Mechanics’ horror stories
Top mechanic Kevin Hollingsworth got a shock when he saw this smashed-up hub
Bikers often get that nagging feeling in the back of their minds about a job they know needs doing, but they can never quite find the time to get around to it.
This week’s Workshop War Story goes to show why putting off a job for too long is never a good thing. Doncaster Motorcycles’ joint owner and top mechanic Kevin Hollingsworth, aka Dr Tepi, has been fixing bikes since he left school 23 years ago, but even he still gets surprised by some of the frightening sights he sees in his workshop. He was recently asked to investigate a Honda CG125’s handling issues.
‘I knew straight away something bad was going on’
The owner told him he’d noticed that the bike was ‘snaking around a bit.’ Dr Tepi said: “The bike had several snapped spokes and the wheel stuck when I tried to rotate it. I knew straight away that something very bad was going on.
“Once I’d taken the wheel off, I got a nasty shock. The wheel hub had broken in two, possibly due to a collapsed bearing. But the owner had continued riding for quite a while. He was lucky the bike hadn’t spat him off or caused him to lose control and hit something. The results of the wheel locking don’t really bear thinking about.” Despite the severity of the issue, Dr Tepi managed to replace the damaged parts and get the bike working properly after about an hour’s graft. The final bill was £150. D Tepi added: “It’s a two-minute job to keep an eye on your bike’s bearings, but really important. Once a week, just get the wheel off the ground so that it can rotate freely. Give it a spin and listen for any unpleasant noises.
“Hold the wheel at 12 o’clock and six o’clock, then push and pull it to see if there is any movement. If there is, your bearings may need replacing. “The poor old CG owner was gobsmacked when I showed him the damage and told him how badly it could have ended for him. I think the loose spokes started all the problems, so it’s worth giving them a tighten-up every now and then. A 10-minute job with a £2 tool!”