WANTED: Ideas for TECH DAY

[KRUZ N]

I'm trying to get a TECH Day going in either Huntington, WV or Lexington, KY.

To anyone with TECH Day experiance:

How many people is a "good" number for a TECH Day?

What problems/solutions did you find most useful to address?

How much time should you plan on spending?

What suggestions do you have in makeing it most effective?

Thanks in advance for your input,
KRUZ N

[mxtrail]

Based on my experiences at TdD and TdA I would say the first thing to find is a huge work area, either a garage or pavillion, that has a cement floor and lots of lighting. It needs to be covered in case of rain and it needs a floor to keep sand and dirt out of the work area and in case a part or screw is dropped.

As far as the number of people attending, the more the merrier. Everyone who drives a cage and has it should bring a motorcycle lift and extra work lights.

Most of the problems addressed will be things discussed here on the board, tensioner levers, exhaust tweetys, engine and fork oil changes, brake maintenance etc.

At the Rallys, we rode all day and worked on the bikes till bed time.

get every attendee to bring lot's of spare oil, parts and tools. You can never have too many but too few can be a pita.

Good luck
MxTrail

[KLRsix5zero]

Dirt is ok, big pieces of spare carpet or tarps or something along those lines will work to keep things out of the dirt.

Lots of tools.

At least one set of tools for doohickey changes.

Oil disposal containers are important. in my experience, two or three pans work well with one or two storge containers to dump the smaller ones into cuz after one or two oil changes/drains, they get kinda full and spill easily.

Make sure you have grease. Wire and connectors for electrical work, never a bad idea to have a soldering iron hanging around. A big set of crescent wrenches or open ends big enough for axles and Rear end linkages.

Some Milk crates and some 2x4's or bigger to use as bike stands.

Some music. Sodas. Coffee & donuts. heh.... good luck...

Just roll with it... the more the merrier.

[Brad]

After doing about 5 or six of these here are some things I've learned.

Having paper plates or bowls for people to use to keep parts in order and out of the way makes everyone happy. Along with a bunch of paper towels.

Mark YOUR tools, I always just wrap some duct tape around my sockets and stuff to help keep track of them.

If you have only one person with experience to help out then 4 bikes is too many to keep everyone happy, a 1 to 3 ratio or less works best IMO.

Keep the bikes about 3' apart all the way around, lots of people moving around and easy to get in anothers way.

Spare tires make good lean to's if not enough walls or lifts to go around.

Spare woodruff keys, gaskets, chemicals and oil can come in real handy.

Having several sets of Mike's instructions copied or printed off eases the load on the "experts" and avoids confusion. And his phone numer is handy if needed.

At mine and DaveR's we gave away stuff just for showing up, from lightly used boots, tires, lowering links (just stuff I or Willi had around we didn't use) to led dash bulbs (which Dave bought for this purpose) etc. make a nice suprise and add a bit of fun.

Magnetic probes!

If someone rode in, he can ride out meaning don't let them try to go to far or have greater expectations for what can be done in 4-6 hours. I have had people look on this as a free service center and wanted everything from the lever replaced to valve adjust, swingarm lube, carb jetting, replace a tire and replace fork seals and springs. AND not do the work his self (you know who you are) I really suprised him and told him I will look over his shoulder and give advice and if he could get it all done before we left on a ride go for it but otherwise I was pushing his bike out of the shop to let him finish up. Or I would do it for him but he would be paying for it. He left pissed off and no work done to his bike. Guess he didn't want to pay my rate of $50 per hour plus shop supplies.

Have fun.

[Old_Six_Fitty]

I went to a couple. Here's a rough stab at the typical stuff you may need. Remember to get an RSVP from your invitees before the shindig, and let folks know what's in scope versus what's considered too much (no engine rebuilds, turbocharger installs, etc).


1. Printed instructions for all jobs you are gonna be hosting. Bike manuals help as well.
2. Phone info for technical backup and internet access PC for web help (for when you gotta call a friend).
3. 3x5 cards for each bike to record maint. valve specs, issues, mileage, etc. pen/pencil.
4. Familiarity with local auto parts houses, and emergency services, first aid kit, alternate solutions etc.
5. Catchment container for oil or fluids collection, spare containers for excess used oil (2.5 quarts per bike so plan ahead).
6. Bike lift, or solid steel milk crate to put bike on. Small roll around stool can help for the mechanic. Also a pair of the $5 kneepads from harbor freight have proved to be a wise investment for us more mature wrenchers.
7. Tools: standard metrics, end wrenched, socket sets (1/4", 3/8", and 1/2"), doohickey tools, pliers, screwdrivers, torque wrenches, crescent wrench or two, vice grips, hammer, mallet, few wood blocks, punch, etc.
8. Special tools:
• small jewelers screwdriver for lifting up valve shims.
• needle nose pliers for grabbing little pieces that slip away from you
• narrow magnetic pickup tool to fish through the sump for missing parts
• doohickey tools (rotor puller bolt and big ol' wrench)
• Cordless drill w/ 1/4" drive adapter for spinning off case screws. 8mm socket to go with (pref 6pt deep). BIG time saver
• Feeler gauge, pref metric, with lotsa range for the .05mm – 0.35mm range)
• Shims
• Tire irons and compressed air if doing tires
9. Disposable materials:
• Oil and filters for servicing KLRs,
• Fork oil or ATF, if doing springs or changing fluid
• Coolant if you will be doing the oil screen clean out or servicing the water-pump, also gaskets and seals, o-rings
• Grease for repacking bearings (wheels, steering head or swingarms)
• Locktite,
• Antiseize compound,
• Dielectric tuneup grease (for electrical connectors and spark plug socket)
• Cleaning solvent, (WD40)
• Chain lube,
• Cable lube.
• Rags, paper towels, oil-sorb or cat litter
• hand cleaner,
• Spray on brake cleaner (much better than carb cleaner –which is very bad for rubber/plastic parts).
10. Extras:
• ¼” plastic Ts for doing the T-mod (autoparts store)
• ¼” fuel line to replace any old stuff
• Distilled water for topping off the battery
• Rubber plugs for closing off airbox and some auto grade rubber cement (decalifornication)
11. Paper pad & pen for sign-in sheet, get riders name and email addy
12. Coffee, donuts, sodas, snacks
13. Digital camera for documenting the festivities

