you do seem pretty damn clued up on the machines, have you owned one before?
Ha, nope, not yet. Still saving my pennies. I am somewhat mechanically apt though, worked in a vintage vespa/lambretta shop as well, so I'm not completely clueless. While this variant of the 3 wheeler is definitely a newer vehicle I think the general setup on it lends itself to having a lot in common with older vehicles. I do work on those, picked up an MGB GT for the girlfriend's birthday, and it has me chasing a lot of leaks and squeaks.
Having the gopro has been pretty handy for a lot of that stuff. Set it somewhere where I think the issue is coming from, and video will sometimes tell me if I'm right or not. They're robust little cameras, and can be just as much of a diagnostics tool as they are for filming for youtube.
That, and I just do a lot of research. Especially for something that will be a large chunk of of my change.