- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Messages
- 25
Being on vacation this week, the wife and I decided to do a bike road trip from our home in Southern NH to the island of Martha's Vineyard off Cape Cod Massachusetts. She on her Honda 750, and me on the Mark III. This was really our first long road trip, (well, long for us), a distance of more than 150 miles and 5 plus hours over the back roads. The Norton has been running sweet all summer, so I just did the usual maintenance, and packed a few basic tools. (Tape, pliers, screwdriver, adjustable wrench, nylon ties, and spare fuses). The trip went fine, both bikes running fine, only getting lost once, but with me in the lead this is standard procedure. We made it to the ferry in Woods Hole, loaded the bikes and relaxed for the boat ride over. As the ferry docked, we were soon off, no sooner had I left the dock, during that first little burst of acceleration, my throttle cable broke. Rolled into the nearest parking space, sat down and realized just how screwed I was. One hundred fifty miles from home, on a small island, in need of a thirty five year old throttle cable, despair was setting in..... Just then a guy pulled into the space behind me, jumped out and said "nice Norton". I explained my situation, whereupon he told me he knew this guy on the island, "Panhead", who might be able to help me out. I was a little skeptical, but he gave me his number.
I called Ken "Panhead" Fuss, he said he'd be right over with a tow. Forty five minutes later I was in his truck on the way to his shop, my wife following behind. It was around 5 PM. Once at his shop, "OFFSHORE CYCLES", he began rummaging through his old British parts but didn't have a cable that would suit. To make a long story short, using some old cable, and machining the proper ends to solder on, he fabricated the exact cable to fit. He stayed at his shop way past closing to get me on the road. This man is truly a master of motorcycles, he had bikes of every make and year, and a knowledge of them all. In the end, after nearly 4 hours of work, he charged me for an hour and a half shop time. It was really just a stroke of luck for me to have been in just the right place at the right time. Saved the vacation, bike ran great, and I have ordered new throttle and clutch cables.
This may not qualify as a technical article, but I just wanted to share a great experience. If anybody is ever on Martha's Vineyard, be sure to look up "Panhead" at Offshore Cycles in Vineyard Haven.
Oh yeah, that's me on the right in the first photo....
I called Ken "Panhead" Fuss, he said he'd be right over with a tow. Forty five minutes later I was in his truck on the way to his shop, my wife following behind. It was around 5 PM. Once at his shop, "OFFSHORE CYCLES", he began rummaging through his old British parts but didn't have a cable that would suit. To make a long story short, using some old cable, and machining the proper ends to solder on, he fabricated the exact cable to fit. He stayed at his shop way past closing to get me on the road. This man is truly a master of motorcycles, he had bikes of every make and year, and a knowledge of them all. In the end, after nearly 4 hours of work, he charged me for an hour and a half shop time. It was really just a stroke of luck for me to have been in just the right place at the right time. Saved the vacation, bike ran great, and I have ordered new throttle and clutch cables.
This may not qualify as a technical article, but I just wanted to share a great experience. If anybody is ever on Martha's Vineyard, be sure to look up "Panhead" at Offshore Cycles in Vineyard Haven.
Oh yeah, that's me on the right in the first photo....