Important (at least to me) Message

[Chrisj CMA]

One of the strengths of this tech board is that members can learn how do their own maintenance and save a bunch of money. What good is it if they learn bad habits or wrong procedures.

We have a wealth of knowledge here. Don’t be afraid to share your knowledge. When you know what you are talking about, have done that thing many times people need to benefit from your experience.

On the other hand. If you don’t really know a lot about what you are fixin to say maybe you have never actually done it. Don’t give bad advice just for the sake of giving advice.

We do tend to take some short cuts with some  procedures. That’s ok when you know WHY something either needs to be that way or WHY you can modify the procedure. Some people only pay attention to what to do and don’t understand why. If you only care to know what to do then you should follow the Honda guide word for word. It’s much better to learn the Why!

Giving uninformed or bad advice will kill the faith people have had in help that comes from questions posed here.

Also. I have goofed in the past on this like anyone can but try to keep all the posts here TECH related so when people look for help they don’t have to wade through a bunch of junk.

[Avanti]

I completely concur!
When I joined, I started at the earliest post of the Tech forum and researched and read nearly all posts pertaining to all major components of the motorcycle. The only thing I have not done to one of these bikes is split the engine cases, something I would like to do, but will probably never be necessary.

[Tfrank59]

Well said. One thing I do when I jump on any of the forms I am a member of, and there are several, is I kind of figure out who knows what they’re talking about. It’s obvious within maybe an hour of browsing various posts.  And it’s not that I would disregard anyone else’s comments or advice, but I would always wanna cross check with the folks that have the most experience or whom I deem to be the “wisest”.

And one other thing, nobody knows about every area for example electrical, mechanical, chassis, tires etc. we each have our various areas of expertise so when you’re giving advice, or taking it, consider that aspect as well. Me for my part, I’m a machinist so I’m pretty clueless on electrical and not so smart about motor stuff but I’m pretty informed about bearings and those kinds of things.

[RonW]

To my knowledge, this is the only forum that has a *strike out* button on the post reply page for your convenience (below, red circle). The corrected post will looks like this after editing out an error that dawned on you after posting ..... the world is flat.

This is a better option than erasing an error after the post has been up a few days already. In fact, if you realized you erred two weeks later etc, on an inactive post, using the *strike out* button might spare a reader from erroneous info. I prefer an edit prefix ..... [edit] the world is flat.

[msb]

Excellent post! As a long time Valk owner and member here who didn't have a wealth of prior mechanical knowledge or experience, or have never had a lot of other Valk owners in this area for assistance, I've relied on this site for many years. It did take a while to figure out who's information to trust on certain issues that came up along the way as there have been at times some starkly contrasting viewpoints on certain issues. As I now am able to perform many repairs and more complicated maintenance duties myself, I for one am very  grateful to those who have taken the time to contribute to Shoptalk and reply to my Tech Board requests for proper recommendations and assistance. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

Excellent post! As a long time Valk owner and member here who didn't have a wealth of prior mechanical knowledge or experience, or have never had a lot of other Valk owners in this area for assistance, I've relied on this site for many years. It did take a while to figure out who's information to trust on certain issues that came up along the way as there have been at times some starkly contrasting viewpoints on certain issues. As I now am able to perform many repairs and more complicated maintenance duties myself, I for one am very  grateful to those who have taken the time to contribute to Shoptalk and reply to my Tech Board requests for proper recommendations and assistance. 

No doubt I've learned a ton about our bikes.  I think for a year or so I wasn't even signed up here. I just read tech articles. As to bad advice given. I think any and all of us should speak up and refute any bad advice. If I give erroneous info, I want someone to correct it.

[RustyValkry]

Interesting thread, especially in light of the fact that I've got a thread 'Saving the RustyValkryie' going in the 1500 tech section. 

I consider that my thread(s) is first and foremost entertainment.  After that if someone can find something in the thread they find useful - great.  I DO NOT consider that I'm providing any advice about how to do anything right or wrong.  If there's an unspoken expectation on this forum that our purpose as members is to determine that what we're about to post can't be misconstrued or taken as bad advice then that's too much pressure on this old, retired guy.  I just want to have fun with my new 'RustyValkryie' and be among like minded people.  I'd be sad to have to pack up my stuff and leave here so soon.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Interesting thread, especially in light of the fact that I've got a thread 'Saving the RustyValkryie' going in the 1500 tech section. 

I consider that my thread(s) is first and foremost entertainment.  After that if someone can find something in the thread they find useful - great.  I DO NOT consider that I'm providing any advice about how to do anything right or wrong.  If there's an unspoken expectation on this forum that our purpose as members is to determine that what we're about to post can't be misconstrued or taken as bad advice then that's too much pressure on this old, retired guy.  I just want to have fun with my new 'RustyValkryie' and be among like minded people.  I'd be sad to have to pack up my stuff and leave here so soon.

I certainly don't take your thread that way. (I doubt any do) 

[Chrisj CMA]

Interesting thread, especially in light of the fact that I've got a thread 'Saving the RustyValkryie' going in the 1500 tech section. 

