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Sort of long.. but.. I just started typing and couldn't stop.
It was around the beginning of June, 2004. I was buying a bike off of my Uncle who had this amazing GS750ES in his garage. He barely got to ride it because he had two homes, and kept all of his toys at his second home. Next to his gs750es he had a 1980's Ninja which needed some minor repair. So in favour of his Ninja he decided to sell me his 86' GS750ES for ninja repair money.
We lived in seperate provinces. Him in Newfoundland, and I in Nova Scotia. My dad was planning on going to Newfoundland for a business meeting and I convinced him it'd be fun to ride the bike back for me. Cheaper than shipping, and it was my first bike, so I was unable to pick it up and drive back with confidence. Plus, being a business trip, my dad got paid for providing his own transportation. That money went right back into the bike.
I expected my dad home late that day. I was at school all day doing the math in my head. "If he leaves North Sydney at this time, and it's this many hours, doing an average of X km/h and takes the route he told me, and took 3 breaks then He'll be here around dark." I was content with that. The next day was suppose to be a really nice day, and regardless, I planned on going to bed early to get up the next morning to ride.
Well I got out of class and decided to call home to ask if my father had called from the road to see if he's alright with the bike. My mom tells me he's already home. I ran to the bus and then ran home.
An amazing bike waiting for me in my driveway when I get home, saying "Drive Me". I ran for my equipment and jumped on. My Dad came out of the house and told me to take it easy, drive around the neabourhood for a while to get ahold of it. It was a big bike, but it was mine, and I loved it.
A couple months later, and a brandnew clutch (ends up my clutch wasn't adjusted properly before buying the bike off my uncle and it got burnt out on the drive down. I didn't know enough to check it on arrival.) and atleast 3000km of driving It's time to move. My family had decided to move back to Newfoundland, where we had moved away from 9 years before. My parents were in Newfoundland shopping for a house, and I had earlier decided to drive to Nfld on my bike, instead of having it sent in the back of a moving truck. My chain had been loose, and wasn't capable of being tightened anymore, so I switch to a new chain a few days before leaving. Unfortunatly I couldn't get the sprokets in until the day before I left, and I wasn't able to risk it. The garage's were booked solid, and so I had no garentee of getting my bike on time if I told them to order the new parts. Even priority air.
So I Leave Nova Scotia, I've got 2 backpacks with me strapped down behind me, Got a drink in a side pocket for easy access (one of the nalgene bottles), a brandnew chain, and I'm ready to go. I get no more than an hour and a half outside of Halifax (10 Minues Past Truro for anyone familiar with the route) and I break a chain. My Speedo had given out the day before so I am unable to tell you how fast I was going... Let's just say.. I was alone on the highway enjoying my new feeling of freedom. ... All of this stopped in an instant when my bike cut out, no sound what so ever. Come to think of it... I was listening to music.. but I don't remember hearing anything in the earbuds.
So I coast to a stop on the side of the road. Put her on her sidestand get off the bike, give a good yell, went for a drink of water... broke my nalgene bottlecap trying to get it out of the "easy access pocket" drank all the water and starting thumbing down a ride.
I wait about 5-10 minutes and this semi beeps at me and points behind me. Someone pulled over and I didn't see. So I ran up to the car, opened the door, kneeled down beside the car and talked across the seat. Luckly the guy had a cellphone and lived in the area. We ended up calling a Suzuki Dealer I Will Not Name, told them I was on the highway with a broken chain, had more than enough money on me to pay, and told them where I was.
10 minutes later a truck pulls up. Two guys who look like they belong on South Coast Choppers came out of the truck, asked me if I was alright, and said they had a rope with them If I wanted to get pulled to the next town. I declined the offer and told them I have a guy on the way. They left.
30 Minutes after that a shop truck pulls up, guy jumps out and takes a look at the chain. All he brought was a masterlink. Apparently he was unable to fix it for me because of where the chain broke. I guess he thought the masterlink fell out. He told me to get in his truck and we'll go find a trailer to bring the bike back in. He told me he was going to bring one with him, but thought it wouldn't be nessesary. Instead of driving back we drove 10-15 minutes to his friends house to get a trailer. His trailer doesn't fit. We drive to another friends house to get a truck that'll fit the trailer. We take his truck to the other friends trailer. He's home now, wasn't earlier, and tells him to get the shop truck and just switch the hitch. Anyway.. long story short... we go between 3 of his friends houses trying to find trailers, hitches, and trucks that are compatable. This takes up atleast an hour and a half. 2 hours and 30 minutes after calling, after 3 friends house, 2 times each, and 2 stops for food and smokes, we're a minute from the garage. HE hits a pothole and the bike falls over.
