RazzBarlow
Member
My Big Dog is my daily transportation. The old Dog has served me well and I just went over 70,000 miles.
Last night, I pulled up to my garage, shut the bike down, hopped off the bike and unlocked the garage. Once the garage was open, I hopped back on the bike, flipped my main power switch, hit the starter button and...nothing. Flipped the cutoff switch a couple times, cycled the main power switch a couple times, hit the starter button and...nothing. So, I pushed the old Dog into the garage and said some choice words. I went inside my house and grumpily ate my dinner. All kinds of scenarios were going through my head, none of them good. Everything from a starter relay to a starter motor, including hand control switches, wiring etc... At least my bike is old enough where I don't have any EHC gremlins to worry about! I get home about 30 minutes after the local bike shop closes, so no possibility of getting the parts I need tonight.
(mumble, grumble) I live on a hill, so I figure I've got one shot at a bump-start in the morning. If it doesn't fire, it will be a bitch of a push back up into the garage. I can use the shop truck once I get to work to chase whatever parts I need on my lunch hour.
So, that's my frame of mind as I walk back out to the garage after dinner. I turn on the main power switch, and hit the starter button again. Since I've been off the bike about an hour, my ears are not still ringing from that sweet Thunder Header sound and whatever wind noise I was generating, I can now faintly hear a click. Well, that at least eliminates a lot of things. I know the cut-off switch, starter button and relay are at least working. OK, time to check and see if I'm getting power out of the relay. I grab my Power Probe tester and poke around under the oil bag. Then I put the Power Probe away. I have seen my problem. The "exciter" wire has come loose from the starter. I slide the connector back onto the terminal and hit the starter button. The old Dog spins right over and even growls at me to let me know it's displeasure at my neglect at scratching the right spots. A couple minutes with some pliers and I've applied some preventative medicine to that particular wound. Relieved and happy, I twiddle on a couple of other things and polish some chrome just to enhance my sex appeal.
What's my point? Sometimes the scenario we play out in our heads is worse than the reality. Things could have been a lot worse. For one thing, the time before I hit that starter button (and it worked), I was riding away from a buddy of mine who rides Japanese sport bikes. He likes to give me grief about my old Dog. I'm happy to be riding the bike I'm riding and even happier that I get to ride it another day. I work half days...from 0630AM till 1830PM. That hour and half commute that I spend on the Dog puts my mind right.
Last night, I pulled up to my garage, shut the bike down, hopped off the bike and unlocked the garage. Once the garage was open, I hopped back on the bike, flipped my main power switch, hit the starter button and...nothing. Flipped the cutoff switch a couple times, cycled the main power switch a couple times, hit the starter button and...nothing. So, I pushed the old Dog into the garage and said some choice words. I went inside my house and grumpily ate my dinner. All kinds of scenarios were going through my head, none of them good. Everything from a starter relay to a starter motor, including hand control switches, wiring etc... At least my bike is old enough where I don't have any EHC gremlins to worry about! I get home about 30 minutes after the local bike shop closes, so no possibility of getting the parts I need tonight.
(mumble, grumble) I live on a hill, so I figure I've got one shot at a bump-start in the morning. If it doesn't fire, it will be a bitch of a push back up into the garage. I can use the shop truck once I get to work to chase whatever parts I need on my lunch hour.
So, that's my frame of mind as I walk back out to the garage after dinner. I turn on the main power switch, and hit the starter button again. Since I've been off the bike about an hour, my ears are not still ringing from that sweet Thunder Header sound and whatever wind noise I was generating, I can now faintly hear a click. Well, that at least eliminates a lot of things. I know the cut-off switch, starter button and relay are at least working. OK, time to check and see if I'm getting power out of the relay. I grab my Power Probe tester and poke around under the oil bag. Then I put the Power Probe away. I have seen my problem. The "exciter" wire has come loose from the starter. I slide the connector back onto the terminal and hit the starter button. The old Dog spins right over and even growls at me to let me know it's displeasure at my neglect at scratching the right spots. A couple minutes with some pliers and I've applied some preventative medicine to that particular wound. Relieved and happy, I twiddle on a couple of other things and polish some chrome just to enhance my sex appeal.
What's my point? Sometimes the scenario we play out in our heads is worse than the reality. Things could have been a lot worse. For one thing, the time before I hit that starter button (and it worked), I was riding away from a buddy of mine who rides Japanese sport bikes. He likes to give me grief about my old Dog. I'm happy to be riding the bike I'm riding and even happier that I get to ride it another day. I work half days...from 0630AM till 1830PM. That hour and half commute that I spend on the Dog puts my mind right.
