Sorry in advance, I gotta vent. My Dad was a master mechanic who was born
in 1913 on a farm where he worked on steam engines, then tractors, then
cars, then got into refrigeration, then heating and cooling technology, then
power generators that were V8's the size of house. In all areas he could
adjust his skills to the technology at hand. When I got into motorcycles in
the late 60's he had no problem working on two-stroke and four-stroke
Japanese bikes. When I got my '70 GT6 he could tune the Strombergs no
problem. I watched, tried to learn, and hoped to pick up some of his skill.
He's gone now and I'm more cluts than mechanic. When I tackle a job I'll
drop a one-of-kind nut where it can't be retrieved, or cross thread a bolt,
even though he taught to me to always thread bolts with gentle hands and
care, or I'll find a nut or bolt that I can't remove and the next thing I
know the heads round.
Now when these things happen I end up taking my work to a local shop,
Gasoline Alley, where an Irainian and few college town hanger-oners will
still work on Triumphs. I rarely see the same faces twice except the
Iranian owner but invariably they hack and poke and twist and grunt and say,
OK, good as new, that'll be two hundred dollars.
This is so frustrating. But I'll tell you what, this list-group has helped
alot.
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