The trailer we got was [url=http://www.asphaltreheat.com/Hot%20Box%20Trailer%20Unit.JPG]alot like this one, except, nothing in it, it was homemade, and it was rusty. When the bike landed on it, the tank and fairing landed on the sidewall made of rusty squarebar. He turned to me as we got back in the truck after assesing the damage and resecuring the bike, and said "mad yet?" I didn't look at him and just said "Yeah."
We get back to the shop and this guys face is red. Everyones talking to him in secrecy, trying to avoid me. After 30 minutes of him working on the bike I ask to talk to the manager. His name.. lets say..is Darcy. He's a young guy, 24 maybe, and I could tell he had just started up the shop as It was yet to be listed in the phonebook. I asked him what we're gonna do about "this". He said he has yet to talk to the mechanic, and will get back to me.
He told me that he has to check if his insurance will cover this. I got mad. "Your insurance has to cover this. A Bike Shop is suppose to have Mechanics Liability insurance. This covers anything your mechanic might do." He shrugged this comment off. He said that they don't pick up people on the road. After another 30 minutes, my bike is ready to go. New chain, still the old sprokets.. can't do anything about that where I was. I went to talk to the manager.
He suggests that we get an estimate at his friends shop before they close, and he'll pay the difference between the cost of the job he did for me, and the cost of getting the damage fixed. Wrong. "We will not goto your friends shop" How much is the bill... Oh.. about 500 dollars. "What?!" I look at the bill and he guides me through it. I believe there was 3.5 hours on work on that bill. and they charged about 60 or 70 dollars an hour, if I recall correctly, plus Materials and Parts, taxes, and, get this... A fee for getting picked up on the road. I argued every single bit of that with him. 3.5 is rediculous. The Mechanic they sent me stopped for smokes and food twice, and instead of driving back to the shop to get the trailer he said he was going to take when he first got the call, we drove to his friends house, which took up a good long time. AND. He arrived in a truck.. why didn't we just put the bike in the back of the truck. A fee for being picked up?! They told me themselves they don't pick people up, why is there a fee... I think they're trying to bulk up the bill so that they are liable for less. I tell him this.. he says that although they don't pick people up, when they do they have to charge incase stuff like this happens. But earlier he was not sure if his insurance would cover this... and now they're saying theres a fee incase stuff like this happens... that fee goes into a pool.. and that pool covers damage... thats usually how it works.
I told him I will get an estimate as soon as I get to Newfoundland, and that he will be hearing from me. I drove away without paying.
So I have to go back to my home in Halifax. My brother is expecting me because I called him and my Dad when I had arrived at the garage. Changed were made in my plans, and I left 2 days later.
I had time to replace my speedo, and gave myself ample time to make the trip. An amazing ride still, although I was worried about my chain. Nobody had told me that chains stretch so quick, especially on old sprokets, So when I did check it. I had to do some work in the parking lot of a tim hortons (donut shop) I end up arriving on time. Took a ferry to Newfoundland from the northen tip of Nova Scotia (a town called North Sydney) got to nfld and drove to my Girlfriends house where I stayed until my parents bought a house and moved down 6 weeks later. I parked my bike for the winter after I broke yet another chain.. get this.. on my way to a garage.
Before breaking that chain I got an estimate done at the closest body shop. 1200 dollars. I paid 2000 for the bike, and the damage was more than half the cost. Wow. I've recently contacted Darcy, the owner of the shop I won't mention admittedly late. I refreshed his memory of what happened, told him I haven't gone away, and expect him to do something about this. It's been 2 weeks since Emailing him. I have yet to hear a response. I believe he is trying to give me the slip.
All in All. My first summer with my bike was great. For 2 months I was able to go anywhere with anyone. The weather was great. Rain or Shine.. the weather was great. I gave a few friends short rides on the back, and even got 2 weeks of school with the bike... you young drivers know what I'm talking about... the waking up early to go for a ride before school.. parking it where everyone can see it... talking to the other bikers about bikes... going for a ride after school. It was great.
I've yet to go for a ride this summer. I've been trying to fix up my bike. New chain, new sprokets, new tires, new clutchpushlever, a few new oilseals and o-rings. I think tomorrow though... I'll be out on the road. Here's to hoping.
pictures.
Here she is. I carried this picture with me from the day I got it, until it arrived in my driveway... that same printed picture (from an email from my uncle) is now on my wall. I can't part with it.
Here's the damage caused by the fall in the trailer. I've sent this to Darcy. Here's another
And here's the estimate I got
I wish I had a picture of the bill Darcy tried to get me to pay. Unfortunatly.. since I didn't pay it... I didn't get one.
