Reddit reviews Motorcycle Basics Techbook

This book taught me a lot: https://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Basics-Techbook-Editors-Manuals/dp/0857339982/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527544626&sr=8-2&keywords=motorcycles+haynes

I'm in the same boat. I didn't grow up around this stuff so I had no idea. What I like about this book is it covers things that a lot of people who grew up in the culture seem to forget to explain because it's almost second nature for them. I remember things a lot better when I learn the "whys" and this book does just that. Also, the hard part about going straight into youtube or something is there's almost too much information. I find it great for specifics because it narrows your options, but for something like "general motorcycle maintenance" it's hard to distill the information you need down and separate the good from the bad.

You'll still need a service manual for your bike but this book will teach you what each part does and how it works, then you can take the knowledge you learn from it and apply it to the service manual.

One of the most poignant things I've heard someone in motorsports say about working on vehicles was from a person who gave seminars to professional auto wrap installers, "Anyone can wrap a car and have it look good for a day. The difference is what it will look like tomorrow, a month, or a year from now."

It's easy to take our own skill sets for granted and forget that other people have different skill sets as a result of different life experiences. I don't think twice about tapping threads, but someone else may have no clue how to approach that. They may have no understanding of how brake calipers work and not properly install the pads. Who knows. I'm constantly amazed when people do things poorly that I know how to do correctly, as I'm sure others are equally amazed when I mess stuff up that they understand.

​

If you want an actual recommendation, perhaps something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Basics-Techbook-Editors-Manuals/dp/0857339982/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1539818386&sr=8-3&keywords=motorcycle+maintenance

https://www.amazon.com/Rebuild-Japanese-Motorcycles-Motorbooks-Workshop/dp/0760347972/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1539818386&sr=8-13&keywords=motorcycle+maintenance

https://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Electrical-Techbook-Tony-Tranter/dp/0857339362/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1539818386&sr=8-11&keywords=motorcycle+maintenance

https://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Fuel-Systems-TechBook-carburettor/dp/085733915X/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=085733915X&pd_rd_r=6a177ee4-d263-11e8-b4d0-e1b91b9d888c&pd_rd_w=kuBr0&pd_rd_wg=ulirW&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=XFZH9RFKNMJJ20XZV450&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=XFZH9RFKNMJJ20XZV450

​

I haven't used any of these specifically. I have spent more time working on cars and small motors. But, I also know enough about statics, dynamics, chemistry, fluid dynamics, etc to understand how engineered even older bikes are and how little I know compared to a master mechanic. It's surprisingly easy to do something wrong that will result in destroying something or getting someone hurt. My I had a neighbor as a kid who had a custom bike shop, and he was always talking about project bikes gone wrong that people would bring into the shop. He said people did a lot of really, really stupid/dangerous stuff when building alone without actually understanding the principles. Like someone who didn't understand that the swing arm would experience gyroscopic force from the rear wheel, so they put at chain with almost no clearance near something attached to the body of the bike. Well, the chain started rubbing and eventually caught, which destroyed the back end of the bike somewhat and nearly took out their leg.

​