Oops is the word

[SeaCat]

So I'm out riding today. It's a beatuiful day for it. I've got a nice ride planned and everything checks out. I grab my gear and off I go.

The first 20 miles are absolutely perfect. A short stretch at speed then a nice long stretch of twisting roads at low speeds. I come out by Hobe Sound and pick up U.S. 1 heading south.

I crank the bike up and love the feel of it. I'm honking along at 60 MPH when the bike looses power for a second. Okay, something going on but I'm not sure what. The oil light hasn't come on and the power came right back up. Then as I crested a hill I lost all power. The engine just shut down on me.

I grabbed the clutch and looking ahead saw a right turn pull off ahead of me. I coasted in and grabbed the brakes so I would stop before I ran out of roadway.

I tried re-starting the bike and it cranked over a couple times before quiting. WTF?

I sat there for a couple of minutes thinking about it before I try cranking the bike again. It turns over a couple of times then stops. Shit.

I pull out the cell phone and call my wife. I tell her to grab the battery tender and a couple of other things and head up towards me. She isn't happy about this but she agrees to come rescue me. I know it's going to take her a while to get to where I am so I shrug out of my jacket and take off my helmet.

About ten minutes later I start thinking about what's going on again and decide to look in the gas tank. The trip odomoeter is only reading 98 miles and the prior owneer had told me he got 110-120 miles from a tank of gas. I look in and damn but it seems empty.

I switch to reserve and pull the choke. Damn if it doesn't fire right up. Now I'm in a quandry. My wife should be over halfway to where I was. Should I call her and tell her to turn around? I didn't for a couple of reasons.

The first was I wasn't sure this was truly the cause of the problem. (I never had a bike just cut out like that when it ran out of gas.) The other was more important to me. You see my wife doesn't like to drive. She fears it. Yet she had come out to help me even though she didn't feel comfortable in the least driving.

I shut down the bike and waited for my wife to show up. I stood there in the evening coolness and waited for quite some time before she rolled by and saw me. When she came back and pulled in behind the bike she handed me the Tender and the wiring I had asked for. Sure the bike started right up. As I geared up with her sitting in the car next to me I thanked her for saving my butt. She then followed me home.

My wife feels good about this. She helped me out even though she had to drive on a congested high speed road to do so. She had come out to save my butt. There is no way I'm going to disabuse her of this feeling.

Cat

 

[Ǽltya]

She doesn't read Lit does she?

You're a sweet guy, Cat. I was hoping the bike hadn't blown up since you just got it. Sounds like a little misinformation on the part of the previous owner, but all worked out well. Your wife feels good and you feel good that she feels good. And your bike isn't trash.

 

[Lisa Denton]

She's a hero Cat, its ok to not tell her different.

Also you will look kinda stupid saying you ran out of gas, so it's a win/win situation to just leave things as is. You should of course offer to make dinner, clean the house, wash the dishes and give her a foot massage for rescuing you.

 

[lisa123414]

As a fearless sort of girlie, I once had trouble empathizing with women who were afraid to do things like drive, or use tools or something like that. My sister is like your wife, even after twenty years of driving every day, getting behind the wheel still intimidates her. She was so scared when first learning to drive, she and my mother would both come home from a practice session crying. I ended up taking her to practice drive.

It took a good deal of patience and taught me a lot about the differences between people. It takes a lot of understanding to support feelings that you dont have yourself. Good for you, you understand and cherish your wife. Good for her, she sounds like she would do anything for you.

 

[glynndah]

You are a smart man, SeaCat.

 

[SeaCat]

Thanks all,

The bike is new to me. The prior owner is well versed in it's use and as such I'm sure he gets better gas mileage out of it than I do. It was my mistake for not looking in the tank and seeing how much Go-Juice was in there.

Yes my wife is a treasure. I fully understand her fear of driving.

She was raised by very conservative controlling parents. When she got her license they didn't like it. It gave her more freedom than they approved of. (She got her license late. She was 21 when she got it.) Then she got into an accident. A car pulled out in front of her and she T-Boned it. The police report stated there was nothing she could have done, the guy had run a red light. Her parents on the other hand lorded it over her about how it was all her fault. They informed her that it was all her fault and how she could have killed the other driver. This and other comments they made caused her to fear driving. It's been years but I have at least got her to get behind the wheel once again. Now I'm working on getting her a bit more comfortable with her driving. (Much as I hate to ride shotgun in a car or any other vehicle I'm making her drive at least once a week.)

So my wife coming out to "save" me was something important and I make sure she knows that.

As for the cooking and cleaning, I do most of the cooking and we split the cleaning.

Cat

 

[glynndah]

I had a boyfriend who tried to teach me to drive a stick shift and did nothing but yell and scream and curse at me the entire time. I never did learn how to get that car into reverse. A few years later when my new boy friend and future husband bought a car with a manual transmission, I told him if he yelled at me, I would park the car and never drive again and he'd have to drive me everywhere I wanted to go. He was an excellent teacher, I learned how to shift, even Reverse, and most of our cars and trucks since then have had manual transmissions.

