On my way home from work............

I am not sure how many of my fellow XJ'rs are familiar with the bluffs running along the Mississippi river basin however those who do will understand why I am kinda miffed at myself.

I was riding home from work and with about 2 miles to go my chain came off my bike and the engine quit and so did the electrical. Being my typical self my tool bag was at home because I figured I wouldn't need it since I was just going to work and home today. I decided it would be best to push my bike a quarter mile up one of Dubuque's lovely hills because I knew when I got to the top it was relatively flat until I got to the other side of the hill.

So I pushed my bike....

and pushed it some more....

and then pushed just a bit further....

I stopped to take a breather and realized I wasn't even half way up the hill...... I made it to the top of the hill and got over to the other side and started coasting down the other side of the hill thinking soon I would be home......

That's what I get for thinking I guess.....

Just a short bit from the bottom of the hill a cop pulls me over because he thought i was going rather slow. He gave me a good ass chewing about how unsafe it is to coast a bike down the road no matter what the reason was. At this point I was pretty irritated because it was still about a mile home and not enough of a grade to coast down........

So Pushed it yet again....

and again...

and again just a bit further..


I just got her home so now in the morning I have to figure out exactly what happened..... I know the chain came off but that doesn't explain to me why the engine and electrical quit. Has this ever happened to anyone else? If so can you give me a heads up before i tear into it tomorrow? Please and Thank you

 

That peckerhead cop shoulda given you a ride home so you could get help.
Sheesh.

 

Yeah he could of but I didn't expect it, the cops in this town are ***holes, well most of them anyway. On the bright side I definitely got a good workout tonight.

 

At least the cager captain didn't ticket you-but yea he could have assisted you (protect and serve right?)

Was your chain in good condition? Not stretched, not rusty, recently cleaned and lubed? And when it happened did it break cleanly or get caught? Any lock up?

Then engine and electrical are mutualistic, one goes and the other follows-after the battery does it's thing, the stator and the rotational force from the engine driving it keep the whole thing going.

And at least you don't ride a 1000cc.

 

Just more proof theres never a cop around when you need one, but step out of line just once and.....
I can relate to the bluffs along the ol mississip-one of the best rides Minnesota has to offer-Highway 61-many memories & hopefully many more to come. Hope you get your bike worked out-good luck.

 

The chain was recently lubed but it was old. The chain didn't break it just came off. Also when the electric quit I lost lights and everything. Normally when the bike stalls the lights and crap stay on. so I am not sure whats up with that.

Thanks Man

 

"The chain didn't break it just came off" -

Near on impossible - UNLESS your chain was super loose. Could have been much worse...casing damage, lock up etc.

As for the tools suggest you always have them even the smallest fall can render a bike unrideable

 

Hi RSpark, I`m brand new to this forum. I don`t know how to really help you, but I want to tell you to add towing service to your bike insurance. It`s really inexpensive and totally worth it.Its like only 15 dollars more a year. My maxim 750 had just quit on me,no electric no nothing! And the tow man came and got me and towed my bike home. It`s best money you can ever spend. Good luck to you.

 

how loose was your chain??

 

That's the thing I just tightened the chain a couple of weeks ago, I am about to go out and tear into it and see whats up with it wonder if my front sprocket may have broke.

 

Old chains can rust internally which causes them to not hold adjustment, and generally "bleed" red when lubed. They also tend to fail prematurely.

If your bike sat for a long time and that's the original chain, I'd replace it along with both sprockets ASAP. If it breaks at speed it can come up and rip the starter clean off the engine casings, breaking castings in the process.

As for why you lost "the fire" if the chain damaged the neutral switch (located inside the front sprocket cover) when it came off, the bike will think it's always in gear and refuse to start without the clutch being pulled in. (Or not at all, if your clutch lever switch isn't functioning.)

 

Well I am replacing the chain and sprockets next week but I just learned a valuable lesson about pre trip inspections....


I always check my bike before I go for a long ride or just a ride to work, however when I ride to my part time job I don't pre trip before I come home because I figure the bike is only sitting for 4 hours so whats the harm...... Well if I had done a pretrip i would have noticed someone "BORROWED" the long bolt that on the left side for adjusting my chain..... I will now pre trip before any ride period. It's sad to save a dollar maybe 2 someone put my life in jeopardy, and I am just as much to blame with my laziness in not pre tripping after work.

 

If your rear axle was properly installed and torqued, it shouldn't matter that one of the chain puller bolts was missing.

 

Aside from that I don't know what else would have done it. I am still going to replace my chain and sprockets.



How do I tell if the axel is improperly installed?