Well.. thats my story... hope it wasn't to long for you.
It was around the beginning of June, 2004. I was buying a bike off of my Uncle who had this amazing GS750ES in his garage. He barely got to ride it because he had two homes, and kept all of his toys at his second home. Next to his gs750es he had a 1980's Ninja which needed some minor repair. So in favour of his Ninja he decided to sell me his 86' GS750ES for ninja repair money.
We lived in seperate provinces. Him in Newfoundland, and I in Nova Scotia. My dad was planning on going to Newfoundland for a business meeting and I convinced him it'd be fun to ride the bike back for me. Cheaper than shipping, and it was my first bike, so I was unable to pick it up and drive back with confidence. Plus, being a business trip, my dad got paid for providing his own transportation. That money went right back into the bike.
I expected my dad home late that day. I was at school all day doing the math in my head. "If he leaves North Sydney at this time, and it's this many hours, doing an average of X km/h and takes the route he told me, and took 3 breaks then He'll be here around dark." I was content with that. The next day was suppose to be a really nice day, and regardless, I planned on going to bed early to get up the next morning to ride.
Well I got out of class and decided to call home to ask if my father had called from the road to see if he's alright with the bike. My mom tells me he's already home. I ran to the bus and then ran home.
An amazing bike waiting for me in my driveway when I get home, saying "Drive Me". I ran for my equipment and jumped on. My Dad came out of the house and told me to take it easy, drive around the neabourhood for a while to get ahold of it. It was a big bike, but it was mine, and I loved it.
A couple months later, and a brandnew clutch (ends up my clutch wasn't adjusted properly before buying the bike off my uncle and it got burnt out on the drive down. I didn't know enough to check it on arrival.) and atleast 3000km of driving It's time to move. My family had decided to move back to Newfoundland, where we had moved away from 9 years before. My parents were in Newfoundland shopping for a house, and I had earlier decided to drive to Nfld on my bike, instead of having it sent in the back of a moving truck. My chain had been loose, and wasn't capable of being tightened anymore, so I switch to a new chain a few days before leaving. Unfortunatly I couldn't get the sprokets in until the day before I left, and I wasn't able to risk it. The garage's were booked solid, and so I had no garentee of getting my bike on time if I told them to order the new parts. Even priority air.
So I Leave Nova Scotia, I've got 2 backpacks with me strapped down behind me, Got a drink in a side pocket for easy access (one of the nalgene bottles), a brandnew chain, and I'm ready to go. I get no more than an hour and a half outside of Halifax (10 Minues Past Truro for anyone familiar with the route) and I break a chain. My Speedo had given out the day before so I am unable to tell you how fast I was going... Let's just say.. I was alone on the highway enjoying my new feeling of freedom. ... All of this stopped in an instant when my bike cut out, no sound what so ever. Come to think of it... I was listening to music.. but I don't remember hearing anything in the earbuds.
So I coast to a stop on the side of the road. Put her on her sidestand get off the bike, give a good yell, went for a drink of water... broke my nalgene bottlecap trying to get it out of the "easy access pocket" drank all the water and starting thumbing down a ride.
I wait about 5-10 minutes and this semi beeps at me and points behind me. Someone pulled over and I didn't see. So I ran up to the car, opened the door, kneeled down beside the car and talked across the seat. Luckly the guy had a cellphone and lived in the area. We ended up calling a Suzuki Dealer I Will Not Name, told them I was on the highway with a broken chain, had more than enough money on me to pay, and told them where I was.
10 minutes later a truck pulls up. Two guys who look like they belong on South Coast Choppers came out of the truck, asked me if I was alright, and said they had a rope with them If I wanted to get pulled to the next town. I declined the offer and told them I have a guy on the way. They left.
30 Minutes after that a shop truck pulls up, guy jumps out and takes a look at the chain. All he brought was a masterlink. Apparently he was unable to fix it for me because of where the chain broke. I guess he thought the masterlink fell out. He told me to get in his truck and we'll go find a trailer to bring the bike back in. He told me he was going to bring one with him, but thought it wouldn't be nessesary. Instead of driving back we drove 10-15 minutes to his friends house to get a trailer. His trailer doesn't fit. We drive to another friends house to get a truck that'll fit the trailer. We take his truck to the other friends trailer. He's home now, wasn't earlier, and tells him to get the shop truck and just switch the hitch. Anyway.. long story short... we go between 3 of his friends houses trying to find trailers, hitches, and trucks that are compatable. This takes up atleast an hour and a half. 2 hours and 30 minutes after calling, after 3 friends house, 2 times each, and 2 stops for food and smokes, we're a minute from the garage. HE hits a pothole and the bike falls over.
