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Maintenance key to keeping bike running
By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published October 25, 2009
BACLIFF — If he could, Donnie Kennedy would make failing to maintain a motorcycle a crime.
The biggest criminal act of bike owners?
Letting their bikes sit too long between runs on the road. The fuel in the tank “turns to varnish,” Kennedy, 46, said. The motorcycle’s fuel system clogs up.
“I call it motorcycle abuse, and it is a crime,” the veteran mechanic said. “If you let your bike sit for more than two days, it’s not good and it is motorcycle abuse.”
The Galveston native is the chief mechanic for Xtreme Texas Choppers in Bacliff. He started working on bikes when he was 11 and eventually turned his joy into a job.
He has a degree from the Harley-Davidson School, a mechanical training program operated by the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute that is authorized by the Milwaukee-based motorcycle company.
During the winter, weekend riders tend to put their bikes in the garage. Come spring, Kennedy is a busy man.
“It’s all the same problem,” he said. “People leave the bikes sitting too long, and the fuel systems are a mess. If you don’t have a fuel stabilizer in your tank, it can cause real trouble.”
Kennedy said there’s no secret to keeping your motor running. In fact, the best way to avoid maintenance problems is to ride often.
“It’s good for your bike, and it’s good for you, too,” he said. “It eases your mind. It’s like a therapeutic thing.”
Kennedy does more than just fix bikes that people have left sitting too long. One of his projects is rebuilding Anthony Saracco’s 1990 Harley-Davidson Sportster, which wound up under water when Hurricane Ike flooded Saracco’s residence.
Piece-by-piece, Kennedy took Saracco’s bike apart. Kennedy has been working for more than a year to rebuild it.
“I do that one on my off hours, late at night and on weekends,” Kennedy said. “That’s my baby right now.”
He skips the fun of the Lone Star Rally in Galveston so that he can help bike owners who run into problems.
“I’m basically the only mechanic on duty during that weekend because everyone else goes to the party,” he said. “I must have had 20 calls last year on Sunday alone.”
While he complains about people who don’t take proper care of their bikes, he also knows people like that keep him busy.
“I am living my dream,” Kennedy said. “This is the job to have.”
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Bike maintenance tips
A motorcycle needs a strict routine of inspections and maintenance. To avoid costly breakdowns here’s a list of basic items on your ride to check on regularly.
Tires
Battery
Oil
Brake fluid (front and back reservoirs)
Chain and sprocket
Fuel (add fuel stabilizer if bike will sit longer than two days between rides)
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