It’s not easy to get experience when you start wrenching on your first set of wheels. It can be a bit daunting to start tinkering and although YouTube is great for some info on making that first oil change or switching up to your new set of bars but there’s no substitute for IRL experience and advice from someone who knows.
Enter the awesome Abby Manz and her new Womens’ wrenching workshop sessions! Founded just this year Womens Wrenching workshop provides a space for all Edinburgh based women and non-binary members of the bike community to come along and get to grips with moto maintenance and bike building from the ground up guided by Abby!
We caught up with Abby to hear all about her experiences in the moto world, Womens’ Wrenching Workshop and her plans for the future! And….. We’re excited to announce that the awesome Abby will be onsite at Camp VC 2022 presenting moto maintenance workshops in collaboration with Herald Motorcycles for you to get a taste of what Womens’ Wrenching Workshop has on offer! Yassssssss!
Hey Abby! Where are you originally from?
Short answer - I’m from the US.
Long answer - I’m originally from a small town outside Albany, New York, USA. I grew up on an organic dairy farm and spent most of my time running around outdoors trying to keep up with my 6 older siblings. When I was 9, my parents sold the farm and moved us to Montrose, Scotland where I lived for nearly eight years. I moved back to the States when I was 16, went to University and started my career in Washington, DC. My husband Steve and I moved to Edinburgh in 2019 to get our MBAs and we’ve been living here ever since.
When did you start to get into motorcycles and why?
I was always into the idea of getting my own motorcycle. I played around on bikes as a kid but I was still intimidated to get into it properly as a young adult. In 2016, I was living in Washington DC and had met a few folks (including Steve) who were in the moto community there. There was this cool cooperative garage called Dirt Church that was always putting on ride outs and events. The moto scene in DC was (and still is) such a wonderfully diverse group of amazing people riding bikes and doing fun things together – it was very easy to see myself getting my own bike and being welcomed into such a supportive and encouraging environment. So in 2017, I got my license and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
When did you start tinkering with bikes?
Right from the start. I did all the maintenance myself on my first bike, a Yamaha XT225, I named Sarah the Serow. I did an oil change, replaced the air filter, replaced my tyres, and installed hand guards. I started with small tasks that helped me gain the confidence to do a little bit more each time. I was lucky to always have someone in the garage to learn from and to provide me with support and guidance. I was also extremely stubborn – I had to do everything myself even when I couldn’t. That wasn’t always the most productive way to approach things at times, but it certainly gave me the chance to learn, often the hard way.
What do you ride now? Do you do your own maintenance work on it?
I actually just sold my Moto Guzzi V7 Classic to make room for a new bike, which I have yet to find! So now I’m just trying to ride whatever I can get my hands on through friends and family. I’ve been riding around on an old BMW r80 that we own, as well as renting a couple Royal Enfield’s (an Interceptor and Himalayan) from Steve’s company Bikerbnb. They offer bike rentals out of Edinburgh so I’m lucky to sometimes have access to their bikes.
That said, I did do most of the maintenance on my Guzzi. I serviced it myself which included valve adjustments, oil changes, air filter changes, replaced a few broken bits and bobs and fixed an air leak. I didn’t do everything though – I do think there are things that are best left to the professionals, particularly with modern bikes.
I kept the bike stock as it was never intended to be a long-term bike, a year maybe. But I ended up having it for 2.5 years and put 10,000 miles on it. It was an amazing bike to ride and I have some really great memories with it – it was sad selling it on.
Have you ever built a bike of your own?
I am finishing up my first bike rebuild as we speak! I hope to have it ready by Camp VC! I have a 1978 BMW r65. It has taken me a lot longer to finish than I expected, but I’m almost there. It’s been a really amazing learning experience, not only for my knowledge of bikes, but also building my confidence to be in the garage on my own for hours at a time, tinkering away. It’s something I’d never thought I’d be doing, but I absolutely love it.
I am so lucky to have a really supportive community here in Edinburgh. Tyler from North Motorcycle has been extremely helpful and supportive, offering advice regularly. I have access to all the tools and resources I need through Bike Park Leith and so many supportive friends who have cheered me on and helped out throughout the project.
What is your favourite bike you’ve ever owned?
I haven’t owned many, but I’ve loved each one! :
My first bike: 2002 Yamaha XT 225
My second bike: 2002 Bmw f650gs
My first dirt bike: Yamaha TTR 125
My third bike/first modern classic: 2011 Moto Guzzi V7 Classic
My first project bike: 1978 BMW r65
I had the Guzzi the longest so I guess it became my favourite. I did so many miles on it and it would make my hands ache from the stiff clutch and my knees swell from being bent for so long. But it still felt like coming home after riding something else.
So, tell us all about Women’s Wrenching Workshop!
The Women’s Wrenching Workshop is new and I’m really excited about it! We started it in March this year as an opportunity for women and non-binary community members in the Edinburgh area to come out and learn about bike maintenance. It’s hosted monthly at Bike Park Leith, a communal garage for storing bikes, which has all the tools and space we need. We also have access to a variety of bikes to look at and work on, so it’s been a great way to become familiar with different kinds of engines and styles of bike. We welcome any level of rider, whether brand new or experienced, who is simply interested in learning more about moto maintenance.
We’re launching a new event on 19 June – a maintenance meet up which will give folks a chance to work on their own bikes in a supportive and fun environment with help on hand! Anyone is welcome to join on the day regardless of maintenance needs.
