Do Kim and Jason's Cure Adultitis 40-day challenge Plan

Well, I don’t have any souvenirs from childhood with me. But I do have a little stuffed pig.

So I’ve brought him into work to keep me company.

_{I do have to hide my snacks from him though!}

I’ve not really done anything towards this, but I’ve decided to count the work I did last weekend as starting The escape plan!

Last weekend I fitted a new exhaust to my bike. Sure, some could say that this wasn’t entirely in the spirit of the challenge. I am a little handy with the odd tool. But really, who doesn’t know at least something about how to turn a nut.

I really have very little mechanical knowledge, but I do have a can-do attitude, so thought that this would be worth doing.

I think my exhaust needed some patching

My bike is about 10 years old and the UK, being a little cold in winter, has lots of horrible salt on the road. That just causes rust (when the vehicle isn’t cleaned regularly). Also, viffers are prone to rusting exhausts, so I guess it was going to happen anyway. I got a bit of a surprise when half the exhaust dropped off one weekend. Thought it’d last a little longer, but guess the rust was worse than I thought.

That nut at the top was a bugger to get at!

There is something therapeutic about working on something mechanical. I bummed about most of the weekend doing this job. Occasionally I’d get stuck because I didn’t have a tool that I needed (most of my tools are in NZ) or I found a part that needed replacing. I also put a fair bit of effort into cleaning as I went. The bike has had a hard life up until now, so it’s nice to degrease and get it looking as nice as it can.

Nice new exhaust – front pipes

I had a few issues fitting the pipes. Probably mostly down to lack of mechanical knowledge. But just using common sense and care and attention I managed to get the whole system fitted, while feeling like I did a good job in the process.

Wow. No holes any more. My neighbours will be pleased!

The end result? An exhaust that sounds quiet and sweet. As well as the other servicing I managed to do, it feels like the bike is much nicer to ride too. (Just minor things like chain and suspension adjustment)

In the process I found little niggles like fasteners that needed replacing, the odd missing nut/bolt etc… So it’s good piece of mind to get those things all sorted. Especially if I end up buggering off to Italy like I plan to!