Passes & Canyons Blog

The Connie on Loveland Pass.

The front brakes on my 1999 Concours were squishy and the brake fluid level seemed low. I could add fluid but if it got low again that would indicate a fuel-line leak. That’s beyond my ability to deal with.

Normally I would just have taken the bike over to Joel at Mountain Thunder Motorsports but these are not normal times for Joel. His landlord had raised his rent a huge amount and rather than pay it Joel had closed up shop and is now working out of his home. Unfortunately, his home is somewhere up in the hills. If he’s going to work on my bike it will mean he drives down with a trailer, loads it up, drives home and works on it, then drives it back down. That’s a lot of effort for what might just be low brake fluid.

So I called Vickery, where I bought the bike new in 1999. I used to take it to Vickery for service but about 10 years ago they fired me as a customer because dealerships don’t like to work on older bikes. That’s how I ended up working with Joel. I had also been fired as a customer by Aurora Honda some years before that with my CB750, for the same reason.

It seemed to me that Vickery ought to be willing to just do some simple maintenance, even on an older bike. No harm in asking.

I called the service department and explained the situation and asked if they would be willing to at least do this simple job. The answer was no. I then asked what sort of brake fluid the bike would use, because I have read many times how you should not mix different types of brake fluids. I figured I could at least top it off myself and then if it got low again that would mean a bigger problem and I could call Joel.

The guy at the service counter told me what fluid it needed and I went over to Vickery to buy some. Back at home I tried to remove the top plate on the reservoir but for the life of me I could not get one of the screws out. The other came out easily but all the bad one did was start stripping. Now what do I do?

It was a nice day and I was determined to ride the Kawi that day so I geared up and headed out, with no destination in mind. Before I got out of the neighborhood I decided to ride to Vickery. At the very least perhaps they would help me get that screw out. Refusing that, I felt, would be terrible customer relations, but I wasn’t especially optimistic. If they wouldn’t even do that for me, I had located an independent shop over near where Joel used to be and I figured I could drop by there and see if they would help me.

What happened then is interesting and I’ll fill you in on Thursday.

Biker Quote for Today

Why bikes are better than women: Motorcycles only need their fluids changed every 2,000 miles.

King Browne operates a shop where you can come work on your own bike.

Sometimes I get tipped off to things going on right here at home by national magazines. This is one of those times. American Motorcyclist, the magazine of the American Motorcyclist Association, has a group of articles in the latest issue under the overall headline, “Get Experienced.” The lead article was about Jen Wyse, who moved to Colorado from New York and got involved with what is called a “community motorcycle garage.”

The shop in question is Moto Works Denver, at 2000 S. Cherokee. It is run by King Browne, who you see there in the photo. King runs a typical metric-only shop with a twist: There is a do-it-yourself corner with a couple lifts where you can use the shop’s tools and work on your own bike. The DIY fee is either $50 a day or $150 for one month. Storage is also available. The shop is set up for mechanical work, not so much things such as fabrication. If you want to build a bike from scratch, including welding and painting, this is not your place. If you want to do a valve job, a tune-up, or replace the engine, it is.

Walking into the shop I noted all kinds of older bikes, including a Honda CB1000 Custom, the big brother to the CB750 Custom I had arrived on. Aurora Honda fired me as a customer a long time ago because they don’t want to work on older bikes. That’s where shops like this one come in. You can pay King to work on your bike or you can pay less and work on it yourself.

Make no mistake, if you chose the DIY route you are going to need to do nearly all the work yourself. King and his staff don’t have time to babysit you and answer every question that you should already have found answers to by reading the shop guide for your bike and watching videos on YouTube. But if something in the manual is unclear they will help you clarify the matter and they’ll offer pointers and advice, plus help out if an extra set of hands is needed.

The clientele skews mostly younger, King explains, because most older guys who have an inclination to wrench already have their own spaces and their own tools. Younger guys, on the other hand, live in condos with no garage and they have no tools. What they do have is enthusiasm and the desire to work on their machines.

If this sounds like the sort of thing you would like to use, head on down to 2000 S. Cherokee. If it sounds like a business you would like to be involved in, hustle on down. King is looking for a partner.

When he opened the shop a couple years ago, he explains, he had a partner and figured between the two of them they could make it work and still have time to have lives. However, after only three months the partner pulled out. Although King has employees, he runs the business by himself. If you would like to join him as a partner he would welcome you, and if you would like to ultimately buy the operation that could be a possibility as well.

Either way, if you want to get greasy and feel the pride of having wrenched your own bike, this is your chance. I may just have to do this a bit myself, although King says it is best to use the shop in the winter rather than in the midst of the riding season. That gives me time to ponder whether I want to take on a valve job on the CB. Of course, if I do, you’ll be able to read all about it right here.

Biker Quote for Today

I guess the Harley crowd took offense at the old rice burner I rode in their midst. — Charles A Johnson

Before I decided to run this Examiner Resurrection I checked to see if this site still exists and whether the information I presented in 2011 had changed. It’s all still good. So I don’t need to change a thing.

A sample of what you get with Cyclepedia.com.

Figuring on restoring an old motorcycle you found in a barn? Looking for the technical info you do to do the work? Here’s a heads-up on a website I recently discovered that may be just what you need.

Cyclepedia.com is an online repository for workshop manuals for ATV, motorcycle, and scooter repair. If you’re only going to need access to the information while you rebuild the bike, a one-year subscription may be the way to go. If you’re planning on riding the bike for years, a lifetime subscription may be your best bet. Either one comes with tech support, so if you’re stuck trying to figure something out, they actually have a motorcycle technician available to answer questions or help you interpret the manual.

These are not just static text documents, like a printed manual that you access online. They come with videos to guide you through processes, as well as interactive features that a printed manual can’t offer. You do, however, have the option of printing the documents.

Want to see what the manuals are like? A sample manual for a Suzuki DR200SE is available. Open it and at left are topics such as:

• Periodic Maintenance
• Quick Reference
• Fuel System
• External Components
• Engine
• Final Drive

And more. Pretty much the stuff you expect in a shop manual. Also included are parts diagram, printable full-color wiring diagrams, and a troubleshooting guide.

I’ll be honest with you, I’m no mechanic myself, so I can’t judge the usefulness of this site; that’s up to you to determine. But I figured if you hadn’t heard about it, you might like to know the site is there. Happy wrenching!

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t make me use my motorcycle mechanic voice.