Note: In order to amuse myself, the below account is an homage to Commander McBragg. Reader's Digest version at bottom.There! The toll lanes from the Garden State Parkway that exit to Interstate Route 280! Say, did I ever tell you about the time I fixed my motorbike at the crotch of a median within inches of speeding cars?
Well, no...It was this morning. A fine day for a ride. I was late for work, as is my usual habit...
Yes, we know...As I approached the EZ-Pass toll booth, I put my Chippewa boot down to downshift.
But of courseBut the pedal fell loose! I looked down to see it hanging from the turnbuckle linkage. A-ha, the mounting bolt was still in it! I knew that all I needed to do was screw it back together and be on my way.
Yes, I must be on my way too...But alas, I was in 5th gear, unable to shift and faced nothing but miles of highway ahead. I saw a divider median to my right a short distance ahead. Amazingly, despite the Honda's anemic low-end torque, I managed to ride from a near stop to in front of the median. I parked the bike and dismounted, but to my dismay the bolt had fallen out in the thirty yards I'd ridden! I knew that walking amidst the cars as they accelerated from toll booths and jockeyed into position would lead to certain death.
Oh my.I decuced that I needed to affix the shifter
without the bolt! I looked for my trusty cable ties, but they were nowhere to be found.
So what did you do?Thinking quickly, I spotted a length of polyester twine (ahem, that I had stolen from work) laced around my luggage rack. I took my pen knife and cut a length of and using my expert knowledge of the overhand knot, I lashed the parts together. All the while being totally annoyed by the incessant honking of passing cars! I tested this makeshift repair with a few sitting shifts and was about to be on my way when a passing rider on an orange Gold Wing pulled alongside to access my situation. I assured her all was under control and urged her to move along.
I see. Did the fix work?The shifts were treacherously long and sloppy, but I made due. Arriving at my destination, I was reminded by scornful coworkers that I was even later than usual. I showed them my ingenious repair and then proceeded to commandeer an internet to learn the size of the missing bolt.
Bikebandit?Yes, of course. It was an M8 x 30 bolt. We had M8 x 30, and as it turned out a 50mm long shoulder bolt that worked even better, once cut down (by a native of the company). I was quite lucky to not have lost the bushing. Blue Loc-tite ensured that I would not meet this fate again!
So you tied over in order to knot spend a dime?Quite.
* tl;dr - I never maintain stuff, so the shift lever fell off and had to be tied back on. Cheap NH owner fixed permanently for free. Yay!
