[div align=\\\"center\\\"]My Struggle[/div]
Hey everyone, how’s it going? I’m sure that most of you, nay, all of you, have heard about my pain, my agony, my struggle. Maybe you heard it directly from me, shouting out into the void of the Minnesota Grey Ducks and Chicago Butchers Discord servers, grasping for any semblance of hope, looking for help and advice. Or maybe you heard about it through word of mouth, from those that were sharing my story, hoping to prepare the rest of you in case you ever found yourself in a similar situation. Or maybe you heard it from Reaper, making jokes everywhere he could, including NSFL general, wherever there were listening ears.
Of course, I’m talking about my oil filter. I’ve changed my car’s oil for years, starting with my old 2003 Mustang, for the life of my 2007 Civic, and now with my 2016 Civic. I wouldn’t call myself an expert by any means. I’m definitely not a car guy, though I wish I was. However, even without these skills, I have never had too many problems when trying to change my oil. I’m capable enough. This was different, though. I was changing my motorcycle’s oil for the first time, a 2011 Yamaha FZ6R. I had never changed any motorcycle’s oil before, but it was more than due for one. Now, I don’t know how many of you know this, but oil filters should just unscrew from their spot to remove them, and then you screw in a new one. Motorcycles are smaller and more compact, so it’s harder to get your hands in there to unscrew it. For this reason, they add a hex nut to a lot of motorcycle oil filters so that you can remove them with a socket wrench, since it’s hard to get your hands in there. Unfortunately, I think that the guy I bought the bike from last year had never changed it himself. The oil filter that I was tasked with removing was a manufacturer’s oil filter, installed by a dealership, most likely. For whatever reason, the manufacturer oil filter doesn’t have the hex nut on the top. This means you have to actually twist it to get it off. I had to go through every trick in the book to try to get this thing out. I tried using my hands. I tried using rubber jar openers. I tried a filter wrench. I tried stabbing a screwdriver into it to use as a lever. I tried making my girlfriend do it (oh holy hell that would have been so emasculating, thank god she didn’t budge it). And every step of the way, Reaper and Jango were there in my ear. No, not supporting me, but constantly belittling my struggle. Eventually, after much ribbing, they did offer me a lot of solid advice. This advice led to one of the most glorious days of my life: the day that I removed my oil filter.
What does this terrible tale have to do with the NSFL, you ask? I just wanted to thank this community for being so awesome (most of the time). This time it was specifically Reaper and Jango that helped, but everyone here is so awesome. Without the NSFL, I probably would have had to load my bike onto a truck and take it to a mechanic, in all of my shame (I couldn’t have rode it, I stabbed a hole in the filter, remember? What a mistake hahah). After my initial failures that lasted two hours, Reaper, Jango, Dewalt, and a lot of the guys in the Grey Ducks locker room were poking fun, and it actually really cheered me up. My day may have been ruined, if it weren’t for this awesome community that we have here.
![[Image: 20200705_175406.jpg]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/716466778900791347/729480989230891008/20200705_175406.jpg)
Hey everyone, how’s it going? I’m sure that most of you, nay, all of you, have heard about my pain, my agony, my struggle. Maybe you heard it directly from me, shouting out into the void of the Minnesota Grey Ducks and Chicago Butchers Discord servers, grasping for any semblance of hope, looking for help and advice. Or maybe you heard about it through word of mouth, from those that were sharing my story, hoping to prepare the rest of you in case you ever found yourself in a similar situation. Or maybe you heard it from Reaper, making jokes everywhere he could, including NSFL general, wherever there were listening ears.
Of course, I’m talking about my oil filter. I’ve changed my car’s oil for years, starting with my old 2003 Mustang, for the life of my 2007 Civic, and now with my 2016 Civic. I wouldn’t call myself an expert by any means. I’m definitely not a car guy, though I wish I was. However, even without these skills, I have never had too many problems when trying to change my oil. I’m capable enough. This was different, though. I was changing my motorcycle’s oil for the first time, a 2011 Yamaha FZ6R. I had never changed any motorcycle’s oil before, but it was more than due for one. Now, I don’t know how many of you know this, but oil filters should just unscrew from their spot to remove them, and then you screw in a new one. Motorcycles are smaller and more compact, so it’s harder to get your hands in there to unscrew it. For this reason, they add a hex nut to a lot of motorcycle oil filters so that you can remove them with a socket wrench, since it’s hard to get your hands in there. Unfortunately, I think that the guy I bought the bike from last year had never changed it himself. The oil filter that I was tasked with removing was a manufacturer’s oil filter, installed by a dealership, most likely. For whatever reason, the manufacturer oil filter doesn’t have the hex nut on the top. This means you have to actually twist it to get it off. I had to go through every trick in the book to try to get this thing out. I tried using my hands. I tried using rubber jar openers. I tried a filter wrench. I tried stabbing a screwdriver into it to use as a lever. I tried making my girlfriend do it (oh holy hell that would have been so emasculating, thank god she didn’t budge it). And every step of the way, Reaper and Jango were there in my ear. No, not supporting me, but constantly belittling my struggle. Eventually, after much ribbing, they did offer me a lot of solid advice. This advice led to one of the most glorious days of my life: the day that I removed my oil filter.
What does this terrible tale have to do with the NSFL, you ask? I just wanted to thank this community for being so awesome (most of the time). This time it was specifically Reaper and Jango that helped, but everyone here is so awesome. Without the NSFL, I probably would have had to load my bike onto a truck and take it to a mechanic, in all of my shame (I couldn’t have rode it, I stabbed a hole in the filter, remember? What a mistake hahah). After my initial failures that lasted two hours, Reaper, Jango, Dewalt, and a lot of the guys in the Grey Ducks locker room were poking fun, and it actually really cheered me up. My day may have been ruined, if it weren’t for this awesome community that we have here.
![[Image: wJurMHl.jpg]](https://imgur.com/wJurMHl.jpg)
![[Image: 018p.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/WbJGDCCK/018p.png)
![[Image: 033p.png]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/372602034198806530/1136829642104385656/033p.png)
![[Image: bIZF7tM.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/bIZF7tM.jpg)
![[Image: OPhdsQN.png]](https://i.imgur.com/OPhdsQN.png)
