Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Polar Bear Ride Fail


Well... 2013 didn't start off so good, my beloved Tiger just doesn't like the New Year, evidently she's a bit temperamental if I don't pay her attention.

We don't go out as often as we used to so our relationship has suffered. We went out for the first time in weeks for the Throw Up Christmas Ride and we hadn't been out together since, until this morning.

The last time we were out my heated jacket liner was only working intermittently and when I got home I noticed the wires at the base of the controller were broken, no problem right? I checked online for warranty information, checked my purchase date and sure enough I was past the 3 year warranty date. So with nothing to lose I think to myself, self, cut the wires, solder them back together and we're good to go... except if it wasn't for bad luck, well you know the rest. I cut the wires to find one wire was loose from the circuit board inside the controller. I took apart the controller and I knew immediately this was way beyond my patience level. You don't want me anywhere near a circuit board with a soldering iron, it ain't pretty. Fortunately my good friend Andy offered to solder it for me, Andy is a great guy and has saved me from myself more than once, thanks Andy.

In the meantime I thought what the heck, why not email Tour Master and find out if they can offer a solution? I explained what I did and they replied back within hours offering an updated dual rheostat controller for the Synergy 2.0 and adapter to work with my first generation Synergy 1.0 liner. WOW!

Andy had the original controller fixed and he even delivered it Sunday so I'd have it for the Polar Bear Ride, Andy is a great guy, thanks Andy. We hooked up the liner, plugged it into my bike and it started to warm, it works and I'm good to go.

Trobairitz came home from work Monday with a package from Tour Master, the updated controller arrived in the mail. Now I have a backup controller. I say backup because it is a dual controller which means it has 3 extra wires of tangled mess that I don't need. I figured out which wires went where and which wires were extra then hooked everything up to test it. I hooked it up to my bike and got it heating. Now if either Brandy or I need a backup controller we have it and I know how to wire it.

We got up this morning, dressed in layers and suited up to meet everyone for coffee before the ride. It was cold, icy and 26º F but sunny, I knew if we were careful we would make it to coffee and it would warm up considerably by the ride departure time of 11:00.

However, we both needed gas. I pulled up to the pump and my debit card didn't work, okaaay, then my credit card didn't work, fine I'll pay with cash. Then the pump didn't work, ffffine. I backed up to the pump that Brandy was using and topped up. I thumbed the starter and it was then I realized that when you test your heated liner, you're asking a lot from your battery and you should really plug it into a charger the night before heading out on a ride.

Alright let's see, ignition on and second gear, clutch in, push, push, push, run, run and in one graceful fluid motion.... jump, engage clutch aaaaand nothing. Second attempt my lovely assistant helped push while I push, push, push, run, run and in one graceful fluid motion.... jump, engage clutch aaaaand nothing. Gasp, huff, puff, gasp, wheeze, huff, puff, gasp, wheeze push, push, push, run, run and in one graceful fluid motion.... jump, engage clutch aaaaand nothing... but this time I lose my balance and Lucy is napping in the middle of the street. Curse, curse, huff, curse, puff, gasp, curse, wheeze, curse, curse, huff, puff, curse, gasp, wheeze... did I mention we were wearing our Sena communicators?
Off comes the gear and somehow the temperature is no longer a concern, now I have to pick up my 560 pound bike with a full tank of gas. Upsy daisy, then park her until I can get some jumper cables.

I'm in pretty good shape for a guy not in very good shape.

We hopped on Max and rode home to get the car so we could at least meet for coffee and have some breakfast. We were able to visit, explain why we couldn't make the ride and saw the group off before acquiring jumper cables and rescuing Lucy.

Of course, after being left alone in a time out, Lucy fired right up without a jump... of course.
I rode home, plugged her into a battery tender and tomorrow I will tend to her wounds.

Not letting such a beautiful sunshiny day go to waste, Brandy and I enjoyed a hike. Evidently I need to get back into better shape.

Hope your New Year's Day was as adventurous. Happy 2013 all!





31 comments:

  1. Troubadour:

    words are failing me right now. I don't know whether to cry or laugh or stare like the Mona Lisa. I hope the damage is minor, battery gets charged. Maybe your credit cards are on vacation, and they will start to work again tomorrow.

    That is good news about your controller. I hardly use my heated liner so I don't have a controller, it is just on or off and I unzip to maintain the temperature.

    Your 26°f may be different than us up here. It was around Zero this morning and the roads were slippery. Definitely not riding weather for us. We have a wet cold so when temps get down to around 4°c, we can't ride. Even at +2°c we get frost on our windshields.

    be careful out there . . . and don't take chances

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube



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    1. All you can do is laugh at the comedy of errors. My card worked fine in the other pump so I don't know what was causing the problem other than somebody trying to tell me something.
      Yeah the controller, I wish mine was as simple as off and on, I'm working on a blog post about this.
      26ºF is -3.3ºC so just below freezing, the roads were frosty and I was very cautious taking Brandy along. I heeded the signs and I knew somebody was telling me not to ride.

