[Beijing] DIY maintenance garage for clueless person

[plorf]

Hi all

I bought a little Jialing custom bike recently, not what I'd call a proper motorbike but it's still fun riding it around Beijing, and it saves me lots of time commuting to work. Now I've been riding (much bigger) bikes for more than a decade but have never done any maintenance work myself, and my mechanical knowledge is embarrasingly limited.

But I'd like to change that, and since my Chinese is still rather basic I want to ask people here if anyone has a garage in Beijing, does some work on his bike(s) and would teach me the basics of bike maintenance? I don't expect you to do that for free, I could either pay for using the garage and learning a few tricks, or I could help with any bike projects, I don't mind getting my hands dirty and have used a screwdriver before.

All replies appreciated.
Cheers

Simon

[ZMC888]

You're in luck! I'm not sure about Beijing, but where I am the mechanics are pretty happy to have customers and sell parts so you could easily learn from them for free if they aren't too busy, unlike the west were the mechanics workshop is a place of mystery.

On the other hand the vast majority of Chinese motorcycle mechanics are barely competent by western standards, even at basic maintenance, as the best mechanics end up working on cars or in factories or for themselves. You are looking for a small independent mechanic. Ownership of a tire pressure gauge, torque wrench or at best ECU reader will mean the mechanic is highly competent by local standards. A few (10-20) grubby tools especially without a socket set of any kind will probably indicate your next door neighbor back home is likely streets ahead of this guy.

If you learn what they are doing from watching and asking questions (if your Chinese is good enough) and back this up with best practice from reading up on the web you'll learn a lot very quickly. Start out with chains, then brakes etc

I'm not a mechanic but I've learnt to assemble a mountain bike from the ground-up in the last few years and am gaining knowledge about motorcycles all the time.

[plorf]

Good point about the local mechanics, but my issue is indeed my lack of Chinese skills, and the local mechanic in my neighbourhood has been quite busy the times I've been. So not ideal to spend half an afternoon tinkering with the bike.

And as you've said, the work they do seems rather hands on and experimental, which is fine for a slower, old bike but not the kind of work I'd want to do with a racing bike back home.

[ZMC888]

It's amazing what you can learn from online tutorials these days, and apply that at a mechanics shop by doing your own work. If you go wrong the mechanic can bail you out. When you feel confident doing a particular task you can buy your own tools and do it at home.

[Lao Jia Hou]

We may have what your looking for, just not immediately.

We had just finished renovating a 300 sq meter clubhouse, with an extensive workshop area ... then government came along a couple of weeks ago and kicked us out (2 days notice) so it could demolish the building. We had a 3 year lease. Sigh. A few hundred grand down the toilet. TIC.

I have another, larger, shop in the Super Car Center (G1 & East 5th ring road), and am trying to rent the next door space to focus on bikes. I'm also looking for comfortable clubhouse space in the Western mountains (or perhaps Pinggu).

Wherever us nomads end up, we have multiple lifts, proper tire changers/balancers, air compressors, proper tools (yes, including various sized torque wrenches!), and will be bringing a dyno in. It is definitely NOT a commercial shop, rather a non-profit club (or, much more accurately, a lose-our-shirt club). A couple of guys are genuine foreign mechanics whose knowledge can be tapped for a mere burger & beer. If any of us wanted to make money, we sure as hell wouldn't be doing it in China with motorcycles.

Once life gets back to normal, I'll post more details.

A DIY shop is sadly lacking in Beijing. There are a few decent commercial shops around town, but I am not sure how open they are to having people watching over their shoulder, or adding an extra set of thumbs. I've heard Blackbridge is good but I've never had personal experience with it. Hint: if you see any CJs out front (or even hidden in the back) ... move on.

In the interim, as ZMC888 suggests, get a decent set of tools (go to the market just West of IKEA, along the North 4th Ring Road) and give it a try using info off the web. Right now, in my opinion, you will need some decent washing equipment, some fuel stabilizer, oil change equipment, etc ... to set your bike up for storage. It is getting cold, cold, cold in Beijing.

[euphonius]

We had just finished renovating a 300 sq meter clubhouse, with an extensive workshop area ... then government came along a couple of weeks ago and kicked us out (2 days notice) so it could demolish the building. We had a 3 year lease. Sigh. A few hundred grand down the toilet. TIC.

Holy shit. I mean. HOLY FREAKING SHIT!

Damn, I admire your perseverance, LJH.

euphonius

[Lao Jia Hou]

Holy shit. I mean. HOLY FREAKING SHIT!

Damn, I admire your perseverance, LJH.

euphonius

Cheers Mr Euph. Yeah, another BCD (Bad China Day). The longer I am here, the more "Chinese" I become. For example, I am now dreaming of emigrating to a western country.

Oh, wait, I have a foreign passport! Never mind.

[bikerdoc]

Sorry to read of the situation and circumstances there LJH. Just this past Monday, opposite the hospital, a village (one of the few left in this town which had been targeted as being for removal for the past 6-7 years) where demolition has been removing building after building this past year, there must of been an incident of some sort. A front end loader and digger machine were in amongst smashed dwellings with a few walls and a couple of solitary buildings around in the vacinity. A van load of the special police (wearing black uniforms) had just emptied out and were walking the narrow road way towards this location where the machines sat with their operators. I was riding through in the opposite direction on my Burgman650 and navigating the few pedistrians and a couple of eBikes etc., so didn't look to see what the fuss may have been about. Likely some forced eviction or some such.
There weren't any big crowds or obvious signs of discontent going on. So nothing obvious.

But planning of this kind had been known for ages. I was told about it when I first started employment at this hospital 8 years ago. Even a few of the hospital staff members lived in the community, and had been expecting this long before now, and by all accounts rubbing their hands together for the payout etc. Seemingly couldn't come fast enough, at least for these few.

[bikerdoc]

Cheers Mr Euph. Yeah, another BCD (Bad China Day). The longer I am here, the more "Chinese" I become. For example, I am now dreaming of emigrating to a western country.

Oh, wait, I have a foreign passport! Never mind.

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