The longest push

[T.W.R]

It's inevitable that somewhere during our motorcycling careers that we end up having to push our steeds for a reasonable distance for one reason or another. Over the years I've had a couple of beauties;

1st time was due to newbness on a 76 GT125 Suzuki (my 1st road bike). Heading home after a ride with mates the bike died heading into Prebbleton and wouldn't go again, panic set in as to what the oldman would say so on to shank's pony and start pushing the thing home to Riccarton roughly 16kms . I had managed to hole a piston due to wrong plugs :slap:

2nd time was after a beaut ride around the Peninsula & over to Port Levy on a XT250, stopped to take a photo then took off to head over to Little river 200m down the road the bike felt weird, looked it over & mmm nice flat rear tyre
so turn around & start pushing back the way I'd come and back towards Diamond Harbour & a phone (phone box) finally after a reasonable length of time got the phone & rang home only to be told by the oldman "keep pushing & I'll meet you on the road" . Made it to Charteris Bay before seeing the old bugger :slap:
with all the up & down hills it felt like a walk of eternity but was probably close to 20kms

Have had a couple of other pushes with larger bikes but those two were the most memorable

How about anyone else ?

[Taz]

Everyone has cell phones now so pushing isn't really needed...... Unless you have no mates.

Had to push my T250 about 1km back in the day.

[T.W.R]

Everyone has cell phones now so pushing isn't really needed...... Unless you have no mates.

back in those days a cell phone was like a suitcase, and even today there's plenty of places where a cell wont work

[Motu]

I've usually been able to stash my bike somewhere,then walk or hitch out,and come back later with a trailer.So not many pushing stories,but plenty of walking stories.

But one time I had a flat tyre on the motorway and was pushing it to the next off ramp when a mate stopped in his truck on the other side of the motorway - he called out that he would get off at the next off ramp and come back for me.So in relief I waited,and waited....and waited and waited.The bastard never came back for me so I had to push it to the off ramp and a service station.After a Pando and stopping at every service station to pump it up,I still didn't get it home - there were service stations everywhere in the days,but came across a dry area,and by that time the tube was toast.

I have never seen my friend since that day,and that was in 1974.He was on the run,having escaped custody on a stolen motorcycle arrest - I guess he must of seen some cops further along and didn't want to be seen loading a bike onto his truck.So I've never been able to tell him how pissed off I was....

[Road Guardian]

Here is hoping, ill never have to do this. At least you can push a bike, a car, different story!

[Motu]

Oh,I did sort of walk a bike home - out trail riding I came off,and sheared the gearshift shaft internally.The bike was jammed in 1st,so I sort of walked and coasted home in 1st...only about 5km.

[Mrs Busa Pete]

i had a harly davidson 1200 sporster and the clutch use to lock on the last time i pushed it was from k road down queen st along the water front to st heliers bay up long drive over and down ashby ave up and over to line road down to home 3 hours in total .
the next day of to green lane suzuki traded it for my fzr 750 rt now i only push start buckets

[CRF119]

I have pushed due to running out of fuel both on Off road and road bikes. If my tyre went flat id just ride it home anyway. Ive also had to spend a entire 60km loop in first on a trail ride in the desert.

[Pedrostt500]

Oh,I did sort of walk a bike home - out trail riding I came off,and sheared the gearshift shaft internally.The bike was jammed in 1st,so I sort of walked and coasted home in 1st...only about 5km.

lost the retaining nut for the front sprocket on a TT 500, was about 5k from my Folks farm at the time, figured that since i was walking home any way I should push it, pushed it to a neighbours tanker track then went home and got the tractor to pick it up.
for some reason I had left the lock tab off the front sprocket when i put it back together.
had another good push on a GT380 when I thought I had an ignition problem, because there was still fuel in the tank, I had forgotten about the reserve tank, gave my self a kicking after that one.

[Motu]

Here is hoping, ill never have to do this. At least you can push a bike, a car, different story!

I once had a car with no reverse gear....had to push it out a few times.Another time with a flat battery (6 volt batteries were always flat) in my 1938 Chev Coupe - I pushed it out of parallel parking,did a 3 point turn on a very cambered road with cars each side....then pushed it along the road for a couple of hundred metres until I could roll start it down hill.That would be easy for a big strong guy of course - but I've never been big,or strong.

