A story about being a dope

[grnvett]

It all starts last Tuesday. A mostly uneventful 240 mile jaunt in the country west and south of Chicago. I managed to drop the ROKT, but that is a whole other story.

The Thursday, I decide to ride to work and all goes well. Lights light and signals signal, she runs like a scared hare.

Ok, everything seems fine till I get ready to go home. Turn the key and the tach just sits there, no little dance and no leds for neutral, etc. OK, she still runs and all seems OK, Just no tach and no neutral or turn signal light. I'll get home OK and I did.

At home, start checking around. Maybe a fuse? Pull the Beetles, Pull the seat (also corbin so it screws in place). Wiggle my fat fingers in to get the lid off the fuse block and stare at the international hyrogliphics on the inside of the cover. No need to check the shop manual that is 10 feet away. Check the fuse that seems to indicate the engine and the one that showns the signals, ALL GOOD - - ****!

So I continue checking. I had deinstalled a PC-III about a week earlier so maybe I jiggled something loose. Under the tank, How Handy! ****, nope. Which plug is the instruments? OK there it is how do you get it apart (not easily). All for naught!

Plug in TUNEBOY. The map is fine and all the sensors are just right, EVEN the tach, no codes - - **** - **** - ****.

Wayne (TUNEBOY) help, any ideas? I have noticed on one of the hundreds of power cycles that the leds blink ever so briefly at power up, so is it the computer? He says probably not, most likely the instrument. Check further and let him know. 4 ****s.

Well by now it's midafternoon on the Saturday of the MEMORIAL DAY holiday, so no dealer is a possiblility.

I decide, Oh what the heck, I'll go on the ride down the Lake Michigan shore in Chicago without a tach or neutral light. Everything else but the clock works. Oh no, the clock has quit! Is this impending electrical system collapse, GOD I hope not. I go anyway, you're only old once!

All the time, what will a new tach cost, what will a new computer cost, what if that doesn't fix it. I think I'm gonna be sick! The ride was beautiful, Chicago and Lake Michigan are fantastic early in the AM.

So the story comes to a happy ending. I get home around noon and decide to take it all apart again. This time I'll read the instructions (shop manual). Well guess what fuse #3 does. It 'protects' the clock and the 'instrument cluster'.

Here's what I learned:
1. Look in the book!
2. The fuse block cover should have been left blank.
3. The contact for the 12v clock is 1 micron from the housing.
4. Chromed plastic is a really good electrical conductor.
5. The speedo and engine lights are NOT part of the 'instrument cluster'
6. The computer flashes a little pulse on power up.
7. Drink more, worry less.

So finally here's what happened. On the way to work I noticed the clock was about 2 minutes slow. The adjuster button was blocked from practicality by the bracket. So I, in my infinite wisdom, decided that BFFI was OK and just turned the clock in its housing to reset it. I guess I'm stronger than I thought and warped the housing enough to make the connection and zap, no clock and no tach. I only figured it out cause the clock quit.

drive on

jck

 

[owl]

Wow.
I was enthralled by that.
Words of wisdom indeed.
I especially like #7

 

[bfreesun]

I don't know how many times I wish I'd RTFM........first instead as a last resort.

 

[nomad]

worth knowing thanx for the info

 

[grnvett]

The dropped Rocket story is this....

My first mistake was following a HARLEY, always a bad idea and so unnecessary.

We're fairly well lost in a little town called PERU, ILLINOIS. Remember I was following a Harley.

We decide dinner at a real neat place called Starved Rock Lodge is appropriate and fairly close. I say East, he says West. I should have known better, he was on a Harley.

So it's 'U' turn time. What does he pick (remember a Harley)? Uphill steeply then downhill steeply. OH WAIT, THE DOWNHILL IS ONE WAY, THE WORNG WAY! ABORT, ABORT!

Well now I'm racing along behind the Harley at .0000007 MPH, going uphill across an intersection and all is turning to crap, so let's sort this out. I put down my left leg. After about 2 hours of riding, low and behold, my 60 year old leg says, "Hey, I'm asleep". It just refuses to work so over we go.

I get clear, so major damage to me. Scratches on my helmet and ego.

The bike is sure big laying there on its side!

I groan and limp my way to sit for a sec., now my leg hurts (I'm old). The bike sure is big laying there on its side.

I get steadied and my leg is coming back to life, now it tingles. Walk over to the big lady and contamplate a hernia, but low and behold (I like the cliche), I can EASILY pick her up alone.

He knows to just stay away for a few minutes and contemplate his transgressions (first is riding a Harley).

Damage to the bike:
Scratched engine guard (nobody ever bad mouth the Triumph engine guards again).
Scrach on floor board (nobody ever bad mouth the Triumph floor boards again).
Left hand rearview loosened.
Scratched Beetle Bag, side and top.

The damage to the Beetle Bag was a little worse that first glance. It was actually cracked clear through right on the front corner, but it DID support the entire back of the bike.

The Beetle bag repair was straight forward. Grind it down to base fibreglass; then lay in new glass (I also laid in some carbon fibre matting across the crack). sand, Fill. Sand. Fill. Sand Fill. SAND.

The paint came from Cycle-Color in 1 1/2 days. It's 3 parts, plus activator and thinner. Works as a step down system. I used the most dense stepdown. Dries in 5 minutes. The base coat is a very high metalflake rust color that will cover anything . The top coat is the actual Cardinal Red (code CL) and almost transparent. The clear coat is just good clear coat. All together I laid on 2 base coats, six top coats and 2 clear coats. I am now waiting a week to wet sand it and add 2 more clears. I did end up painting the entire bag.

A piece of advice here: NEVER LET ANYONE CONVINCE YOU THAT TRIUMPH CARDINAL RED (and I'll bet the rest of the colors) CAN BE DONE WITH A SINGLE STAGE PAINT - - IT CAN NOT!

Then it's off to Liza, the best pin striper I have ever seen, bar none.

Total cost of the whole mess. One ego, about $250 for paint, filler and supplies. 10 hours of work. One ego. whatever Liza is going to charge me for restriping the bag (probably $50 or so).

I made the HARLEY GUY buy dinner that night and breakfast on the Lake Shore Drive ride. From now on I'll lead, but I have to remeber to keep checking my rearviews to make sure he can keep up. He's actually a good guy and really did volunteer to pay for the repair, but NOBODY touches my bike but me, so dinner and breakfast will just have to be sufficient pennance.

One other cool thing is that I hit a bat with my helmet on the Tuesday ride. Glad it wasn't in the face.

jck

 

[owl]

You tell a good story JCK.

 

[RedR3]

Beetle Bags are amazingly solid. When I went down, 30-35 in a steep, crowned up hill turn, my Triumph bars and Beetles saved EVERYTHING on the bike except the R.H. radiator chrome piece and R.H. turn signal light. No bent levers, mirrors or foot controls. Helmet was wasted, glad I had it on. Beetles were scratched and worn deep but no cracks. Corbin returned to me in 4 days from drop off, in like new condition. The Rocket is surprisingly easy to pick up for a big bike. Adrenalin is amazing.
Glad you made out OK.

 

[Barbary Coast rider]

Dropped Bike

I'm wiping tears of laughter from my eyes and trying to get my old ass (58) off the floor..good story...the young bucks may not quite appreciate the feeling of how big it looks laying down..try picking up any heavy bike with heavy breathing fogging up the helmet face shield..a real pisser..