bluepanido Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Hi all,I done my CBT on Saturday morning, and bought a YBR125 on Saturday afternoon. Being the type of person I am, I'll take pride in maintaining the bike and doing as much of the periodic work on it as possible myself. All I need to do now is learn how to do it! My question is, what maintenance would you suggest I start doing myself, rather than getting a friend or paying a garage to do? I'm picturing myself wearing oil stained overalls with bike parts strewn across the garden, and I can't wait!Thanks,Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klingelton Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 You can do as much or as little as you want. Get a Haynes manual and give it a read. I will tackle a 3 spanner job with the trusty Haynes as a guide. Most the standard maintenance are 2 spanners or less!Only thing I haven't done yet is valve clearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Like cars these days, most bikes are easy to maintain. They are built to be serviced quickly by school dropouts to keep the labour charges low and the dealer profits high.So as long as you have the right tools, you know one end of a spanner from the other, and can read the Haynes manual a few times before attempting any work, you'll probably be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Like cars these days, most bikes are easy to maintain. They are built to be serviced quickly by school dropouts to keep the labour charges low and the dealer profits high.So as long as you have the right tools, you know one end of a spanner from the other, and can read the Haynes manual a few times before attempting any work, you'll probably be fine.Spot on - love the analysis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 The basics would be oil change, coolant change, air filter, brake pads, chain tension, chain lubing, tyre pressures, and just general cleaning. I'm sure someone will add to that list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 The basics would be oil change, coolant change, air filter, brake pads, chain tension, chain lubing, tyre pressures, and just general cleaning. I'm sure someone will add to that list!The YBR is air cooled.....so you've saved 1 job already...... Yep....what everyone else has said......Get a Haynes manual and look at the routine maintenance section near the front...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Don,t waste money on expensive tools. Buy a Haynes manual and tools from Halfords , aldi or lidl. Buy a torque wrench if worried about over tightening. If not sure, ask on here or give me a bell and I,ll talk you through it. Also consider cable adjustments, it,s all easy, or we couldn,t do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluepanido Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Thanks for the replies. Gives me a good idea of what to do. Next on the shopping list is a Haynes manual. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Joe Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Buy a Haynes manual and find it's been written by some clown who hasn't been within 100 yards of your bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Have always bought and used Haynes manuals. Just need a bit of common sense. If in doubt, ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klingelton Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 go to amazon or feebay for your haynes manual. There should be plenty available for a ybr125 at 1/2 retail (or less).the haynes for the ybr125 is pretty good, although it goes into alot of detail about one specific iteration of the ybr, which bares little resemblance to the one we know and love in this country. I miss my 125 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryJM Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 As to tools a good socket set is a must. Torque wrenches a mid range one and one that goes up to about 250nM would be good. Chain breaker/ riveting tool and combination spanners would cover most of it. Oil changes get a canister for catching the oil that looks like a jerry can. Haynes also list other tools that would useful but just buy them as you need them. It really does depend on how much you want to do on your bike. I do most of mine on my bike and the other halfs as I'm too stingy to pay £70 an hour to my local garage.Also look at machine mart for tools. They have some nice ones at a reasonable price. I would say buy a quality tool thou rather than a cheap one as it less likely to fail at some point in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I've got a load of halfords professional tools but they are quite expensive. Just recently I needed a couple of other tools so went onto eBay and got some Sealey tools. So far they seem good enough quality but very low price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryJM Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I like Halfords professional tools particularly the life time guarantee Another good make seems to be Teng. My mid range torque wrench (19 - 120 nM)is by them. Haven't bought any other tools by them but quite like that one. I find that if you shop around and use the internet that you can buy quality tools cheaply. First thing thou get a Haynes as others have said. If you have a good selection of tools already you will be surprised by how many of them you already have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Weirdly Halfords tools are pretty good - the 150 piece sets are always on offer! Teng and Facom are also quality brands but can be a bit pricey... See if you can dangle yourself a Halfords trade card as you can get quite hefty discounts on workshop stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I do more bike servicing and maintenance than most and have always used Lidl or Aldi spanners and never had a problem with them. I also have a Lidl torque wrench that has been calibrated and more accurate than my Norbar!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I do more bike servicing and maintenance than most and have always used Lidl or Aldi spanners and never had a problem with them. I also have a Lidl torque wrench that has been calibrated and more accurate than my Norbar!!! My grandad always used to tell me that if you end up breaking your tools, you're probably using them wrong....I'm not a tool snob, so long as it does the job, im happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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