BajaRon
Well-known member
I read this thread earlier today, and before I answered, I thought I'd go for a ride and chew on it before responding.
While I commend you for taking the woman's call after hours and trying to help her, that doesn't happen much in today's world.
And there is nothing worse than being broken down on the side of the road - OK, it is worse if it is at night and in the rain, but that's what roadside assistance is for...
Dealers aren't going to pay someone to be on call to rescue someone who's broken down, whether its Can-Am, Honda, HD or ??
In my 30+ years of riding and coast to coast two-wheel and now three-wheel travel, it's always been up to me to resolve my own issues.
It would be nice if there was that kind of service, but the reality is that that's not going to happen.
There is also the problem of those people who would expect the dealer to fix it that night, not just pick it up, and take it to the dealer.
There's nothing worse than being broken down somewhere strange/on a strange back road, but this is the risk we all have to take when we go for a ride; whether around the block or across the country!
A good number of very thoughtful replies. And, as rants usually go, I may well be asking too much. Today's business models and corporate interests are not usually administered with compassion. I remember the days when the motorcycle world was a community knit together with, at least some, who were willing to go out of their way to help a stranded biker. Granted, today's emergency tow service and other amenities have done a good job of filling the gap. And I agree that if you are a biker, you need to be resilient, creative, and largely self reliant.
We were able to get her back on the road by removing the Limp Home Mode (walking the key some distance away for a period of time. Something that she had already tried without success. Not sure why it worked the 2nd time). So all is well. We haven't heard from her since. No news is probably good news, in that regard.