 

[rgraham666]

You're a good man, Cat.

 

[Ǽltya]

Do you have a brother?

 

[fieryjen]

Driving freaks me out a bit too.

I think you did the exactly right thing by leaving things as they were

 

[Lisa Denton]

Thanks all,

The bike is new to me. The prior owner is well versed in it's use and as such I'm sure he gets better gas mileage out of it than I do. It was my mistake for not looking in the tank and seeing how much Go-Juice was in there.

Yes my wife is a treasure. I fully understand her fear of driving.

She was raised by very conservative controlling parents. When she got her license they didn't like it. It gave her more freedom than they approved of. (She got her license late. She was 21 when she got it.) Then she got into an accident. A car pulled out in front of her and she T-Boned it. The police report stated there was nothing she could have done, the guy had run a red light. Her parents on the other hand lorded it over her about how it was all her fault. They informed her that it was all her fault and how she could have killed the other driver. This and other comments they made caused her to fear driving. It's been years but I have at least got her to get behind the wheel once again. Now I'm working on getting her a bit more comfortable with her driving. (Much as I hate to ride shotgun in a car or any other vehicle I'm making her drive at least once a week.)

So my wife coming out to "save" me was something important and I make sure she knows that.

As for the cooking and cleaning, I do most of the cooking and we split the cleaning.

Cat

I was joking about the cooking and cleaning Cat, just kinda saying you might like having an EXTRA excuse for pampering her for being your heroine in shining armor and silky underwear.

It is nice that she got to help you, even though the problem was already fixed but she didn't know that, and it is nice that your new motorcycle wasn't broken.

Hey BTW, there was a story on the news, I dunno if it was national, about a motorcycle riding vest. You clip a cable onto the bike when you get on, then if you go off, like airbourne off, the cable triggers a tiny canister to inflate the vest like a airbag or something. The motorcycle riders they was talking to said that way almost any accident involving chest or neck injuries would be avoided because the vest would protect your chest and neck. Then they said the small canister is cheap and easy to replace for next time.

I know you said you have leather stuff, this one rider said you need the leathers for road rash and this vest for chest and neck protection.

I think it was called Impact Vest but you could probably google motorcycle vests or something if you wanted to check it out. What they were saying made sense as far as broken ribs could puncture lungs in a not serious accident. I know you like to be safe, the news people said it cost about the same as a normal leather riding vest so you might could afford it.

See ya, live to ride, ride to live, Lisa.

 

[SeaCat]

Do you have a brother?

I do but you don't want to know him.

Cat

 

[Ǽltya]

I do but you don't want to know him.

Cat

*sigh* Story of my life.

 

[SeaCat]

I was joking about the cooking and cleaning Cat, just kinda saying you might like having an EXTRA excuse for pampering her for being your heroine in shining armor and silky underwear.

It is nice that she got to help you, even though the problem was already fixed but she didn't know that, and it is nice that your new motorcycle wasn't broken.

Hey BTW, there was a story on the news, I dunno if it was national, about a motorcycle riding vest. You clip a cable onto the bike when you get on, then if you go off, like airbourne off, the cable triggers a tiny canister to inflate the vest like a airbag or something. The motorcycle riders they was talking to said that way almost any accident involving chest or neck injuries would be avoided because the vest would protect your chest and neck. Then they said the small canister is cheap and easy to replace for next time.

I know you said you have leather stuff, this one rider said you need the leathers for road rash and this vest for chest and neck protection.

I think it was called Impact Vest but you could probably google motorcycle vests or something if you wanted to check it out. What they were saying made sense as far as broken ribs could puncture lungs in a not serious accident. I know you like to be safe, the news people said it cost about the same as a normal leather riding vest so you might could afford it.

See ya, live to ride, ride to live, Lisa.

Lisa,

I've seen them advertised. Look kind of interesting. I want to see a bit more about them before I invest in them though.

The leathers are for road rash, the armor built into them is for the impact. (We all hope we don't need this.) My jacket weighs roughly 8 pounds because of the thickness of the leather and the armor built into it. (I have what we used to call an Armadillo, it's an articulated back armor made of heavy Kevlar.) I also wear a Full Face Helmet and heavy jeans. (I'm looking at getting a pair of chaps.) I also wear heavy leather gloves and Combat Boots.

I'm looking at getting some riding boots and some good riding gloves.

I'm not some macho studly guy. I ride because I enjoy it. I know the risks I take and I minimize them. I loo at these guys riding their bies without gear and have to wonder if they have ever met something like a Palmetto Bug. (Picture a Cockroach the size of your hand.) Hitting one of these at 60 or 70 is going to leave a mark. Hell hitting a Bumblebee at those speeds is going to hurt.

