The Troubles I Bring On Myself
I’ve written previously about mechanical difficulties I’ve had with my 30-year-old Honda CB750 Custom. Well, it’s happened again and this time I have no one to blame but myself.
As an aside, there is no better time than now to rave about the free roadside assistance you get if you join the American Motorcyclist Association. I’ve been towed three times now this summer and it didn’t cost me a penny. Just a lot of time waiting for the tow truck.
So I’ve known I have an electrical problem, and by testing I’ve been able to determine that the battery is fine. That means the charging system has an issue. But I wasn’t willing to let it go at that and just take the bike over to my mechanic. I’m on a pretty tight budget these days and if I’m going to pay for a new stator I wanted to be sure I really needed it.
My way of confirming that the issue truly is in the charging was to ride the bike. With the battery fully charged it fires up and runs great. With no charge reaching the battery, the lights and spark plugs gradually drain the battery until the bike stops dead. This time, however, I packed up my battery charger and an extension cord, figuring that if it died somewhere I’d have my confirmation and then I could find someone who would let me plug in for a few minutes.
Gosh my plan worked well. I was on my way to the gym and it died about 10 blocks away. This wasn’t quite what I had hoped because I knew of an exterior outlet at the gym and I figured I’d limp in and then give it a charge while I worked out. But no problem, I’d get a charge from someone here that would get me to the gym and proceed as planned.
Long story short, I did find a Burger King close at hand where the manager agreed to let me plug in for 20 minutes. Oh, did I mention that I have a trickle charger? Twenty minutes with a trickle charger doesn’t do much. I sat there at Burger King for 2 hours until I could finally start the bike and ride to the gym.
At the gym I plugged in as planned and went about my business. When I came back I turned the key and pushed the starter button and got . . . nothing. It turns out that outside plug does not have power going to it, and apparently if you hook a battery up to a charge unit and there is no power flowing into the battery it drains the battery instead.
So it was time to call for a tow. And of course they never get there in less than an hour. All in all, it was not the best use of my time, especially considering that I’m now going to need to take the bike in and pay the repair bill just the same.
But oh boy, I’ll know that I really need to spend that money.
Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Iron Mountain Racing takes 3rd in ALCAN 5000
Biker Quote for Today
If it’s supposed to move and it don’t–WD-40. If it ain’t supposed to move and it does–Duct Tape.
August 26th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Ken, sometimes doing things the hard way is the only way to get things done. I know from my own experience
January 13th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
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