"A river took my bike" - not my story...
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Its a Fisher, should have thrown it back
G
Its a Fisher, should have thrown it back
G
Back in 1985 a river took my enduro bike (Yamaha IT250G). It was the middle of winter and I came to my usual river crossing point about 100 metres above where the river opened out into a small (but 100ft deep) reservoir. The water was well up and flowing fast but, seeing sheep manage to cross by allowing themselves to be swept downstream to some rocks, I thought that I could safely make it across too.
So, I gunned it across and got to within a metre of the far bank when the rear wheel slipped sideways on a slick rock. I knew what was coming and hit the kill switch (luckily) and then I was down in the water and the bike was gone downstream, and fast. I was washed after it, thinking "Shit! - my bike's going to end up in 100ft of water and so am I . It'll be lost for ever, but as I can't swim and may well drown it won't matter anyway".
Then, in one of those rare (for me) moments of good fortune, as the bike was travelling backwards the prop stand caught on some rocks, got folded out and wedged in a gap in the rocks against one bank (the one that I'd started from, naturally :roll
. I grabbed it as I got to it and then came the mammoth task of dragging the bike out onto the bank - I did get it there eventually and then it was, of course the turn it upside down, spark plug out, pump out any water, wring out the filter foam, drain the float bowl - the usual stuff. It took ages, but I eventually brought it back to life - however I was soaked to the skin, the temperature was only about 5 degrees and a pair of MX pants, MX shirt and a TT Leathers Enduro jacket , when they're soaking wet, don't feel much warmer than riding naked (I imagine). I felt like I'd escaped death by drowning, only to die of exposure on the 10 mile moorland crossing to home.
If you've read this far you're probably thinking "I wish he bloody had"......
So, I gunned it across and got to within a metre of the far bank when the rear wheel slipped sideways on a slick rock. I knew what was coming and hit the kill switch (luckily) and then I was down in the water and the bike was gone downstream, and fast. I was washed after it, thinking "Shit! - my bike's going to end up in 100ft of water and so am I . It'll be lost for ever, but as I can't swim and may well drown it won't matter anyway".
Then, in one of those rare (for me) moments of good fortune, as the bike was travelling backwards the prop stand caught on some rocks, got folded out and wedged in a gap in the rocks against one bank (the one that I'd started from, naturally :roll
. I grabbed it as I got to it and then came the mammoth task of dragging the bike out onto the bank - I did get it there eventually and then it was, of course the turn it upside down, spark plug out, pump out any water, wring out the filter foam, drain the float bowl - the usual stuff. It took ages, but I eventually brought it back to life - however I was soaked to the skin, the temperature was only about 5 degrees and a pair of MX pants, MX shirt and a TT Leathers Enduro jacket , when they're soaking wet, don't feel much warmer than riding naked (I imagine). I felt like I'd escaped death by drowning, only to die of exposure on the 10 mile moorland crossing to home. If you've read this far you're probably thinking "I wish he bloody had"......
