[Ducati] Kevin's Summer Trip

Wed Jun 27 17:39:49 EDT 2007

holy cats Rich! i agree with your point for sure....but the poor guy's out
on the road far from home. =)

cheers,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: ducati-bounces at ducati.net [mailto:ducati-bounces at ducati.net] On Behalf
Of Rich Roberts
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 4:30 PM
To: Ducati Owners Group
Subject: Re: [Ducati] Kevin's Summer Trip

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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