Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What motorcycles teach about maintenance

books.worksinprogress.co

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–155 of 155 posts

Re: What motorcycles teach about maintenance

#151

Post by tonymet »

taeric wrote: post #87
tonymet wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

can you be more specific ? what systems?

Wrong post? I don't think I mentioned systems. That said, I am mainly referring to modern gearing and injection systems. Basic maintenance is probably well within what folks can do. But that is true of cars, as well. No?

there’s some truth. higher end bikes have electronic throttle and stability control. but still the bulk of bikes and the systems are 80-s tech . abs disk brakes . efi. controls are still mechanical and hydraulic (no software) . engine are traditional cam valves and accessible . transmissions are still 1950s tech

100% of a mid level bike and 80-90% of a premium bike can be self serviced

Re: What motorcycles teach about maintenance

#152

Post by taeric »

tonymet wrote: post #151
taeric wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wrong post? I don't think I mentioned systems. That said, I am mainly referring to modern gearing and injection systems. Basic maintenance is probably well within what folks can do. But that is true of cars, as well. No?

there’s some truth. higher end bikes have electronic throttle and stability control. but still the bulk of bikes and the systems are 80-s tech . abs disk brakes . efi. controls are still mechanical and hydraulic (no software) . engine are traditional cam valves and accessible . transmissions are still 1950s tech 100% of a mid level bike and 80-90% of a premium bike can be self serviced

I'm a little surprised that brakes and such aren't electronic. I've seen wireless shifters on bicycles. And the gearing is something I would fully expect to be beyond most home mechanics. That is, I'm surprised the transmissions haven't gotten a bit more involved.

I suppose the market catered to itself, and things were kept more home serviceable for longer?

Re: What motorcycles teach about maintenance

#153

Post by squalo »

apsurd wrote: post #106
squalo wrote: post #100

As someone who read Zen the first time many years ago, the book talks about the joy you get from seeing the world on a motorcycle (or bicycle) over being in a tank like car where you don't fully experience your environment. At its heart though, Pirsig used the concept of motorcycle maintenance as an examination of quality, value, and what brings people fulfillment. It takes a meandering path to get there which is pro…

can you talk more about gumption (inspiration) traps you experienced at work? i take this to mean some powers-that-be destroyed internal motivations you had? also curious to hear your learnings on holding onto inspiration.

I have a lot of examples. I'd love to tell the most recent one but its specific enough to possibly be identified. Instead I'll travel back in time a bit.

I was lead infrastructure engineer for middleware at a large retail company. When I started, they were just starting a project to roll out a content management system. Because they didn't have expertise in house at kickoff, they paid the vendor to do the infrastructure design. The visio drawing was delivered to me when I started for review. Despite the guy who drew it supposedly being an expert from the vendor, it was missing two of the most vital components in the drawing. He'd also asked for a total of over 30 physical machines which was way over the capacity that was needed then (or now). I setup a meeting with the Enterprise Architect who was heading the project. He didn't know anything about the solution and was the one who had suggested they hire the vendor to do the design. I explained to him the issues with the design and suggested a different design. I explained how the vendor charged by vcpu so implementing this overkill of a solution would result in millions of unnecessary dollars being spent. His response was "they've already budgeted the money so we should spend it while we've got it." I said ok and that was the end of the meeting.

I had already drawn out my corrected design and I assigned my team to build my design. This was 2012 and outside of a hardware refresh and updates/upgrades, that design is still in place and still being used. The company has saved millions in licensing fees and they don't even know it.

Most people would have just gone ahead and built it as told. My inspiration was to always do the right thing. It was obvious to me that the EA didn't have that same motivation.

Re: What motorcycles teach about maintenance

#154

Post by BluePen7 »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #81
BluePen7 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just due to the lower volume the price jumps up unexpectedly. For the labour of an oil change, I was quoted $25 for my car, and $65 for my motorcycle. To change the oil and filter on my car, you have to reach in a super terrible spot prone to burning and cutting people who attempt it. On my motorcycle? It's an enduro, I have a foot of clearance and can see the single bolt required from across the driveway, it also re…

It's been... A very long time since I've been quoted that little for an oil change, by dealership or third party chain or an independent. And I do not drive an Audi either :-) Few thoughts / possibilities - was work done as part of larger work, as incremental? - does 25$ charge include parts? - was this a quick turnaround lube shop or an actual qualified mechanic - do you have a relationship - what's their business m…

$25 and $65 did not include parts (the oil or filter)

I use synthetic, and their markup is so much it's cheaper to just provide them with my own. Hell their price for filters is more than the parts counter at the dealership.

Quick lube shop, so the least qualified people you can get to lay their hands on your vehicle. Gonna be honest, I check there's still oil in my car when I get home.

And yes, the quick lube shop is always trying to upsell me services I "need", like $100 to change my air filter, or $80 to change my cabin air filter (both which are literally 1 minute jobs), and $20/$40 parts from the dealership. Same with brake fluid flushes and other things.

Re: What motorcycles teach about maintenance

#155

Post by BluePen7 »

dclowd9901 wrote: post #118
BluePen7 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just due to the lower volume the price jumps up unexpectedly. For the labour of an oil change, I was quoted $25 for my car, and $65 for my motorcycle. To change the oil and filter on my car, you have to reach in a super terrible spot prone to burning and cutting people who attempt it. On my motorcycle? It's an enduro, I have a foot of clearance and can see the single bolt required from across the driveway, it also re…

I’m guessing you have a subaru flat engine?

That is correct, although the filter location on my first gen Tacoma is also not ideal.
Post reply on HN