Honda Riders Club

Just got back from a trip across Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Up to Jasper, down through Whistler, over to Vancouver Island, and back down the coast to Oregon. The temperature most days was mid 90's.

When I left home my rear tire looked almost new, but it wore out incredibly fast in the heat. Thought sure it would get me home, but WRONG! It started showing the steel belts about 150 miles north of Kamloops, which is where the nearest tire seemed to be located. I called HRC and they had a tow truck there in less than 30 minutes. A guy from from Blue River BC.

Got a new tire the next morning and was back on the road. Later that day my buddy looked down at my tire and yelled. There was a very large duplex nail of which an 1 1/4" had disapeared into the new tire. We all held our breath as I pulled out the nail with my Leatherman. At first there were a few air bubbles coming out where I had put some spit, but turns out it was just a bit of air trapped in the nail hole. Seems the nail went in like a sliver just under the skin. It was between the belts and the tread.

I've belonged to HRC for over 15 years, and other than trip planning this is the first time I've need their help. IMO if you travel very far from home they are a must. Can't say enough good about their services, not to mention the peace of mind they provide. Don't leave home without them.

P.S.
I tried to attach pictures but got a message that the file was larger than allowed. Other than shooting at a smaller resolution is there any way to use my pics?

Old_Codger

 

I signed up for HRCA this year after I got my viffer. I also signed up for AMA's Motow. Haven't had to use either one yet and really hope I don't have to, But it's nice to have a little saftey line if I do need it.

 

Sounds like a great way to have some peace-of-mind on a trip like yours. I got the freebee year when I bought my bike an eon ago and haven't rejoined since. If I get into some touring, I'll be sure to join after hearing that story.

 

I still had HRCA when I took my first cross country trip. And I ended up calling them. My bike broke down in west Texas, about halfway between Pecos and Odessa. It was hotter than hell and all I could think was "damn I really need to pee, and there's nothing out here to hide behind."

I had cell coverage so I called HRCA, and their dispatcher said it would be at least six hours to get a truck out to me. An hour later, I had removed my fairing on the side of the road, dug in with my pocket multimeter, found the electrical fault, repaired it, put the fairing back on, and I called HRCA back to say "never mind".

A year later, when setting out on my next cross country trip, I didn't bother to renew my HRCA. I was about a hundred miles north of Fairbanks when I got a tire puncture. Put a plug in it and went on.

Tools and spares are a Good Thing to have on a tour. It's also a good idea to carry water. I'd have been in a world of hurt if I'd had to wait six hours on the side of the road for an HRCA truck and I didn't have any water.