Monday, February 28, 2011

Gremlin Shock Troops Have Invaded My Motorcycle

Good God, I've been beset by an entire legion of gremlins with something of a scorched Earth policy.

Recently a headlight burned out. I've been a little lax in replacing it because, well, I'm easily distracted.

So last week I had this funny issue where the bike would start for a couple seconds then die. After freaking out with a troubleshooting guide telling me I would be spending a lot of money very shortly, I discovered the battery was just low. Charged it up, problem solved.

Except, of course, that the battery has been getting weaker with every start. I was going to tackle that happy little issue this weekend, but I was... distracted... until Sunday morning.

When I got out to the garage to see what was ailing my beloved Triumph, I found it had puked an astonishing quantity of oil all over my garage.

Also, it's leaking coolant from one of those vile hose clamps. Man, I hate hose clamps.

Anyway, the bike was so oily I had to spend a fair amount of time this evening just wiping the accumulated nastiness off the bike. Hopefully tomorrow there will be a clean trail of oil letting me know where the trouble lies.

I've been trying to convince Lady Luck that this is a sign that I should get a Ducati, but so far she isn't buying it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gremlins in a Triumph? Who'd have thought?

Going from a Triumph to a Ducati to avoid them? Have you heard the expression "out of the frying pan"?

Lucky said...

"Comes delicious bacon"?

Yeah, I know. I'm going to fix the Triumph up. I gotta tell ya, though, modern Triumphs are pretty gremlin-free, considering their legacy. That's what makes this new pile of troubles so shocking.

Stacy said...

A Ducati? Aren't you ambitious!

irondad said...

Buy a Yamaha. Better yet, don't. Your current situation keeps you off the streets. Sometimes literally.