Here is the question. Up until last year I always bought cheap walmart combo specials. Last summer I decided to stop wasting my money on them. I went out and bought a abu record 60 and an ugly stick. Love the rod and reel. I will never go back. I just purchased a abu 7000i and have a catfish safari river rod on order. I'm sure that I will love them. Anyways my question is how do I maintain the reels. These are reels that will last a long time if taken care of. Do I take them apart or do I just drop a few drops of oil on the spots that it tells you to in the owners manual. The second question is I saw on another thread on here that the guy said he modified his abu reel. He put different bearings in it added a bearing to the handle. Do alot of you guys do this. And if so do they just order the parts from the parts sheet that comes with the reels or take it to one of the repair shops listed and have them do it. The third question is I see some guys making their own rods. Is this common. Any help here would be good.