Proud of Myself

OK, maybe it's not really a big deal, but I'm proud of myself tonight.

A good friend of ours has been teaching us how to do basic service and maintenance on our motorcycles. He was working on mine one day a few weeks ago and I planned on getting some moving done while he worked, but he insisted that he'd feel bad if I was working. He felt like he'd have to help me. So he had me come over and watch what he was doing and help him out. I actually learned quite a bit that day.

Well, he was telling the hubby what fluids he needed to change on his bike before we go to D.C. this weekend. And he told me that I needed to change my primary fluid. Two months ago, I wouldn't have had a clue what he was talking about, but when he told me, I said ok. So Monday I went over to the Harley shop to get the fluids we needed, and to get an oil filter for the hubby's bike. One of the guys who works there, probably in the service department, came over and asked if I had any questions as I was getting what I needed. I told him no thank you, that I had it under control. He looked kind of surprised, but went on about his business.

So today as I was putting supper on plates for everybody, I told the hubby that after supper, I was going to bathe the kids and then take my bike out for a few minutes to warm it up, since it's supposed to be warm to change the primary fluid. So I did, and when I got back, he acted like he was going to get down there and do it for me. I told him, no, my bike, I want to do it myself. After all, I know how. I had watched our friend, and I had read his owner's manual to refresh my memory. Our bikes are a different model, but are basically the same size and very similar in other ways. So with him watching carefully, I took off the covers, drained the fluid, and refilled it after letting the bike cool down. Then I took it for one more spin around the block.

OK, so it may be a small accomplishment, but I'm still proud. I've never even changed the oil or anything like that in a car. But I figure that it's my motorcycle, and there are certain things that have to be done periodically to keep it running smoothly. Why should we go pay someone to do that kind of maintenance when we can do it ourselves? Besides, it was pretty fun!