The Wrong Way Round - or How To Have a Tour Go Totally Wrong!

**Bob** · 28th July 2006, 02:09

This is not a warning tale about touring, but it is a great example of how things can go totally NOT to plan!

Hope you enjoy it - somehow we did!

**98tls** · 28th July 2006, 06:50

good stuff.great read.

**XTC** · 28th July 2006, 22:04

Towed the bike cause it had a broken speedo cable???? WTF?

**Bob** · 29th July 2006, 01:30

Originally Posted by XTC

Towed the bike cause it had a broken speedo cable???? WTF?

Ok work with me here...

Point 1: The area we were touring had mobile speed units working there.
Point 2: An inexperienced rider - on her two-year restricted licence. In the UK, during your restricted, penalty points count double.
Point 3: Where we live has the highest concentration of speed cameras (both fixed and mobile) in the UK.
Point 4: It is illegal in the UK to use a vehicle if the instrumentation is not working.
Point 5: All of the above factors have an inexperienced rider involved - who, if she had been done for any of the above, probably would have given up biking.

Yes I know points 2 and 5 are variations of each other, but it is important.

So... normally, I would have suggested I took the lead and set the pace, with her following. Which caused another "inexperience" problem. If I got into a situation that meant I needed to brake hard, she was not convinced that she would be able to brake in time. This led, when I tried taking the lead, to her sitting way back from me - so other traffic would dive into the "gap" separating us, so my controlling the speed would not work.

(She still won't ride as close as I'd like to this day)

We couldn't swop bikes, as on a 33bhp restriction, she wasn't allowed to ride my SV650S - and even if she could have done, she is too small to reach the ground!

Only alternative in this situation is to use a facility that we pay a lot of money to have - and get them to repair or tow (which is the deal).

Simple really, n'est pas?

If I was riding on my own, I'd have no qualms about riding with a bust speedo. But then I've been riding for years, can judge pretty accurately what speed I am doing (if I know the bike, like most of us I can tell if I'm doing X revs in Y gear, then I am travelling at Z miles per hour).

For the sake of using a facility that we - as I said above - pay a lot of money to have - far better than a newbie getting spooked over the whole situation and quite possibly walking away from biking, don't you think?

**jazbug5** · 29th July 2006, 01:42

Wierdly, the speedo wasn't working on my bike when it went in for its MOT.
I was told this was optional- i.e., I didn't have to get it fixed in order to get my MOT passed. Not that I was tempted to leave it, mind you!

**Bob** · 29th July 2006, 02:13

Originally Posted by jazbug5

Wierdly, the speedo wasn't working on my bike when it went in for its MOT.
I was told this was optional- i.e., I didn't have to get it fixed in order to get my MOT passed. Not that I was tempted to leave it, mind you!

Oddly, you don't seem to need a working speedo for MOT (the MOT deals with 'physical' aspects of the vehicle), but I think you can get pulled on the road for not having one that works - I think it falls into one of those loose categories like "Using a vehicle that is not fit for the purpose". If the speedo isn't working, then as far as I am aware (over here anyway), then it is not fit for use, as you cannot tell what speed you are doing. And so would not be able to accurately measure your speed in a restricted zone (like our road, which has a 20mph limit)

Of course, no-one can tell your speedo isn't working if you pull over and aren't moving!

**Brian d marge** · 29th July 2006, 02:48

I would go with Bob on this one , I was racing with a fella when we lost the front tyre , No me I would ride on the rim and screw the tyre , but as I was riding with someone, I asked if he wanted to carry on,he said Yes but his face said no
Hard , cost a lot of money but ,,,, I wont ask someone to do something they arnt comfortable with

( except if shes cheap

)

One thing though , I have experience of the tow/ rider pick up ,,,,I could have walked quicker ...and in the end I carried a chain link. puncture repair and a puncture repair kit !
It was quicker than calling the AA

Stephen

As for saluting the rider ,,,one finger maybe ,,,,

**Bonez** · 30th July 2006, 12:36

Nice write up Bob. I remember one Christmas "tour" with Mum, Dad, Connie and the youngest boy.

Dads BMWs battery decided to go west the day we were leaving. It wasn't that old by all accounts. 80k from home Mum's GSX250 spat a dummy so we called up the trusty CB550 into service, then I get a flat rear tyre on Gerty out of New Plymouth on public holiday. That was within three days and about 300 odd kms. The place we were heading to it turns out was closed because of a search for a missing tourist.