What's the worst maintenance you've seen someone do or not do on a bike

[Shoopman303]

My cousin never washes his bike. After we got from a hare scramble first thing I did was wash change oil and clean and oil the filter. He just put it in the garage I decided to wash it for him like two weeks later.

[zotis777]

My cousin never washes his bike. After we got from a hare scramble first thing I did was wash change oil and clean and oil the filter. He just put it in the garage I decided to wash it for him like two weeks later.

 

i have friends like that and just helping them sucks, you try and help wash their bike but the dirts like part of the aluminum, and their like "oh whatever another day ill come get all that stuff" then i end up soda blasting their hubs & swingarm and crap when they wanna sell their bike, but they cant get any buyers with it so dirty

[MustardTiger250]

bought my kx with shot tires, rear spokes, chain and sprockets, battered expansion chamber, air filter black with coal dust, every bearing dried up and junk, cracked and broken plastics, broken levers, grips barely still hanging onto the bars, and coal dust and grease in every nook and cranny of the bike. he beat the piss out of it and never cleaned or maintained it. but somehow he was able to buy a $90 boyesen crank case cover and gripper seat. the engine was rock solid despite all of the wear and tear on the rest of the bike.

[guesscrazy]

My first bike was a 77 Yamaha mx175.  I put untold thousands of miles on it. When the chain would break we would put another master link in it. It probably had 5 master links.  We were poor old county boys that were 40 miles from a dealer for parts. The chain broke on a jump and bound up between the case and sprocket. Got my first experience at splitting cases and fixing the tranny.

[LovingOffroadPain]

In high school I knew some motocrossers, one of which had a '97 YZ 250. That bike was so neglected that over time they had to get a handheld sledge to pound the rest axle out.. and when it came loose, it was rusted through. Not surface rust, it was corroded through the axle.

How does that happen?!?! He rode on bald tires bc oh, we can't remove the rear wheel it's jammed.... guess I'll ride'r as is.

Now in all fairness to the owner, the axle rusting didn't happen on his watch.... the previous owner let that happen. But after buying the bike it took him a year to reach out for help.

He didn't ride more than a few years and sold out.

[DR.billZ]

Neighbor purports to be Mr mechanic. I went over to help him change fork seals. Went to take fork cap off beating the wrench with a hammer...

[sickpuppy]

You have to wonder about maintenance from guys who say things like "I just wanna ride", my suggestion to them is buy a china bike, they break down fast and early, so you don't have to push that 400lbs 250 far to get home.

Edited April 8, 2015 by sickpuppy

[braap105]

few years ago we bought a 2001 or 2002 yz250f from someone at a local motocross track that was supposedly "blown up". Kick starter was locked and wouldn't turnover. (It had black excel rims and hole shot device and other misc part that i wanted to use on my current bike.)

 

Or course got it for pretty cheap. Ended up taking it home and wanted to tear apart the motor to see what was wrong. Well first thing we do is drain the oil... 5 &%$#@!ING Quarts come out! it was only supposed to have 1 or so quarts int it.  After that we put the a fresh quart of oil in it and ended up running just fine! swapped parts that I wanted off it, then sold the bike. 

 

Its amazing how stupid can be sometimes.

[MSFIT]

Last two bikes I bought had drain plug crush washers that were mushroomed over the head and stuck on the threads. 

 

One of them had just about pulled the threads out of the case, so much so that I was able to pull the threads out with a dental pick. Helicoiled it and moved on.

[motoxvet]

I bought a bike (yes, off of CL) that the PO let the battery freeze.  When he discovered that, he took all the broken pieces of the battery case...and tried to GLUE them back together.  The bike was only a parts donor and I  didn't pay much for it. 

[Ryino]

Guy I ride with once a year brags about how good his maintenance is.. last time he cleaned his air filter was 4 years ago.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Ryino

[wolverine_05_]

This is my uncle's and cousin's bike next to my KTM. We went riding 1 week ago and theirs have been sitting in my shed looking like this.

[motoxvet]

This is my uncle's and cousin's bike next to my KTM. We went riding 1 week ago and theirs have been sitting in my shed looking like this. 📎ImageUploadedByThumper Talk1428531662.640422.jpg📎ImageUploadedByThumper Talk1428531676.028179.jpg

They give new meaning to the words "DIRT bike".

[Suzuko]

Have a friend who got a yz 85 from a guy, who never took care of it, when he got it rode for about a month or more and never checked air filter. So I had him come ride and I checked it for him air filter never been checked before. Air filter was complet mush. He never take a care of his bikes it makes me sick and angry. My buds d

ad bought 120 dollar graphics for the Yz 85 he put them on himself and put front fender graphic on back and all the graphics are starting to peel off. Those graphics won't last a 2 years. My buds dad cleaned the air filter and when he cleaned it he just cleaned with gas then stuck right back in the bike while still wet. My friend doesn't know how to take care of a dirt bike because of his dad. My dad and brothers always taught me how to do the right job.

[M1Garand]

Friend had a 2001 cr250, I don't recall him doing any maintence at all for years, bike ran like a champ, he eventually sold it fearing it was on its last leg. Now he regrets selling it and the neglect which inspired the sale, yep, young and foolish.

Almost purchased a xr200/ cr125 conversion on Craigslist, looking closely at the carb area, there was no air filter and the back of the carb was all open.

I inquired about the absence of an air filter thinking he had it off while cleaning. He goes on to say he's been running it without a filter for a few months it runs great and it doesn't need one. I started writing a long reply to his unbelievable response, then I just deleted it and replied with, I'll pass, thank you.

[Tahoeshred]

I guess I would have to say.................When you buy a Brand spanking new Bike (especially Yamaha) and you have to take it all apart to lube all the bearings.

The steering head bearings look like somebody just put a little grease on their finger an just Dabbed it on the bearing in one spot and sometimes the grease isnt even on the bearing,Its on the side of the post about an inch an a half up from the bearing on the steering post.

You would think the factory could put some grease on a bearing. They must have shortage of it over sea's

[drumiv]

I just bought my first thumper, a '07 CRF450R. The guy said he changed the oil every ride using Motol 300, lubed everything, ect. I figure if he's that anal about it, using $63 a bottle oil, should be good to go, right. I buy it, get it home and start looking at stuff after it won't start. I check the air filter; it looks like it has never been cleaned! It took 2 cleanings just to be able to see it was a Twin Air. The valves were toast. After a new head/valve install, a $1000 lesson learned.

[Big Ron L]

one of my best friends used to ride a dr 400 which he bought new. he would change the oil once a year at most and never cleaned the air filter. his taillight broke so he duct taped a taillight from some mid 70s honda cruiser on his bike. it was missing a radiator shroud and most of the plastics on the bike had duct tape holding it together. his handle bars were severely bent because he constantly crashed. the bike lasted 10 years before the motor blew. i never understood why he did'nt do basic maintence he was mechanicaly inclined. hes also the cheapest guy i've ever met. we were going riding one day, he had a new pair of boots he never wore. when we parked he found an old nasty pair of boots and pants, tried them on then sent his new boots back and got a refund. he doesnt ride anymore, its a shame cuz hes a talented rider and fun to be around.

[Still Bill]

Changed the oil on a TTR125 - well, at least I drained out the old oil.  Sort of forgot to put new oil in.

[Beau 88]

I know you can't choose your neighbors, but you can choose who you ride with. I suspect someday soon this guy will totally ruin that weekend trip. Unless you just leave him a gazillion miles from nowhere, which is exactly what I would do. No, not really, I would chose my riding partners more carefully.

Mike

See ya' . Fix yo' junk  ! ?

Edited April 10, 2015 by Beau 88