Gotta Fess Up. Guilty Conscience...

[TucsonJim]

I don't know what your opinion of GS roadside assistance is, but I sure had them chasing shadows. Last January, we took our 4x4 Chevy 2500 and FW on a local trip to do some fishing. When we got to our campsite, we had to back up a pretty steep incline to get to level ground. My tires started slipping, so I put the TV in 4-wheel low and made it no problem.

We didn't have any luck fishing, but sure enjoyed the company of friends that were camping beside us.

On Sunday morning, we hooked up the FW, broke camp, and headed the 100 miles towards home. OMG, transmission problems. It wouldn't shift correctly. The engine was screaming at very high RPM, and we couldn't get up to speed. I pulled over and checked the transmission fluid, and hooked up an OBD scanner to see if anything was amiss. No problems were indicated. We pulled back on the highway and the speed limit increased to 65mph. We could barely hit 40 before we were nearly red-lined on the transmission. There was no way we were going to make it home safely. So we pulled off on a wide spot on the road.

We dug out our Good Sam roadside assistance card and made the call. They were amazing. The first comment from them was "are you in a safe place?". Once we assured the operator we were, he went out of his way to pinpoint our exact location and dispatch a tow truck that could handle our TV and FW. So, we sat for about 10 minutes, and it hit me like the proverbial "Ton of Bricks".....

I was still in 4-wheel low!!!! Good Lordy Agnes. How stupid of me. I felt like a four year old that was caught with my hand in the candy jar. I sheepishly called the GS agent and told him we didn't need the tow any more. He asked what happened and although I didn't really lie (okay, maybe I did a little), but I told him that it just started working fine! He called off the tow truck, and we headed for home at 65 uneventful MPH.

So there, I've come clean in a public forum.

[the_happiestcam]

TugCE wrote:
I really wanted to kill him for that but I did spend the next couple of years turning off that switch every time I saw his bike parked anywhere.

:B

[TugCE]

Years ago a buddy and I were out for a ride and after stopping for lunch his bike would not start. He had been having problems with the solenoid for the starter so he asked me to try to push start him. I must have pushed that bike for 1/4 up and down the parking lot. Well, all of a sudden he popped the clutch and she lite off. We rode around for the rest of the day and it was not until he was leaving my place to head home that he told me that his Kill Switch on the Handlebar was off. I really wanted to kill him for that but I did spend the next couple of years turning off that switch every time I saw his bike parked anywhere.

[Bedlam]

Staying on the motorcycle theme: I couldn't figure out why my bike would stall every time I started easing out the clutch - It wasn't even engaging the engine yet. The Concours turned out to be my first bike with a kick stand switch that does not let you release the clutch when in gear with the stand down.

[gijoecam]

TucsonJim wrote:
{snipped for brevity}I was still in 4-wheel low!!!! Good Lordy Agnes. How stupid of me. I felt like a four year old that was caught with my hand in the candy jar. I sheepishly called the GS agent and told him we didn't need the tow any more. He asked what happened and although I didn't really lie (okay, maybe I did a little), but I told him that it just started working fine! He called off the tow truck, and we headed for home at 65 uneventful MPH.

So there, I've come clean in a public forum.

Dumb question: Did you not notice the 4x4 LOW indicator light on the dashboard? Or the light on the switch (that some have)? Yeesh!

That being said, I had just brought my new motorcycle home, parked it in the garage, then went back out to start it back up. Turned the key, no-go. Lights on, got fuel, but no crank. Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!??! I literally had it running two minutes ago!! Now I'm pissed... Start checking this, that, and the other thing, surf the internet forums searching for an answer, all to no avail.

And then it dawned on me: That kill switch on the right handlebar of every motorcycle? Yeah, on that particular bike it says specifically NOT to use it, but apparently I had bumped it while dismounting or mounting. {facepalm} With both ignition switches ON, it purred like a kitten!

[sljkansas]

TucsonJim After almpst 8 months I'll glad you finnaly got it off you chest. I'll bet now the morning are better and you are no longer stressed out.

[Tystevens]

restlesswind wrote:

Lessmore wrote:
We've all done things like that. I recall a buddy about 45 years ago on the side of the road. He was anxiously kicking over his motorcycle engine...a single cylinder.

