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kirkcudbrightYou have to love Step 1 of simple motorcycle repair tasks, e.g.
The former was last week's fun fun, made more fun by the fact that the fuse blew at the same time as the headlamp, so I took the switch apart before I remembered the bike had fuses. Then find the fuse box, then try to find a replacement.
The latter was why I was late to work this morning. Y'see, the clutch cable broke about two miles from home. Without the clutch, you can't effectively shift or gracefully stop. (Or maybe you can, but your mad bike skillz are better than mine.) Sitting on the warm grass behind the 7-Eleven making phone calls, I discovered that the local motorcycle shop is a mafia front operation, or a Wal-Mart subsidiary, one or the other. They don't do motorcycle towing. They don't know anyone who does. It just never comes up in their business of...repairing motorcycles? Furthermore, they don't stock cables. Their parts department doesn't stock parts that actual customers might actually want for their actual motorcycles. Of course, this is the place that made no attempt to trace the oil leak that I specifically asked them to look at. It didn't occur to them to (say) check the oil filter O-ring (another part they didn't have in stock, and had to special order). Fuck you, North Reading Motor Sports.
Anyway, AAA doesn't do motorcycles. Francie came down with the minivan, but there wasn't enough vertical clearance to put the bike in there. Eventually, we RTF'd the Yellow Pages under Towing, found a place that does do motorcycles. It was an ordinary flat-bed tow truck, but he had a clue about how to load and tie down a motorcycle. (No, it's really not hard.)
In the meantime, it was a beautiful morning, and there was this nice lawn at the back of the 7-Eleven, and I eventually got to work by other means, and I got a replacement cable from the place near work, which had it in stock, thankyouverymuch, and I installed it this evening, The End.
I swear, I don't do any of my own automotive work anymore, not even oil changes, because modern engines are not designed to be serviced by ordinary people. But with a 21 year old motorcyle, and the aformentioned fucking useless local bike shop, I both can and have to service it myself. I mean, the first thing I did after taking it out of storage last year was pull and clean the carbeurators. So yeah, go me. Woo.
- To replace the headlamp, first remove the mirrors. (They're half of what attaches the fairing to the frame. Remove the fairing, then remove the headlight from the headlight housing, then remove the headlamp (light bulb).)
- To replace the clutch cable, first remove the gas tank. (Really just lift it out of the way so you can see where the cable is routed underneath.)
The former was last week's fun fun, made more fun by the fact that the fuse blew at the same time as the headlamp, so I took the switch apart before I remembered the bike had fuses. Then find the fuse box, then try to find a replacement.
The latter was why I was late to work this morning. Y'see, the clutch cable broke about two miles from home. Without the clutch, you can't effectively shift or gracefully stop. (Or maybe you can, but your mad bike skillz are better than mine.) Sitting on the warm grass behind the 7-Eleven making phone calls, I discovered that the local motorcycle shop is a mafia front operation, or a Wal-Mart subsidiary, one or the other. They don't do motorcycle towing. They don't know anyone who does. It just never comes up in their business of...repairing motorcycles? Furthermore, they don't stock cables. Their parts department doesn't stock parts that actual customers might actually want for their actual motorcycles. Of course, this is the place that made no attempt to trace the oil leak that I specifically asked them to look at. It didn't occur to them to (say) check the oil filter O-ring (another part they didn't have in stock, and had to special order). Fuck you, North Reading Motor Sports.
Anyway, AAA doesn't do motorcycles. Francie came down with the minivan, but there wasn't enough vertical clearance to put the bike in there. Eventually, we RTF'd the Yellow Pages under Towing, found a place that does do motorcycles. It was an ordinary flat-bed tow truck, but he had a clue about how to load and tie down a motorcycle. (No, it's really not hard.)
In the meantime, it was a beautiful morning, and there was this nice lawn at the back of the 7-Eleven, and I eventually got to work by other means, and I got a replacement cable from the place near work, which had it in stock, thankyouverymuch, and I installed it this evening, The End.
I swear, I don't do any of my own automotive work anymore, not even oil changes, because modern engines are not designed to be serviced by ordinary people. But with a 21 year old motorcyle, and the aformentioned fucking useless local bike shop, I both can and have to service it myself. I mean, the first thing I did after taking it out of storage last year was pull and clean the carbeurators. So yeah, go me. Woo.
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Date: 2005-09-13 01:00 pm (UTC)the american motorcycle association has a tow plan, like AAA for bikes.
http://www.ama-cycle.org/roadride/assist.asp#motow (http://www.ama-cycle.org/roadride/assist.asp#motow)
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Date: 2005-09-13 01:12 pm (UTC)For the record, riding without clutch control is doable. This is why neutral is located between first and second: you can drop from second into neutral when coming to a stop, then rev hard and drop into first to get going again. It's not graceful, but it can work. Years ago, I practiced in a parking lot with a functional bike, just kept my hand off the clutch lever, and got the feel of it. Then, when Usagi Yojimbo (Honda Nighthawk 450) lost his clutch cable, I managed to get him home.