{"id":35390,"date":"2021-02-26T23:52:17","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T14:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/?p=35390"},"modified":"2026-09-24T13:45:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T04:45:42","slug":"thoughts-when-i-took-my-bike-to-the-shop-for-a-spark-plug-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/20210226\/blogs\/thoughts\/thoughts-when-i-took-my-bike-to-the-shop-for-a-spark-plug-change","title":{"rendered":"[Thoughts] The time I took my bike to the shop for a spark plug change."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everyone starts out as a beginner.

Back when I was in high school, tasks I thought I could handle didn’t go smoothly.
I’d ask the bike shop for help. Everyone’s done that, right? Absolutely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, I feel like I learned less than I thought I would.
Even after the work was done, I’d get a casual verbal explanation like “all set,”

and I’d be left wondering “what was that really about?” with lingering confusion, doubt, and anxiety that I still carry today.
I learned that I shouldn’t let that happen\u2014I’ve always tried to learn from others’ mistakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n


So, I occasionally update this blog with random thoughts.

Back when I was in high school, I remember my part-time job paid around 770 yen per hour.
Even working five hours from 5 PM to 10 PM after school…
I’d only make 3,850 yen. (\uff1b\u2200\uff1b) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying a new motorcycle is quite a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, setting that aside.
No money \u2192 plenty of time and wanting to ride every day = doing the work yourself\u2014isn’t that the typical path for motorcycle riders?

Back then, I didn’t even know service manuals existed,
so I’d spend my days doing what I called “custom work” or “maintenance” under the eaves without much thought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back now, I wonder what was so fun about it.

Installing and removing parts, whether things were getting better or worse\u2014none of that really mattered. I was just absorbed in the work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then one day, reading a motorcycle magazine, I’d see things like…
“changing spark plugs is good” or “replacing the air cleaner is good,”
and I’d think “hmm, interesting.”
When I saw spark plugs at a nearby auto shop and realized they weren’t that expensive,
I thought “I want to try changing the spark plugs!”

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bike I was riding back then was a Honda CBR250R. (Not the RR.)
It was practically a hand-me-down.

Strike while the iron is hot.
I decided to try changing the spark plugs, so I removed the fuel tank and the air cleaner box and froze.


Wait, I can’t see the spark plug? That means I don’t know the part number…

Looking back now, I’m amazed at my recklessness.
I should have researched first and then acted, but back then there was no internet, and the bookstore didn’t have that kind of information. Impatient as I was, I figured taking it apart would be faster, so I just went ahead and disassembled it.

And my only means of transportation was now in pieces.
The only place I could turn to was the bike shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I pushed the bike all the way to the shop

and asked, “Can you change the spark plugs?”
Before that, I asked about the price\u2014”How much?”
The shop owner said, “Hmm, about 8,000 yen?”

“Eight thousand yen?!”
That was two days’ worth of my part-time wages.
I just asked, just pushed the bike there, and then pushed it all the way back home and reassembled it.

With the tank and air cleaner box still off, I had this naive hope that it would be a quick fix, but that was crushed. (\uff1b\u2200\uff1b)

Looking back now, maybe the shop owner was thinking “don’t bring me such nonsensical requests!”
I’ve come to realize that being selfish and inconsiderate isn’t right. I reflect on it every day.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone starts out as a beginner. Back when I was in high school, tasks I thought I could handle didn’t go smoothly. I’d ask the bike shop for help. Everyone’s done that, right? Absolutely. Honestly, I feel like I learned less than I thought I would. Even after the work was done, I’d get a casual verbal explanation like “all set,” and I’d be left wondering “what was that really about?” with lingering confusion, doubt, and anxiety that I still carry today. I learned that I shouldn’t let that happen\u2014I’ve always tried to learn from others’ mistakes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pochipp_cv_data":"","swell_btn_cv_data":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[269],"class_list":["post-35390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thoughts","tag-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}