Break Down, now what?

[Magician16]

I have ridden a bike in like 20 states and have always had good luck, knock on wood. The only things I've had to do is the following: put my chain back on, have to get a jump because my battery died, had to stop and charge my battery every few hundred miles when my stator died, had to ride back with no foot peg on the left side, and had to push the bike less than a mile when I blew out a tire. On the other hand I've had more than one bike ride back in my pickup, given people rides back, and helped push start bikes. Now approaching 70, I'm worrying about breaking down in the middle of nowhere. In AZ, I live in a 55 and over HOA and nobody has a pickup or trailer. What do people do when they break down?

[Landsvw]

I always have this thought too. I guess, If I was out in the middle of nowhere I’d try and find cell service. If not, then, hide bike and start walking to a tall hill. Staying on the roads of course… not sure what else? I do carry some tools with tho. And some zip ties. And then make sure you have at least one friend with a pickup truck to help you go get it. I’m sure a wrecker service would too but could be spendy. Best thing to do tho, is to have someone riding with you (separate bike) and also, bring a tow rope.

My good friend tipped over his KLR in a ditch once and couldn’t get it out or up. I was with tho and the two of us got it. But on his own he would have been miserable walking over 25 miles back.

Edit: oh yeah, and I always tell someone the general area and/or direction I’m riding (wife etc.). That way, if I break down or fly off a cliff or something, they can at least go looking for me. I also don’t deviate from that if I can help it… or, call or text if I change the route.

[cheesy]

I've broken down a few times. First time I did use a tow truck, but that was over forty years ago. Last breakdown was a flat front tire on the Ural. I deal with either of the rear tires on the side of the road, not the front. I was just a couple miles from home, so I had Mrs. C come and get me, then I got my truck and trailer. Which is just what you don't have access to.

I have learned that you can rarely count on another rider to stop and help anymore. If someone does stop about all they will do is offer to call somebody for you. Which is better than nothing.

Like Lands says, basic tool kit, zip ties, and I'd add some duct and electrical tape. Most important tools, though, would be the cell phone and a credit card.

I have to ask, is the HOA why no one has a pickup or trailer?

[minimac]

Same in my HOA. They're all old farts anyway. I'm not riding anywhere without my phone and a credit card. My insurance(bike) has towing, and I have a huge network of friends in almost every state I ride. Every one of them are willing to help or call someone who can. If worse comes to worse, I hitch a ride to where I can rent a small truck and get my bike. It may take a few hours, but I'm not stranded for long. That was the solution I had to resort to when the belt on my Silverwing scooter broke on the Interstate in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. It took me nine hours , but finally got back home-with my bike.

[Magician16]

I've broken down a few times. First time I did use a tow truck, but that was over forty years ago. Last breakdown was a flat front tire on the Ural. I deal with either of the rear tires on the side of the road, not the front. I was just a couple miles from home, so I had Mrs. C come and get me, then I got my truck and trailer. Which is just what you don't have access to.

I have learned that you can rarely count on another rider to stop and help anymore. If someone does stop about all they will do is offer to call somebody for you. Which is better than nothing.

Like Lands says, basic tool kit, zip ties, and I'd add some duct and electrical tape. Most important tools, though, would be the cell phone and a credit card.

I have to ask, is the HOA why no one has a pickup or trailer?


I carry basic tools. Yeah, there are rules that say you can't have a trailer parked on site and nobody has a truck, except one guy that is here maybe 3 months a year. He's still in Wisconsin. I always have my cell and credit card.

[david3921]

This reinforces the "pre-ride walk around". It's a good idea to check your bike out before a ride. Others can add to the list but a few obvious ones are;

Gas
Oil
Coolant (if applicable)
Tire pressure
Chain tension
Battery connection (make sure they're tight)
Axle nuts
Anything hanging off.

The condition of your ride goes a long way in determining whether you make it back or not.

BTW, culcune is in Arizona. Maybe you can call him for help......

[Emerikol]

I'm 42 years old. Certainly not geriatric by any means, but not a spring chicken, either. Hoofing it (with or without having to push a broken down motorcycle) isn't something that appeals to me much anymore. I'm in pretty decent health (I can still refer to my knees as 'right and left' instead of 'good and bad'), and have very little trouble chasing down my 4-year-old in the yard. As for breaking down and getting stranded, I have two modes of operation: 1) If I'm going to be off the beaten path, I always, always have a riding buddy. Between us we'll be able to get the bike patched back together, or towed out to somewhere we can come back for it with a truck/trailer. 2) If I'm just going from point A to point B and I'll be on major roads, then a cell phone is all I need. I have charging ports on all my motorcycles, so the battery is always charged up and ready to go. The final option if you're going WAY off the beaten path is to get a SPOT locator. They have several models, but one of them allows you to send and receive text messages via satellite. If you can text someone that you're broken down and stranded, the SPOT will include your GPS coordinates, and then the cavalry knows exactly where to find you. That will usually result in a response by the local search and rescue teams, and they'll show up with enough equipment to move the Empire State Building. It shouldn't be a problem to have them get your bike out, but be warned, some states send you a bill for mobilizing that level of response. All in all, a pre-ride walkaround and staying up on your maintenance goes a very long way to getting home safe that night. Make sure you have a couple bottles of water and a granola bar or two. One thing people very often overlook is any medications you may have to take. A small baggie with with your pills and what each medication is, and the dosing schedule will not only help you, but will also help anyone that finds you in an absolute worst-case scenario and you're incapacitated. Other than that, make sure you're enjoying the ride and not taking on more risk than you're comfortable with when you ride.

