Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater

Fri, 29 Jul 2005

I forgot to mention this yesterday.

When I took that part to the Kawasaki dealership in Bellevue, I was expecting them to pull out this mystical $250 tool, and gently pull the bearing race off the shaft.

What actually happened is that, literally without a word (as we'd spoken on the phone an hour earlier, and I'm sure I was the only guy talking to him about removing the bearing race from a Ninja 250's triple tree), this guy grabbed the part I'd set on the counter and headed back into the shop. I saw him pick up a medium sized hammer and something long and narrow, which was probably a cold chisel or a drift. He clamped the tree in a vise, and proceeded to hit the second tool with the hammer, very hard, transferring force in a surprisingly graceless manner to the bearing race.

My first thought was, well shit, I could have done that myself, and saved the gas. My second thought was, I can't believe I'm prepared to pay someone money for this. My third thought, after I got the part back and he refused payment for the service (thank god) was, oh look, vise jaw marks all over the shaft. Great.

He'd been none too careful with the part (which would cost me $200 to replace), and if I'd known he was going to simply apply a hammer, I wouldn't have bothered. I'm pretty good at hitting things with hammers. I probably would have been more careful about it, too, and not damaged the bearing seal and washer, which they would have had to special order ("um, seven to ten working days for the parts to arrive <chewing gum snap>").

Anyway, lesson learned. Don't take maintenance to the dealership. They'll do even more of a Bubba job than I will.

Posted at 12:05 permanent link category: /motorcycle

Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater

Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net.