By Jeff Pamer
I have two old bikes and one new bike. Old bikes have their setbacks to be sure. I mean, one of mine still doesn’t run quite right, and I work on it all the time. I’m no stranger to the challenges. Here’s the thing though, they both have these little compartments designed into the bike. In those compartments are wonderful things, tool kits. Tool kits with everything someone would need to do basic maintenance on the bike. Some companies still have some tools that come with the bikes. From all I have found, it consists of little more than a cheap wrench and an Allen Key. If others have found a better kit on their newer bike, please share. This doesn’t seem to be the norm.
To hammer the point home, recently I got on my Triumph, and I noticed a little wrench on my digital display that wasn’t there before. When I got home and looked it up in the manual the bike came with, it was letting me know that a service interval had arrived. Ok, no problem, like my Jeep telling me that I need an oil change. Cool. I called up the Triumph shop to order oil, a filter, and a new battery. When I asked about clearing the wrench, I was told that they would need to do that. I researched it after, and sure as shit, the dealer had to clear the code with a special tool. My Jeep has some dance you need to do, hitting the gas pedal twice and the horn three times, and the oil change light turns off. Not with the Triumph. I need to pay the dealer $85 to turn it off, even if I change the oil.
When and why did this happen? It wasn’t that long ago that basic maintenance was encouraged by the manufacturers, and now there are warnings to not. How did we use to do our bike maintenance, and now we need to pay the dealer to turn a wrench off? Did we stop wanting to do it, or was there more of a diabolical money-making effort behind the change?
I’m not bashing Triumph. I love my bike and would buy it again. I also am only calling them out because I have one. Most of the major brands have moved in this direction. The reasoning behind this shift is not something that the manufacturers are transparent about, so all we can do is guess. Knowing what I do of big companies and how they work, I don’t think it a stretch to say it’s not only cost-cutting but also generates post-purchase income for the length of time that you own your bike. Why allow and encourage your customers to do the maintenance themselves when it’s easier to make the product too hard to work on? To work on new bikes, the dealer has specialized tools that we can’t buy. There is also a fear factor that we made this big investment, so we shouldn’t risk breaking it wrenching in our garage.
The reasons that we don’t get the kits now are long and also would have me delve deep into current economic conditions that push companies to make more money off of us. Some are for their survival, and some situations are more insidious, bleeding us dry. I am no expert but would love a discussion.
I would rather celebrate what we had, and what you can still have. My 81 Honda and 86 Yamaha both came with tool kids that would allow you to fix an issue on the road and also do general maintenance yourself. Did I say general maintenance, sorry I meant you could disassemble and reassemble half of the bike with the kit. Rolled up in a compartment behind the side cover of the Honda is a vast set of tools, and under neither the Yamaha has an equally impressive set.
These sets include multiple-sized wrenches, plyers, multi-screwdriver sets, sockets, drivers, and even a feeler gauge for the disk brakes. These kits gave you a sense of confidence with them. I sense that the company you bought your bike from wanted you to take full ownership of it. By buying your new Honda 750, the Honda Motor Company was passing the torch or ownership to you. You were now in charge of keeping the bike on the road. To know your new bike better as the months and years went on. The miles would go by and you would keep up with the maintenance. It would start easy too. First up was the oil needs to be changed. The manual would let you know how to do it, and if you didn’t have any tools the bike came with everything you would need. Once the oil change is done, your understanding of your bike increases along with your confidence working on it. As the miles continued to go on, the chain would need to be adjusted, perhaps you’d tackle that too. You could if you wanted to. If you got a flat, the wheels could be removed to repair.
There of course would be a place where your confidence or want would find you at the dealership for a pro to do the work, and I’m sure a lot of rides back then would even do their oil changes at the dealer. I don’t think doing everything yourself was the point as much as your bike giving you the freedom to choose.
If you did choose to do your maintenance, there were resources to help. Not like today mind you with the internet, but there were manuals to be bought and tools to be ordered. You could buy a new Yamaha and three years later be tackling a carburetor cleaning if you wanted to. You felt empowered to do it too.
Just that little roll of tools hidden on your new bike would give you everything you need to start. That doesn’t need to be in the past for you. If you wanted, you could start on the same journey now in 2025. Go and buy an old bike from the ’60s, ’70s, or early 80’s. Check and see if that tool kit is still there. Jump online or buy a manual. Start a journey of fixing your stuff. It used to be normal, and it can be for you too.
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