Hitcher
1st June 2008, 16:38
Last Saturday I bid a fond farewell to the Mighty FJR, now en route to Los Angeles.
Yesterday, Mrs H and I mounted her usually reliable Suzuki Bandit, and sallied forth for a day of two-up riding. El Bandito acquitted itself in its usual impeccable manner until we attempted to accelerate away from the Maungaraki lights. Poof. Just enough momentum to coast into the roadworks island area, dismount and see what the problem was. No ignition. Plenty of battery, fuses OK, albeit very wet and corroded.
When she bought her Bandit, Mrs H got Dave Andersons to fit a Scotoiler. In their efforts to get everything stowed tidily under the seat, they had turned the fusebox upside down. So rather than turning rain and other moisture off as Mr Suzuki had intended, instead it acted like a funnel, collecting water amongst fuses and relays.
TSS to the rescue. Pip squirted CRC and jiggled fuses around. Ignition! Woo hoo!
Off again we were. Blatting magnificently in the soon-to-be-winter sunlight.
Just before we reached the Kaitoke watersupply side road, at about 110kmh, we had ignition failure again. Squeezing in the clutch, we nearly made the Kaitoke Gardens carpark. Having seen Pip in action, I jiggled fuses, but to no avail.
Sigh.
The Bandit now resides in a locked shed at Kaitoke. After a $40 taxi ride to Upper Hutt railway station, the Metlink public transport network eventually saw us safely home.
TSS will be uplifting a very dead Bandit from Kaitoke on Tuesday.
What a waste of a couple of great riding days. Mutter, mumble.
Yesterday, Mrs H and I mounted her usually reliable Suzuki Bandit, and sallied forth for a day of two-up riding. El Bandito acquitted itself in its usual impeccable manner until we attempted to accelerate away from the Maungaraki lights. Poof. Just enough momentum to coast into the roadworks island area, dismount and see what the problem was. No ignition. Plenty of battery, fuses OK, albeit very wet and corroded.
When she bought her Bandit, Mrs H got Dave Andersons to fit a Scotoiler. In their efforts to get everything stowed tidily under the seat, they had turned the fusebox upside down. So rather than turning rain and other moisture off as Mr Suzuki had intended, instead it acted like a funnel, collecting water amongst fuses and relays.
TSS to the rescue. Pip squirted CRC and jiggled fuses around. Ignition! Woo hoo!
Off again we were. Blatting magnificently in the soon-to-be-winter sunlight.
Just before we reached the Kaitoke watersupply side road, at about 110kmh, we had ignition failure again. Squeezing in the clutch, we nearly made the Kaitoke Gardens carpark. Having seen Pip in action, I jiggled fuses, but to no avail.
Sigh.
The Bandit now resides in a locked shed at Kaitoke. After a $40 taxi ride to Upper Hutt railway station, the Metlink public transport network eventually saw us safely home.
TSS will be uplifting a very dead Bandit from Kaitoke on Tuesday.
What a waste of a couple of great riding days. Mutter, mumble.