Thursday, July 15, 2010

The road trip that didn't happen

When we were on our little road trip in Arkansas, we ran into a problem.  The starter refused to disengage once the bike was started.  Cliff's brother, Don, was vacationing in the area at the time and came to our rescue:  He pecked on the starter relay with a pair of pliers and that temporarily fixed our problem.  We thought about going home early, but since Don was there to help if we needed him, we went on with our plans and had no more trouble.  It was as if it had never happened.  
However, at the time of the mechanical failure, Don told Cliff, "As soon as you're home, order a new starter relay, because it will mess up again."   
Don's a mechanic by trade; Cliff agreed to order the part.  
We got home without incident, and Cliff delayed ordering the relay.  No big hurry, right?  
Saturday we decided to make a day of it:  I filled the thermos with coffee and packed a lunch; we would ride to Jamesport, Missouri, where the largest Amish community west of the Mississippi can be found.  We'd start our day with a breakfast burrito at McDonald's in Lexington, only eight miles from home.
But first, we stopped to fill up with gas.  When Cliff started the bike up again, you guessed it:  the starter wouldn't disengage once the motorcycle was running.  
We returned home, where Cliff got a tremendous amount of pasture-mowing done.  Oh, and he ordered the starter relay.  We'll pick it up today.  
He was going to take to motorcycle to the Hub (not the resort where we recently stayed; the motorcycle shop in Independence) and pay them to fix it; Gold Wing motorcycle repair is not for the faint of heart.  Unfortunately, they're backed up with work, and there would be a two-week wait.  Oh, and you can't just schedule the work done and ride the motorcycle in when they're ready to work on it.  The bike has to actually be sitting in the shop all that time.   
So, Cliff will attempt the work himself.  It's a shame his mechanic brother lives down there in the boonies of Kansas, not so far from Pioneer Woman. 
Here's hoping the job goes smoothly so we can once more attempt our little road trip to Jamesport.

1 comment:

  1. Good luck working on a GoldWing. Hubby works on his dad's whenever it needs it. It is a BIG pain in the hiney!

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