West Branch, Michigan Goldwing Rally...on my Ninja, Broke the bike...

[rage42]

This past weekend I rode a bit over 100 miles with my parents to a Goldwing rally. They have a wing, so I'm just tagging along. Registration eye'd the ninja and asked me a couple extra times if I was really there for the wing rally.

The vendors were cool, I could get poor quick buying little things here and there for my bike. The top gun event was neet, basically a mini MSF checkout, see who does the best on their big bikes. They started with a quick stop test, then some 90 degree turns, double S turns, the U turn box, and one that I never saw before, tight circles. When a couple of the bigger bikes were doing tight circles, they set their bikes down...not all the way down...just so they were sitting on their frame sliders or w/e you want to call them on wings. They looked very heavy to pick back up. I was tempted to take the Ninja, especially for the laugh when entering the pit behind big bikes. But I didn't want to embarrass myself, I haven't practiced tight maneuvers since my MSF course, maybe I'll grab Scorpion and/or Sugarbear and set up a course.

I really didnt get any pictures of the rally, a small video of top gun, but not good shots, not worth posting. Maybe next time, the parents want to go to another one coming up.

Stayed up there for 2 days, I used to live in the area when I was a kid, so it was fun seeing everything that changed.

So Sunday morning rolls around, My parents take off back home, I was going to go visit a friend before heading back home...I go to take off out of a parking lot, and I notice that my clutch didn't spring back out...coming to a stop sign, purposely stall the bike, (next time kill switch!), and figure out that my clutch cable broke.



So I wondered what the cable would've looked like if I did a safety check that morning...Would I have seen some fraying? And I never looked close enough to see what the end of the cable looked like. But it looks like while part of the end piece is there...there should have been a round part that is no longer there.

So I'm going through my options...state farm roadside assistance...sound good. Apparently its not added to my bike, just my jeep. bummer, will have that fixed soon. I assumed since I had it on the jeep...I just had it.

Started calling around, found an auto zone, they of course had no parts. But gave me names of dealerships. (google 411 is awesome btw) Found an open powersports dealer about half an hour away, but they don't deal with Kawasaki because the requirements are too strict or something.

and the next kawi dealer was over an hour away and closed on Sunday. Lovely.

I could've ragged on the transmission to get home, its all freeway, but I didn't want to risk slow traffic, or hurting the trans. Since the parents were well on their way by now, my dad kept going back. He grabbed the trailer when he got home and came back to pick up the bike. I called the friends, and hung out with them. So props to my dad for taking an extra trip for me.

I didn't think about checking for an open U-Haul or something, but I'm sure they were closed too.



About 40 miles back, that Orange front strap came loose. Looks like there was a ton of slack on it, I thought I tied all the extra down, but it wrapped around the axle, caught the wheel or something and made my heart jump. The ratchet part was all bent out of shape. Bike stayed up, replaced it...no other problems getting it home.

Checked with the dealer monday to see if warranty would cover it, they said yes, so I dropped it off. If it didn't, I would've changed it myself. Parts gonna take 3-4 days to ship, ugh...I thought about shopping around for my own...but I guess I can wait a few days to get it fixed for free.

[BlackRain]

Order another one anyways. Route it next to the other one, so that if this happens again you can just swap them out without having to remove parts to route the new cable.

[sugarbear]

Hey, Rage.

Sorry to hear about the clutch cable! Hopefully you will be back on the road again soon. Good thing it's a warranty fix.
No postings from the Detroit Area Ninjette Riders lately. What's the deal? Are we gonna do a bike night soon? Oh yeah, the Cheeseburger Festival is coming up Aug 7 - 16 in Caseville. Maybe check that out...
I just got back from a Alpena/Mackinaw City trip last weekend. 800 miles in 3 days! (Did it on the BMW tho, so I can't post it in Ride Reports here!)
L8R
Sugarbear

[kkim]

did the cable actually break or did the end just come off the arm? it's hard to tell in the picture.

[ScorpionNinja]

well good your ok and didnt get hurt. trip was fun... till cable thou aye?
i just PM you rage... lol .. this thread answered my Question, for tonite, WED (angry bulls) THURs (royal oak) again, but early like 7pm met time!

maybe a angry goldwinger doesnt like Jap bikes and sabbo'd your cable?

[kkim]

Originally Posted by ScorpionNinja

maybe a angry goldwinger doesnt like Jap bikes and sabbo'd your cable?

lol... and a Honda is not a "Jap" bike?

[ScorpionNinja]

as in 'sportbike aka crotch rocketter'

[rage42]

Order another one anyways. Route it next to the other one, so that if this happens again you can just swap them out without having to remove parts to route the new cable.

I like it, but if I start making everything redundant, where do I stop before I double the weight of my bike. Still not a bad idea for clutch and brake lines.

Originally Posted by kkim

did the cable actually break or did the end just come off the arm? it's hard to tell in the picture.

I can't say i've seen the end of that cable before, and i cant find a good picture...There is a solid metal sheeth at the end, some frayed cable coming from the middle, and the sheeth looks like another piece was ripped off of it, cracked/bent in spots...

Service manager looked at it before i unloaded the bike, he thought it just came out at first too, but looked closer and said it looks broken.

maybe a angry goldwinger doesnt like Jap bikes and sabbo'd your cable?

Oh I totally thought about that, I'm very suspicious of people. But I had it under a bike cover at the hotel, and goldwing people are too friendly. I was in a Walmart just before it broke, who knows...


I still had fun up there though, even though it wasnt a sportsbike thing.