I consider that my thread(s) is first and foremost entertainment.  After that if someone can find something in the thread they find useful - great.  I DO NOT consider that I'm providing any advice about how to do anything right or wrong.  If there's an unspoken expectation on this forum that our purpose as members is to determine that what we're about to post can't be misconstrued or taken as bad advice then that's too much pressure on this old, retired guy.  I just want to have fun with my new 'RustyValkryie' and be among like minded people.  I'd be sad to have to pack up my stuff and leave here so soon.

I’m talking about when someone asks a tech question “how is x y z done?”  People usually give great answers and sometimes an answer makes it obvious they don’t know much about what they are talking about. It’s not helpful to give advice that is not right

[yrunvs]

I haven't posted any advice on a "how to" thread for many months but man I feel guilty about something. 

[Cracker Jack]

Interesting thread, especially in light of the fact that I've got a thread 'Saving the RustyValkryie' going in the 1500 tech section. 

I consider that my thread(s) is first and foremost entertainment.  After that if someone can find something in the thread they find useful - great.  I DO NOT consider that I'm providing any advice about how to do anything right or wrong.  If there's an unspoken expectation on this forum that our purpose as members is to determine that what we're about to post can't be misconstrued or taken as bad advice then that's too much pressure on this old, retired guy.  I just want to have fun with my new 'RustyValkryie' and be among like minded people.  I'd be sad to have to pack up my stuff and leave here so soon.

I’m talking about when someone asks a tech question “how is x y z done?”  People usually give great answers and sometimes an answer makes it obvious they don’t know much about what they are talking about. It’s not helpful to give advice that is not right

Unfortunately, the ones that need the help the most are the ones that usually have the weakest BS detector. Whatcha gonna do when you get multiple conflicting answers/advice (sometimes happens) and the BS detector is no help? The number of posts may not be an indicator of expertise on the subject.

[Chrisj CMA]

Interesting thread, especially in light of the fact that I've got a thread 'Saving the RustyValkryie' going in the 1500 tech section. 

I consider that my thread(s) is first and foremost entertainment.  After that if someone can find something in the thread they find useful - great.  I DO NOT consider that I'm providing any advice about how to do anything right or wrong.  If there's an unspoken expectation on this forum that our purpose as members is to determine that what we're about to post can't be misconstrued or taken as bad advice then that's too much pressure on this old, retired guy.  I just want to have fun with my new 'RustyValkryie' and be among like minded people.  I'd be sad to have to pack up my stuff and leave here so soon.

I’m talking about when someone asks a tech question “how is x y z done?”  People usually give great answers and sometimes an answer makes it obvious they don’t know much about what they are talking about. It’s not helpful to give advice that is not right

Unfortunately, the ones that need the help the most are the ones that usually have the weakest BS detector. Whatcha gonna do when you get multiple conflicting answers/advice (sometimes happens) and the BS detector is no help? The number of posts may not be an indicator of expertise on the subject.

That’s why I simply asked for people to refrain from opining when they are inexperienced in said subject matter. Keeps it simpler

[Tfrank59]

When I give advice, and it’s pretty rare, I normally do so only with first-hand experience on a given matter. And that’s the caveat I include, something like “this is what I did and it worked for me.” I don’t expect everybody to agree, or maybe someone has done a different fix. But on the other hand, it can be very helpful if somebody’s dealing with the same issue (or a similar one) and that particular solution doesn’t come to mind.  It may give them food for thought to pursue a course of action they hadn’t thought of, which ends up being the right one.  What I find confusing and unhelpful is when guys hotly debate stuff, and it gets personal and turns into a pissing contest.

[msb]

Posted by: Tfrank59
include, something like “this is what I did and it worked for me.”

What I find confusing and unhelpful is when guys hotly debate stuff, and it gets personal and turns into a pissing contest.
                                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                                                  These

Posted by: Chrisj CMA
I’m talking about when someone asks a tech question “how is x y z done?”  People usually give great answers and sometimes an answer makes it obvious they don’t know much about what they are talking about. It’s not helpful to give advice that is not right
                                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                     And This...first of above statements goes a long way to preventing this occurence


Rusty Valkyrie...I for one am enjoying following your thread, and look forward to seeing how everything turns out. These types of posts when written in the proper context as yours is, are both entertaining and helpful in learning little tidbits of info from all the subsequent commentary.

[RustyValkry]

Interesting thread, especially in light of the fact that I've got a thread 'Saving the RustyValkryie' going in the 1500 tech section. 

I consider that my thread(s) is first and foremost entertainment.  After that if someone can find something in the thread they find useful - great.  I DO NOT consider that I'm providing any advice about how to do anything right or wrong.  If there's an unspoken expectation on this forum that our purpose as members is to determine that what we're about to post can't be misconstrued or taken as bad advice then that's too much pressure on this old, retired guy.  I just want to have fun with my new 'RustyValkryie' and be among like minded people.  I'd be sad to have to pack up my stuff and leave here so soon.

I’m talking about when someone asks a tech question “how is x y z done?”  People usually give great answers and sometimes an answer makes it obvious they don’t know much about what they are talking about. It’s not helpful to give advice that is not right

Well, I wouldn't want what I'm about to say to be construed as advice  but in those situations my first impulse is to ask, "have you read the service manual for that job?"  I'm surprised by how many people don't bother to get a service manual, or a Haynes, or whatever.  It's like the proverb, "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll eat for the rest of his life."  Being in the shovelhead world I realize service manuals often leave critical details out but "do you have a service manual" is still, in my opinion, the best first response.