It’s What We Do

This entry is part 2 of 19 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #14

I know stuff, and that’s a problem.

When I was a kid, I didn’t know anything, and I thought that was a problem. Now I wonder if I wasn’t better off.

My first real bike was a secondhand 1978 Kawasaki KL250. In many respects it was a boat anchor. It had very little horsepower, drum brakes that only worked sometimes and cock-all suspension. I don’t recall ever servicing anything on it. I just rode it and rode it and rode it. If I couldn’t see oil in the sight glass, I poured some in. Oil.

Not any particular grade or brand. Just ‘oil’.

When someone explained an airfilter to me, I was astounded. I’d had no idea that spongy thing even existed, let alone that it was important.

Despite the lack of care, that bike went everywhere, all the time. It was thrown off some shocking hills, dropped in creeks and, as I recall, was never garaged. I don’t recall it ever leaving me stranded.

Now I understand there are specific oils for specific uses, and I try and make an informed decision depending on which bike and terrain I’m riding. The gear I carry for servicing airfilters almost needs to include a white lab coat. And let’s not even get started on tyres – not just brands, but tread patterns, compounds and sizes all have a huge impact on a bike’s behavior.

Now I know that, I want to make sure I have the most suitable equipment.

Well…who wouldn’t? And I’d rather gouge out my own eyes than use ‘cheap’ lubricants or fittings.

Thanks to me having learned a little about how the internal combustion engine works, I’m forever worrying the damn thing won’t work. What if I can’t get premium unleaded? What if a relay poops itself? What if a solenoid goes? What if the ECU gets weird? I lose sleep over these things sometimes.

The thing is, how much of that technical knowledge and worry is just me kidding myself?

“It was thrown off some shocking hills, dropped in creeks and, as I recall, was never garaged. I don’t recall it ever leaving me stranded.”

I look back at that old KL250 and I’m pretty sure modern bikes would never cope with the abuse I unknowingly heaped on that bike. Tolerances are too tight and performance levels are too high. And who can afford to treat a modern bike that way? But every now and then I have something weird happen that makes me wonder if I’ve become way too precious over the years.

The latest incident was an all-too-typical cockup on my part, and it’s left me again wondering about how much the specialisation of some of these things is necessary.

I like a particular brand of oil and accessories that uses the same container and very similar labels on all its products.

I went to the shed looking for some chain lube the other day and couldn’t find any. I knew for certain I’d bought a new can for a race day a few weeks ago, so I knew it was there somewhere.

After ransacking the van, gearbag, toolboxes and all the usual places, I came up empty handed.

The short story is – after I checked the receipt from the bike shop – I’d bought foam-filter oil. It was on the shelf next to the chain lube in the store, in a can the same size with the same colour label, and I must’ve been in a hurry.

The thing is, I’ve been spraying my chains with foam-filter oil for a few weeks, and The thing is, I’ve been spraying my chains couldn’t tell any difference.

That led me to thinking maybe I should be a little less fussy about these things.

Is it going to damage the bike if I use foam-filter oil to lube the chain? I bet it does a lot less damage than not lubing the chain at all. It’d be a lot easier on big trips if I just took a single container of oil that would do the chain and the air filter, that’s for sure. I can’t bring myself to accept that using a less-than-premium grade of oil on my chain for a few days is going to make much difference to the life or performance of that chain or those sprockets. When I think of the price on the chain and sprockets I use, the damn things should run fine with no lube at all for years at a time.

It’s high time I bought some common sense to bear on this issue. In my shed at home I’ll stick with the best I can afford of the right product for the intended purpose.

But from now on, when I’m away from home, it’ll be catch as catch can and ‘make do’. That will be my philosophy.

I reckon I’ll drop kilos off my luggage burden, and probably save the cost of a house payment every couple of months.

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