Since day one, Haynes has been all about helping you, the home mechanic, to carry out your own repairs on your vehicles. Here, we celebrate those who use their spare time and Haynes Manuals to repair and improve their pride and joy.
DIY champion: Darren Yates, Victoria, Australia
Vehicle: 2012 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU SE7 Ultra Classic Electra Glide CVO
Harley Davidson motorcycles are all about the open road: wind in the hair, flies in the teeth – all that good stuff.
And living in West Wodonga, Darren Yates has only open roads to explore, because there’s a whole lot of nothing apart from national parks beyond the town’s outskirts.
No wonder the miles can quickly accumulate on his 2012 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide CVO. But with miles comes maintenance, and Darren found one day that his Harley required not only work on the top end, but also a new oil pump, plus a new camshaft support plate.
Haynes Manual for Harley-Davidson bikes
These were tasks that Darren had never carried out before, and he was understandably apprehensive. However, he invested in both a paper Haynes Manual and an online version of the same, sourced the required parts and set about the job in hand.
However, Darren admits: “I bought the special deal in which you get an online manual and a hard copy, but I actually only used the online version because it was so easy to use and navigate through.”
The job wasn’t the work of a moment, but Darren took each step carefully to avoid any unintended catastrophic consequences, but he confesses: “After I’d finished the job the tension was pretty high because I knew that the cams and the timing have to be set absolutely correctly to avoid the engine destroying itself, but I was really grateful that the manual showed me how to do this.”
And were his efforts successful?
Darren: “Oh yes. It started first time and it runs awesomely. I can’t thank Haynes enough for the knowledge that’s contained in its manuals.”
It’s fair to say that Darren is a happy and satisfied boy – and no wonder.
Darren’s story is exactly why we want to hear your tales of the tensions, worry and ultimately joy and satisfaction that comes from carrying out a big job successfully. Your job doesn’t have to be as major as Darren’s, because we’re equally happy to hear from those just servicing their car to keep it ticking along beautifully. That’s why we’d love you to show us what you’re working on and how you’re using Haynes to help you out.
Just send us a few details about yourself and your vehicle to yourrepairs@haynes.co.uk
Tell us about any issues you’ve encountered or any problems you foresee, plus a few pictures, and we’ll feature you on our website and social channels.
And as for Darren? Well, he’s back on the open roads of Victoria, with the big V-twin resonating in his ears, and teeth full of bugs from all the grinning he’s doing.
