15 replies to this topic

[GP Paul]

I have a Ventura kit and this morning, after picking up a package from the Post Office, the dang thing fell off!
It was only in the space of 10 blocks or so, but I retraced my path and could not find it. It had a range finder (oilwell site distance measuring thingie worth $220) and a Mint coin (worth $100), plus the rack itself and the Sport bag. Est. $5-600 total. And a city worker, a street-sweeper operator, called me up from the number on the range finder receipt.

I gave him a $40 finder's fee and my heartfelt thanks - repeatedly. It's the kind of thing I would do but don't expect of everyone. My faith in humankind is restored!

And for those of you with Ventura racks, check your bolts at every stop!

Any other Good Samaritan stories out there?

[Chuckster]

That's great that you got it back! You know, there are many more good folks than bad in this world. Unfortunately, we are bombarded daily from every news outlet about mostly bad. Somebody ought to come up with a "good news" channel, I'd watch it.

Chuck

[MaxSwell]

While returning from '08 T-mac, as I approched St. Louis, my rear tire went flat. I got the bike to the sholder of the interstate, put the stand down and stepped away. The bike fell over on it's right side. Turns out I'd worn my tire through to the steel belts; unknown to me the tire was a softer compound than I'd been used to. It had tread above the wearbars in Franklin; enough rubber to get me home with touring tires but not these softies.
So before I could walk to the frontage road, up pulls this Suburban, out jumps Cicel, who says looks like you've got some trouble. Within the next hour he has his buddy with a trailer on his was to rescue me. Then he calls the local mc dealer, who is closed at that hour, at home, arranges for a tire to be sent from the wearhouse to the shop the next morning, hauls me and the bike to a motel, and arranges to have me and the bike picked up and hauled to the dealer in the morning. I'm back on the road by noon the next day.
Cicel and his wife have GoldWings they could no longer ride due to age and the weight of the bike; but still have the biker-family attitude that we are a brotherhood. And help any and all riders.

That's what I call a Samaritan. I will always check to see if a road-sider needs help. Keeping the brotherhood faith.

[GP Paul]

And hey, do you all stop or check with thumbs-up with riders pulled over?

Another story - when the fuel pump went on my Gen 5, I gave location etc. to passersby (no cell service). They passed on info to CAA (AMA, whatever). Saved my bacon eventually.

[mrmatt]

I was on my way back to KY from the Indy motoGP a couple years ago and ran out of gas about 2 miles from the next town (was going through Brown County). Before I decided to start walking a guy on a big cruiser going to other way pulled over and asked what was the problem. He totally could relate and told me about when he was in Montana or Idaho and miscalculated and also ran out, but then some guy on a Goldwing had stopped to help him out.
He was gone about 15 minutes and then here he comes with a 20oz Mountain Dew bottle filled with petrol for me. Wouldn't even take any money for his trouble, he waited for my bike to start up and then off we went our separate ways.

[GP Paul]

2 of the 4 people I gave info to when the fuel pump went were Harleys, 1 was Goldwing, 1 was pickup; no idea who actually got the info to the auto club. Funny thing was, the info included mileage to and from cities, and even Latitude/longitude from my GPS, but the towtruck driver took 8 hours from only 60 miles away!

Also, the pickup driver recognized that my helmet was by the roadside. He'd read or heard somewhere that a helmet placed so was a plea for help. I was 30 yards from the road and put my helmet on the roadside. Don't know where I heard that myself, but it worked!

[MaxSwell]

Helmet on the road is a great idea. I'll be paying more attention to that idea. Perhaps it will become a standard. So I'll be careful where I set my helmet if I'm just resting/smoking.

[GP Paul]

Further to that fuel pump incident:
I stopped at a compressor station (oilpatch thing) that had an electrical call-gate. No answer. I then waited a total of 11 hours during which I endured a rain storm and 4 hours of vampire bugs/mosquitoes. It would be funny if it happened to someone else. Worst holiday ever.
Then, I spent 5 days getting the bike repaired, and got an unexplained hash mark on the fairing. "Musta been there already, maybe a rock." NOT. $1000 later, I tucked my tail between my legs and got the hell home. My email expaining it to one of my bosses made him fall out of his chair laughing. He's a Harley guy.

[TimC]

They weren't much help because there wasn't anything that could be done on the spot, but a few people stopped to ask if they could help me when my bike died in Blaine, KY, last fall. I was very appreciative that they even stopped to ask.

I usually stop when I see a motorcyclist standing near his bike on the side of the road. Usually there's nothing I can do, but I check with them anyway.

[Dutchy]

or get a cover to put over your helmet and place it by the road side




http://www.polo-moto...arndreieck.html


and in the olden olden day, German bikers tied a yellow scarf to the handlebar to show you broke down...