How mechanically savvy were you when you started tinkering

OK so the constant battle with the Aprilia shows no signs of slowing down. After just getting it back from the garage for yet another visit, the carb has started dripping petrol. Now this may seem like a simple thing to some but I have yet to take the scooter apart myself and the thought of totally lousing it up is worrying to say the least. Especially as it is such a sensitive thing as a carburetor. I have checked the obvious things like the fuel line but it seems dry, flexible and the connection seems good. So to get to the problem I am either going to have to take it back to the garage yet again, or start digging.
So the question is, when you all first started tinkering, was it a trip into the unknown or did you already know what you were doing beforehand?

 

ive always been into cars and ive always worked on them, qualified mechanic, worked in garages etc etc but the first time I touched a scooter/bike I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. two big different things. ive learnt almost everything I can from youtube, google and forums like this. the best way to start is to just jump into it. the only thing im not very good with is carbs, I can take them apart and clean them but that's about all I can do with them. soon as we start with jetting and split diaphrams, im lost but that's because I like fuel injection, its what I was taught on cars, was never taught about carbs.
just start building your toolkit up slowly as and when you need specific tools to do a certain job and do lots of research, were all always on here if you need help/guidance, it can get frustrating but if your going to thrive in the biking world, learning it yourself is the best way to go.

go on, dive in. forget about the garage. do it yourself.

 

ive had bikes around me all my life.as a child I can remember advising my step dad about an ignition switch on his Bonneville..electrics was kinda in my blood..mechanically ive always learned by watching,reading and intuition..things on these wind up engines are to say the least...baffling..how the hell can something so simple throw up the same problems as a big engine and not be caused always by the same thing.my problem is lack of experience on the digital side of things but I'm learning from quite a few people on here..never too old to learn..no-one knows everything..but if you try...you learn by doing,better than any other way.a good teacher is worth their weight in gold but nothing beats learning by doing.get dug in..every thing is replaceable..only cost is the hold back.

 

the first book i ever read was a haynes manual for a 1200 mini....
i have been around engines and stuff all my life, its just natural to me, i see how it works and understand it instantly, rebuilt my first 4 cyclinder engine at about 15, but got my first bike at 16.
it depends how you learn as to how well you get on with the work, if you are a book learner, then you will have a bad time, iof you are a visual learner, then it will go great, carbs are pretty simple when you think about it, a chamber with fuel, which empties as air rushes over a small hole.

 

Well today I managed to source a second SR that is going to be my learning mule! Hopefully as my ability improves it will turn into a project that is worthy of photographing and posting up on here! Cue longest build thread in SS history!!

 

still waiting to finish my vision..some of us may be dead before that happens..

 

I did have a driver and van lined up to pick it up but I ain't seen him for a few weeks..ticket fell through for my trip ,so looks like Ile have to hire a van and sort it in the new year...clear off and finish it when I get back in July.Ile tell mmy brother if I die out there to let you know mark,,its yours..i hearby bequeath it to mark emerson trentham...if I die at anytime and still own it...

 

I knew nothing when I started out, nobody in the family was particularly mechanically minded either. It was the constant trips back and forwards to the 'garage' that got me started doing it myself. When I worked as a courier I couldn't afford the 'down time' of a bike that didn't work or run properly. We were all seriously nuts at one time too, so it had to go and stop properly, or forget it.

First job I ever did was a de-coke on a two stroke, before I knew it I was stripping down carbs, doing fork seals etc. Then top end rebuilds on four strokes. Went to Merton college and did a City in Guilds as a mature student. Picked up lots of tips and the piece of paper, but had all the basics from years of doing it out of necessity and was already working as a mechanic in the trade.

 

only just worked that one out mark.

 

As a lot of members here, my Dad was into bikes/cars and is still racing bikes at 67, I looked, learned and then knackered up my c50's. As a kid (12-13) ish with my mates we'd "rebuild the engine" I remember chisling off the round smooth cover that sit's on the l/h side of a c50 head that cover's the cam gear, after 10 mins or so it came off and I saw it had the long bolt through the middle of the cam to the r/h side!!!!!!! Dead simple if you stop to have a look. Since then I looked, paused for a moment to work out how to do a job. At 49 now and have City n guilds in electrical engineering/refrigeration/A/C and now 17 ish years playing with scooters!

 

Don't forget the long through bolt holding the the cam gear cover on!!

 

Started out repairing lawnmowers/strimmers to sell in my early teens to pay for my first bike a rm 50 and my grass-track mini 1000. Been fixing up old bikes and cars ever since. I like a challenge and also find it therapeutic.
My next challenge is to make a coffee table out of an old zetec lump when the missus is out