I pulled over on my motorcycle. He said I can't get it to start and it has no compression. I looked at his engine, noticed the spark plug was on the ground. I screwed it back into the head, put the plug lead on, turned the ignition on, kicked started it and voila...the engine started.

But then I recall when I had my first motorcycle. I was 16 and knew everything. My motorcycle engine stopped suddenly. Couldn't get it started.

Pushed it home. When I got home I told my father, I think the engine may have seized...or maybe the points were worn...or it could of been that the magneto shut down.

He kept on saying...did you check the gas tank ? He said this about 4 times while I was 'diagnosing' the problem.

To humour him, I finally unscrewed the gas cap, took a flashlight and peered into the tank.

Not an ounce of gas.

:S :B Les

Kind of the same thing happened to my son.Except the question was "Did you go to the reserve tank?" His answer was "Reserve tank?"
This was over 30 years ago so I feel OK telling the story.

I don't know how many times in my life I've pulled the bikes off the trailer and started kicking like crazy to get it started, to no avail, only to have my dad wander over and turn the on the gas valve or flip the "off" switch to 'on!'

[vic46]

amandasgramma wrote:
I had a worse experience....called my step-father because my mh wouldn't start. When he got to my house, he discovered I had it in gear instead of neutral.....OMG....he's NEVER let me live it down! At least you don't have to look at the GS operator over the dining table!!!!!

Had a similar experience and I sure get some of the blame. I was showing a Class C we were selling. I unlocked the passage door and then went to show one of the buyers around the outside. Then went to start and there was nothing, nothing! Popped the hood and checked the battery connections and all was well. Jumped back in and expecting something to have changed (really) and nothing had changed. Zero, Zip, Nada, etc. Looked down at the gear indicator on the dash and discovered the transmission was in Drive. No start, No poop. Put it in Park and it started like a charm. Went for a test drive and accepted the cash offer on return. The person that had got in first remembered doing it but did not understand then, that that would bypass the start sequence. I have had the no start thing happen once since and my memory turns out to have been good, I immediately checked the gear shift indicator and found indicator in the Drive position.

[restlesswind]

Lessmore wrote:
We've all done things like that. I recall a buddy about 45 years ago on the side of the road. He was anxiously kicking over his motorcycle engine...a single cylinder.

I pulled over on my motorcycle. He said I can't get it to start and it has no compression. I looked at his engine, noticed the spark plug was on the ground. I screwed it back into the head, put the plug lead on, turned the ignition on, kicked started it and voila...the engine started.

But then I recall when I had my first motorcycle. I was 16 and knew everything. My motorcycle engine stopped suddenly. Couldn't get it started.

Pushed it home. When I got home I told my father, I think the engine may have seized...or maybe the points were worn...or it could of been that the magneto shut down.

He kept on saying...did you check the gas tank ? He said this about 4 times while I was 'diagnosing' the problem.

To humour him, I finally unscrewed the gas cap, took a flashlight and peered into the tank.

Not an ounce of gas.

:S :B Les

Kind of the same thing happened to my son.Except the question was "Did you go to the reserve tank?" His answer was "Reserve tank?"
This was over 30 years ago so I feel OK telling the story.

[_40Fan]

Confession.

I ran a red light in Canon City, Co yesterday. After watching my dash camera I have to conclude that the yellow light didn't stay on long enough, but either way, I ran it.

BTW, if you can ever make it through Canon without hitting every stoplight, cudos to you.

[TucsonJim]

amandasgramma wrote:
I had a worse experience....called my step-father because my mh wouldn't start. When he got to my house, he discovered I had it in gear instead of neutral.....OMG....he's NEVER let me live it down! At least you don't have to look at the GS operator over the dining table!!!!!

You win on that one. He'll be one up on you forever.

[Tachdriver]

Had a roommate many years ago that had a battery failure. After two new batteries purchased from different stores, I went to assist by cleaning the connections only to realize that he forgot take off the black negative battery post protector.:S

[amandasgramma]

I had a worse experience....called my step-father because my mh wouldn't start. When he got to my house, he discovered I had it in gear instead of neutral.....OMG....he's NEVER let me live it down! At least you don't have to look at the GS operator over the dining table!!!!!

[Powerdude]

There was this one time when I spend a half an hour looking for my keys, which were already in the ignition...

[Dog_Folks]

Welcome to the club. It proves you are human! You passed the test!!