Since I got the bike up to Newcastle, I haven't ridden it except to ride back to Greeley on Easter afternoon and then back to Newcastle on the Saturday after Easter.
So, until today the only "benefit" I've gotten out of it has been to relearn the lesson not to park the bike on its centerstand when the surface it's parked on isn't paved. Thus, my "Catastrophic Centerstand Failure" thread.
But today was beautiful and I decided I'd been a good, hardworking guy for far too long. So I rode up US85 until the turnoff for Spearfish Canyon. I planned to pick up a couple of things in Spearfish and check out Chris's Campground, where the 2015 ST/NT-Owners National Rally will be based.
But I hadn't eaten lunch, so on my way to Walmart, I stopped at Applebee's and went in and had a nice meal before the evening rush started.
After I finished I got on the bike and, as I tried to turn the key to start it, realized that I hadn't turned the key off. DUMB!!!
It was 5:30 and the Honda dealer across I-90 closed at 5:00. So I used my AMA Road-Tow protection. Or, I tried to use it.
The lady on the other end of the phone couldn't find a dealer open in Spearfish and was going to have a tow truck come pick me up and take my bike somewhere. I told her I didn't really need a tow, I just needed a jump. Apparently, AMA doesn't believe in jump-starting motorcycles. While she was trying to work something out, I started calling cycle shops in Spearfish, hoping to find somebody somewhere who would take pity on me.
Finally, a snowmobile/4-wheeler shop answered at 5:55 and the guy said he'd check and see if one of his mechanics could stop by on the way home. In just a minute, he was back and said that a mechanic was on the way.
When he got to Applebee's, the mechanic was a very young kid (less than 20) driving an old VW Rabbit diesel and all he had was a set of jumper cables. We finally figured a way to hook the cables to my battery and I crossed my fingers that the bike would start without burning up any fuses. It did!
He stayed for a few minutes to make sure it would keep running. I asked how much I owed him and he said, "Oh, nothing. I like to help people." I asked him if I'd insult him if I gave him something and he said that he wouldn't be insulted. So, I gave him $20 and he thanked me and left.
Before he got there, my battery's voltage was about 7.4V. After we started the bike, it was showing 12.5V and slowly, slowly started creeping up. I used my Throttlemeister to hold the engine at about 3K rpm and after 20 minutes it was up to 13.0V.
I rode it to Walgreens, deciding I'd skip Walmart, and by the time I got there, the voltage was up to 13.2V. I crossed my fingers again and left it running while I ran in to fill my abbreviated shopping list. I was nearly out of gas since I'd ridden 235 miles at a "spirited" clip. I went to the Safeway with my fingers still crossed and shut it down long enough to put in 4.805 gallons. It started right up and I headed west on 90 to Sundance and then down WY-585 to US-85 and then Newcastle. I got here while there was still light, but about 30 minutes after sunset. I had been worried about deer and saw plenty (plus about 10 elk) but they were all 40-50 feet off the road and never moved.
So, my learned advice is simple: Turn off the bike with the key, not the sidestand!
So, until today the only "benefit" I've gotten out of it has been to relearn the lesson not to park the bike on its centerstand when the surface it's parked on isn't paved. Thus, my "Catastrophic Centerstand Failure" thread.
But today was beautiful and I decided I'd been a good, hardworking guy for far too long. So I rode up US85 until the turnoff for Spearfish Canyon. I planned to pick up a couple of things in Spearfish and check out Chris's Campground, where the 2015 ST/NT-Owners National Rally will be based.
But I hadn't eaten lunch, so on my way to Walmart, I stopped at Applebee's and went in and had a nice meal before the evening rush started.
After I finished I got on the bike and, as I tried to turn the key to start it, realized that I hadn't turned the key off. DUMB!!!
It was 5:30 and the Honda dealer across I-90 closed at 5:00. So I used my AMA Road-Tow protection. Or, I tried to use it.
The lady on the other end of the phone couldn't find a dealer open in Spearfish and was going to have a tow truck come pick me up and take my bike somewhere. I told her I didn't really need a tow, I just needed a jump. Apparently, AMA doesn't believe in jump-starting motorcycles. While she was trying to work something out, I started calling cycle shops in Spearfish, hoping to find somebody somewhere who would take pity on me.
Finally, a snowmobile/4-wheeler shop answered at 5:55 and the guy said he'd check and see if one of his mechanics could stop by on the way home. In just a minute, he was back and said that a mechanic was on the way.
When he got to Applebee's, the mechanic was a very young kid (less than 20) driving an old VW Rabbit diesel and all he had was a set of jumper cables. We finally figured a way to hook the cables to my battery and I crossed my fingers that the bike would start without burning up any fuses. It did!
He stayed for a few minutes to make sure it would keep running. I asked how much I owed him and he said, "Oh, nothing. I like to help people." I asked him if I'd insult him if I gave him something and he said that he wouldn't be insulted. So, I gave him $20 and he thanked me and left.
Before he got there, my battery's voltage was about 7.4V. After we started the bike, it was showing 12.5V and slowly, slowly started creeping up. I used my Throttlemeister to hold the engine at about 3K rpm and after 20 minutes it was up to 13.0V.
I rode it to Walgreens, deciding I'd skip Walmart, and by the time I got there, the voltage was up to 13.2V. I crossed my fingers again and left it running while I ran in to fill my abbreviated shopping list. I was nearly out of gas since I'd ridden 235 miles at a "spirited" clip. I went to the Safeway with my fingers still crossed and shut it down long enough to put in 4.805 gallons. It started right up and I headed west on 90 to Sundance and then down WY-585 to US-85 and then Newcastle. I got here while there was still light, but about 30 minutes after sunset. I had been worried about deer and saw plenty (plus about 10 elk) but they were all 40-50 feet off the road and never moved.
So, my learned advice is simple: Turn off the bike with the key, not the sidestand!
