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How much should I learn about my bike

Something I didn't see mentioned was the more you know what's going on with the bike, the more comfortable you will feel taking it in for service. Even if you never do anything yourself, you'll have a better appreciation for what needs to be done, and less likely to feel that you're being ripped off for stuff you don't need. As someone said, "knowledge is power."
 
I like knowing my bike as a way of being able to get myself out of a jam or breakdown away from home. Know that if you get a flat, you've got tools on board to plug the tire, inflate and limp it home. Know that if your alternator starts heading south, know what that is and what to do. If you're reading 11.8v, you know your alternator is not charging. Had this happen on my old metric about 60mi from the house. Knew that I could pull relays that powered the headlight, running lights, tail lights, and lessen the load on the battery. Pulled those and made it home. But I also knew that w/ my riding buddies, we could swap batteries if necessary. I could install their charged batt - they could install my failing battery and with their charging system recharging my battery, and me running on their fresh battery..I could get on down the road a bit further. Carry some m/c jumper cables and know that I can hook that up to a car battery and with the car not running, I can jump-start my bike. Stuff like that I like knowing in event I get stranded. But the only way you know stuff like that, is to get to know your bike on a personal level.
 
Dr. Dolittle said:
You sure about that? Usually the extended warranty includes the factory warranty period so you're actually getting an additional 3 years above and beyond the 2 year factory warranty when you purchase a 5 year extended warranty.
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I read that on this forum before my purchase and made it a point to ask. Expiration date on warr. says 2017
 
Learn as much as you can and when in doubt, this forum's "Self Help Tips" along with reader input will get you through just about any job at hand. Not to mention, doing your own work means it's done right, you've educated yourself and most likely had a beer!
 
If you buy the manuals and hang round here you can learn about all you need to know and if we cant help we will find some one who can:s
 
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