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  2. Oh my! It sounds like the Moto universe was sending you a message about NOT going for the ride. You had 4 strong signals that something was off, debit card, credit card, gas pump and then the dead battery. Cosmic forces were at play here or at the very least Lucy was snarked, women can be that way. I bet if you asked her if there was anything wrong she would say "Nothing and it's fine'". At least you made it for coffee and then hiking. Happy New year to you both!

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    1. Those 4 strong signals did not go unheard, I've learned that one does not simply dismiss cosmic forces and I knew the ride was over right there and then. All is right in the world and aside from a scratched side case and snapped signal lens, it's nothing an apology, some electrician's tape, a bit of wax and massage won't fix. We also have bike night tonight. Happy New year to you too.

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  3. What did you do? It seems the Tiger is temperamental, the wiring wayward, the cards were cretinous, the pump is pissy, the battery is behaving badly, and Lucy is lousy. So that’s the 1st of the year over with. I hope it gets better for you!

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    1. Ummm, what'd you dooooo? I guess I'm in the doghouse for neglecting her lately. She gets this way every year, I'm getting used to it now. I'm glad my wife is so easy going, either that or much more tolerant. Happy 2013!

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  4. Oh dear, haha you had me in stitches reading this post. I bet Brandy learned some new curse words in amongst all that. Bikes are not sposed to nap in the middle of the street.

    Take it easy Tiger....

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    1. I'm glad I could make your day, all I can do is laugh it off as getting mad doesn't help the situation. Tigers nap, they call em cat naps for a reason.

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  5. That sounds like the kind of stuff that would make a good movie...

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    1. Don't think that Brandy didn't have the camera on her and mention it, fortunately she knows when and when not to use it.

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  6. Wow Troubadour, the motorcycling gods were truly not in favor of you riding yesterday!

    My R80 gets really miffed when I neglect her in favor of Valencia, hard to start but then forgives me usually. I've been told I should replace her battery's negative cable but have been deficient in that.

    I trust the overnight charging did the trick?

    dom

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    1. I put her on the charger and it took several hours to fully charge so I know it was down, the older Tigers don't have a strong charging system to begin with. I'm waiting for the garage to warm up before I go out there and tend to her, that'll probably get me in deeper trouble.

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  7. What is it with divas napping in the middle of the road? Seems to happen every so often. Glad you were in good enough shape not to hurt yourself, and that Max was willing to carry you both.

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    1. I KNOW... right? My right foot got hung up on the seat on the 3rd attempt, I lost my balance and she went over on her right side. I knew not to try and save her so down she went. Thanks, all is well.

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  8. Great story and when did you say the movie was coming out! The Sena should provide pretty good sound for the stealth video.

    I don't think that I would be able to start my bike by push starting it. To be honest, I have never thought about it until this post. I'm glad your bike didn't suffer too much damage.

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    1. Sorry the entire movie ended up on the cutting room floor. I forgot the Sena was on until Brandy said something.
      I don't think I would be able to push start my bike either but I've seen it done in the movies. I used a black felt marker to fix the scratches on the crash bars and mirror, the scratches in the sidecase somewhat buffed out with wax and the turn signal is affixed with tape. We are good to go.

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  9. I think we've all had days like that, where things go from bad to worse! I'm glad the damage to your bike was minimal. Some days it's better to just stay home!

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  10. Sounds like a nightmare and in all your gear....better luck next time!

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    1. Spam? Or genuine concern? Facebook page advertising business but no blog.....hmmmm

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    2. Genuine concern from a fellow biker (non blogger) who has been there in all their gear. No matter how cold the tempature running in gear is murder.

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    3. Thank you and welcome, coincidently Scotland by bike is on my bucket list.

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  11. We'll have to do a Polar Bear ride Part Deux... Oh well... I think you need to put that up a few more gears to try and bump start it... See you at coffee...

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    1. Let's wait until the weather warms up, we get lost when we ride together and you don't want me huddling with you for warmth. Watching for your blog update.

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  12. Those are the times we talk about when sitting around the fire ... Never funny at the time, they are always funny looking back. Glad you weren't hurt, you heard the gods say don't ride, you had back up and glad you shared with such a sense of humor already!

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    1. Yes, these are what stories are made from. If you can't laugh about it, there's no point in doing it.

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  13. I wondered what happened to the polar bear ride when I read about a hike on another blog :) Ah, now I know. Glad no one or no thing is worst for wear.
    ~Keith

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    1. Thanks Keith, we thought it best to stay on solid ground. The trail we walked that afternoon was still frosty and slick in some parts so we were glad we didn't go for a ride.

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  14. There would definitely have been jumper cables on the scene pretty quickly if that was me pushing the bike. I'm pretty sure all the ambulances carry those electrical shock paddles. The only question would be who gets the jolt first. Me or the bike?

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    1. That's about how I felt. It was great to see you today.

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  15. Someone was trying to tell you something. Sounds like Lucy just hates to be neglected. I am in serious AAWWW of you attempting to bump start the bike. Courage AND muscles!! As for the jumper cables...Oilburner made some small ones that we've coiled up under the seats (or in a tool tube) for just such situations. They are thinner and more storable than the auto sized ones. Think that might help you?

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