Zen and the Relief of Motorcycle Servicing!

Not long enough I had read a book called ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance‘. While it was more of a philosophical journey as opposed to what the title suggests, there is definitely something good about motorcycle maintenance (or anything for that matter).

I had been deferring the routine servicing of my motorbike for quite some time. If I remember correctly, it has been over 9 months. And guess what, this is when the workshop is (rather was) just behind my workplace! This is the height of laziness, isn’t it? (I know most of you are no different 😉 ). Anyways, 2-3 months ago, I decided to shun the laziness and went to the workshop behind my workplace. But wow, look at my destiny (or my bike’s destiny rather), I came to know that the workshop had been closed. Possibly because of people like me not bothering to service their bikes.

Anyways, the closure of the workshop nearby gave me a solid reason to defer the servicing. I could only imagine, how good it would have been if the workshop was still there. Servicing the bike at the other, more prominent workshop, would mean killing a day. So weekdays were out of question. I somehow couldn’t convince myself to trade off a weekend to get this through. Moreover, a couple of my friends warned me against the main workshop which received hundreds of bikes everyday and supposedly couldn’t pay attention to details. Ah! this was more than enough for me. How could I get my bike serviced at such a place? So I decided to live with a couple of smallish troubles which were already starting to show off in my bike. I was noticing a drop in the mileage. The chain and sprocket were making noise. The rear view mirrors were long out of alignment and beyond any use. I could neither see my face nor the traffic in them. They were somehow pointing to the ground beneath!

With all this, as I went on for my work every morning, the troubles my bike gave was nagging. I actually avoided using my bike as the feel good factor was lost. Now, people around me could notice the irritating noise it gave when changing gears. Thankfully it never broke down.

This morning, I remembered the joy and feel of riding the bike when I first bought it. I decided that it was enough and I must do something about it. It was simple. I went ahead for servicing. Had a tea with the mechanic over there as he examined the bike for the problems. I mentioned all the troubles I had along with the cosmetic changes which were necessary and came back. Somehow I felt a huge load, off my head!

And this effort was not in vain. When I went ahead and received my bike in the evening. It looked almost new. I could resist riding it back. And wow, there was a whole lot different experience while I rode it back to my home. Suddenly all noises were gone. Everything was in perfect shape. The ride was intact. I cannot explain the relief and the ‘feel good’ factor I got in the short ride from the workshop to my home.

I am sure most of us have had such experiences. Motorbike is just an example. It can happen with anything. The joy of putting things back on track is just so refreshing.

So did I learn a lesson? Well yes, to experience the joy of getting the broken things fixed, wait till they break! Ha ha! Just kidding. Let’s see when I go for the next servicing 🙂