NEW MEMBERS - Read this - I'm sorry, but c'mon people.

[Wolfie]

I been doin this shit for over 40 years, and I still listen and learn.

[DreadRock]

Have to say spot on mike ! Think my story is the same as everyones ! When i first got here i knew bikes but didnt know building bikes . So im sure i asked ALOT of dumb things and didnt always get what i was being told but still tried to figure it out . So after trying this or that and asking this or that i slowly figured things out i thought . There are things i would do diff now but thats because i took the time to lisen and learn from people here and other places.
  Anyone that asks me about my bike i always tell them it was build not just by me but by people that knew things i didnt and if it wasnt for them i wouldnt be where im at and learned the things i have . I truly believe this when i say it and thats " No one was born with the knowlege they learned it someplace " And " If you say you can't you wont - If you say you can you will " Believe in yourself !!!
  Now if we can just get Von to like Red bikes 

[VonYinzer]

Only your 500 Scott. Haha...

[Maritime]

You mean now if we can get Von to keep a bike longer than 30 seconds.....HA!

[bradj]

You mean now if we can get Von to keep a bike longer than 30 seconds.....HA!

i tried drawing shit all over two of them it didnt help

[Maritime]

Welcome to thunder dome......

[OJ]

All I know for sure is that I don't know much about bikes.

[DreadRock]

All I know for sure is that I don't know much about bikes.

Well its a start and you can only go up from there 

[hurley209]

mike, just want to say, that was the best rant ever. thanks.

[MotorbikeBruno]

mike, just want to say, that was the best rant ever. thanks.

+1

[Drewski]

Watch, listen and learn... great advice. 

Take a chance... try it yourself... also good advice. 

[pterodactyl]

I agree with the writings that have been written here!!!

[YogiBear]

First off, the phrase "fuck the haters". Ok, I get it. Sometimes people are dicks. Sometimes people will talk shit on your bike no matter what you do. Those people suck. But when folks spend their time to show concern about your safety, or point out a possible better way of doing things... That's far from hate. Why don't we stop acting like insolent children and listen? I know it sucks when you put your all into something and someone points out that it may not work. It's a bummer. But before you get all riled up and decide that the person telling you that there's an issue is an asshole, LISTEN for a minute. You might pick something up... I know I do overtime I let my brain do the thinking and not my ego.

I Like this especially, VonYinzer

[beachcomber]

I've been at this building lark [ bikes and cars] for over 50 years - 40 + of those years in a professional design / manufacturing capacity [ replica sports cars ].

I certainly don't know it all, and frequently have to ask others for advice / help, but I don't consider myself "dumb".

I can whip up a true spaceframe chassis design in a morning - but wouldn't even attempt to tack it together given my lack of welding skills.

To me a "Dumb" question is one in a situation that you've never come accross before - but to others may be matter of fact - to you it's a valid question - to them it's "dumb".

"Explain the theory of relativity young Beachcomber" - a question from my science tutor 50 odd years ago ..........."How the fuck do I know", was the instantaneous response.

Ask the same question to some guy called Einstein and no doubt he'd have said "what a dumb question".

It's all a matter of your knowledge / experience level against someone else. 

When I was sixteen I managed to break a pushrod on my AJS 250 CSR. Simples, take the head off and replace offending item. There I sat outside my Dad's garage - but do you think that effin head would come off ? 

It appeared to be "stuck" - unlikely as the bike was only 3-4 years old, but I'd encountered a similar problem once before with an old Velo Racer where the steel studs had corroded against the alloy head. Several broken screwdrivers and a broken alloy fin later, I eventually I stopped a guy who lived around the corner and who rode a Black Shadow to ask for help / advice.

Within 2 minutes he discovered the internal nut that held the last fixing bewixt head and barrel. I suppose he could have thought I'd asked a dumb question - given the OBVIOUS answer, but he just spent the next 2 hours overseeing as I carried out the repair.

Now, when I'm stripping something down for the first time [ without the benefit of a manual ] I look for hidden / non-obvious fixings !

I'm also NOT embarrassed to ask questions, that may well appear dumb to those who know. Yes of course you can have a go yourself, and you may stumble accross the correct answer - then again , you might not ...............

The other day I asked the guy that does our plating - "Can we Gold passivate aluminium " - a dumb question ? He obviously knew because it's day to day business, but I'd never encountered the situation before. I now know the answer and will not have to ask such a "dumb" question again.

My point [ and probably the concencus ] is that the first time you ask the question, to all around it might appear dumb ............personally, I don't have to ask it again.

Is it maybe just the "level" of dumbness that offends ?? 

[Fix]

When I got my XS11 (my first bike that was really mine.) I knew nothing about bikes other than I wanted one.  Everything I know about my bike, and bikes in general, has been through forums, websites, youtube, and manuals. I learn about my bike by working on my bike, and asking questions.

The only thing I'd consider dumb would be NOT asking if you don't know.