Double check with the FAQ and the marknet how tos, just to be sure you got the necessary tools and materials.

Good luck, and post some digi pics!

[ZRod]

I hope many listen to Brad's advise on this.
It's supposed to be fun and not a stressful attempt to get maintanence done that's been neglected.
I've witnessed the Demandin Dude too, with expectations that everything gets done for him.
It's so cool to step by step through the procedures, so well documented,with our Bros, not afraid to do thier own work and see the satisfaction afterwords.
I'm not gonna qualify as a Guru but look forward to helpin many of our Bros in the future.
Tech sessions are a Hoot when organized properly!
Rod

[Tumbleweed]

I've attended three with TOBJ and Larryboy Hosting.

For the first one EagleMike and Marc attended which made it a truly great learning experience.

Good advice given so far.

for the first one, I'd suggest keeping it simple and not expecting too much.

Definitely make it understood that everyone does their own wrenching and is responsible for the condition of their bike.

When I help, it's just that, they hold the tools for the most part.

Having a max ratio of 1 to 3 for knowledge to jobs being done is excellent any more and it's tough to keep up.

Some of the work is a lot easier with a second set of hands to help align things, like swing arm maintenance and such,a nd some folks will show up just to help and learn, then return home to work on their own machines later.

For Balancer lever jobs or anything else, having access to this forum for questions, and maybe even giving Eagle Mike a heads up of your event will have him prepared to take a call or to.

If you are going to provide some supplies, or snacks, don't be afraid to put out a donation can.

Most of all, enjoy yourselfs.

It's a lot of fun wrenching and telling stories.

TW

[ZRod]

Sometimes a thread question contributes a bunch to many.
Thanks Kruz, I'm thinkin this is one of those.
I'm certain the benefits from all the comments from our Bros will make our tech sessions across the world, much more productive and fun.
After all, that's the Prime Directive,
Rod

[Curtis]

We've done several here at my shop and it has been a learning experience for me as well. Although I can do most of the bike work myself I've had to set a goal for myself to hold back and let each owner do his own work. We tell all of them during the planning stages that We will be happy to talk them through the wrenching and even get them through the hard stuff, like putting the stator back on without knocking the woodruff key into the crankcase. But everyone is expected to learn how to work on their own bikes. That way they won't need to take them to a Dealership for those minor maintenance duties. Should you get one of those all thumbs types, you know the ones who want free maintenance, while they watch, I suggest you either make them wait until everyone else is done or show them you hourly shop rates, if they want you to DO IT FOR THEM. Me, I got enough projects of my own to do with out adding someone elses to my precious free time.

The list of things so far is right on. So I won't expound on that anymore.
Just try to have it at as big a place as you can get. Try not to bite off too much. One thing we always found out, was we ran late with our wrenching and all got hungry. We have a little burger joint near me that has the best burgers. Seems to be a favorite place to eat. It has a twisty 6 miles of back roads through the Country to get to and everyone enjoys the ride. But, you gotta get all the bikes back together before everyone can head out for lunch together.
I would suggest having something delivered to snack on. Drinks enough for everyone 2 times. Oh, be sure to have a designated bathroom your guest can use, that can stand to get grease on. Plenty of hand cleaner and paper towels at the ready.
A small group of five or six is best if you've got another good wrencher to help with the instructions. Like it was said, about three to one is a fair ratio.
So far we've started out planning to concentrate on one particular maintenance procedure each session. Although you can't always be limited to just that one, you can get a lot more done if everyone is working on the same items. We have done this with some success and find that putting on everyones bash plates on last and all at once helps keep the tools from getting too spread out. Envariably you end up doing other fixes, but mostly sticking to say "a tensioners day" or "a valves day" will make things go faster. Make sure everyone understands you are only supplying the space and knowlege, and guidance, not the parts to fix their bikes.
Someone wants to do valves, have them bring their own shims. At least that way they can mix and match with others for the right sizes.

Best O luck.
I've really enjoyed having them out here at my place.
Met some great people.

Curtis