Gray skies again hung over us for our Saturday ride. I lost track of time trying to figure out why my Mom’s phone was silent on incoming text messages. My Mom actually had to tell me to give up as she saw Bill all geared up and getting on his motorcycle. I threw on my gear and headed out to find my R Nine T parked alone at the bottom of the driveway. I waited a few minutes to see if Bill rode back by then took off. I met him riding back toward me a few seconds later, and we were off.
I didn’t expect to see any butterflies on the ride, and I didn’t, but I did see flowers still in bloom. Something about the milder summer and the generous rain has azaleas blooming again. I even saw a few day lilies flowering again. I smiled at the spring-like blooms even as more trees showed some yellowing on the leaves.
The ride was going well; I was focusing on my stops after seeing that poor stop last week. The stops have really smoothed out. My U-turns also went well; both on street turns were a foot inside the berm. And I was doing great in the gravel lot, more confident after practicing last week.
But then the ride went south, deep south. As I left the gravel lot and rode over to rejoin Bill, I heard the weird clicking sound of the Triumph’s engine not turning over. This stall during our ride was a first; it had happened before but while we were still in the garage. Bill checked the battery connections which were still tight, but I rode home to get the screwdriver and sandpaper just in case. Still no go and then the key fob light went red meaning the battery was dying (hard to believe as we had changed the battery a few months ago and have only used it 8-10 times since). So we needed a new battery.
Now I asked my Mom if she had the needed battery, but no luck. I needed to go to the store. So without real planning, I made my first ride through traffic. I had to go through one intersection at a light. I was careful and competent and had no cars around me as I traversed the intersection going and coming. I navigated the parking lot well with all my U-turn practice, but I bought the wrong batteries.
Bill had just recently replaced the battery in my car key fob, so we tried that in the Triumph’s fob. But the light stayed red. Eventually, Bill had the notion to reset the key fob. Since he had disconnected the battery earlier, he thought a reset on the fob might be in order. That finally worked, but it had taken over an hour, and our ride was ruined. I’m sorry to say but the Triumph Rocket has been more trouble than it’s worth. As Bill pointed out, 50 years ago, Triumph had a reputation for lousy electrical work, and in the ensuing years, they’ve done nothing to repair it.
We still have the BMW G 310; I suggested we put the Rocket on CycleTrader, and I go back to riding the 310 while Bill rides the R Nine T. I can make this offer rather easily as I’ve seen the new R1300 GS models from BMW, and I’ve fallen in love with the Option 719 edition. I’m not sure I could give up the R Nine T for anything less.
Flutterby Biker 