You always see motorcycle owners outside, tinkering with their motorcycles. Why? They’d have you believe they were out there fixing something all the time. La, la, la, fixing my bike, la, la, la. But are motorcycles in constant need of repair? Or are motorcycle owners just a bunch of assholes?

In pursuit of knowledge, I reached out to Wes Siler, known motorcycle man and contributor to Jalopnik’s Lanesplitter, to ask about whether motorcycle people are assholes, or what. Wes also writes Gizmodo’s Indefinitely Wild. He emailed me back very quickly, which was nice of him:

Working on motorcycles yourself is part of the fun. They’re relatively simple machines that provide easy access to the mechanical components, so provide you with more opportunities for tinkering than most cars do.

In comparison to cars, most motorcycles do require a little more maintenance. Chain final drives need routine adjustment, cleaning and lubrication, but give up less power to friction and heat than the driveshafts of cars do. Engines that make more power from less capacity need oil changes a little more frequently and stuff like valve adjustment just becomes more important to the riding experience while being easier to perform at home. And doing all this stuff yourself is just a satisfying thing to do.

That’s on real motorcycles at least. Harleys, in contrast, are just total pieces of shit that are always breaking. Guys that ride those are just being assholes.

Well, there you have it. Chain final drives need routine adjustment. Engines that make more power, etc., etc. Valve adjustments.

Now we know, and we don’t have to wonder.

Image by Jim Cooke, photo via Getty. Contact the author at kelly.conaboy@gawker.com.