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Curt's terrible tale of woe - Please don't tow my bike
It was a great day for a ride. So nice in fact that I didn't feel the need to wear my leather jacket, while going for a short rip around the city(Calgary, Canada) with my buddy Jeremy. Jeremy rides a '97 750 Virago and I'm sporting a '82 GS 650.
At about eight o'clock on a warm and dry Tuesday evening when the patrol car made it's presence known in the usual way. We cringed, flicked the signals, pulled off from the intersection, and crept into the closest parking lot. The usual process the ensued; dismounting, killing the engines, pulling the helmets, ??and confronting the cop. "Licence, registration, and insurance" our friendly policeman demanded. Oh no. -left-hand inside pocked, the one with the zipper- I'd left the insurance and registration in my leather at home, exactly thirty-one blocks. The cop seemed to accept this awnser and with licences and Jeremy's registration & insurance in hand, returned to the cruiser. While he did his thing we pondered why we were pulled over. Jeremy was sure it was speeding. He said he'd glanced at the speedo and throttled off at about 100 km/hr and as I was keeping pace with him, I must've been close to that. With those two factors in mind, a more serious question was raised. With the speed and the tightness of our formation, did he think that we'd been racing? A stunting charge holds six demerits(or is it eight?) and with Jer's licence within four points of getting pulled, this was fairly dire. While waiting for the officer to return from the car, we received bad omen number one. Another cruiser with two cops pulled into the lot and parked on the other side of us and the bikes. Then another. Two young(18 and 20) guys with two bikes. Five cops in three cars. They were all standing around talking to each other, apparently oblivious to us. Then we got ba
d omen number two. A tow truck pulled into the lot and stops just outside the ring of police cars. Oh no. The original cop returned from the car and asked "So who's going first?" Oh no. I didn't have my papers on me and Jeremy hadn't gotten his 2002 insurance papers(he had insurance but didn't have the current paperwork, and the old one showed an expiry date of May 10th, today being the 28th) so the bikes were going for a ride. Much begging ensued but with no avail. As the tow-truck driver strapped the harness on my Suzi, the officer told me that I was under arrest on an outstanding warrant(which turned out to be an unpaid transit fine of $150). He then proceeded to torque my arm behind my back and heave me onto the hood of the car. Handcuffed and in the back of the cruiser, I heard Jeremy ask the tow truck driver "This isn't going to hurt the bikes is it?". "Yeah it probably is" was the awnser. As the patrol car carried me away, I watched my bike bounce off the back of the truck as it was being raised. That's one of the more disheartening sights I've seen. I've had that bike for two days. On the way to the station, I asked why we'd been pulled over in the first place. "Well it's the beginning of the motorcycle season so we've been routinely stopping them" was the honest retort. So I got pulled over for riding a motorcycle?? Man, that's rough.
It's now the day after, and I'm assessing the damage(financially at least). Failure to provide proof of registration, $57. Failure to provide proof of insurance, one towed bike, towing charge, $70. Impound lot fees, $33.26. Court ordered to pay my transit fine of $150 by June 28th, or face another warrant. Summoned to appear before a judge on June 10th to prove that I'm insured. Now the big one, how's my baby? ahem, bike? I guess I'll find out in a couple hours when I get off work and pick her up.
And the moral of the story, boys and girls, is that you should always keep your papers on you and pay your fines in a ti
mely fashion. But you already know that.
Curt
It was a great day for a ride. So nice in fact that I didn't feel the need to wear my leather jacket, while going for a short rip around the city(Calgary, Canada) with my buddy Jeremy. Jeremy rides a '97 750 Virago and I'm sporting a '82 GS 650.
At about eight o'clock on a warm and dry Tuesday evening when the patrol car made it's presence known in the usual way. We cringed, flicked the signals, pulled off from the intersection, and crept into the closest parking lot. The usual process the ensued; dismounting, killing the engines, pulling the helmets, ??and confronting the cop. "Licence, registration, and insurance" our friendly policeman demanded. Oh no. -left-hand inside pocked, the one with the zipper- I'd left the insurance and registration in my leather at home, exactly thirty-one blocks. The cop seemed to accept this awnser and with licences and Jeremy's registration & insurance in hand, returned to the cruiser. While he did his thing we pondered why we were pulled over. Jeremy was sure it was speeding. He said he'd glanced at the speedo and throttled off at about 100 km/hr and as I was keeping pace with him, I must've been close to that. With those two factors in mind, a more serious question was raised. With the speed and the tightness of our formation, did he think that we'd been racing? A stunting charge holds six demerits(or is it eight?) and with Jer's licence within four points of getting pulled, this was fairly dire. While waiting for the officer to return from the car, we received bad omen number one. Another cruiser with two cops pulled into the lot and parked on the other side of us and the bikes. Then another. Two young(18 and 20) guys with two bikes. Five cops in three cars. They were all standing around talking to each other, apparently oblivious to us. Then we got ba
d omen number two. A tow truck pulled into the lot and stops just outside the ring of police cars. Oh no. The original cop returned from the car and asked "So who's going first?" Oh no. I didn't have my papers on me and Jeremy hadn't gotten his 2002 insurance papers(he had insurance but didn't have the current paperwork, and the old one showed an expiry date of May 10th, today being the 28th) so the bikes were going for a ride. Much begging ensued but with no avail. As the tow-truck driver strapped the harness on my Suzi, the officer told me that I was under arrest on an outstanding warrant(which turned out to be an unpaid transit fine of $150). He then proceeded to torque my arm behind my back and heave me onto the hood of the car. Handcuffed and in the back of the cruiser, I heard Jeremy ask the tow truck driver "This isn't going to hurt the bikes is it?". "Yeah it probably is" was the awnser. As the patrol car carried me away, I watched my bike bounce off the back of the truck as it was being raised. That's one of the more disheartening sights I've seen. I've had that bike for two days. On the way to the station, I asked why we'd been pulled over in the first place. "Well it's the beginning of the motorcycle season so we've been routinely stopping them" was the honest retort. So I got pulled over for riding a motorcycle?? Man, that's rough.
It's now the day after, and I'm assessing the damage(financially at least). Failure to provide proof of registration, $57. Failure to provide proof of insurance, one towed bike, towing charge, $70. Impound lot fees, $33.26. Court ordered to pay my transit fine of $150 by June 28th, or face another warrant. Summoned to appear before a judge on June 10th to prove that I'm insured. Now the big one, how's my baby? ahem, bike? I guess I'll find out in a couple hours when I get off work and pick her up.
And the moral of the story, boys and girls, is that you should always keep your papers on you and pay your fines in a ti
mely fashion. But you already know that.
Curt
(not to mention COVERED in dust, a day after I polished her up). Nothing to repair and she's back in my arms, er, stall so I'm a happy guy again.
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