Hey all,

So this week I hit a bit of a stumbling block.

I bought an ex-showroom Honda CB500F. I bought it just after passing my license. I really want to go by bike to Africa, some years from now, and I thought I should learn how to be mechanically handy with the bike. I have changed my own tires, pegs, clutch, chain and sprockets. I did my 8,000 mile service myself just following the Haynes manual and using youtube.

The 16,000 mile service has been a real doozy! I managed to change the air filter, oil (but forgot the oil filter, first red flag), and the spark plugs which are not easy to get to at all!

I questioned my decision many times, but perservered until now the engine fault indicator is permanently on. Everything starts fine. Going back through the connectors and looking at removing the ignition coil assembly for a third time I realised I'm in no way equipped for this task. This is a complex machine! I'm very impressed with what it takes to maintain these vehicles.

Colour me humbled and a bit embarrassed about writing this. I definitely overestimated my abilities and underestimated the work.

I have got it booked in for a professional service. I'm happy to pay whatever they charge to look after this thing! Given the CB500X is similarly complex, and this was my intended bike for this trip, I guess field mechanics are out of the question unless I take a college course or something? Does it even matter? Maybe I'm overestimating the likelihood of needing to change an air filter in the middle of the sahara...

It's been a tough few days going through all of this and it has me doubting myself. I feel like I'm doing something wrong, maybe focusing on the wrong things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Haynes manuals provide a step by step guide to pretty much any mechanical work you want to do on any given machine.
I have no mechanical training but many years ago, when money was tight, I took out the entire engine of my GL1000 in my parents front drive, fixed the alternator and put the engine back simply by following the step by step instructions in the manual - the bike started first time and 4 weeks later I rode it to Portugal and back. I’m not showing off just pointing out that - if I can you can.

Don’t be embarrassed about your lack of skills, you did the service so well done - it will probably be something simple. If it was me I’d ask on a Honda CB forum, I’m sure you’ll get lots of help. Don’t give up on the mechanics - I can pay for the major stuff now but I still do my own servicing and as I said “if I can, you can”.

Thanks Flipflop I had a look again this morning and you were right it was something simple. Definitely learning the limits of my patience with this. Glad to know it'll be worth it

I'm not sure Haynes would be my first choice of manual but if the alternative is nothing then yes, they're better than that. If you've managed to do the stuff you have already then you're well down the road, and that'll cover the vast majority of stuff you're likely to need on a trip. Add in brakes plus some suspension knowledge and you're pretty much there. If anything more serious than that goes wrong on a trip you're getting towards the edges of what's 'roadside' fixable anyway.

Haynes is good in some ways, bad in others ... I've yet to find anything better than them, the factory manuals often assume a larger toolbox and greater mechanical knowledge than an average person has. Sometimes, though Haynes manuals will skip steps that factory manuals spell out, so if possible it's worth having both to hand.

Edit: Given the long service intervals of modern Hondas I wouldn't think it would be too hard to find a qualified mechanic while touring Africa, with a bit of planning to be in a city when it's due. Servicing a smaller single cylinder bike is a lot easier than a CB500X though.

__________________
FreeBSD fan since before it was cool ...

Peter and Kay Forwood rode EVERY country in the world on their first bike, a Harley Electra Glide. With no prior motorcycle experience, they fixed everything themselves at the side of the road, Kay reading the manual and telling Peter what to do.
You'll figure it out, and if not, there's always a truck along that can carry you and the bike to the nearest mechanic! All part of the adventure.

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hello

Don't worry to much, you can go on a RTW even if you aren't able to change a crankshaft bearing by yourself in a strong sandstorm at night.

I can change the oil/filter but I did it only once on a trip (many years ago just for fun), the mess with the oil is just to much trouble, the cost compared to the overall cost of a RTW a joke.
So give some money to a local mechanic/shop.

If you can take off the wheels and change a tube, that's all you need, because then you can also change other things on the bike.
If you can't change the tube but take off the wheel, bring this with the bus to the mechanic.
If you can't take off the wheel take all the tool, maybe someone along the road can help you.

I touch only screws where I do not need a torque wrench, but understand what Nm means.
So if in the book it says on a small screw in an aluminum thread 9Nm, I know that I do not hold the long wrench at 40cm and give it all I can.
Simple rule with screws, after fix comes broken.

In short, the more you understand your bike and can fix it the better, learn what you can, and just go on your trip.
If it is your first trip, start with a shorter trip for several weeks or months, before you sell everything you have and start a multy years RTW.

sushi

P.S.
Could please a moderater put all that philosophical bullshit about ZAMM in a separate thread.

__________________
My RTW:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrXt660ztenere

This is the hubb pub.

Not a technical section. Threads evolve, digress and flex.

Like any conversation in any pub.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

ZAMM was just insufferable from a short way in for me, so it just sits looking pretty on the shelf next to the ones I've actually read, lol. I enjoy a bit of light philosophy, but life's too short to feel weighed down by it rather than challenged.

The flipside was Lone Rider which was dry to begin with but a pleasure to read after the first couple of chapters, and at the end there's several things that might make one reflect on their own life in a bit more depth than one would expect.

__________________
FreeBSD fan since before it was cool ...

Yay - not just me then. I was starting to feel a bit of a Philistine with my lack of interest in ZAMM. Lone Rider is a cracking read

__________________
You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.