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How long should it take?
- Thread starter ramblin5
- Start date
I’m just a shade tree mechanic, hardly any skills at all , and it takes me less than 45 minutes. And that includes stopping for snacks. 
30 min minimum charge for the work alone without set up and clean up.........a guy who has done a lot of these it would take a little less time............Don't forget the time starts from when he goes to get the bike, wheels the bike into the shop and on to the hoist, raise hoist and set up tools and do the job. Clean any oil or dirt on the bike caused by the job, remove, wipe and put away tools, lower the hoist remove bike and park outside......... Minimum charge would be an hour and it would take close to that.
I agree. An hour of billable time should be plenty for anybody that knows what they're doing.
I’m just a shade tree mechanic, hardly any skills at all , and it takes me less than 45 minutes. And that includes stopping for snacks.
Liquid snacks of the adult persuasion?
Well, I take longer than an hour. I manually turn over the engine many times watching and adjusting as things go round & round.
The timing can go very quick or slow depending on how good (lucky) you get.
(Two sets of points)
This is infact My Bike so time doesn't matter.
Making flat rate on somebody elses bike is a completely different situation
The timing can go very quick or slow depending on how good (lucky) you get.
(Two sets of points)
This is infact My Bike so time doesn't matter.
Making flat rate on somebody elses bike is a completely different situation
I'm shocked. SHOCKED I say!
When one drinks imported beah, one extends one's pinky finger. Dint yo Mama teach you nuffin?
When one drinks imported beah, one extends one's pinky finger. Dint yo Mama teach you nuffin?
That's true, I wasn't thinking about fussing with points. As you say, your luck varies from time to time on that one.
yea points could take up some time..........Maintaining a regular maintenance scheduled makes the job a touch up unless the points have worn out and need replacing............normally it would be a slight adjustment here and there or at best a check and no adjustment necessary unless something has gone wrong
A bike that hasn't been maintained and needs to be fully set up and reset would or could take a lot longer than an hour.......could be closer to 2 hours in a case like that.......could run into a broken or rounded screw so all sorts of nig-ly things could run up the time
A bike that hasn't been maintained and needs to be fully set up and reset would or could take a lot longer than an hour.......could be closer to 2 hours in a case like that.......could run into a broken or rounded screw so all sorts of nig-ly things could run up the time
I'm told no points on the 81.
For me, honestly it’s recreation. I wouldn’t care if it took all afternoon. I put some music on and just get lost in the process.
It’s a Zen thing.
It’s a Zen thing.
I got a mechanic to get my first xs sorted out and I had a list of things. He was very quick and did a great job. The next time i took it over for him to change out the fork seals he got one of his mechanics to do it. My bike was full of fork oil all over the place and they didnt clean up. I was really let down cause of this and it was my last time any mechanic touched any of my bikes. I told myself, if these guys can do it....so can I. And I am still learning and wrenching since! My time is better spent in studying the task, getting the proper tools and asking questions. Hope you get the courage to do the work yourself cause its an awesome feeling when you do it right and all works!! 
ohh and I am a happier person just spending alone time in the garage fiddlin around on my bikes....therapy I guess.
ohh and I am a happier person just spending alone time in the garage fiddlin around on my bikes....therapy I guess.I got a mechanic to get my first xs sorted out and I had a list of things. He was very quick and did a great job. The next time i took it over for him to change out the fork seals he got one of his mechanics to do it. My bike was full of fork oil all over the place and they didnt clean up. I was really let down cause of this and it was my last time any mechanic touched any of my bikes. I told myself, if these guys can do it....so can I. And I am still learning and wrenching since! My time is better spent in studying the task, getting the proper tools and asking questions. Hope you get the courage to do the work yourself cause its an awesome feeling when you do it right and all works!!
You're right. It is a matter of courage. The few things I have done (installed and rewired new stock horn button, fixed tach loose facing screws after really messing the bezel up, making new air filters instead of buying new - simple things like that) do provide a sense of accomplishment. But then there's the times I screw it up and have to go to a mechanic to bail me out. So it's the fear of messing up a bike that is actually running pretty well that kind of paralyzes a non-mechanic like me. If it were a matter of debugging a computer program that was working fairly well but needed fine tuning I'd dive right in. It's just a matter of familiarity, I guess. I need to look at some videos of someone adjusting valves and I think I'd have no problem doing it. Now, the cam chain and timing really scare me. Oh well, what's the worse that can happen? I break it and then have someone fix it.
I’m just a shade tree mechanic, hardly any skills at all , and it takes me less than 45 minutes. And that includes stopping for snacks.
Don't think you can hide behind that statement any more.
...
Well the timing on the Factory TCI is set and there shouldn't have to be any adjustment to them............The can chain adjustment is only 2 spanners and a finger. ................The tappets are a little more complicated only because you have to find TDC, (top dead center), before the adjustment can be done and then it is a little tricky, to make sure the adjustment doesn't move when tightening the lock nut......Just a matter of checking and doing the gap again until they haven't shifted when tightening the lock nut......Once it has been done a few times it quite a simple procedure..........
Once the tappets and camchain have been set the timing should be spot on.........Still a timing light should be run over it........ timing light is as simple as one lead on a spark plug lead and the other to ground......shine the light on the timing mark. This is on the rotor and should line up with the timing mark on the plate on the stater............rev bike and make sure the timing mark moves to the advance mark on the timing plate on the stater......
Simplified version and if you decide to do it yourself start a thread and the help will arrive...........
Once the tappets and camchain have been set the timing should be spot on.........Still a timing light should be run over it........ timing light is as simple as one lead on a spark plug lead and the other to ground......shine the light on the timing mark. This is on the rotor and should line up with the timing mark on the plate on the stater............rev bike and make sure the timing mark moves to the advance mark on the timing plate on the stater......
Simplified version and if you decide to do it yourself start a thread and the help will arrive...........
I walk away from these for months at a time. I don't have all my tolerances memorized as I should by now. Haha! My mother told me that pot would burn me out....(back in the 90's) Anywho, a guy whose brain farts often, no more than an hour. Fact.
