Quote Originally Posted by mrtr33 View Post

I've seen broken down bikes on the local craigslist, but I'm nervous about those. I'm reasonably sure I know what's wrong with my dad's lawnmower, but feel way over my head jumping right to motorcycles.

Anyone got any advice?
Working on your own bike is different depending on what kind of bike you have. I had a Suzuki Intruder - almost impossible to get to anything. After a long winter I had to jump the battery. It was so tough to get to the battery I grounded it by putting a screw driver in the negative bolt and attaching the negative wire to the screw driver.

Some bikes can be absolute pleasures to work on like HD or Victory. Everything is in the right place and easy to work on. I can do a complete oil change in under 30 min on my new bike.

Bikes can save you money too. My Intruder only cost $4,200 new. I got 40-50 MPG (depends on wind). When I sold the Intruder 3 years later I got $4,000 for it. My Victory is getting between 55-60 MPG depending on wind but Victory is top of the line in fuel econ.

I change the oil every 4,000 - 5,000 miles. At 220 a day 5 times a week I can change it about ever 4-5 weeks. More usually 5 because I keep the bike in the garage on rainy days and that saves on my bike miles. Do what you gotta do you know - I'm sure not moving closer to DC - too expensive.