[JerryHawk250]

This reinforces the "pre-ride walk around". It's a good idea to check your bike out before a ride. Others can add to the list but a few obvious ones are;

Gas
Oil
Coolant (if applicable)
Tire pressure
Chain tension
Battery connection (make sure they're tight)
Axle nuts
Anything hanging off.

The condition of your ride goes a long way in determining whether you make it back or not.

BTW, culcune is in Arizona. Maybe you can call him for help......
Good one David.
I've been lucky and never been stranded on any of my bikes. But ^^ this right here ^^ will keep you out of trouble. The one time I did a pre-ride walk around and ignored a loose chain, and guess what? Threw a chain. Lucky i had a center stand and was an easy fix. If you carry tools, patch kits and any other necessity you think you might need, you should be okay.
Before you ride, inspect that bike like your life depends on it, because it does.

[cheesy]

The pre ride walk around is a given, but what is this ‘chain tension’ you’ve mentioned.:hmm:

Asks the jerk with shafties.

[Magician16]

It's kind of the same with snowmobiles. I've ridden by myself a lot, but I stayed close to the highway when by myself. Riding in the mountains, I always had at least one person with. My sleds always made it home under their own power although I did have to replace the belt once, had to get a friend run in for gas, and I had to use a ratchet strap to keep the engine in place once. I had to tow my son's Yamaha out once with a blown engine, and I had to retrieve one of his sleds once that broke a drive chain.


A Spot is something I'm familiar with for remote sledding.

[TxTaoRider]

On my atvs, I usually throw a cable and lock in my wifes atv storage box so in the event someone breaks down and we cant tow it out we can push it off the trail and lock it up.

On my street bikes, including my tbr7, i paid like 8 dollars a year for road side assistance and towing with my insurance company. Fortunately i havent had to use it yet.

[China Rider 27]

To me it all starts with breaking down these china bikes and making sure the mechanics are as good as you can get them. No better preparation for fixing it.

Then it is maintenance, and pre ride checks as mentioned.

If you have towing, I don't think it specifies where? They might not be to happy to learn it is over the 5th mountain or maybe they would not be capable of getting to it.

I second Emerikol statement about the SPOT GPS emergency beacon. I got a Gharmin In Reach mini last year I experimented with and it is pretty amazing. Smaller than a pack of cigarettes, it can locate you at your gps coordinate anywhere in the world and you can text it to someone. Costly at $350.00 but worth all your money if you need it. If it can see the satellites it can text or send an emergency call. I dug deep down in my pockets for something that can save a life, mine or somebody else.

[Boatguy]

Good one David.
I've been lucky and never been stranded on any of my bikes. But ^^ this right here ^^ will keep you out of trouble. The one time I did a pre-ride walk around and ignored a loose chain, and guess what? Threw a chain. Lucky i had a center stand and was an easy fix. If you carry tools, patch kits and any other necessity you think you might need, you should be okay.
Before you ride, inspect that bike like your life depends on it, because it does.


Funny off-topic story from my early days of riding on the street with a Japanese sport bike. Ninja ZX-7.

I wasn’t very good with knowing what to do back then mechanically. Now I am choosing not to just for fun, to see how long this Lifan lasts without having to do anything major. But back then, there was no regular World Wide Web. I mean, there was probably rec.motorcycles News group. And I wasn’t in it. So other than looking at the oil, I didn’t do much other than ride WOT and one knee on the ground as much as I could safely do.

So I was stuck behind this car going 10 miles an hour under the speed limit for miles on end. Double yellow line. Curvy 2 Lane Rd. It finally opened up to a straight away with a passing zone. Here I was all excited to blast past these people. I dropped a gear to really get maximum acceleration, rolled the throttle on and with a big blast got right up to their front bumper and threw a chain!! Ha ha. And then went back in behind them and had to pull over. They must have laughed so hard!

It wasn’t very difficult to get the chain back on. I just got it started onto the sprocket and rolled the bike forward until it popped back on. Then I rode carefully home and tightened it. Learned my lesson.

[TominMO]

Here's Boatguy a few years back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_lx27jkfnE

We can't have these hooligans roaming the streets, endangering the good citizens.

[Mudflap]

I'm 68 and do a lot of riding in remote areas of eastern Oregon where there is no cell signal and no other people for 50 miles or more. My Chinese bikes have never let me down except for flat tires, for which I carry new tubes, patches, pump, etc. Thinking about a Spot or at least a PLB.



My friend was flying his ultralight in a remote area of Nevada when he landed on a flat spot to pee. He hit a bump, foot slipped to the ground and he broke his leg and couldn't get airborne again. Just 2 weeks before he had purchased a Spot and it likely saved his life.

[buzz]

Buy a Honda