Last Saturday I went for a ride. South from Killeen on TX195 to Florence, Texas, then east on the farm roads back to I-35 south of Temple. I was getting buckshotted by a gravel-hauling semi, so as soon as it was safe, I made the pass and moved to merge onto the Interstate. Shen I made the shift into 3rd, the shift lever felt kinda weird, and when I went to whack 4th...nothing. No shift lever. When I looked down, I saw that the lever was dragging on the ground, hanging by the linkage. Eeek.

I pulled over on the edge of the ramp, shut it down and called for help. We got the bike home and I hit BikeBandit.com to order a new shifter bolt and a bar end weight.

Bolt arrived today, took about three minutes to install and voila! On the road again. Ate lunch, geared up, kissed the wife and rolled out!

This time took a different route, heading south, then west through rolling hills and farmland. Decent pavement, good sightlines almost everywhere, and very little traffic.

I was on my way back home when I rolled over a big sharp-edged softball sized rock. EEEEEK!!!

There was no place to pull over, and the bike seemed fine. That lasted for maybe thirty seconds before the front end got mushy, and I could see that all was not well with the front rim and tire. I pulled ove ron the side of the road, a steep grassy slope rolling down into a tangled thicket.

It slopes the wrong way so the kickstand is no good, and all of a sudden I've gotta piss BADLY. I tried hanging my helmet on my handlebar but it fell off and rolled away down the slope. Trying to catch it I almost fell myslef, which would have meant going face first downhill with the 919 between my shoulder blades.

And man, do I really have to piss!

I call the Wife to tell her what happened (my wife, Jill, is a very lovely woman, long suffering and very patient. She puts up with this kinda crap from someone who is, ostensibly, a grown-ass man with a penchant for ruining perfectly good 70+degree days in early February!) Then I call an Army buddy with a truck.

I get the bike propped precariously on the hill, but before I can relieve myself, a very friendly couple in a white SUV stop to make sure I'm okay. After assuring them that I was fine and help was on the way, and thanking them for their concern, I was as close to pissing myslef as I have ever been [sober], and I had to do something.

Not really "something": I had to piss.

Broad daylight, pissing on the side of the road.

No one stopped while I was taking care of that.

It was a bit of a wait, maybe forty minutes waiting on my wife and my buddy and his wife(and truck), but during that time, no fewer than TWENTY people stopped to make sure I was okay. Yes, TWENTY!

I LOVE TEXAS.

Anyway, we get the bike home, I hit up BikeBandit again and find that the OEM replacement for my rim is over 500 bucks....more than 10% of what I paid for the whole bike. Sticker shock!!!

So for the first time in my life, I called my insurance company to make a claim.

The lady on the phone asks a bunch of questions, but the one that made me make a face in the direction of my phone was: "Did you notify the police?"

"For a single-vehicle accident, with no injuries, where the only property damaged was my own?"

"Yes, sir, did you notify the police?"

"Uh, no."

"So there were no witnesses?"

You get the idea. Anyway, the rest of the conversation proceeded much more favorably.

The claims guy will be out Monday to take a look.

Keep the rubber side down.

That sucks.

Good Lord what a day.

At least you did not wreck. That's always good.
Were you on the GS or the 919? Either way, a cheap (er) wheel can be gotten on ebay.

What is it about riding that makes one have to pee?

I checked on Ebay and couldn't find a front wheel. I saw one 929RR (well, two of 'em , but one was chromed) wheel. Will a 929 front fit my 919?

If you haven't already, make sure you locktight the threads on the shifter bolt and the bar end. You lost the left bar end, is that correct? If so, both of these are known issues with a 919. The first chance they get they leap off the machine.

Yeah, it was the left bar end! That's eerie! Locktite you say, huh? Will do. Thanks!

Sorry to hear about your misfortune! You are a great story writer!
As I see it you kept a cool head avoiding a couple crashes!

At least you didn't piss yourself!
Good luck with that rim & tire.

They appear to be interchangable. But the 929 wheel has a little better paint on it. It has a smoother surface than the 919 wheel. The rotor holes appear to be the same. From my crude tapemeasure measurement, they appear to be interchangeable.

Check out if a 600 wheel is interchangeable. Probably scads of those for sale!

if your interested i have a used 02 front rim tire-chris

LOL, I think you should have titled the thread PISS! instead of CRAP!!

Tough day. But, you kept it upright and stayed safe.

Question? Why is WIM your avatar? How long are you ROK?

Good story. I almost wish something else bad would happen to you just for the entertainment factor.

Super Soldier,

Are you at Ft Hood or just passing through? I live in Cove and work at Hood. We need to get together sometime for a ride...ummm...wait...2 weekends in a row, 2 truck rides home and parts ordered...on second thought.....

Ah, what the heck, we should go for a ride (hopefully without trucks) sometime. It will be a few more weeks before my Speedy is back on the road again. She needs some new shoes, and someone here is talking about a Pilot Road2 group buy, so I am holding my breath and hoping for that will start at the same time I am ready to part with the funds. Dec/Jan is always a bad time for me with Christmas on the 25th of Dec, daugther's b-day the 13th of Jan and son's b-day on the 29th of Jan. Worst part is we always spoil them rotten and get them much more then they actually need, but thats OK.

There are some really good roads out towards Austin that are fun to ride. There are 2 9er riders down there that I have ridden with as well. Iion is in Austin and St8jacket is just north of Austin. There are some pics of a couple of the rides in the ride/trip report section.

Check them out here....
Ride Report 1
and
Ride Report 2

Shawn

I'm looking for a decent bike stand that'll allow me to get my front tire up and off the bike. I got a rim, but I'm gonna have to get the thing off the bike. Any suggestions?

I got back from ROK in October of '07, but I was lazy and didn't register my bike on post until December, so I'm trying to reclaim my Eternal Novice status by riding as often as possible. Which ain't very often right now, it seems.

Every ride's an adventure! Drop me a line and we'll roll!

For replacement OEM parts try servicehonda.com I saved over $300 on a new gas tank.

I know this is an older post, but we found a solution for this at the shop I used to work at that is surprisingly simple: get a heavy-duty ratcheting tie-down (the kind they use to tie down loads on trucks), attach one end to the ceiling in your garage, and attach the other end to a sling around the center of your handlebars. Ratchet it up until the front of the bike is hanging off the ground. I have found this is the easiest way to take a front wheel off, especially if you don't have a centerstand or a fancy bike lift (and the fancy bike lifts won't work on a lot of sportbikes - too much fragile plastic).

It seems a bit odd at first, because the bike can swing around a bit, but unlike a stand, you can't tip it over (assuming you have attachment at the ceiling). Anything that reduces the potential for disastrous clumsiness is a good thing for me.

I hang my bike from the ceiling with a tie down as well. That seems like the cheapest solution, and how often do you really need to get the front end off the ground anyway. Just make sure whatever you hook it to is capable of supporting the weight of the bike.