A lung transplant and a new pair of shoes

I love working on bikes!  Compared to HMAS Mercules, my other way of getting around, The Reverend doesn't scare the living daylights out of me when his innards are on display.

Take the Merc's valve cover off and you're faced with two enormous camshafts, thick enough to turn a ship's propellors, flanked by a flotilla of 12 chattering valve springs.  The locknuts leer at you, taunting you to risk losing your mind by attempting to adjust the valve clearances.  On the Rev, the worst you'll come across is a single camshaft the length of your palm, gently massaging its three valves with the curves of its tiny lobes.

In addition, if you drop a screw or can't quiiiiiite reach that hose clamp, you just need to roll your office chair-cum-workshop stool around to the other side, where you can easily get a grip and proceed.  Losing something in the Merc's engine bay is like tossing it overboard above the Mariana Trench.  I still have the two foot long breaker bar the mechanic left behind in the engine bay last year.

Anyway, this afternoon, I broke out the toolboxes and a cold beer and replaced both air filters on the Rev. That's the old one on the left, the new (and bloody expensive) on the right.  There's a tiny 'sub-filter' underneath the main one, which was missing when I bought the bike.  When I picked it up today, I couldn't believe I'd just paid $12 for what looks like an offcut from a bath sponge.  This is it, oiled up and installed in the air box:

 Looks like a baby Darth Vader.  How cute.

Earlier in the week, I took the bike in to Horizon, where they spooned on a set of new Michelin Pilot Activs (that would be marketing speak for tyres).  I've heard a lot of stories about new motorcycle tyres making bikes handle like they're on oiled ice, but I've managed to keep it upright so far.  I still have another 75km to put on them before they're broken in and I can really start to lean in the corners.

There's less than 6 days until I leave.  There's lots to do, including putting the rest of my readership to sleep with more maintenance-related posts.  Stay tuned!

Zzzzzzz.....