May 14, 2018, 09:09 AM

I think back to what it was like 50 or so years ago. To ride meant you were forced by necessity to be competent in the maintenance of your machine. Until the Japanese got into the game in the 70's, every motorcycle out there was mechanically unsound and needed continuous attention.

Plus the machines were simple enough that a man with a halfway decent assortment of basic hand tools could perform any operation necessary in his garage. For guys riding HD's, almost everything on the bike was rider-serviceable. Add a hydraulic press to your garage, and you could almost do everything.

Today's machines are fundamentally different. When you roll a new bike off the lot, you expect it to operate more or less flawlessly for 100k miles. And if you don't **** it up, it probably will.

"Wrenching" doesn't mean what it used to mean.

Time was, "wrenching" meant something like solving a no-start problem, curing some horrible mechanical noise inside the motor, or repairing a catastrophic failure. Today, "wrenching" means bolting on some pipes or other doodads, or maybe changing fluids or brake pads. Go out to your garage, press the button, and your 2018 turns over vigorously but doesn't start? Good luck. Tow it to the dealer and plug it into the computer, identify the gizmo no longer holding it's smoke, replace, and on your way.

Its a totally different world. For the most part, the same digital technology that makes contemporary bikes so complex has also been used to deliver precision in manufacturing unheard of a couple of generations ago. Every new engine in every new vehicle sold in 2018 comes "balanced and blueprinted" from the factory to a level that the most competent hotrod shop circa 1963 could only dream of. Not to mention the dramatic improvements in metallurgy over the same time frame. Getting 100k miles out of a car used to really be something. Today, anything less than 250k (and without EVER doing any internal engine work) is a disappointment.

I don't have a new bike, but if I did, I doubt I'd ever lay a wrench to it. Maybe change the fluids. But that's it.

What's the point?

There seems to be a longing for the old-school ways, but today's bikes don't require it. Push the button and go.