Volunteers Offer "Mission of Mercy" Rescue to Disabled Goldwing Riders  
Dusting off the cobwebs results in frustrating experience when loss of power tests driving skills!!   


Irvine, California, March 09, 2002  --  It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, the sky was blue, no rain clouds in sight ... but ... that's not the story.  

As a last resort we could go get the Trailer which was available and could be easily retrieved.

After the MARC Meeting, a couple of us went down to Huntington Honda.  As soon as we pulled in T.C. (from parts counter) came out to me and handed me a note with a phone number on it.  It was a cell phone number from one of our MARC Members.  While going South bound on the I-405 Freeway between Mac Arthur Blvd. and Jamboree in Irvine, their motorcycle had quit!!!  

Immediately I called the number; it was Steve KE6OAI and his wife Donna.  He said the Gold Wing had just cut out without any warning at all.  I jumped on the bike and headed down there to see if I could get it restarted or find out what caused this problem.  

Luckily they had been able to coast over to a very wide area that was paved on the shoulder of the freeway. First I checked the kill switch then the main fuse and then the battery.  The fuse looked OK, but the battery appeared to be dry.  Steve mentioned that the bike had been not been ridden for about a year, but the battery was on a Smart Charger all the time.  The starter turned very strong and therefore we assumed the battery was not the problem. 

He had just filled up and it was the first time in a year that he had added gas. He had come about 10 miles from home and the way he described the way the bike died, it did not sound like a fuel filter problem.  We didn't spend much time dealing with it, so I jumped back on the motorcycle and headed home (about 5 miles away) to pick up the Kendon trailer.

Contacted Bonnie on the radio and asked her to "get ready."  She already had emptied the van when I got home.  While we were talking, Wayne KB6UJW came on the radio and said he would go down and stay with Steve and his wife until Bonnie and I got back with the trailer.  It was a good thing too.  Steve with a bad back and me with 2 hip replacements and the 2 women would have had trouble loading that big 1500 Gold Wing on a level site. 

When we got under way, we called Wayne--he was already there and had introduced himself to Steve and Donna.  

The loading of the motorcycle went without a hitch, thanks to Wayne's kind assistance.  Donna supervised.  Bonnie guided the front wheel so we wouldn't get out of the channel.  Steve got on the riders side; I was on right side and the power guy (Wayne) gave the motorcycle the forward motion.  

We rechecked to make sure everything was tied safely, and we were "off" with Wayne following us behind to make sure we got to Huntington Honda without problems.  

It does pay to continue your MARC Membership. You never know when you may need to call a friend.