Bugger..That Aint Coming Off

So the MOT for the SV1000 is due at the end of May 19. So as part of my objective to get back on my SV and start riding a lot more, i decided to change the oil because i felt like i needed to get hands on with the bike again.

I'm at my parents house, where the SV currently lives and get straight to sorting the oil change out. The evening started off well, the folks were in good spirits, the weather was drizzly but warm which brought the waft of an original Belstaff Trialmaster hanging in the garage to the front of the senses, bloody hell wax cotton is a smell you don't forget but its a smell that gives me (and probably others) a great sense of nostalgia. That jacket was the first motorcycle jacket I had when I was sixteen. It was my dads, so i inherited it when i got my first set of wheels but thinking back to that time, what a sight i was on a Yamaha AeroX with a Trailmaster, very baggy jeans and Wrangler boots, the word badass doesn't spring to mind but the words "you can smell him before you see him" do. Once I'd had a enough of the Belstaff it went into my parents garage loft where it grew mold for many years but then got brought out to see if it could be brought back to life as a day to day coat, which is why its hanging in the garage or maybe to kill off insects and deter local wildlife, I'm unsure. I wonder if David Beckham or Ewan Mcgregor's £550* Belstaffs have starting growing mold?

Anyway, oil change. After warming the engine up and getting excited about 10W40 flowing, the sump plug came off ok, oil filler cap came off ok but the oil filter "f*** no, that aint coming off!" were the words both me and my old man described on several occasions for the issue we were having. It just wouldn't come off! This filter might have been on for six years because none of us can remember ever changing it but you would still think it would come off easily but we tried and tried, to the point of hammering a screwdriver through and trying to wind the filter off that way but still no luck, this thing would not budge.

The aftermath

We have a suspicion that whoever put the filter on (yes, it could be us) didn't lube the bottom of the filter, then decided to swing on the damn thing (not like us tbh) to tighten it. So we admitted defeat and managed to organise the local bike garage we use to come and pick it up, with the MOT due they might as well have a go at getting that bloody filter off and do the MOT whilst there, it also saves me from standing round at the bike garage at the weekend waiting for the MOT to be done with all the other folks who are there for MOTs, plus the weather doesn't look good but that's the UK for you!   

Can't to see what the damage to my pocket will be.

Safe riding and cake eating. Hope your oil change goes ahead better than mine!

*my dad paid nowhere near that for his plus the factory shop was only a couple of miles down the road.

First one of the year!

It always feels good to get back on the bike after the winter break, if you don't have the winter off and ride on through the winter, RESPECT! Been there, done that.

I read on the Biker & Bike website a piece about getting back on a bike after the winter break and the tagline stuck with me "Don't let the first ride be the last" or something along those lines. With me not riding my Suzuki SV1000 for just over a year this line hit me hard. Having dislocated my shoulder twice in the past and having doubt in my mind about riding, understandable i suppose, that tagline grounded me when i was getting excited about getting back on the bike, reminding me not to over do it.

So this first ride of the year went ok. Shoulder was fine, bike was not. Its the usual though when a bike hasn't moved for 6 months (maybe more in my case). It was obvious that it was running on old fuel as it was a bit lumpy to say the least (yes its a V-twin so it can be a bit lumpy, i know) add to that the idle speed was not high enough so when i came to a stop...it cut out. So it was eventful you could say but also very enjoyable. Me and my old man (he rides a Suzuki Bandit 1200) had a laugh and we realised we hadn't rode together since I left home.

Well if you got this far, thank you for reading, as you can tell I'm glad to be back on two wheels and I hope to use this blog to show my enthusiasm. Watch out for more content, it may include cake and maybe test rides of bikes (its something I've told myself to start doing) and the odd happening from the world of motorsport.

Ride safe folks

Twitter: @BikerLardy