A good set of leathers is going to protect you from these impacts.

On one of my recent rides I caught a pebble in my leathers. It hit me in the shoulder and it hurt. (I was doing 50 MPH.) I can imagine how that would have felt in a T-Shirt.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

*sigh* Story of my life.

My brother is a Born Again Catholic married to an Italian Woman from Brooklyn. I have talken to him 3 times in the past 3 years. Believe me you don't want to know him. (Hell I don't want to know him right now.)

Cat

 

[glynndah]

I do but you don't want to know him.

Cat

Exactly what I was going to say. We've read the stories. *shudders*

 

[The_Fool]

I had a boyfriend who tried to teach me to drive a stick shift and did nothing but yell and scream and curse at me the entire time. I never did learn how to get that car into reverse. A few years later when my new boy friend and future husband bought a car with a manual transmission, I told him if he yelled at me, I would park the car and never drive again and he'd have to drive me everywhere I wanted to go. He was an excellent teacher, I learned how to shift, even Reverse, and most of our cars and trucks since then have had manual transmissions.

So you are good with a stick.....hmmmm.....

 

[glynndah]

So you are good with a stick.....hmmmm.....

Extraordinarily so.

 

[Weird Harold]

I ... wonder if they have ever met something like a Palmetto Bug. (Picture a Cockroach the size of your hand.) Hitting one of these at 60 or 70 is going to leave a mark. Hell hitting a Bumblebee at those speeds is going to hurt.

They can do more than leave a mark -- A friend rented a Honda 90 mothorcycles for a day tour of the Thai country side and a Rice Bug (the Plamettos' asian alias) caught him right between the eyes and peeled him right off the bike at 100 KPH.

Luckily for him the road didn't have much of shoulder and the klong (deep roadside irrigation/drainage/sewage ditch) he rolled into was nearly full so he wasn't seriously injured.

 

[oggbashan]

110-120 miles from a tank of gas?

My last motorcycle did 150 miles from a gallon. OK, that's an Imperial gallon, but I don't think I've ever owned a motorcycle that did worse than 70 miles to a gallon and about 250 miles to a tank.

Now I know why I rode ancient British bikes.

Og

 

[Lisa Denton]

110-120 miles from a tank of gas?

My last motorcycle did 150 miles from a gallon. OK, that's an Imperial gallon, but I don't think I've ever owned a motorcycle that did worse than 70 miles to a gallon and about 250 miles to a tank.

Now I know why I rode ancient British bikes.

Og

Wish my freakin car could get half that, costs an arm and leg to fill the tank and the prices keep rising, somebody said expect 4 dollars a gallon here in texas before long.

Cat is pretty smart, a quick trip to the grocery store would be nice on a motorcycle if you just needed a few things.


Cat, to tell you more on what I seen of them airbag vests, maybe called Impact Vests. They were saying that the new cheap small canister to inflate them is a new addition. The news reporter guy put a vest on and they pulled the cord, it inflated fast (the news guy said he wanted to know if it was fast enough) and the collar inflated to keep his head from being pushed back.

Then the motorcycle rider showed how easy to re-arm it. He just let the air out, pushed some flaps back in in places and attached a new lil canister. Only took maybe two minutes.

Your stuff sounds good but you might want to get one for passengers for when you give people a ride. Cars drive crazy around motorcycles.

 

[jomar]

I like the reason you didn't say anything was for your wife's benefit, not to keep you out of the doghouse.

Okay, now let's see a show of hands. How many thought Cat was reporting he had to lay the bike down when you read the thread title?

 

[TxRad]

The bug problem is solved by a good windshield. Don't go with the cheap ones. I had one of those shattered years ago by a palmetto bug there in Fla.

My bike gets around 40-42 mpg and has a four gallon tank. After an hour or so it's leg stretching time so every second stop I fill up. Don't forget to put the reserve switch back to normal or you really will be out of gas and that is embarrassing.

Those vests work. I know of two people who have them and one who got the misfortune of trying it out. A car jammed on the brakes to make a turn without signaling. He took a flip in the ditch as there was oncoming traffic. He said he wasn't sure if it helped but it sure didn't hurt. Just the security of the extra padding gave and gives him peace of mind.

Always ride like you are invisible and expect drivers in cars to do stupid things. You'll ride safer and live longer.

 

[Emerald_Dragon]

I had a boyfriend who tried to teach me to drive a stick shift and did nothing but yell and scream and curse at me the entire time. I never did learn how to get that car into reverse. A few years later when my new boy friend and future husband bought a car with a manual transmission, I told him if he yelled at me, I would park the car and never drive again and he'd have to drive me everywhere I wanted to go. He was an excellent teacher, I learned how to shift, even Reverse, and most of our cars and trucks since then have had manual transmissions.

It is amazing the difference a good teacher with a positive attitude can make. Sounds like you have a keeper!!!!!!