Just curious what your experiences have been when your bike took a major dump miles & miles from the nearest paved road, and you had to have it unceremoniously dragged away. I wouldn't think that towing outfits venture off the pavement. (do they have 4WD tow trucks?) Regards Bernd
Most folks in my neck of the woods know I have several 4x4s with winches. It is not that unusual for me to get called to come to the rescue at all hours of the day. I am also a dive salvage operator so the local tow companies call me to recover vehicles out of lakes and rivers. Yes they make off road recovery vehicles. BTW...they are not cheap!!! Sadly most are not equipped to carry your bike out in a dainty fashion. I had to go retrieve a friend that had broke a frame on his XR way out in the stix...in a place he should not have been. I used my scout and regular bike trailer. broke 2 lights on the trailer but was able to retrieve him. Around here, most wreckers charge $250 minumum for off road encounter and that is usually to winch some one out stuck...My fees are more reasonable unless your insurance is paying
Yes many tow trucks are 4-wheel drive rigs...think about it..even "on-road" the vehicles often go off the pavement and the tow truck may not have enough cable or be able to get the correct angle without also going off the pavement...independent of that the traction of 4 wheels is also needed in the snow...or even heavy rain and slick pavement.. Anyway...the best way to be towed out...bike or car is on a tilt-bed tow truck where your vehicle is not towed but carried on the bed of the truck...forget slinging a bike...out here most are tilt-beds and if not you can request one.. Do they go off road to pick you up? Check with your insurance carrier and local tow companies...here AAA will two you off a dirt road if it is a county [public road] road...forget forest roads or dirt track unless you can pony up a lot more $$$...big problem is getting the bike back up that steep 200+ ft hillside to a road....ain't no perfect answer...but hey it is "Adventure" riding!
During my first Continental Divide Ride (2003?), I had a fuel pump go out on my F650GS Dakar somewhere in the middle of New Mexico. Pretty much a dirt trail, though it appeared on the map. Don't recall exactly where. Happened in the morning, maybe 10:00 a.m. or so? No cell signal. My riding partner, rode off to find cell service. I stayed with the bike, unpacked a folding chair under a nearby tree, and read a book for 5-6 hours. Had plenty of water and food with me, and a tent, so I was ready to wait as long as necessary. During that 5-6 hours, I saw about three vehicles pass me. TrailAce ended up finding a ranger station, talking to the ranger, and locating a towing service to come out and get me. 4x4 with a tilt bed, driven by a guy who was missing a few teeth. We got the bike up on the bed, cinched it down pretty tight, and made our way out of the back country at 10-15 mph. Had a whole bunch of long conversations about his experience with motorcycles, including his unshakeable belief that XT500s were two-strokes. Never did convince him otherwise. Eventual destination would be Deming, site of the nearest BMW dealer (had to get the new fuel pump, after all). TrailAce intercepted us at some point, and followed us in to Deming. Got there about 11:00 p.m. with a major tow bill (about $500, IIRC). A good reason to carry a credit card with a high limit on big trips. Found a cheap motel a few blocks from the dealership, wheeled my bike and TrailAce's bike into the courtyard, got all of our bags into the room, and crashed. Long story short, TrailAce went on to the Mexican border to finish up the ride, and I followed once I got my fuel pump. Deming BMW (which, I believe, is no longer a BMW dealer) took a fuel pump from an F650GS on the floor in order to get me going again. I don't even think they charged me for the service. If I were in the neighborhood, I'd definitely patronize their services again.
I would have been out there a few days. When I got to Deming BMW, it was the Friday before a long weekend. The BMW warehouse was taking inventory, and although they had 6 or 7 fuel pumps in stock, they refused to overnight one to NM. Grrr. I begged the owner to take a fuel pump off a floor model so I could finish the ride and get home to Chicago. He did so, and they had it done by the next morning. +1 to Deming BMW. -10 to BMW NA. And by the way, that 2001 F650GSD now has 89,000 miles on it, just like your '87 KLR!
Around here you would be better off to get someone with a decent 4x4 pickup to haul the bike out for you. Many of them have quads and such, so they often have ramps to get the bike up into the bed of the pickup. You can laugh at rednecks all you want, but they're purdy handy sometimes.
