Old Bikes and Roadside Repairs

[Night Train]

This story illustrates why I ride old motorcycles and carry a good set of tools, with a little ingenuity you can make it home...

Roadside Repairs

[marksbonneville]

Originally Posted by Night Train

This story illustrates why I ride old motorcycles and carry a good set of tools, with a little ingenuity you can make it home...

Roadside Repairs

I sure hope this thread takes off with some fun stories and great ideas. I ride old bikes because I like them and I can afford them, when I rode the Triumph Bonneville (now sold) she once broke a muffler mount and I walked along side the road and found an old rag and some wire and withing a few minutes we were off and riding. I prefer vehicles that can be fixed with road trash rather than a computer. My tool bag (s) have an assortment of tools/parts and a flask of rum in case the bike is going nowhere.

[chaddhamilton]

I ride and older triumph and have a pretty decent tool kit contained in a old military mess kit. Zip ties, extra bolts, and a strip of aluminum tape have all helped me get home.

Quick tool story.
I was riding on a busy 4 lane highway with a buddy a few years ago when my tool kit detached itself from my bike. I look back and it's spewing tools all over the road. I stop, walk back, and between passing cars, would run out and grab a few tools and then back to the shoulder.

I had almost everything collected when I spotted my small crescent wrench on the road. Just as a car passed, I made a run for it that I wish could have been caught on tape: the car's rear tire had ran over it causing it to fly into the air and perfectly into my open hand!! My riding buddy watched that happen and we always rehash that after a few beers.

[Mista Vern]

Originally Posted by chaddhamilton

I had almost everything collected when I spotted my small crescent wrench on the road. Just as a car passed, I made a run for it that I wish could have been caught on tape: the car's rear tire had ran over it causing it to fly into the air and perfectly into my open hand!! My riding buddy watched that happen and we always rehash that after a few beers.

[pommie john]

My mate was driving his old Nissan when it ground to a halt. The spring on the points had broken and they were flapping around doing nothing.
We got a bit of foam rubber and wedged it between the back of the points and the distributor body and that acted like a spring. Got us home , no problem.

[Rob Farmer]

Shovelheads were always a chance to test your mechanical prowess. A rock and a screwdriver seemed to be all that was required to fix most things. Another broken set of Harley points..

[rudolf35]

After visiting a mate in IA I was headed back to TX on my 850T3. About 50 miles south of OKC the bike started to run bad with backfiring ever so often. Nursing the T3 into a rest area i soon discovered that one of the two point sets had burnt. With only the stock spanner kit onboard i had no "official" way to mend the situation. So, after a bit of dumpster diving i found a beverage can and removed the tab that bends inward. Having procured a "scraper", I opened the burnt point and gently scraped off the carbon. Having the points to a semi-shinny state, I reinstalled them and the T3 took me home without as much as a miss.

Nothing like free tools from a dumpster.

[nick949eldo]

In case you missed it before:
Dead Right There - 1972 Guzzi on the James Bay Road.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=800877

A few roadside repairs are part of the challenge and pleasure of riding old bikes. Where's the fun if nothing ever goes wrong? That's just dull.

Nick

[McJamie]

I have always carried an extensive tool kit, but have never had to use it on my own bike. During the first day of a multi-day trip ( my buddy on his KZ1000 and me on my 900F ), his chain breaks. We took a pair of needle nose pliers that I had, and some safety wire that he had, and connected two artily broken links. Not only did we finish the trip, but it was another week before he bought a new chain.
I always carry a foot-long piece of safety wire........................now!

[What?]

It just goes to show you that a stitch in time saves nine. If you had put the smallest dab of grease on the cam, the points would have never broken in the first place.
So, yes. Continue carrying your sewing kit.

[Gham]

Originally Posted by McJamie

I have always carried an extensive tool kit, but have never had to use it on my own bike. During the first day of a multi-day trip ( my buddy on his KZ1000 and me on my 900F ), his chain breaks. We took a pair of needle nose pliers that I had, and some safety wire that he had, and connected two artily broken links. Not only did we finish the trip, but it was another week before he bought a new chain.
I always carry a foot-long piece of safety wire........................now!

I get too nervous for leaving things that have been rigged,I understand the roadside fix but not getting it taken care of proper at the nearest place possible me thinks your pressing your luck and most times that has poor results.

[vtwin]

Riding my little K11p up Mt. Hamilton, my front header pipe fell off. Ended up using the 46 year old tool kit screwdriver and a rock to spin the header lock ring back on. No pictures though.

[concours]

An aluminum shim made of roadside beer can was quickly fabricated as an exhaust port thread shim on the Commando.

[racer]

A couple things...

If you are riding a vintage bike with known issues like points breaking, why wouldn't you carry a spare set or two, cheap and they take up no room.

As to "why I ride vintage iron", I've never been stranded on my newer bikes.

Just sayin........

[Meriden]

Gotta say that my old Triumph never stranded me. I rode home in the dark once, but never it never stranded me. I keep enough tools in a leather pouch to strip it on the side of the road, spare wire and bulbs in the headlight housing, and a master link clipped to the clutch cable. Best thing I ever did for that bike was to ditch the points, rectifier, zenier diode and the other associated crap and replace it with modern electronics. Too much piddling around for poor results. Need to get rid of the Amal too, but I'm too lazy.

I was riding out in Acton, California with a couple of friends the day before LAB2LV. Headed back to the campground I passesd a guy with a beautiful emerald green HD bagger. He had the bike spread all over the shoulder and a tool roll six feet long, so I stopped.

"Can I help you?" I asked.
"You got a 10 MM?" He replied.

All of his tools were SAE as was all of his bike. All of it except the battery that was stuffed in some spot where he could only reach it with a wrench.

m