Racing

What Are Dirt Bike Mechanics’ Least Favorite Maintenance Tasks?

Somebody has to do the dirty jobs, and that’s where mechanics earn their pay.

Updated: May 22, 2022

Somebody’s gotta do the dirty jobs when it comes to bike maintenance, and that’s where off-road mechanics earn their pay. We polled seven technicians on pro row during a recent AMA National Enduro race to find out what their least favorite maintenance task is and why. Read on to find out if the bike maintenance task you dread (and possibly have been putting off) made the list.

Trevor Bollinger’s Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing mechanic Brad Benesch says it’s not pretty if you don’t adjust your chain properly.Shan Moore

“I’d say my least favorite thing to do on the bike is put on a new chain,” Brad Benesch said. “It’s not hard, just tedious—making sure your chain adjustment is correct and that the wheel adjustment is correct. It just takes a while to make sure it’s all done correctly, and if it’s not, things can get pretty ugly.”

FMF KTM Factory Racing technician Jose Cordova inspects the linkage on Ben Kelley’s KTM 350 XC-F.Shan Moore

“My least favorite task has always been greasing and maintaining the shock linkage, although the KTM 350 [XC-F] isn’t so bad because there’s only one needle bearing,” Jose Cordova explained. “Between the swingarm and linkage, all the needles have to come out and you have to clean everything and put each of the needles back in. That’s probably the most annoying thing I have to do.”

Lacing up a wheel is a tedious task, and one of Corey MacDonald’s least favorite. He turns wrenches for Steward Baylor on the AmPro Yamaha team.Shan Moore

“I’d say my least favorite thing is working for Stu [Baylor]! No, I’m kidding, of course,” Corey MacDonald said in jest. “My least favorite thing to do on the bike is lacing up and truing wheels. Lacing up wheels takes a while, and to true them up perfectly is frustrating. People bent multiple wheels at the Camp Coker GNCC, so it’s something you have to do from time to time and I don’t look forward to it.”

Broc Hepler’s XC Gear/Enduro Engineering/Husqvarna mechanic Mike “Napper” Napieralski doesn’t care much for changing the oil on a four-stroke.Shan Moore

“My least favorite thing to do is changing oil on four-strokes,” Mike “Napper” Napieralski said. “On the Husqvarna, which is what our team rides, you’ve got to take the skid plate off and make sure everything is clean. Then you’ve got to pull the plug and drain the oil, pull the screen and clean it, change the oil filter, and then put it all back together. I’d much rather be doing other things.”

Donny Kelley is charged with keeping Ryder Lafferty in the hunt. The Coastal GasGas Factory Racing rider turned in a personal-best second place finish at the opening round of the AMA National Enduro series in Sumter, South Carolina.Shan Moore

“I would have to say changing tires is my least favorite thing to do on race weekend and during the week,” Donny Kelley said. “It’s a dirty job. It seems like we are always changing tires and it’s the most physical thing a mechanic does.”

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing mechanic Jamison Gryder seen here doing his least favorite maintenance task: changing a sprocket. We wonder what gearing change his rider Craig DeLong requested.Shan Moore

“I’d say changing sprockets is what I like to do the least just because it’s a mind-numbing task and you’ve got to do it a lot,” Jamison Gryder said. “The teeth on those things are sharp, so if you slip off a bolt, your knuckles are going to get busted and that’s not good. They’re not very fun to do.”

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Charles Marchant spins the spanners for FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Josh Toth. Marchant doesn’t like to get into sticky situations, which is why he doesn’t like servicing air filters.Shan Moore

“My least favorite thing to do is servicing the air filter,” Charles Marchant said. “I just don’t like to get my hands sticky; I like keeping them clean. Even if you have gloves on, it’s still a messy job.”