This is the direction we seem to be headed as a country. As a kid, I remember my dad, my uncles and other guys around the neighborhood spending Saturday fixing things around the house, routine maintenance on the car, adjusting brakes, rebuilding brake cylinders, repacking wheel bearings, etc. We had gotten to the point where no one does this stuff anymore. And the truth is, when you take it to a shop, chances are they won't do the job any better than you would, and, if they do screw something up they would blame it on the age of the bike. For the labor the shop wants you could almost buy a shed to do the job in, out of the weather so you can take your time and take lots of pictures, and NOTHING beats the feeling of doing a job like that and then hitting the starter button and seeing you work come to life! And then you will understand why there used to be professional mechanics, not for the money, but for the satisfaction of fixing something and bringing it back to life. Go for it man!
