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2 Oct 2011
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Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: SW France
Posts: 304
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What 'get you home' repairs have you made
Not all my roadside repairs have always been successful. I've ridden home a few times on a flat tyre, failed to fix a chain due due to the link extractor not being man enough and had a fuel line connector snap with no means of repair available.
Over the years though I've mostly managed to keep going and rarely ended up stranded at the roadside. How often have you been let down by your tool kit or spare parts box?
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3 Oct 2011
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Large Golden Member
Veteran HUBBer
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 1,085
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I had a throttle cable break ,so I used a piece of string attached to the carb slide and the other end tied to my knee .Stuck my knee out and vroom vroom off we go . 
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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."
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3 Oct 2011
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Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Oxford UK
Posts: 2,120
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I used twigs, bits of wire and matchsticks found at the side of the road to keep my exhaust system from falling apart during a trip back through France.
In our family car some years ago the wiper linkage from the motor failed in a rainstorm. To continue we tied shoelaces to the wiper arms, brought them back in through slightly open side windows and the kids pulled them backwards and forwards to get the wipers working. Worked perfectly for half an hour till the rain stopped.
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3 Oct 2011
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Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: cardigan,wales
Posts: 249
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On our way back from Romania my Wife's Pegaso had it's second rear puncture, just before the Severn Bridge on the M4 at 2am. Had already used our spare 17" so stuffed in my spare 21" front and got home on that.
Years ago returning from MCC's "Land's End Trial" the exhaust pipe snapped off at the head on my MZ 250. Bodged it somehow with fencing wire nicked from Sedgemore Services fence, still made a racket but got me back.
Only time i've ever failed to bodge and had to rely on breakdown service was in Northern France a couple of years ago coming back from DLWF winter rally. Chain link snapped on the remotest, straightest bit of road in the country which would'nt normally be a problem except i'd lent my spare link to another guy on the rally.I now carry a spare chain and 3 links!
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Just going for a short ride on my bike....
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28 Sep 2012
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Registered Users
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Derby, UK
Posts: 119
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Quote:
Originally Posted by backofbeyond
In our family car some years ago the wiper linkage from the motor failed in a rainstorm. To continue we tied shoelaces to the wiper arms, brought them back in through slightly open side windows and the kids pulled them backwards and forwards to get the wipers working. Worked perfectly for half an hour till the rain stopped.
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When my parents got married they spent their honeymoon (in November!) in Cornwall in a split-screen VW camper belonging to my paternal grandparents. My mum frequently recounts the tale of having to operate the wipers by hand while my dad drove after the motor failed, although fortunately for me, their marriage survived this ordeal
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28 Sep 2012
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Registered Users
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Oxford UK
Posts: 2,120
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It's funny how memories of these things last. The shoelace powered wiper episode happened about 12-13 years ago when my daughter was 5. Completely out of the blue a couple of weeks ago, at the age of 17, she reminded me of it. Probably scarred her for life.
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28 Sep 2012
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Contributing Member
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Rockhampton, Australia
Posts: 868
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I hope to not be a constant contributer here, but here is another one. I crashed down a cliff in Kyrgyzstahn and snapped the end off the gear shift lever. I could have ridden for a while using the edge of my boot but instead did the following.
Using the OEM spark plug tool in a DL650 Vstrom tool kit, I cable tied and silver taped it into place and had my self a makeshift gear lever.
This lasted until I entered China and had another one made
Cheers from Shenzen, China
TravellingStrom
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3 Oct 2011
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Registered Users
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: SW France
Posts: 304
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodger
I had a throttle cable break ,so I used a piece of string attached to the carb slide and the other end tied to my knee .Stuck my knee out and vroom vroom off we go . |
I generally have spare cables taped alongside the main ones but a length of string (or shoelace) has many uses it would appear. I used to make or repair the cables on my old Brit bikes but they were never very reliable.
I had the large dome nut fall off the bottom of the carb of my old BSA. This lets all the petrol out quite quickly. So I scoured the road for this nut for ages, I didn't find the original but, by good fortune, found something similar but quite a bit larger. I managed to lash this onto the bottom of the carb with iron wire and although it leaked a fair bit it did get me home. If you carried everything that could go wrong with a BSA as spares you'd need very large panniers!
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16 Nov 2011
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Registered Users
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sax, Spain
Posts: 901
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I bodged an exhaust that had cracked at the flange near the head on a dr650
using jb weld and a piece of fence wire wrapped round the header and then i put loops in the end and attached the loops to the bike frame with a bungie cut in half and knots in the cut ends.............the jb weld and bodge got me the 300 miles home!
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16 Nov 2011
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Lifetime Member
HUBB regular
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Nanaimo BC Canada
Posts: 71
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We would love to see some pictures of these bodges if you have some 
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16 Nov 2011
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Registered Users
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Oztralia
Posts: 646
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Spark plug used as replacement for the transmission drain plug after I lost it (and all the oil) around 100km earlier on the Birdsville track last year.
More recently (3 months back), a couple of cable ties used to hold the front subframe and fairing (20kg) on after the metal mounting tabs snapped off on the old telegraph trail(Cape York).
I always find corrugations are great for discovering the weak point on any bike.
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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman
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5 Oct 2013
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New on the HUBB
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Philadelphia area/ southern NJ
Posts: 2
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Vise-grips to the rescue
I always carry small Vise-grips pliers, no more versatile tool exists. Used as a clamp, it gave me back a brake lever from the nub that was left when a tip-over resulted from a bozo who suddenly stopped in the middle of the road for no reason on a very steep hill.
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15 Nov 2013
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Registered Users
HUBB regular
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 83
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I read somewhere that a couple of hunters were way up on a mountain in an old jeep when the fuel pump failed. They rigged an enema bag so that the probe dripped gas into the carb and came down in low gear......I wish I could remember what the story said about why they had an enema bag.
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15 Nov 2013
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Contributing Member
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Home in Essex GB
Posts: 564
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DL650 - On a recent trip back through Europe with the wife the clutch started to slip quite badly in Slovenia. I couldn't think of a bodge to get home other than stick the wife on a plane from Venice................it worked ........I made it back .
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17 Nov 2013
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Contributing Member
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Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
Posts: 812
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I had an Enfield 500 that was my daily ride to work. One day the return spring for the kickstart lever broke, so I could kick it over once, pull the lever up by hand, and kick over again. I could get the bike started with one or two kicks no problem, but then what to do with the loosely dangling lever..?
I used a loop of old shoestring to tie the lever up and out of the way after getting it started. It actually worked okay, and I kept riding the bike every day to work until the replacement spring arrived from the warehouse about 10 days later.
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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250
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Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
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Lots more comments here!
Every book a diary
Every chapter a day
Every day a journey
Refreshingly honest and compelling tales: the hights and lows of a life on the road. Solo, unsupported, budget journeys of discovery.
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All 8 books available from the author or as eBooks and audio books
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New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
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Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
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helps answer the question - Why Go? Inspirational stories by veteran travellers Greg Frazier (5 times RTW), Peter and Kay Forwood (193 countries), Tiffany Coates (Mongolia Mayhem) and Rene Cormier (University of Gravel Roads).
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Vise-grips to the rescue
Hybrid Mode
