Video Suggestion: Being a Good Customer Redux.

[Bryan]

In one of Eric’s more recent-ish videos, he made the statement ‘Don’t make my life more difficult.’

Understandable, but sometimes that just can’t be the case.

Here’s an example from my own recent experience.

There was a problem with the clutch lines, as the resevoir had bled dry during a ride. The leak had evidently been there a while, as the brake fluid had eaten all the paint. This, after it’d spent several weeks in the shop getting things done to it that I knew were beyond me.

After consulting with my Chilton’s guide, I decided that this was definitely something I could tackle. So, I gamely began to attack the bike with allen-head wrenches. Parts were taken off and stacked in order, screws set with their covers, and after a brief scare with the Stator cover (Ain’t NOTHING like pulling a cover off your motorcycle and having two dowel pins and a handful of gears fall out to make you want a change of shorts..), I found myself staring at the primary culprit… the clutch slave cylinder.

The bike is a 1988, so everything had been set in place a goodly long time ago. After trying it with a #5 allen head and getting no movement, I recalled what Eric said: Impacts are better for that sort of thing. So, I went to the store and snagged a #5 head for my impact gun. First screw spun right off, and life was great.

The SECOND screw was partially obscured by a fitting. So, with the help of a universal joint, I got my #5 head on place. Bugger stripped faster than just about anything I’d ever seen.

Here’s where I’ve got to ask for opinions. Did I make a mechanic’s life harder? Well, yes, probably. But then, there was no way to know what was to happen. I did not have the needed tools to get at a partially obscured stripped bolt, and given the delicate location (the stator cover and drive cover were off, so the first layer of innards of the motorcycle were exposed, and thus vulnerable to metal shavings)…

I suppose if one was being indelicate, you might say I wussed out. I choose to think of it as knowing when to call it and take it to the pros. I COULD have kept trying, but that’d have made the mechanic’s day even worse when and if I’d failed to get it out.

So I submit this video suggestion: What does it take to be a good customer, AND a shade-tree mechanic? There can and will be unforseen events and periodically, you will have to hand over a box of (hopefully labelled and organized) parts and an ailing vehicle.

For the record, I paid the mechanic gas money to come pick up the bike, ordered a boatload of parts that we both knew it was going to need, and apologized for the parts pile. Also for the record, he tossed all the parts in a box (and they got jumbled up pretty quick).

-Hinoki

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[EricTheCarGuy]

Aside from the ‘don’t make my life more difficult’ video, I made this not long ago.

As for stripped fasteners.

I haven’t covered the shade tree thing but I may get to that at some point.

Thanks for your suggestion and for sharing your story.

[Author]

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