From: psmith@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (paul.m.smith)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: Mud gets in your wheels
Summary: I hate when that happens...
Date: 9 Apr 92 02:27:07 GMT
Organization: AT&T - Denver, CO

In article <ranck.53@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu>, ranck@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu (Wm. L. Ranck) writes:
> Hello folks,
>    I just got back from lunch and thought you all might be amused by my
> slight mishap.  It is Spring here in the mountains of Virginia and that
> means one thing, annoying red clay mud everywhere.  I decided to go for a 
              .
              .
              .
> The engine bogged down whenever I tried to move.  I looked and the front
> wheel wasn't moving.  There was a buildup of red clay under the front
> fender and I couldn't move!

Well... since you brought it up, this reminds me of something that
happened to a friend of a friend... well, OK, it was me... you'd
probably find out anyway.  One afternoon, a long time ago, I was on
the way home from work on my old CB750F, when, right in the midst of
traffic, on a busy 4-lane street, the bike died completely -- total
electrical blackout.  I immediately pulled the clutch in and started
to coast.  I was in the left lane, with cars all around me.  There
was no chance of getting to the right shoulder.  I would be going way
too slow by the time I reached a place to cross the median to the left.
I decided to pull off on the left shoulder, since there was a wide,
grassy median, a dirt shoulder, and no curb.  I thought it would be
best to get out of the way of the cars behind me, and do my braking on
the shoulder.  Bad idea.  There had been recent construction in the
area, and lurking beneath the apparently dry dirt shoulder was about
a foot of loose, sticky, mud.  I dropped off the pavement onto the
shoulder at ~25-30 MPH, and dropped is the operative word, as in
"up to the axles!"  Oh, noooo!  What followed probably looked pretty
funny from any vantage point other than mine.  I wrestled the bike to
a squirming, sliding stop, mostly under control, with the grand finale
being my bailing off the left side as the bike fell over in the mud.
I landed on my feet, the bike buried its entire left side in the
mud.  I picked it up, diagnosed the electrical problem as being in
the ignition switch, fumbled with it enough to get it restarted, and
then the real fun began.  The median was actually sloped down to form
a drainage ditch, so I had a bit of an uphill climb to reach the 
pavement.  Traffic was fairly heavy, so I had to try to pick my spot.
Applying the throttle produced a pretty impressive rooster tail, but
not much forward progress.  I inched my way forward until I had the
front wheel on the pavement.  Now, in the interest of style, I had
removed the ugly, functional, chrome fender, and had replaced it with
a fiberglas Piranha cafe fender, which fits extremely close to the
tire.  When the front wheel made it to the pavement, I discovered
that it wasn't turning.  So here I am, perpendicular to traffic, cars
whizzing by, and the best I can do is produce a huge rooster tail,
and maybe slide the front end a few inches at a time.  I finally 
managed to get the rear wheel up on the pavement, slid the front along
for a few feet until it broke free, and continued home, with me and
my street bike looking like we had just finished the Alligator Enduro.

Maybe this explains why, when I'm riding with others, they don't
follow me onto the shoulder until they wait to see if I disappear.
-- 

				Paul Smith