Publié le 31/10/2007
The Stories of Frank B.
ATV (VTT) and the dipstick
I’ve always wanted a four wheeler (VTT) since buying the cottage four years ago. I’ve only had slight exposure to using one when a friend left his here last summer. We drove along the dirt roads at 70-80 kms/hr, through the bush and mountain trails and only tipped it over twice even though my friend insisted it could never happen!
I kept looking at used ones in newspaper ads, on line and of course at the side of the road. Nothing really seduced me untill I saw the Canadian Tire ad: New 400cc. 4X4, on sale $ 4 999, no payments for one year. Now, that was interesting to me. I visited the store, had a friend check it out and did on line research and finally went ahead and bought one.
The first problem was getting it on the pickup truck. The store had a loading dock but it was higher than the truck tailgate. After four store employees and my friend, Brian, bantered about various ways to get it on. They finally decided to put a wood pallet on the edge of the loading dock leaning down against the tailgate. The angle was steep but the five of them figured they could lower it down slowly into the truck. My job was brakeman, to keep it from rolling in too quickly.
Once security in the truck we headed for the cottage. Brian with the ATV and me following by car. Driving up, I began to think, how would we get it off the truck. Of course there is no loading dock and we didn’t have any ramps. We could try backing up to a hill and backing off but there really isn’t a good spot. We could make a portable ramp with logs, a little dangerous if they move or break on the way down, this machine isn’t light. Then I trought of the retaining wall in the front yard. Brian could back up to it, put a wood pallet from the tailgate to the wall and then I could drive the bike off. This is what we did. I was a little concerned. Had never been on this machine before and from the wall it was straight up hill through the trees. Managed to make it, but I drove slowly and wasn’t really comfortable. Immediatly took a little spin up the laneway. This was great, just what I had been waiting for.
After purchasing, the Canadian Tire mechanic stressed the importance of changing the oil after the ATV had been run for an hour or so. He explained it was a new engine, had never been run and there might be metal fillings inside that had to be flushed out. Seamed easy enough. I looked at the manuel to find the drain plug. Naturally it was under the machine and in the middle, not easy to reach. I crawled under on my back with my face inches from the metal under plate. The drain was recessed about 4 inches from the plate. This wasn’t going to be easy. I looked through the tool kit that came with the bike. No socket. I didn’t have one that fit either. Off to Kelly’s to get a #14. This time I wanted the bike raised. I set 4 pallets on the lawn, 2 per side about a foot apart, filled in the middle area with logs and places plywood on the pallets side to drive up. Now the bike was on the pallets, 12 inches off the ground. I removed the logs in the middle and now had clear access to the drain plug. The manuel said to remove the dipstick before draining the oil. I did this and then went under the bike with the new socket. Kelly had asked what size the ratchet was and it was Sunday, so I had to wait till tomorrow to change the socket.
Drove the bike off the ramp. That evening I decided to drive to the dumpster with some garbage. It wasn’t really necessary but it’s one of the highlights of cottage life. Might see some animals or something but mainly it was an excuse to go for a ride. Afterwards I would stop by the neighbors for a visit. No one was home so I kept driving then I notice a wet feeling on my leg. It wasn’t raining, the bike was dry and I hadn’t gone through any puddles. My pant leg was now definately very wet. It felt down the leg and it was not only wet but oily. What the hell was going on. Then I remembered the dipstick. I hadn’t put it back in after driving off the ramp. Got back to the cottage, oil everywhere, on me, the bike, the seat, the carry case and more. Now I had a major cleanup job. C’est la vie… But there is good news though, I don’t think I’ll ever forget to replace a dipstick again!
Next time: ATV and the sled episode.
À la prochaine
Frank B.
