as his parts washer and moved my way up to his third hand. This interaction and involvement with my dad triggered a desire to understand how things work. Because of my crazy desire my father caught me many a time with my hand in his tool chest and some broken appliance completely disassembled on the workbench. I learned early on that a man's toolbox is one of his most prized possessions and that I would have to become very secretive, deceptive, intuitive and a pretty good liar to keep up the learning curve. Well my dad never fulfilled his promise of killing me for touching his tools even though there's probable a few buried in some weeds in back of the old family home, but I did come away with something you can't get by reading a book, an understanding that something that is pre-assembled can be disassembled, fixed then put back together to work as well or better than new as long as you do it methodically.
Not everyone grew up with a father like mine or ever had a desire or inclination to fix things, but this forum shows us that anyone no matter their background can be successful at least, repairing their Bullet motorcycles with the guidance and patience of some of the best Bulleteer's bar none on the web.
This site in my opinion is by far the most informative Enfield site on the web thanks to Kevin Mahoney and a great group of forum members that come from all walks of life and all parts of our world.
My father would have enjoyed this forum.
Blltrdr
-
"My father would have enjoyed this forum.-Blltrdr"
HE IS!
-
Give a man a match and he has heat for a day.
Set him on fire and he's warm for life.
Remind me not to get around you man. :o :o Will.
-
"My father would have enjoyed this forum." Blltrdr
"HE IS!" Laurence
Amen!!!
-
Getting a bit emotional are'nt we --its only a bloody motorbike.
Sob -sob Ohooo it such a wonderful place. Oh the world is a better place with you guys oohhh sob sob. :-*
-
Stiff upper lip eh, right Clamp?
-
Clamps at it again. I'm sure the chicks dig him. ERC ;D
-
It's all right Clamps -motorbikes are just motorbikes, but "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
-
Remember folks, be careful out there!
-
Clamps at it again. I'm sure the chicks dig him. ERC ;D
Just keep the money coming. :D. Will.