Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Handy, Man...

So, over the weekend I fixed something. For me, this is pretty big. I've described myself as "mechanically declined" in the past, a humorous, self-deprecating term that exaggerates my discomfort with all things mechanical. I've long had a love/hate relationship with DIY projects, being capable of performing simple acts of home and/or vehicular improvement but preferring to leave the more arduous tasks to the professionals.

A lot of it boils down simply to time - I don't change my own oil because I would rather bring my truck to the dealership and have them take care of it for $35 than crawl around underneath the truck for an hour, plus the hour spent going to the store to buy the oil and returning the used oil when the oil change is complete. For the $20 I'll save three or four times a year, it's just not worth taking an extra 3 hours out of my busy weekend.

Anyways, I had a first this past weekend. I hadn't ridden my Harley in several weeks (I think it might have been over a month, actually) and went out to the garage to start it up. Given that it hadn't been started in a while, plus the weather's getting cold, plus the battery is over six years old, I was a little apprehensive when hitting the starter. Sure enough, it coughed, turned over once, then started clicking - not enough juice to start the engine.

I got off the bike, angry at myself for letting it go so long between running it that the battery died. My mind started thinking of options: Call up a buddy with a trailer and trailer it up to the dealership (I store at the dealership basically to have room in the garage for the truck); call the dealership and see if they can come get it; or see if I can charge the battery. Well, one thing I do have is a trickle-charger; it was one of the smart motorcycle-related purchases I've made over the years.

Pop the seat off the bike, hook the charger up to the battery, and wait a couple hours - I figured that the worst thing that could happen would be that the charger didn't work and fried the (already dead) battery. Well, before I knew it, the charger was reading full and I decided to give it a try. Took the charger off, put the seat on, pulled out the choke, and hit the starter. Sure enough, it roared to life on the second push of the button.

It doesn't sound like much - heck, I know it really isn't much at all in the grand scheme of things - but it was simply amazing to take something that had formerly not been working and make it work again. I got a tiny little glimpse into the world of folks like og or doubletrouble, who can take individual engine molecules, clean 'em up good as new, and assemble a completely functional engine while blindfolded and with one arm tied behind their backs.

I. Fixed. Something.

I mean, I've replaced batteries in cars before; I used to install car stereos back in the day. Despite my joking manner, I am pretty competent with a wrench or hammer (if needed); my limiting factor, really, is my complete and utter lack of patience when things don't go exactly right - and they very rarely go exactly right. I know my limitations, and one of them happens to be that I need to be ready, willing, and able to walk away (and quickly) if things don't go as planned. But this time, everything did go as planned.

The Harley's running fine; I took it out for about an hour and let it run for a while. TheBoy came with me on the ride - he was disappointed when the Harley wouldn't start, and when he heard it fire up he came running into the garage. "Daddy, does this mean we can go for our ride?" he asked, eyes brimming with excitement. I had the enviable task of telling him yes, that Daddy fixed the Harley and it was all set.

That's a good feeling, indeed...

That is all.

8 comments:

agg79 said...

There is something primevial about being able to fix your own stuff without having to call in an overpaid mechanic. I enjoy working under the hood and being able to diagnose & fix a problem that woulda cost me $$$ at the shop (sticking it to the dealer). I would not necessarily call you mechanically disenclined, you just don't have knack for automotive challenges like some. Of course, give you a SIG 556 and I am sure you could field strip it down to the basics and have it back in firing order in short order.

libertyman said...

Yes, there is a great deal of satisfaction in making things work again. But, the oil change is just not worth it anymore. And I would get a new battery for next year.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

"return the used oil"...

I don't understand. Why do you do that? Don't you have storm drains in your neighborhood? Or is there some market for used up motor oil in MA?

PISSED said...

Don't you have storm drains in your neighborhood? ... OHH the Humanity...Can you imagine one of the moonbat neighbors (we all have some) seeing Jay pouring used oil down the stormdrain? hilarity ensues!

Mopar said...

Two comments.
First: Your dealer removes and disposes of 7qts of oil and a filter, then replaces same with high quality products, for $35?!? And that's $20 more then doing it yourself? Maybe there is something good about MA after all. Costs me like $60-70 for 7qts of Mobil 1 and a decent filter.
Second: Three hours? Geeze. *Grabbing the oil and filter when you stop at Walmart for ammo - 5 minutes.
*Changing the oil yourself - 10 minutes (including pouring old oil back into containers for disposal.)
*Disposing of old oil while out and about 10 minutes (zero for me, we collect our own here at work for later disposal).
*Satisfaction of doing a better job then the dealer will do - priceless.

Jay G said...

agg79,

I thought about that, too. I have no problem tearing into a rifle, pulling it apart, cleaning it, etc. and putting it back together. And then setting off an explosion mere inches from my face based on my ability to put it back together correctly...

Yet ask me to gap a spark plug and I break out in a cold sweat...

libertyman,

Oh, I intend to have a new battery put in over the winter. That's another bonus to storing at the dealership - I can have them take care of stuff like that and it doesn't cut into riding time...

T-bolt,

Oh, they're already watching me like a hawk after I dumped the black water tank on the camper down the street drain. Utterly humorless they are...

PISSED,

I can only imagine that the EPA's SWAT team would be called...

Mopar,

It might be $40 now, and it might cost me $25 to do it myself. It's just not worth it.

Even picking up the oil ahead of time (saving ~ 30 minute round trip, I still have to actually perform the oil change, then bring the oil back. Leaving it in the garage is not an option, because it WILL get knocked over...

It's still just plain easier to bring it in, and I am a lazy bastard at heart. Not only that, but I get to ogle the 2010 Dodges... ;)

Phillip said...

I have my mechanic change my oil, because I have a good old-fashioned mechanic that does the "Well, since it's on the lift..." inspection. He's caught a couple of things that would have been much more expensive if I had waited for it to break before knowing about it.

There is something about doing things for yourself, whether it be vehicle repair or yard work. A few years ago we had three hurricanes hit Central Fl, knocking down a bunch of trees and causing power outages. About nine months later, there was a baby boom. Office workers were clearing the dead limbs off their properties with their newly bought chainsaws, and there was no television that night, so...

Wally said...

Heh. Getting it started was a big step, but having your son know you fixed something that was broken? Huge!!

No need to put a new battery in before the winter hibernation.


And what states still let you take motor oil back to the store ? MA? CT? Really? I have about 30gal here just waiting for a new home. Would love to drop it in MA next time I am down there.