I remember taking an alloy head off my A10 when I was 19.

One of the bolts, rounded of course, was on so tight I had to use an impact hammer to belt it off!

Also, it took me many years to realise why the main bearing kept going wrong....I never line reamed it to align with the crankcase.

The biggest gripe with my A10 was end float i.e having to shim between the crankcase and the drive side bearing meant that if you got it wrong, you had to take the new bearing out. Try doing that with a chisel and hammer!

I think the answer is that kids spent all they had on the bike at the expense of tools and clothing. A false economy I know, but that's how people learned.....by their mistakes.

Also, with WM20s, they were so cheap that nobody bothered to do things properly.....kids or not.

email (option): sacombsashtrees@hotmail.com

and dont forget, in the pre internet days...where the hell could you get special tools ?
some of us live in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest brit dealer was then Terry Hobbs, ( and Ian ! ) which was a 2 hr drive away...with a bike off the road then there were no options but to belt it with a half brick !

email (option): chris.astinbarker@btinternet.com

My favorite tools, a rotary wired wheel and a rawhide mallet. Also favor my King Tony plastic box with assortment of small sockets and drives bought in Cairn AU back in 2002 with its current upgraded hand held electric "Skill" socket drive.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com