The trailer we got was [url=http://www.asphaltreheat.com/Hot%20Box%20Trailer%20Unit.JPG]alot like this one, except, nothing in it, it was homemade, and it was rusty. When the bike landed on it, the tank and fairing landed on the sidewall made of rusty squarebar. He turned to me as we got back in the truck after assesing the damage and resecuring the bike, and said "mad yet?" I didn't look at him and just said "Yeah."
We get back to the shop and this guys face is red. Everyones talking to him in secrecy, trying to avoid me. After 30 minutes of him working on the bike I ask to talk to the manager. His name.. lets say..is Darcy. He's a young guy, 24 maybe, and I could tell he had just started up the shop as It was yet to be listed in the phonebook. I asked him what we're gonna do about "this". He said he has yet to talk to the mechanic, and will get back to me.
He told me that he has to check if his insurance will cover this. I got mad. "Your insurance has to cover this. A Bike Shop is suppose to have Mechanics Liability insurance. This covers anything your mechanic might do." He shrugged this comment off. He said that they don't pick up people on the road. After another 30 minutes, my bike is ready to go. New chain, still the old sprokets.. can't do anything about that where I was. I went to talk to the manager.
He suggests that we get an estimate at his friends shop before they close, and he'll pay the difference between the cost of the job he did for me, and the cost of getting the damage fixed. Wrong. "We will not goto your friends shop" How much is the bill... Oh.. about 500 dollars. "What?!" I look at the bill and he guides me through it. I believe there was 3.5 hours on work on that bill. and they charged about 60 or 70 dollars an hour, if I recall correctly, plus Materials and Parts, taxes, and, get this... A fee for getting picked up on the road. I argued every single bit of that with him. 3.5 is rediculous. The Mechanic they sent me stopped for smokes and food twice, and instead of driving back to the shop to get the trailer he said he was going to take when he first got the call, we drove to his friends house, which took up a good long time. AND. He arrived in a truck.. why didn't we just put the bike in the back of the truck. A fee for being picked up?! They told me themselves they don't pick people up, why is there a fee... I think they're trying to bulk up the bill so that they are liable for less. I tell him this.. he says that although they don't pick people up, when they do they have to charge incase stuff like this happens. But earlier he was not sure if his insurance would cover this... and now they're saying theres a fee incase stuff like this happens... that fee goes into a pool.. and that pool covers damage... thats usually how it works.
I told him I will get an estimate as soon as I get to Newfoundland, and that he will be hearing from me. I drove away without paying.
So I have to go back to my home in Halifax. My brother is expecting me because I called him and my Dad when I had arrived at the garage. Changed were made in my plans, and I left 2 days later.
I had time to replace my speedo, and gave myself ample time to make the trip. An amazing ride still, although I was worried about my chain. Nobody had told me that chains stretch so quick, especially on old sprokets, So when I did check it. I had to do some work in the parking lot of a tim hortons (donut shop) I end up arriving on time. Took a ferry to Newfoundland from the northen tip of Nova Scotia (a town called North Sydney) got to nfld and drove to my Girlfriends house where I stayed until my parents bought a house and moved down 6 weeks later. I parked my bike for the winter after I broke yet another chain.. get this.. on my way to a garage.
Before breaking that chain I got an estimate done at the closest body shop. 1200 dollars. I paid 2000 for the bike, and the damage was more than half the cost. Wow. I've recently contacted Darcy, the owner of the shop I won't mention admittedly late. I refreshed his memory of what happened, told him I haven't gone away, and expect him to do something about this. It's been 2 weeks since Emailing him. I have yet to hear a response. I believe he is trying to give me the slip.
All in All. My first summer with my bike was great. For 2 months I was able to go anywhere with anyone. The weather was great. Rain or Shine.. the weather was great. I gave a few friends short rides on the back, and even got 2 weeks of school with the bike... you young drivers know what I'm talking about... the waking up early to go for a ride before school.. parking it where everyone can see it... talking to the other bikers about bikes... going for a ride after school. It was great.
I've yet to go for a ride this summer. I've been trying to fix up my bike. New chain, new sprokets, new tires, new clutchpushlever, a few new oilseals and o-rings. I think tomorrow though... I'll be out on the road. Here's to hoping.
pictures.
Here she is. I carried this picture with me from the day I got it, until it arrived in my driveway... that same printed picture (from an email from my uncle) is now on my wall. I can't part with it.
Here's the damage caused by the fall in the trailer. I've sent this to Darcy. Here's another
And here's the estimate I got
I wish I had a picture of the bill Darcy tried to get me to pay. Unfortunatly.. since I didn't pay it... I didn't get one.
Well.. thats my story... hope it wasn't to long for you.