What was the inspiration behind starting up Women’s Wrenching Workshop?
It actually all stemmed from my experience with my BMW r65. I was inspired to take on a project bike of my own from a friend back in DC who rebuilt her own vintage Moto Guzzi v5. But as I started working on the bike, I realized very quickly that there were very few women engaged on the mechanical side of motorbikes, at least locally. All the resources I was using, the people I was getting advice from, YouTube videos and online forums, were all male dominated. And with that comes a lot of misogyny. To learn how to rebuild my front forks, I had to endure some pretty disgusting commentary from a YouTuber who kept making misogynist comments about his wife, but it was the only video specific to my needs. I even found it in person – on several occasions I’ve had people speak to my husband or a friend about my bike rebuild instead of coming to me, often while I’d be standing right there. It was extremely disheartening to realise how few women were on the scene.
But this started to spark some really great conversations with the women I often ride with and other members of the community. A lot of them either relied on their partners, or struggled with having access to tools and support and guidance that didn’t leave them feeling disheartened or dejected in some way. It started to take shape from those conversations. As I started to share the idea, the enthusiasm from people was really what drove things forward.
How many people usually come along to your sessions?
We usually have around 12-13 people in the garage. We try to keep things small for a couple reasons, mainly to offer as many hands-on opportunities as possible and make sure everyone feels comfortable speaking up and sharing what they might know. It’s really important that the sessions feel very conversational and inclusive, that it’s a safe space for people to speak up and get comfortable asking questions.
What do you cover in your sessions?
The sessions are usually broken into two parts – a review of the parts of the motorcycle and how they operate and then a practical session built around various maintenance needs, i.e. oil changes, general checks, plugging a tyre, diagnostics, and so on.
For the review of the parts of the motorcycle, we’ve covered a lot. We’ve been working through the major components and how they relate to each other, i.e. the chassis, the motor (and its main components), transmission, brakes, electrics, etc. We’ve covered off how to identify the number of cylinders, what are the different strokes of a 4-stroke engine, how the parts of the motor work (crank shaft, pistons, cam shafts, valves, etc.). We’ve now moved into the transmission and how power is transferred to the road, what we mean by torque and rpms and power.
For the practical piece – we’ve reviewed how to check the bike over for any issues, checking brake pads for wear, checking wheel bearings and steering head bearings, looking for leaks and so on. We’ve completed an oil change together as well. This month is all about diagnostics as we enter into the busy riding season. So we’re now learning how to check our spark plugs for spark, how to plug a tyre on the side of the road, how to identify electrical and air/fueling issues, etc.
We’re chipping away at things, working on gaining foundational knowledge to build confidence. We’re not going to become full-fledged mechanics but hopefully we’ll have enough knowledge to be able to engage more fully with the maintenance of our own bikes.
What is your favourite thing about running the Women’s Wrenching Workshops?
It’s amazing to see the garage filled with a group of enthusiastic, passionate women, ready to talk about motorcycles. Everything about it so far has been amazing - from planning each session to getting covered in engine oil with the attendees.
But I’d say the feedback from people has been the most surprising and incredible thing about the workshops. I often have folks reaching out after a session to say they’ve done something with their own motorcycle, or they’ve spotted an “air-cooled” bike somewhere, or they were speaking with a friend about something and they knew what they were talking about. One person replaced her rear brake pads on her own. Another said she felt more confident buying her first bike knowing the workshops were available. Hearing about how the workshops are working for people and building confidence and enthusiasm around motorcycle maintenance – I’m loving it!
So, you’re coming to Camp VC this year to run the moto maintenance classes in collaboration with Herald motorcycles! Tell us a little bit about what you’ve got in store!
I am so excited for Camp VC this year! I had such a blast last year and can’t wait to see the new facilities and all that’s in store! And to have the chance to run the maintenance classes is such an incredible opportunity, I can’t wait!
I am looking forward to collaborating with Herald motorcycles as well – we’ll have access to their bikes and tools to help facilitate some really great moto maintenance classes for you all! We’ll have two different classes on offer with lots of hands on opportunities:
Intro to moto maintenance – this will cover the basics of how to maintain a motorcycle, exploring the main components and what to think about when it comes to keeping a bike running well.
Mechanical techniques and diagnostics – this class will take a more in-depth view on what common issues we all face with our bikes and explore techniques for diagnostics and prevention.
If you’re new to bikes or just new to the wrenching side of bikes, the intro class will be a great opportunity to get your hands dirty and start building up some of that confidence. The diagnostics class will hopefully help you gain more confidence while out on the road and feel prepared to overcome any of the common challenges we all have or will face with our bikes. If you’re interested in learning more about the workshops or maintenance in general, I’ll be at Camp VC all weekend so please come by and chat if you see me around!
P// @sals // @the_highland_scramble
What advice would you give to someone who has just got their first bike and wants to start wrenching on it?
First off – hell yeah! Congrats on your first bike! My advice to anyone starting out wrenching is to start small and be patient.
There are a few things I recommend getting sorted before you start working on your bike. First, get your bike’s maintenance manual and make sure to review the service intervals and where your bike fits in on the schedule (check your mileage, previous services, etc.). Next, gain access to a good set of tools (whether you buy them or can borrow them!) and finally, find friends who can help. Nothing is more beneficial than having someone around to offer guidance, help you process the steps you need to take for your next task, and be your cheerleader throughout. It doesn’t really matter if they know more than you – but it’s a huge confidence boost to simply have someone in the room with you who is there to support you!