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UncleRock
Dec 31st, 2006, 10:14 am
I had a couple Buddies in the shop yesterday 1 from MA, 1 from NY. so we BS'd most of the afternoon.
We were talking about winter riding and this came up
"Remember the time Rock showed up with the coat hangers twisted around his tires?"
I was on my way to a party, it was cold and raining, then it started to ice an snow. Well I'm going through one of these commercial corridors, that have a zillon stores and are packed during the week. However on Sunday night after 6 they are deserted, and nobody lives in these places.
I'm sliding pretty bad, i'm slowed way down, starting to feel my fingers get frosty.
Enough, I head behind one of the strip malls set ups. I get some cardboard, smash a pallet, pop my fuel line for a little fire starter, now were not freezing. Hang my gloves on a stick by the fire and put my hands in pockets while I scout the area, (not sure if Im going to be spending the night back here or what)
Behind the dry cleaner is hundreds of wire hangers, I get an idea, the worst it can do is not work. I grab an arm full and head back to my bike.
Using my linemans pliers I wrapped a hanger around a spoke ran it on a little slant across the tire and wrapped on another spoke., then again until I was all the way around both tires. Then I let 7lb out of each tire put on my toasty warm gloves and left for the party with a load of hangers looped on my sissy bar.
It did the trick I made it slowly the remaining 16 miles without a hitch, I did break a spoke and have to move one hanger in route.
Now days I think I would just stay home, maybe not :cool:
Rock

messenger13
Dec 31st, 2006, 10:54 am
Now that there is a story. And the scariest part is, I believe every word you lunatic! :)

Gonna come over and hang out one of these days Rock. SOON!

deputy5211
Dec 31st, 2006, 10:55 am
That's too funny and the mental picture just too bizarre for it not to be true! Reminds me of the old movies with the hobos sitting around the rail yard with a fire going to stay warm. :rotf:

FlyOrBike
Dec 31st, 2006, 11:08 am
Next time you tell this story, start out with "It was Christmas eve and I was on my way to party . . .". It'd make a great Christmas story. ;)
-Kent

slowflyn
Dec 31st, 2006, 11:40 am
"and left for the party with a load of hangers looped on my sissy bar."

Oh for a picture of that.

CharlieVT
Dec 31st, 2006, 12:06 pm
.... Using my linemans pliers I wrapped a hanger around a spoke ran it on a little slant across the tire and wrapped on another spoke., then again until I was all the way around both tires. Then I let 7lb out of each tire put on my toasty warm gloves and left for the party with a load of hangers looped on my sissy bar.
It did the trick I made it slowly the remaining 16 miles without a hitch, I did break a spoke and have to move one hanger in route......

Rock

I really did that as a kid on my bicycle. But I used fencing wire (no, not the barbed kind) instead of coat hangers. It really helped on acceleration and braking, not much help in the turns :O

Which reminds me to bring out an old photo; the old guard around here has seen it before. I started it with a tongue in cheek query about which tires for the LT were best in snow.....

http://www.bmwlt.net/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=K1200LT&Number=46612&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=snow%20tires&Match=And&Searchpage=3&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=46521

UncleRock
Dec 31st, 2006, 12:08 pm
Gonna come over and hang out one of these days Rock. SOON!
Well I'll be over your way in a couple weeks for the Bike show in Cleveland :D I'm excited, tickets are in my desk
Rock

messenger13
Dec 31st, 2006, 12:41 pm
Well I'll be over your way in a couple weeks for the Bike show in Cleveland :D I'm excited, tickets are in my desk
RockLooking forward to it Rock. 1pm at the new Connie. But I'm hoping to get over your way sooner than that.

zippy_gg
Dec 31st, 2006, 1:12 pm
I really did that as a kid on my bicycle. But I used fencing wire (no, not the barbed kind) instead of coat hangers. It really helped on acceleration and braking, not much help in the turns :O

Which reminds me to bring out an old photo; the old guard around here has seen it before. I started it with a tongue in cheek query about which tires for the LT were best in snow.....

http://www.bmwlt.net/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=K1200LT&Number=46612&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=snow%20tires&Match=And&Searchpage=3&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=46521 That is funny... Too bad there isn't enough clearance for the chain to go under the fender...!

zippy_gg
Dec 31st, 2006, 1:15 pm
Next time you tell this story, start out with "It was Christmas eve and I was on my way to party . . .". It'd make a great Christmas story. ;)
-Kent as long as the story doesn't end with "and then the cops came!":D Oh no... wait!!! that was MY story!:o :D

axamax
Dec 31st, 2006, 4:41 pm
I remember a while back trying to go to work one morning. We lived at the bottom of a short block-paved street. I walked out to the main road first to check the route and decided it was possible. I started the Guzzi and tried to pull away, no throttle etc. As soon as power reached the rear wheel it spun. After several minutes I was about to give up. Then I had a brainwave, I grabbed all the neighbours' doormats and put them in a line in the road. Then used the mats to get rolling.
The strangest thing was that none of the neighbours mentioned the fact that the mats were in the road.

jayjacobson
Jan 1st, 2007, 5:34 am
....Using my linemans pliers I wrapped a hanger around a spoke ran it on a little slant across the tire and wrapped on another spoke., then again until I was all the way around both tires. Then I let 7lb out of each tire put on my toasty warm gloves and left for the party with a load of hangers looped on my sissy bar.

It did the trick I made it slowly the remaining 16 miles without a hitch, I did break a spoke and have to move one hanger in route.

Now days I think I would just stay home, maybe not.
Best post of the holiday season! Thank you, Rock!