Jack of all trades…
…but a master of none.
That’s a phrase I’ve heard, pretty much all my life. When I was a young boy, I asked my dad what that meant and he explained it to me like this- it’s when someone can do a lot of things, but can’t do any of them really well. With such a simple explanation of the phrase, to my adolescent ears, it sounded like an insult. As I grew older though, my thoughts on the matter changed. As I entered adulthood, got married and had kids, I realized that I had to learn how to do a lot of different things over the years. Things that a blue-collar, working class guy supporting a family on a single income didn’t have the option to call, and pay, an “expert” to do. Things like, maintaining and repairing my own car, doing plumbing work, doing basic electrical repairs, repairing sheetrock, doing small engine repair, fixing appliances, and basically everything else that comes along in order to keep the “family machine” going.
Necessity
If necessity is the mother of invention, then adversity is the mother of innovation and poverty is the father of inspiration. We do what we must to keep moving forward. For example, when your washing machine takes a dump at 6 pm on a Sunday night, but you have to be at work at 7 am on Monday morning and your clothes are dirty, then not fixing that worn out Maytag becomes a top priority. When you only have $68 in your bank account to last until payday, then calling the Maytag repairman, who charges a minimum fee of $100 for a house call simply isn’t an option. It’s easy to become motivated to repair something when you are your own last hope. It’s also very easy to get inspired to do it, when your too broke to pay someone to do it for you.
Can-do, is more than an attitude
Having a “can-do” attitude is a great start, but the reality is that you do need to have a little more than just some confidence to make the repair. You also have to know, at least a little, about what it is you’re trying to do. If it’s repairing a washing machine, you should have a basic understanding of what makes it work, first. If you see that machine as a magic box that uses some otherworldly powers to get your clothes clean, then you’re probably going to struggle with grasping the concept of relays, switches, belts, drains and pumps. But, if you have a basic understanding of how it works and you can turn a wrench, then you’re probably going to be okay.
I’ve always had a good understanding of basic mechanical concepts, so it’s never been too complicated for me to open the “hood” and figure out what does what, and what isn’t doing what it’s supposed to be doing. Engines, for example, are my favorite to work on. They are simple- they only need compression, fuel and spark in order to run. Computers, by contrast, are basically the aforementioned magic boxes that use otherworldly powers to do what they do. I’ve never really grasped the concept of how they work. For example, why is it that the iPad I’m using to type this, seems to load, run and process significantly faster than the PC I used to use and, how is the “computer” in my iPhone so much more powerful than the Dell computer I had 20+ years ago? It’s not that I actually think it’s magic, but I don’t really understand how the components work together, so it’s basically a mystery to me.
Motorcycles
Motorcycles are intimate machines. For most of us that ride, we take personal pride in customizing our machines to suit our individual tastes. Some of us, take it even further, by doing most (if not all) of the work ourselves. When I bought my first Harley-Davidson motorcycle, I paid the dealership to do the first service on it and, to my shock, it was over $300! That was 15 years ago. After that, at the recommendation of a good friend and co-worker, I bought a service manual for my bike and never looked back. I still had to bring it in, a couple of times, for things that were outside of my ability (at the time), but for the most part, I did everything else myself.
Doing things like adding grips, mirrors, pegs and seats were simple enough, but doing things like brake jobs, tire changes and oil changes by myself were regarded as outlandish, by my more affluent friends. Going into more in-depth repairs like replacing clutches, fuel-injector replacements, stator replacements and wiring diagnostics and repair all seem to elicit responses like wide eyes and gasps of disbelief.
When I crashed the MotoWriter Dyna, I was faced with a decision- settle out with the insurance company and let them take the bike in return for a couple thousand dollars more, or take a lower settlement amount and keep the bike. Looking over my busted bike, I just couldn’t stand the thought of giving it up for a couple of thousand dollars, so I decided to take a chance and try to repair it myself. Initially, I had my doubts and was prepared to get a donor bike, just in case I needed it. While I was tearing it down, though… I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was in a lot better condition than I had initially thought. After a year on the lift, collecting parts and pieces that were damaged in the crash, and working on it a little at a time, I was finally able to get it back, better than before.
Master of none
While I’m no master mechanic and I’m no master paint and body guy, I’ve surprised myself at how well this thing has turned out. For full disclosure- the engine and drivetrain were not damaged in the crash, but to be fair… those are the two things that I would have been the most comfortable (and confident) in working on.
The paint turned out really nice, especially for a garage paint job using rattle-can color and clear coats. Now, I doubt that I would ever take on painting someone else’s bike (not without their full understanding that they would not get perfection in a free paint job), but I definitely wouldn’t shy away from doing another one for myself.
Just for fun, I had some packing materials from a new kitchen appliance laying around in my garage, that I thought might one day be useful for something, so I decided to take a chance and build a backrest pad for Mrs. MotoWriter, in case she decides to saddle up on the Street Bob with me. Once again, I surprised myself with how well it turned out (especially for the total cost of $2.74).
The Moral of this story
It’s simple- the moral of this story is that every expert in any field, was once an uneducated, inexperienced, layman.
We all start out as blank canvases, ready to learn and gain confidence in what we do by doing it, failing, and doing it again and again until we get it right. That isn’t how you get experience, that is experience.
So my message to you is this- get out there and, at the very least, try. If your washing machine, lawnmower, motorcycle, or, whatever, is broken… then do some research, get the tools, get the right parts and take your time to try to fix it yourself. The worst thing that can happen is that it’s still broken when you’re done… but the best thing that can happen is that you will gain the confidence, and feel the pride, of knowing that you did it… you fixed the mower, you painted the gas tank, you built a backrest out of, what was essentially, trash. Heck, you never know, you might just even get inspired to do more, or maybe even find that you like doing something else and want to follow that passion into your next career, or adventure, in life… and how frickin’ cool would that be?
Until next time, MotoReaders…
Ride safe and try to fix what you break!
Here’s a few photos of my latest little “try” projects:
