Those who know me even remotely know that there is little in this world that I hold more dear than my 2000 Indian Chief.

And as much as I actually enjoy working on it, I have come to realize that it is extremely important for me to be fully aware of just how difficult a job may be before I undertake it. I have actually become fairly adept at this over the years with my various vehicles, and usually err on the side of caution, preferring to have people who, you know, actually know what they are doing performing the complicated stuff.

See, I am not the most mechanical person in the world. Given enough time, I can figure out most anything, but that’s the key, isn’t it. Time. I know just enough, generally speaking of course, take something apart. It’s the putting it all back together that usually throws me. Back in the 80’s I took apart my 1984 Yamaha YZ125 one winter, and cleaned all the accumulated gunk and dirt out of the engine. It took me about 3 weeks to put it back together. When I was done, I stood back and looked at it. It was clean and shiny, and looked better than when I had originally bought it. And so did the 3 extra pieces that were on the floor next to it.

Hopefully I am not in the same kind of situation with the Indian, as what I thought was going to be a quick, 15 minute adjustment has turned into a rather significant rewiring of the headlamp assembly. Of course, I didn’t know this the first time I went to AutoZone. But by the time I went back, some 2 hours later, I had it pretty well figured out. Unfortunately, I started the quick, 15 minute adjustment at about 6:30pm or so. It’s dark out now, and the lighting is crummy in the garage so I’ll have to finish it up tomorrow.

The good news is, I know exactly what needs to be done, and it is well within my ability level. The bad news is the entire headlamp and light bar assemblies are in pieces on the floor of my garage. It isn’t a huge job, but it’ll likely take me another 30 minutes of re-wiring and then another 30 to re-assemble everything.

Naturally, I have blocked off the entire day. I mean, it’ll need a test drive, yes? A good, 100 or 200 mile test drive to make sure all the… oh shut up it will so.