Bike Fixed

I managed to fix my motorbike yesterday after work.  As I suspected, I fried the battery. A few weeks ago I bought a voltmeter so I could monitor/debug/troubleshoot issues on the bike.  My battery is 6volts - but I was reading 6.8 or so on the old battery - as it drys out, the voltage increases.  This explains why my headlight bulb and all turn signals burnt out in a span of a week.  I really need to make it a habit to check the water levels of my battery… So, two things I needed to fix yesterday were the Headlight bulb (as driving at night with no light isn’t exactly the best idea) , and of course, get a new battery! I first went to my original mechanic’s shop (who coincidently sold me the bike)  (Note, I will refer to him as G).  His shop is near the office.  He is my usual supplier for 6volt-specific parts, such as batteries, generators, etc. (as the common bike on the road is 12volts, it is hard to source 6volt electronics). I called in advance to be sure they had the bulb.  10RMB for that, no problem.  I asked about a new battery.  His helper (G wasn’t there) said he had only one, and quoted me over 300RMB.  Last time I bought a battery (identical) from him, he charged me 160 RMB.  (Note: that was 2 months ago according to my records).  Apparently, his supplier gave him a cheese ball story that these things are rare and that nobody has them in stock, etc… Bullshit, I thought.  In June when I had a battery issue, I first went to my “usual” mechanic (I’ll refer to him as B) who is conveniently close to my home.  I asked for the battery, he obviously didn’t have one but said he would work on sourcing one.  Took him a week, and by the time he got it, not liking the wait, I already got a new battery from G for 160 RMB.   But when B finally got it, he quoted me 70 RMB. 70 RMB Fast forward to yesterday, when G’s helper quoted me more than 300 RMB for the battery, I politely told him thanks, I’ll think about it (while saying screw this crap, I’m going to B).  Got into a cab, made the way south through rush hour traffic to B’s shop.  Asked him for the battery, he had it!  And he quoted me 65 RMB for it!  Neato! I got back in the cab and went right back up north to my office (as my bike was stranded in my office’s underground parking) to do the repair work. About 2 minutes after getting my tools out, a crowed of parking attendants and “bao an’s”, or security guards, surrounded me to watch what the crazy foreigner was doing.  Some of them even helped me do the work! Any way after about a half hour, I was off! Unfortunately, I have no photos - my N95 was at the repair shop (see yesterday’s post). For those of you who are interested, I started keeping motorbike maintenance records in May of 2006.  From that time, I have gone through 4 batteries, in August 06, November, June 07, and now in August.  I’ve really got to start taking care of the batteries…..