Oil Change

Well, my 600 mile oil change went fairly smoothly, even for an idiot like me. I get the left-hand cowling off easily enough. Then I use my trusty breaker bar to loosen the drain bolt, and out comes the chocolate milk. Well, that is what it kind of looked like.

Next I tried unscrewing the oil filter. I did not have a filter wrench so I tried using my gloves. That sucker was on there tight. I had to go to the auto-parts store and buy a oil filter wrench. Stupid me, I do not bring along the replacement filter to verify that the wrench will work. Luckily the one I buy works great. When I get back, I replace the filter and screw in the drain plug and pour in the fresh oil.

Next comes the fun part, replacing the cowling. The cowling fits in with the rest of the bodywork using a series of screws and tabs. Here is where my intelligence really shows. I keep trying to put the top lip of the cowling underneath the upper bracket. I notice it is not making it up high enough and the cowling is not fitting properly. After nearly an hour I realize that the lip should sit on top of the bracket instead of underneath it.

After thinking about it, I now know my problem with mechanical stuff. When working on something, I develop a perception on how it should fit together. Once developed, this perception is hard to break, thus things tend to go together wrong, and it takes me awhile to correct them. One thing a mechanic told me that sticks with me is, putting things together is a lot like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces can only go together one way. I just need to be careful, and make sure I put things together the right way.