Is the future of biking looking good?

[Mick_J]

Day before yesterday I was out on my Beemer for a bit of a ride and saw a young lad (17/18) stuck on the side of the road so I turned around and went back to see if there was anything I could do.  Conversation went a bit like this.

Me, You okay mate?
Him, Yes but my chain fell off.
Me, what broken or just come off the sprocket?
Him, don't know.

I get off and have a look at his bike to find the bottom of the chain sat on the ground and the chain just resting on the swing arm.

Me, have you tried to put it back on the sprocket?
Him, no, I don't know how to.

So I grab the chain and just pull it over the sprocket, chain was as dry as a witches fanny and all the rollers rattled like bells, chain hadn't seen grease in quite some time. 

Me, you will need to replace both sprockets and the chain because there was probably not enough clearance left in the swing arm to take out the slack, do you have any tools?
Him, no.
Me,  do you know that you are supposed to check and oil the chain at least once a week or so.
Him, yes but the chain has been replaced recently so I didn't think it needed to be oiled just yet.
Me, well if you take it easy you should be able to get home but don't ride it again until you get this fixed properly.
Him, I've got a break down truck coming out to take me to a repair shop, he should be here in half an hour so I'll be okay.

So I left him there thinking to myself what is it going to be like in a few years time when all new riders know nothing about basic maintenance.  He could have easily sorted that out if only he had a little bit of knowledge or enough sense to take a look at the problem and seen how easy it would have been for him to fix.  If this is an example of the future of biking it's not looking rosy.

[KiwiCol]

Yeah, why learn something when you can pay someone else to do it. 

[seth]

The future is not looking good at all .
To many face book mechanics who know nothing and to many folk just ask rather than look to resolve a fault.
I was shown how to by a real bike machine who lived on my street .
I try to pass on what i can when I can to help folk .

[Kiwifruit]

Geez you blokes are harsh, he just hadn't downloaded the 'Bike Maintainence App' yet.   

Some time ago l had seen a kid on a scooter with an open face helmet on the wrong way round. 

[Hooli]

Mechanics isn't cool these days, no app or tech involved.

[Grumpy old man]

Mechanics isn't cool these days, no app or tech involved.

You clearly have not opened the bonnet of a late model Euro car lately

You just about need a laptop to check the oil and water

our local mechanic shop has a laptop and a pile of software in his call out vehicle and still they more often than not need to call a tow truck as they can find out what is wrong with the car but very rarely have the required sensor or relay to get the car going quickly

And yes I cringe every time I hear a bike riding down the road with a chain hanging off the sprockets and slapping around or with a rhythmic strumming from being full of tight spots that can be heard even over the stupidly loud exhaust they have Bodged onto the bike

I saw an older bloke here in town last week with his bike idling at about 4k revs when I spoke to him he said that it wouldn't idle like it used to so he pointed to the idle screw and stated winding this in fixed it and had been like that for nearly 2 years now

Then he states that it is a bit of a handful in the rain as he has to pull the clutch in to regulate his speed into the corners and when riding in traffic 

[Will14]

Day before yesterday I was out on my Beemer for a bit of a ride and saw a young lad (17/18) stuck on the side of the road so I turned around and went back to see if there was anything I could do.  Conversation went a bit like this.

Me, You okay mate?
Him, Yes but my chain fell off.
Me, what broken or just come off the sprocket?
Him, don't know.

I get off and have a look at his bike to find the bottom of the chain sat on the ground and the chain just resting on the swing arm.

Me, have you tried to put it back on the sprocket?
Him, no, I don't know how to.

So I grab the chain and just pull it over the sprocket, chain was as dry as a witches fanny and all the rollers rattled like bells, chain hadn't seen grease in quite some time. 

Me, you will need to replace both sprockets and the chain because there was probably not enough clearance left in the swing arm to take out the slack, do you have any tools?
Him, no.
Me,  do you know that you are supposed to check and oil the chain at least once a week or so.
Him, yes but the chain has been replaced recently so I didn't think it needed to be oiled just yet.
Me, well if you take it easy you should be able to get home but don't ride it again until you get this fixed properly.
Him, I've got a break down truck coming out to take me to a repair shop, he should be here in half an hour so I'll be okay.

So I left him there thinking to myself what is it going to be like in a few years time when all new riders know nothing about basic maintenance.  He could have easily sorted that out if only he had a little bit of knowledge or enough sense to take a look at the problem and seen how easy it would have been for him to fix.  If this is an example of the future of biking it's not looking rosy.

Reality is that accident statistics go up giving the powers to be more strength in argument agaist motorcycles, more riders get injured and the stealers get to make more easy money - Basic mechanics should form part of the driving test. If I suggested taking a car or bike to a garage for service/repair I would have had a crack around the head of the old man :-o

[BlueDragon]

to help teach both my sons about mechanics, they both went out and bought a motorcycle each. 

Both bikes needed some work and TLC.

I taught them the basics.  Said to take the bikes apart, zip lock bag all the parts and write on the bag what the parts were for etc.  They both downloaded a digital copy of the workshop manuals they needed.  Computer in the workshop and off they went.  Only other rule was to put my tools back exactly where they got them from and come and let me know if they had any questions with me checking in on their work.

Both had a lot of fun, learned lots that they won't forget and both were able to then fully repair the bikes to a full roadworthy state and sold them for a small profit.

[DP1400]

Geez you blokes are harsh, he just hadn't downloaded the 'Bike Maintainence App' yet.   

Some time ago l had seen a kid on a scooter with an open face helmet on the wrong way round. 

I did that many years ago with a full face helmet so I could chat with my mate on the back easier. Obviously for safety reasons I had the visor up

[grog]

Latest addition to my shop, 16 yr old, started without a clue. Just no idea. I felt sorry for him, no Father, didnt get on with Mum. Now, 3 months later. He talks to me, even jokes. Gives high 5s, asks about my life. Have taught him to do oil changes, balance wheels, empty bins, mop floors. He can even put car on hoist, i still double check. Patience and progress, happy so far.

[Kiwifruit]

Interesting Grog, I've taught apprentices and in  most cases, not all the kids want to learn. Had a kid, wanted to do some o/t. Manager says ask the tradesmen if any of them have something you can do.
Yep I'll give you some things to do. Say to the young fella you can cut the front off that Falcon, he says, oh I've never done that before. I replied you will have in an hours time. Got a white marker and drew where l wanted it cut. Set him up with the air chisel, a few dogs and don'ts and said don't go cutting anything behind the panel (radiator support panel and the inner guard apron) he did it, made a great job for his first attempt. He was an apprentice carpainter not a panelbeater. He was stoked that someone had taken the time and trusted him to do it. That kid needed challenges not just sweeping the floor and making the tea. He went home proud as punch. Have to saay l enjoyed his reaction. He'd learned something new. When you're a young bloke there is so much to learn.

[Mick_J]

Latest addition to my shop, 16 yr old, started without a clue. Just no idea. I felt sorry for him, no Father, didnt get on with Mum. Now, 3 months later. He talks to me, even jokes. Gives high 5s, asks about my life. Have taught him to do oil changes, balance wheels, empty bins, mop floors. He can even put car on hoist, i still double check. Patience and progress, happy so far.

But does he make a decent brew? 

[Kiwifruit]

Interesting Grog, I've taught apprentices and in  most cases, but not all, the kids want to learn.

[Grumpy old man]

it seems that the bike manufacturers think that we all want middle capacity 2 cylinder bikes if the current crop of offerings from them is anything to go by

I really hope this is just a phase and we start to see some more variation from the manufacturers like a newer version of our 1400

I see Honda is teasing with pictures of a newer CB1300S