I had to drive to the base clinic this morning for an aortic sonogram, a routine test my doctor wanted to have in my records prior to my switching over to Medicare later this year. AFAIK, my aorta is fine.
Back home, I packed my motorcycle’s saddlebag with oil, brake fluid, and a fresh oil filter, then rode over to Ed’s garage for another maintenance session. We changed the oil and filter, drained and refilled the rear drive reservoir, then flushed and refilled the brake and clutch systems. There are so many bleed valves on the brake system we had to use a checklist — not only does the Honda have antilock brakes, the front and rear brakes are hydraulically linked, and the front system also ties into the anti-dive system on the forks.
I’m a big believer in checklists and shop manuals. Anything more complex than lefty-loosey and righty-tighty and I’m likely to screw it up, and if I were being totally honest I’d have to admit I’ve actually stripped threads trying to force bolts in the wrong direction.
Right now I’m lusting for a motorcycle maintenance stand. Normally when I work on the bike I’m lying on a concrete garage floor. Not today — we used Ed’s hydraulic stand and jacked the bike up to chest level. Now I’m spoiled:
Donna’s having her bridge group over tonight and I was thinking about clearing out anyway. Maybe I’ll drive over to Harbor Freight and price a motorcycle stand. Wouldn’t that make a great Mothers’ Day present?
Hard to believe, but David had never heard the phrase “lefty-loosey, righty-tighty” until I mentioned it one day. These are the things you learn watching DIY.