"How To's" tutorials

[Ratledge]

Something that would be great to have is an online resource of at least some of the more common maintenance and performance mods/upgrades available for the XS. Have them with step-by-step instructions with photos and/or video footage.

All kinds of stuff from removing wheels, bleeding the brakes, changing the pads, to installing new tapered steering bearings, installing the brass swingarm bushings, new oil seals, just to name a few.

It would be great to approach it from the "XS650 Service and repair for Dummies" perspective, cause I for one am new to all things motorcycling and to repair and maintenance. Have available tables listing the tools needed; common and special purpose, common sizes of fastners used on the bike with torque settings. I realize that some of this info is available online, but it is spread all over the place, and not easily referenced. I appreciate all the information on Bob Bertaut's website, but it couldn't be more poorly organized. Thank GOD there's at least a search option. There's just a list of over 500 pages of information, a lot of it seemingly repeated in places, with no order or apparent catorgorization.

I occasionally read a forum on a website for Ford Focus ZX3's, and they have a bunch of performance mod how to's on there, some include video footage. Check it out to see what I'm talking about.

www.myfordfocus.com/howto.htm

I realize there are a LOT more focus drivers than there are xs650 riders, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be something comparable for us!

[steve78650]

Good Call...

I agree, the info is out there, but it's all over the place, and takes you a long time to find what you're looking for...as an example, Bob Bertaut's website is outdated and hard to find what you're looking for. Long lists of projects to sift through are wasted time, if it's not organized, it won't get used.

I would call on each and everyone of us to next time you tackle a problem, document it with photos, text, measurements etc and post it. We could work with the moderators to develop a How To section.

I'm one of these guys that wants all my info in one place, easy to get to, easy to work with. It's on our shoulders to continue to make this board the best.

Basic stuff should be included...we continue to get new members and new riders/owners.

[TWILKIN]

I really like the layout of the "how to" files; and of course some are sponsored by aftermarket parts houses and manufacturers. This is what I had in mind when I posted earlier on FAQ files in this same topic.

[AWD92TalonTSi]

www.vfaq.com is a good example as well. for eclipses/talons/lasers.

i can do alot of the minor jobs and have a digital camera. but im horrid at writing html or some sort of internet script. i can make a few in word documents if somebody can change the format and post em.

bryan

[jackson]

Another motorcycle board with similar forum is:

www.thegsresources.com/

For an example of photos and how to, go to the carb rebuild section. Very helpful. The board owner does accept money for his time to build something like this so we should probably do the same for whoever builds something like this on our board. This kind of info is great for us dummies and saves a lot of typing time for our senior technical advisors when they have to respond to the same problem over and over. John, the board owner is aware of these things but is a busy guy with a low budget. Buying up the rest of his T-shirts will put him in better spirits, though.

[Sparksfarmer]

Hi All,

While a "how-to" thread has been mentioned, I wonder if it could be implemented.... I have a digital camera and will try to photograph everything I do to on my bikes. I'm slowly working on one of the frames right now installing the new brass swing arm bearings that I got from Mikes. I know there are different partial threads about what to do, but mostly what I found, was that it is a pain in the a$$ to do, but sometiimes it can be very easy... If the moderator is interested in creating a "HOW-TO" area, please let me know.
I'll be doing the swing arm on one bike, then the steering arm bearings next.
Thanks,
Sparksfarmer

[TWILKIN]

Sparksfarmer, I'd really like to see step by step on both, as these are mods that seem to have generated gnashing of teeth from many members of the Garage. They are also, apparently, mods that most of us will eventually need if we ride these things enough to wear out the delicate stock equipment. How do we get to hear the cussin' in the background when it doesn't go as planned? A %&*$%@###@@ doesn't seem adequate to express the spirit of the moment when used as a caption on a picture.

[TWILKIN]

For one take on how to implement "how to" information, a look at the Tech sections of the Internet BMW Riders site might be useful.
www.ibmwr.org/

[Bob Dammit]

If anyone has available webspace and hosting we can link to a how-to / FAQ section. This might be a good idea to get started, so when we make a move, we can hopefuly have *most* of the bugs worked out. Let us know if you can help out with this.