Busted (redux)!

Due to some posting glitch, most of this post didn't appear the first time. Here's how it was supposed to appear.

Busted!

R2 is, that is.

Julie and I packed up from our lovely, scenic campsite today, and set off to the north (!), riding through some incredible landscapes again recommended by John P., as we made our way to the incredible and initially unpronounceable Abiquiu. (Say "ABBY-cue.") Not far past Abiquiu Lake, R2 started lurching, then losing power. I wasn't able to keep up with Julie up hills. My max speed was dropping... 65... 55... 50...

Julie was leading, saw I was having trouble and pulled off into a turn-out. I pulled up next to her, starting filling her in, and R2 died. That by itself, is very unusual: R2 idles hot, especially after the engine is warm.

Worse still, pressing the starter yielded nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Uh-oh. We're miles from the nearest building, with zero cell reception. And looming dark clouds moving toward us, from the opposite angle of this picture.

I start diagnosing: battery leads, check. Master fuse, check. After giving the battery some time to recover, a sure sign of more serious electrical troubles: the battery was able to kick out more juice (yay, an oil light!), but nowhere near enough to start it. That means, best but unlikely case, a bad battery. More likely, some part of the charging system is toasted, and now possibly the battery, too. Worst case, well, who knows?

This is frustrating, in part because I replaced the regulator / rectifier in August, along with the battery. We do expect more than 10 months of life from our equipment, yes?

More importantly, we're 40 miles from the nearest store that would sell a CAR battery, in Chama, NM, but even if they have a motorcycle battery that fits, they won't be open on a Sunday. So, we're either looking at camping along the highway for the night, or getting towed.

AAA to the rescue!

Equipped with the iPhone and my AAA card, Julie set off on her bike for a place with cell service while I wait with the bike.

I began disconnecting the battery, and since I had my toolkit available, checking the plugs. Then it started raining.

A quick cover of the luggage, and I went back to the battery. Then the rancher, on whose land we were temporarily residing, came up. He left his jumper cables in his other truck, but kindly agreed to let us camp if we couldn't procure a tow.

Julie returned with good news. For a nominal fee to upgrade my current membership, AAA would tow R2 up to 100 miles. But I had to be the one to do it.

So, I hopped on Firefly, rode into cell phone service, made the transaction, requested a tow and scoped out available repair shops. Some in Durango, CO. Farther north that we'd intended, and perhaps out of range of our tow. Some in Santa Fe, plently in Albequerque, and, viola! A Honda motorcycle dealer in Rio Rancho! We had our spot.

I zoomed back to Julie (enjoying the time on Firefly, which I'd only ridden once before) to wait for the tow. We passed the time looking at the scenery, watching birds and observing some large black beetles scurry about, doing their business.

An hour or so later, Vic arrived with his (thank goodness!) flat-bed tow truck. He made short work of loading a securing the bike (cranking the handlebars down in the process), we loaded my gear into the cab, and we were off, with Julie on Firefly close behind.

But, bad news, Rio Rancho was farther than it appeared -- it would add about $100 to the tow. So, back to Santa Fe instead!

We dropped off the bike at Santa Fe Motorsports, and Vic was kind enough to drop us off at the Santa Fe Hostel, just as the sun was setting, where we will be passing the night (at least!).

Vic imparted some important New Mexican wisdom on the drive. He said, here a common way to wish someone well is to say, "may it rain on you."

And indeed it has, and thankfully, we're going to be just fine. Or at least, that's what I really, really hope the repair shop tells me tomorrow. More to come!