Please, follow these steps, especially if you’re new to working on old motorcycles. This approach has saved me so much hassle. Obviously you will need tools but first, before you buy a lot of stuff, you really need to know how to diagnose issues and the best way to approach problems. Many times I see posts on websites, where it’s obvious that the poster is truly at a loss. Save yourself from frustration, lost time and wasted money. Read on.
Manuals and other References – a Factory Service Manual (aka FSM) for your bike should always be your trusted source of critical specifications. Often you can find free downloads in PDF format. These are very handy. I have an old laptop in my shop, which I can connect to my wide screen TV above the main workbench, so I can view the manual while I work.
Read the FSM – Whenever I add a new model to my collection, I download the FSM and then I read it end to end. With all the pictures, it only takes a few evenings to do this. You won’t remember everything but you’ll know a lot and you’ll be very comfortable with the manual layout. A common expression at motorcycle tech colleges:
RTFM!! which means Read The Freaking Manual!!
Aftermarket manuals (typically Haynes & Clymer brands) are great for a lot of things, like how to do tasks without factory tools. However, their writers have simply copied critical specs from the FSM, and yet they sometimes make mistakes. Always confirm specs in those manuals against the FSM. I put a notation on tables of specs in my aftermarket manuals after I’ve confirmed they are correct.
AFTER you’ve read through the FSM, go back and read the Periodic Maintenance section again. Think carefully, you’ve got an old bike that’s probably missed a lot of periodic maintenance in it’s lifetime. So despite the normal urge to “get it running, take it for a ride”, knuckle down and go through every maintenance item on your bike. You not only will make the bike more reliable, you may well save yourself from injury.
One Important note about all manuals – please remember that they were written when our bikes were produced. Just as surely as the factory service manuals are very precise, we have to allow for changes in technology, for such things as tires, fuel and lubricants which are now far superior to anything available when our bikes were designed. “What our bikes were designed for” is a common term flaunted by bike owners who insist on using and recommending old type products as the only thing anyone should use. Think about it.
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