I AM VICTORIOUS!!

After two months of trying to find the right tool for the job, I have finally managed to replace the overlarge radiator hose that was used to patch my bike up on my ride north in May. It took a very short screwdriver and several bruised knuckles.

I think I still need to tighten one of the hose clamps a bit more, but after fighting with it for an hour in the heat, I have retreated to my nicely air conditioned home.

There are major advantages to doing your own wrench work on a motorcycle. These I will proceed to relate:

• No mechanic fees...until you break something that you can't fix yourself and have to take it to the mechanic anyway.
• Extra hardware you never knew you had. Those screws and bolts weren't under your bike when you started, but now you have more to add to your toolbox, since they couldn't possibly belong anywhere...at least as far as you can remember.
• The discovery that tools have multiple purposes, not only can you use them to fix things, but if they slip, you might suddenly have a piercing where you never expected it...and a nice ride to the ER to get the blood to stop flowing.
• Cheap cologne, though the smells of oil, antifreeze, gasoline, and sweat tend to drive the ladies away rather than attract them.
  
• New scars and bruises that you can tell your friends were from a nasty fall while taking a turn too fast, when in reality you caught your fingers on something while you were elbows deep in the engine, and while trying to pull yourself free, the bike fell on top of you.

So grab your tool kit, buy yourself an old CB-175 or something equally troglodytic, and go validate yourself while conquering your mechanical beast...Just keep your mechanic's number handy, and have someone else on hand to call 911...