Over the weekend, a customer wanted to adjust the valve clearance themselves—it turned out to be a rocker-arm-type GSX-R.
I watched the work from the side, confirming each step. You can really tell who has hands-on experience and who doesn’t.
Whether someone has taken things apart before or not—honestly, I don’t think that matters much.
Understanding the structure and principles is what really counts. Watching someone else work, I think, ‘Oh, I must have been like that too.’
So I point out various things as I go.
1) Don’t put tools on the floor.
We can assemble and disassemble things thanks to our tools—I want people to treat them with care.
2) Organize removed parts.
Tools, fasteners, and shop rags all mixed together—you end up with leftover parts, or a fastener gets lost in the rags.
Things fall out, so keep everything sorted.
3) Keep your hands clean while you work.
Why would you apply fresh grease to something you just cleaned with dirty hands? Dirty hands soil the bike and tools too.
I gave those basic instructions and had them start, but they were already out of it—fasteners wouldn’t loosen, the head cover wouldn’t come off, and they just kept yanking and fiddling.
Of course the fasteners wouldn’t loosen. For some reason, most people love ratchets!
I don’t know where they picked it up, but they just grab a socket, slap it on the ratchet, and start clicking away.
And even on really stuck spots, they go full power with the ratchet. ‘Hey, you’ll break the tool!’
Ratchets are meant for tight spaces where you can’t swing the handle, or for repetitive motions. But then they
attach a long extension and a socket—that’s just wrong!
I wish people understood that tools can bend and flex.
Then they say, ‘It won’t loosen! It’s really tight!’ ‘Let me see.’ ‘Crack!’ ‘Huh?!’
I explain how fasteners get stuck and how they loosen—the trick is a sharp, sudden impact.
It’s the shock driver principle! For example, when you tear down an air-cooled four-cylinder engine, stud bolts are
parts you have to replace. But even with a stud bolt puller, the bolt flexes and won’t come loose.
You don’t use a long, steady torque—you use a sharp, sudden torque to loosen it!
The same goes for spots where Loctite is applied. Factory brake rotor bolts are a perfect example!
If you pull hard and steady, the head deforms and you end up having to chisel and hammer it out. But if you go ‘crack!’ it comes right off.
I use a shock driver with a socket—it comes out in an instant.
Anyway, back to the story—now the head cover won’t come off. They just yank and fiddle with it. It won’t come off because something’s catching (obvious, but people don’t see it that way). Watching them, they looked just like a monkey.
(Maybe to be continued?) I got tired of typing, so I’ll stop here.
