Roadside repairs and coming home

In the time that Kruinigen Perkpolder was still sailing: When trying to leave the ferry, the splines of the (finely toothed) Ural cardan turned crazy. Borrowed a drill from the technical service. 8mm hole through the sleeve and the ad. M8 bolt and nut mounted. 1 hour delay. Start and go. I drove it for weeks.

I had a nice clean spare block lying around for years. Someone once told me it had been overhauled. That block was mounted for a longer trip just to be sure. After about 300 km the block was completely exhausted. It also got incredibly hot. When I started to smell the paint on the dynamo it was time for a cooling off period. The cleaning cloths plus T-shirts we brought with us were tied to the tow rope during the cool down stops and thrown into local ditches. Because water cooling has something. So you have to be idealistic about that.

The drive through the Zeeland tunnel was a gamble. Because the running time between two cooldowns was something like 5-6 km at that time. The tunnel is about six kilometers long. Fortunately, the pipe is a long way off. Unfortunately, the tunnel then goes up again. It went in the nick of time. On the way back, the block, which now had the same amount of crankcase pressure as compression, was allowed to cool down for an extra long time before the tunnel run. Burned four liters of oil from the cheapest Action in the 300 km back home. Afterwards it turned out that something of rubber valve guides and polystyrene piston rings had been used. The crankshaft holes were also not drilled in line. So the block was probably once locally overhauled by a Russian. And Russians are usually drunk. Came home nicely on its own. But no one wanted to drive behind me.

Stranded en route with a broken cylinder. Called a friend and scored a fresh box of cigars. Comrade brought a cylinder, a complete piston and some gaskets. Everything mounted in the parking lot of the gas station. I lit the last cigar while starting. Drive home quietly. There appeared to be no reason to give the road repair any further attention.

It may have taken some time and effort. But I'm sure that problems with a BMW K1600 or Goldwing are not so easily solved on the road. That is of course also due to the fact that we, as classic drivers, are usually technically on a somewhat higher level than the drivers of current stuff. They often have a mobility guarantee, a dingest that signals to a satellite if you inexplicably do not move for more than 10 minutes. And I hear that a little motorcycle these days already has radar.

But if you talk to a former ANWB Emergency Center employee (those people apparently have a gag order, by the way) you get a sad picture of the current generation of motorcyclists and their motorcycles. There was one who wanted to be repatriated from Luxembourg because his dynamo was broken. While we as enthusiasts know that you will also come home with a full battery. Just a matter of turning off the lights, don't honk and don't give directions.

There was one whose engine was completely broken. The salvage driver put the fat BMW in neutral. Then it did start. But the rider and his partner "lost confidence in the machine." So he went on the recovery truck. A phone call from a few brave GS riders: “The bike got very wet and wouldn't start”. Getting wet was because crossing a stream was just too much for the rider's skills. There were just no trout in the air filter housing, but the BMW had drunk water like a Bavarian drinks beer. A Harley rider had broken a leg because she fell while coming to a stop because… her stiletto heel broke off. A motorcycle had to be repatriated because the couple M/M had quarreled and had left separately by train for their respective homes or relatives. One had a driver's license. The other the engine. Thus.

Technically, most failures these days turn out to be electronic, with it being a well-known secret that Bosch and BMW aren't what they once were either.

After many electronic and corrosion problems after a standard winter, friend G from BMW Motorrad was accused of driving through the winter. He has stayed true to his brand. But now has an RT100 two-valve again.

The last hours of the 2022 are of course perfect for a quick one dirt cheap subscription to take. AMK will then arrive in your mailbox every month. And then we wish all readers a great 2023 as well.