New Moto Guzzi Door Mats Available Now
The "10,000 Hours to become an Expert" thing had a short vogue, and was an interesting concept to explore, especially the concept of "mastering" and the concept of "skill", but it's been shot through by so many holes and counterexamples that I don't think many people consider it valid any more ...Lannis
As a construction electrician every job had new situations, new problems, and different people. A power plant had different requirements than a hospital....But overall they required the same basic learned job skills...just used different....But the true measure of skill level was the ability to adapt to changing conditions. Or tolerate the tedium of wiring 100's of light fixtures.Or in dangerous situations..Some guys walked away because they hated working in the weather and doing their business in a plastic outhouse... I believe this is true for many occupations
When I was ten, Dad bought a series of fifty buck get it outta here wrecked trail bikes from his colleagues at work. We'd replace levers, drill thru shift splines to drop a bolt thru to unite shifter and shaft, park the family Rambler over the handlebar end & grunt until we had somewhat symmetry, loosen triple clamps & trap the front wheel in a door & throw our weight to wrench forks straight, clean points, replace plugs --- that sort of thing ... then kick and kick and kick and fiddle... until we finally had the thing where it would at least idle. At this point, Mom would come out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish cloth, complaining "Pete, he's gonna wreck that thing!" Dad would reply: "I hope he does." I'd throw a leg over and head for the fields. Not one to disappoint Dad, I'd like as not have to push the basket case home with a wobbly rim. What I'm saying is, to me, bikes and wrenching have always been the two halves of the same fun. This kind of garage time teaches a yoot to trust his hands. A whole lot of what's wrong with yoots is no Dad time.Hand trust extends to the rest of life's probs. Twenty five years later, I had many a person ask me: "How'd you learn to build a sailboat?" I would extend my hand, point to my palm, and reply: "Right there." Today, if someone asks "How'd you learn to program?" I point to my palm: "Right there." It's in the doing and not the knowing that things get done. Guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not all about skill. Skill level is handy but not essential. Confidence in your hands is. Not homo sapiens but homo habilis. That's the without-which-not that divides the metrosexual crowd who strictly rely on their credit card from the manly old school farts who put it up on the center stand, haul over an old milk crate to set on, pop a bottle cap, light a cigar, and get to work. Long's you got that, you can muddle through the skill part.
I ain't scared to try anything...yet. However, on occasion I screw things up worst than they were to begin with and it ends up costing twice as much to fix properly. I am the equivalent motorcycle customer to that computer customer which I complain about in my shop Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I also fabricated this mid engine thing from 1930's Ford parts a few years ago
That thing needs a belly tanker body!
I was raised in the old school machine shop trade. My recent trip for a MRI had me stumbling around in a hospital gown checking out the Machine. I had done some research of the equipment before the visit and the staff thought I was an MRI machine expert. B.S. can make you a pretty good mechanic I guess. An MRI machine is a hell of a machine. I did make some parts for them that would wear out and need replacement. Keeping one running and accurate would be interesting.
Wholly cannoli, Rough Edge, what are you going to use for shocks?
I've taken care of my own stuff my whole life. My dad had the view that if a man made it a man could figure it out. I was always curious what was inside that made it work - so when something broke and should have been tossed, I figured out how to take it apart. When you don't know how something was supposed to look or work when it was working, it can be tricky figuring out what's broken or keeping it from working now. But I'd feel challenged to figure it out and then figure out a way to get it working again. Sometimes friends would poke fun of me for fixing something that could be replaced for five or ten bucks, but it was the challenge for me. And with each project, I'd learn a bit more and have better skills for the next job. A family friend who owned and raced a quarter midget helped me rebuild my first Honda. With his direction I went on to work on the used vehicles that entered my life from then on. I'd work on whatever was needed - transmissions, rear ends, suspension, brakes, exhaust, even bodywork. I've got tools for just about anything needed working on a vehicle. I've got a degree in electronics repair, but never really warmed up to it. But electrical doesn't scare me off - and I think that was one of the more difficult areas for me to get comfortable with. I worked at INTEL for 8 years and a lot of that was rebuilding equipment used in the fab. A lot of it was tedious monotonous work, but I can zone out and do that too. About ten years ago I started fixing BMW airhead gauges just to help out guys on Adventure Rider who were having difficulty with the regular shops. I've since retired and fixing these BMW gauges has turned into a full time job. I've had to figure out how these things worked and why they didn't, the working tolerances, how to make parts or have a machinist make what I couldn't, had to make tools to be able to assemble or disassemble some parts that could be damaged otherwise, and much more. I got a small lathe to aid in calibrating the gauges and then gradually learned how to use it to make parts - so that now, I haven't a clue how I survived most of my life without one. I got a precision grinder (an expensive piece of equipment!) so I could reproduce the needle shafts - they start out at 2mm (.080") diameter, and each end gets turned down - one side to .027" and the other to .040" with a taper on the end so the needle can wedge on. I've been into the airhead BMWs for 25 years and have done all my own work there as well. I've rebuilt engines and transmissions, built wire wheels, straightened gas tanks, and of course fixed the gauges. I didn't start out knowing all of this - it just take a bit of curiosity and building up a but at a time. But above all, there are some basic mechanical skills one needs for this sort of work. Being a mechanic is much more than unbolting stuff and bolting the good stuff in. It's knowing when to be careful, when to check things out, when not to force things, or when more force is needed. A good feeling for how much torque is necessary or what's too much. It's knowing tricks to save the day when a job goes wrong. It's knowing when to leave it for another day. I enjoy reading problem threads and seeing if I can come up with the solution. I'd much rather do that than watch a mystery show. Real life puzzles - that's much more fun. And getting a bike running on the side of the road with what you've got with you or what can be scrounged alongside the road can be a challenge. But challenges can be fun. What fun would life be without problems???
More than some, a lot less than most, would probably sum it up nicely. As far as a number, good solid 4. My Dad dropped out of school at 14 but acquired quite an education in the school of hard knocks. He did take the time to pass on the mechanical ability he used to support a family of five during the post WWII period. Some of my earliest memories are of watching him wrenching on an Indian Chief in the tin sided shed that posed as garage behind the house. (It came with an attached chicken coop in the rear.) I will truly admit to losing a step or two with things like fuel injection verses sizing jets to dial in carbs, or what really is inside an ECU to make it work. (I still believe it could be just a giant set of points with a condenser.) I do all of my own maintenance on my vehicles and bikes, but certainly realize that with the newer machines there things well above my antique skill level. I will always enjoy bringing an old bike back to life now and then and as the Wife will certainly verify that small car and a half garage is certainly my sanctuary........
You might consider branching out to Veglia gauges since there is such need for it here.
