More praise for Matt and OMC.
I did the course on the 29th and it was a good intro course in maintaining a bike and making sure everything is in place. It was all very relaxed and easy going.
This course would also be useful for anyone buying a second hand bike as it provides a good understanding off what to look for before taking a bike for a test ride and what small problems to keep an eye out for that could become much bigger problems etc.
Would you say this course will teach you how to do a service. IE. Change oil, oil filter, spark plugs, brake pads, tighten chain, etc. Like all the basic things.
+1
The course is not so much aimed at doing a full service it was more about ensuring that your bike would pass it’s MOT and what to look out for regularly. It didn’t cover changing spark plugs but everything else was covered including :
Inspecting suspension, forks and seals for any signs of fluid leakage, an example of what the fluid leakage looks like on a bike
Brakes, how they work, how to check the pads, the fluid etc, what worn pads look like, what anomalies in the pads could mean regarding the alignment of the brakes, the wheels etc.
How to inspect and clean the chain and how often, how to examine the sprockets for any damage etc.
Inspecting and checking cables for trailing, how to adjust etc
Electrics what to inspect and how to do it, what would cause an MOT fail etc
Checking the bearings, what damaged bearings look like.
The course is only 3 hours long so a lot of it was demo-ing things and talking through what you would do to fix the problems etc it is an overview course as opposed to a very detailed course.
The big benefit for me was seeing things, like what worn break pads looked like, what worn sprocket looks like, how the bearings worked, how to tighten the chain etc. For example before the course I knew I should check my chain regularly but after the course I knew exactly how to check it, I had seen broken links, fuzzed links, a warped chain etc (I also realised I had been oiling my chain incorrectly from day one). Matt also pointed out a few things to check that I wouldn’t even off thought off. All in all the course made me far more comfortable inspecting my own bike, doing some of the smaller things and watching out for those little things that could lead to an accident or spending a small fortune to repair later on. Hope that answers your questions gents. It would be great if Matt and OMC could build up a series of these courses that build on each other. I think Matt said he was hoping to do this in the new year.
Thanks for your reply woolberto. Very helpful 
We had fun too and there were complimentary biscuits.
+1 good visual theory i would call it!
Next course is on the 31st January…
Is this the same one that I did last time? Is there going to be one where we change oil filters soon?
The courses probably wont ever cover how to change an oil filter,an air filter, or spark plugs. This is because the only knowledge you need for that sort of stuff is how to read (any Haynes manual will show you how). Our courses are laid out to teach you the stuff that cant be read in a book. observations on components, feel (how to asses bearings, how a feeler gauge feels when it slides against a cam when the clearance is correct) etc. With most modern bikes, changing the oil and the filter, while very easy to do, usually makes very little (if any) difference to the feel and performance of the bike, but this is what most people consider a service to be, simply changing fluids and filters. its all the other stuff that goes into a service that makes a bike feel better/different to how it was before. So, this is the stuff we cover in our courses as it is the stuff that most people will benefit from the most.
Hi matt,
I think I best sign up for that as I’m prob making a few basic errors using car logic etc. how do I sign up or do we just turn up?
Thx
Kulj
Hi Kulj,
If you phone us (020-7720-3621) we can book you in for the 31st Jan, but don’t delay as the spaces are filling up.