[Headbanger]

I had an XR 250 when I was a young bastard, Late one night I was in town pulling wheelies (lmao, I suck) to impress all the girls. managed to rip all the teeth off the front sprocket.

I set to and pushed her in the direction of home, By about 2am I was knackered, I put her on the side stand,lay down beside it and had a nap, woke up to the sound of a stock truck going past and the bike falling onto me, Put me into a bad spot.

Once I managed to get out from under the bike and come to grips with the pain racing through me from various body parts (it fuckin hurt I tell ya) I got back to pushing the bike home.

About a km from home and facing an uphill push I poked her into a neighbours driveway and carried on without it. the sky had started to get light by the time I fell into bed.

Couple hours later me dear old mum wakes me, Tells me the cops are on the phone and they have found my bike.

WTF I say?, My bikes in the shed, tell em to piss off.

back to sleep.

Wake up a few hours later, go to the shed to jump on my bike, fuckin thing ain't there. I start getting recollections of the past few hours,must have taken a hit on the head when the bike fell on me, I have no idea where I left it.

Ring the cops and ask them, Get told I'm an idiot and given an address, make my way around there and find my bike. Helmets been stolen.

And it dawns on my why I was pushing it home in the first place, So cursing at my suckage I start the last uphill trek, planning on a trip to the bike store to buy a sprocket and a helmet.

[Ixion]

Ah, youfull memories of many a hot weary trudging mile pushing a broken bike.

Furthest was probably from the Riverhead road, a bit past the top of Albany hill back to Northcote. That was a long hard push, down the old State Highway 1

Though I pushed home a few times from the University back to Northcote, which would not have been so far except that you had to push it up Symonds St, along K Rd to Ponsonby Rd, then along Ponsonby rd to Jervois Rd, then down the Curran St hill onto the bridge. That was so that you could build up enough speed rolling down the steep hill to get a decent distance up the bridge rise, so that when the Gypsy came you could claim that "it was going fine and just stopped". They wouldn't let you push a bike along the approaches, so if you tried to push onto the bridge from Fanshawe St, they'd just stop you and send you back. But rolling down the hill from Herne Bay you could get part way up the bridge before stopping, so it looked legit, and then they'd take you over to the other side .

Then of course you had to push from the AHBA building back to home.

Gosh, I must have been a young idiot, not to mention a glutton for punishment.

[pete376403]

The first time (of many) that my Kawasaki F9 died on the road was over Whitemans valley, just at the bottom of Wallaceville Hill road. That was a reasonably easy push as that side of the hill is not too steep (Whitemans Valley floor is a lot higher than the Hutt Valley floor). Coming down the Upper Hutt side was easy as and got up enough speed to coast at least half way home.
Furure breakdowns left me so pissed with the bike that I just left it where it stopped and organised a trailer.

I did pust the GS1100 home once, maybe only a kilometer. That was a real killer.

[BMWST?]

i recall pushing my cb900 a few Ks when i ran out of gas ...thank goodness for the BP on the welly mway....

[slofox]

It wasn't a long push but it was a hard one.....
Many years ago now I owned a little Benelli 250. The Genius of Italian engineering installed a "flywheel magneto" ignition system in said bike. Which used regularly to come off of its shaft...and leave the bike totally useless...
At the time I was living in Maungaturoto (mid Norfland) which is a hilly little town. And the bloody magneto came off at the bottom of the steepest hill in town (at the top of which I lived....ngngnrrrrrr!). Being as 'ow it were only a lickle bike I was sure I could push it home....welll I could actually but by god it was hard work. That hill got steeper and steeper as I progressed up it with all the speed of a crippled arthritic snail..and of course, what with my amazing equanimity and all, the air become somewhat blue...shall we say. Eventually I got it home. But the next day at school (I were a teacher then) there was a considerable degree of totally malicious gossip regarding the choice language employed by one of the school staff....who shall remain nameless of course...rotten little buggers all had BIG ears......