[Ducati] Kevin's Summer Trip

[Rich Roberts]

Yeah, I know this is not the response you want to hear....but fix it yourself with the lists help. Just give up on those best mechanics. truth is there are really only a handful best mechanics. And I have found the individual owner can almost always do better. It is your bike....you wont be cutting corners to make a buck or save time. that is why i have always said...I do not care how good Nash or Eraldo or Earl or Tony or. Guy or Doug or John is was or will be....I can do better with my bike. pay em for the few things maybe they can do better, like head work or crank balancing. it is not that hard. And I respect all those guys but thery are in it to make a buck... I can tell you, you simply start somewhere sometime and roll up your sleeves and do it. there are bunches on this list who have gone there. And you know the better wrenches are alway willing to help those who help themselves. I did not get to be on a first name basis with these guys and others because I am some
 kind of prodigy. I got there cause I was unwilling to pay for mediocrity and wanted to do as much for myself as i could. So quit bellyaching about the imposters or posers to the crown. And do for yourself. there is no such thing as a leak that can not be solved.  Course you may need to take some shit apart....it does not happen by magic i am afraid. That is why your glorious mechanics likely have not solved your issues, they are only gonna spend so much time working on it and likely have all sorts of magical shortcuts to not fixing the problem permanently.  like anything else sometimes there are no quick fixes. Anyone know of a really easy permanent proper fix for a rear main seal leak on any of several FORD engines? Usually takes a bit of effort. Dont keep pissing money down a hole. Every time I have done it I have regretted it, almost every time I have paid someone else to do it for me I have regretted it as not cost effective. Course i have also spent entire weekends
 deburring a set of cases removing every speck of casting crap. But it is mine and only i know how right it is. is it satisfying. hell yes. Is it aggravating talking to most of these johhny come lately ace mechanics? Hell yes. tell me this, how many 20 year Ducati Mechanic veterans are there out there? Used to be all of em worth their reputation had a good 20 years under their belt, now if they knew what a Ducati was 10 years ago that might be a stretch, they usually dont teach about that in elementary school. 20 somethings will never get expert stature in my book.  Changing oil and spark plugs and belts does not make a Ducati mechanic.  Just cause you have a wrench in your hand and someone is paying you dont make you a mechanic. Course many think that makes them superior to the average customer in some way. Face the facts of life you can not pay most people to do a better job than you can do yourself if you have the time and inclination. the knowhow is usually obtainable
 and in many cases is not the result of decades of experience. Many many many authorities on such things started exactly this way. Do for yourself. It used to be the American Way. Rich


----- Original Message ----
From: Alec Moss <amoss at coastside.net>
To: "ducati at ducati.net" <ducati at ducati.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 1:41:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Ducati] Kevin's Summer Trip


Aw, bummer.  I say go for it as much as you can.  Surely you didn't plan the
finances for these repairs but if you can afford to keep going, do it.  You
have a few weeks time and you can salvage a great trip from this.  It just
won't be the trip you planned.  I can't wait to hear the stories first hand.

Go for it!!!


Cheers,

Alec


On 6/25/07 10:14 PM, "Kevin Kachadourian" <kkachadourian at cv.k12.ca.us>
wrote:

> Well, things seem to  be falling apart out here in Montana. After the second
> repair job (both of the mechanics who did the two repairs so far, Bellevue WA
> and Bozeman MT, were described as the best wrenches this side of the Rockies),
> the bike is still leaking oil about as bad as it was before, only now, it
> seems to be leaking from more places (the tacho drive/cable fitting into the
> head, the oil cooler hose entries to the engine, and there are still
> gatherings of oil around the vent holes on the clutch cover). Whatever exactly
> is wrong, these expert mechanics can't seem to fix it. To add insult to
> injury, the body is starting to fall apart. So far, the right fairing side
> well nut will not stay in the post that attaches it to the frame, and the tail
> light seems to be hanging loose. Meanwhile, my notebook computer has a
> software glitch and is unusable (I'm at the hotel's public access terminal). I
> haven't checked my camera lately, maybe I shouldn't.
> So, I'm in a hotel in Laurel, MT, wondering if I should continue the struggle
> forward, or turn and make a dash for home. My next move tonight is to see if
> there's another motorcycle mechanic east of here who can fail to fix my leaks.
> Any suggestions are welcome. I'll be posting in the morning.
> Kevin Kachadourian
> '96 900 SS SP (doesn't seem to be up to the task)
> '85 650 Alazzurra (yep, I definitely should have taken this one)
> *****
> 
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*****

Our newest sponsor, MC Stands, has just opened its doors!  It's a motorcycle
stand superstore.  Every brand, every model, 95% in stock for immediate
shipment. Whether front stands, rear stands, paddock stands, dirt bike
stands, or any kind of stand or lift, MC Stands tests, rates, and discounts
everything they sell.  Check them out!

Visit: http://mcstands.com/
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