Bike mechanics books
 

Hi!
I'm going on a Cape Town - London trip in January 2003 hopefully on a XT500. I was planning on doing a bikes mechanics course before I go but that seems a bit difficult with the time I've got left and the fact that I've just got a job. I'm already planning on buying Chris Schott's Adventure motorbiking book but does anyone know a good book which teaches beginners bike mechanics? I still haven't got my licence and know NOTHING about bikes. I would be very grateful for any suggestions. Cheers,
Jasper

Basic servicing is easy to do yourself, and a Haynes or Clymer manual should cover all this for you. ( Many libraries have them )
If your bike is new, or you KNOW it's been well looked after, then you should not have any problems with the engine for many, many miles. Corrosion is the killer of electrics and bodywork, so any rides in the rain and you should clean and dry the bike.
I guess a lot depends on how far off the beaten track you are going ( the further you go, the more you should know about repairs ) BUT, as I've often said, even a mechanic is lost in the Sahara without the correct tools or parts - and you can't take a whole bike along as spares!!
Get the bike serviced and in tip-top condition before you go, learn how to srvice it, take a good set of tools and basic spares.....and enjoy the ride!!
P.S. Yamaha used to be well known in Africa ( the Paris-Dakar race ), and they even had dealers in obscure places. It may still be the same -why not ask them for a list of dealers?

There's a couple of books published by Haynes which you might find useful:

Motorcycle Basics Manual
Motorcycle Workshop Practice Techbook

There's also a Chilton's handbook for motorcycles described on this site at http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/books/books-mc.shtml
Given that you're a beginner and you haven't got much time, this might be the one to go for as the review is very positive.

I believe that there's both Haynes and Clymer workshop manuals for the XT500.

[This message has been edited by Ian (edited 25 October 2002).]