MCN Fleet: The 10p Bobber fix

The Triumph Bobber looks great, there’s no doubt about that. But one thing I was slightly worried about prior to its arrival was if all that style would be at the cost of functionality.

The Triumph Bobber is my only form of transport, which means it’s on the road every day. While it’s certainly not the most practical bike it’s been able to cope with the daily commute without too much hassle.

When I topped up the oil earlier in the year I thought nothing of the shiny oil cap. It was quite tight and the size and shape makes it a little awkward for me to grip, but it came off and I was able to top up the oil. That wasn’t the case when I went to add a drop of oil before a longer trip recently. It just wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard I tried.

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But there is a groove in the top of the cap which looks like a coin will fit in there perfectly to provide a bit more leverage. The first candidate was a £1 coin and try as I might the cap still wouldn’t budge.

Let’s go a little bigger. 50p. Nope, the cap was still holding fast. I tried once more with a 10p and still had no luck. In the end I had to use the 10p and a set of pliers just to remove the oil cap. I’d much rather an ugly oil filler cap that I can remove without tools than having to raid the change jar every time I need to add a little oil. And my ham-fisted attempts at removing the cap have resulted have started to chew away at the edges of the cap.

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