Worst places to breakdown in the UK

2009 IOM TT Circuit 30 minute before the first race was due to start, dropped oil on the track...

Posted: 29/11/2011 at 09:32

I had a rear puncture a few miles from Gairloch near the end of a stunning, but cul-de-sac, single track road which led to the small houses in the area.

This is North West coast of Scotland and miles from anywhere.

It was mid afternoon Saturday.

The hole in the rear PR2 on my TDM was un-pluggable and I was in process fo arranging RAC when a white van stopped and offered to help.

The guy was into historic rally cars and telephoned the bike dealer in Inverness,70 miles away, to arrange a tyre replacement. We loaded the bike up, stopped at his cottage for a cuppa and piece of cake with his family, and set off on a flat out charge to arrive at the dealers in Inverness at 1650 to have the tyre fitted.

They only charged normal tyre prices and I was glad to give the chap cash for his fuel.

Restores your faith in humanity.

Posted: 29/11/2011 at 09:46

Mine was in a small country south of the UK called France... had a minor problem at a camp site that put a hole in my 1990 ZZR putting a hole in the belly of the engine (Was riding without lower fairing damn fecking gate). This then led to me speaking to my insurance company and this after them stating before the trip they would recover to England yeah right! who arranged for a team to come out on the Tuesday (France and Monday do not go together!) Tuesday comes bike is picked up and deleivered to the nearest dealer (KTM Dealership) and them turning round and saying sorry we cannot help. After speaking to the Insurance thieves I then find out they will fly me home but the bike will be crushed in France as it is unviable for them to return it to the UK. Problem your damn right I had a fecking problem as 8 months before that bike was in boxes and was fully rebuilt by me over the next 8 months for this trip before becoming my commuter bike... angry you bet I was fecking thieving gits... anyway long story short bike was crushed in France and I got a plane back to Blighty... not a happy guy...

Posted: 29/11/2011 at 11:40

Aberdeenshire has long been a breakdown black-spot because of the hostile terrain found in much of this area

Have you seen "The Hills Have Eyes" ?

That's the funniest thing I've read in ages, probably written by someone who hase never been north on Manchester!

By the way I stay in Aberdeenshire! It's not hostile, it's called countryside, bit like Yorkshie Dales, Wales etc.
Of course the soft, shandy drinking southerers wouldn't appreciate it

Posted: 29/11/2011 at 15:10

Me and my hubby, 2 up on a FZR1000 in the Lake District having traveled up from Kent. He pulls in clutch lever, lets it out again and the clutch fails to engage.

We pull over by a bus stop opposite a few houses in the middle of nowhere (this was before mobile phones). Asked one of the residents if we could phone the AA as we had recovery and knew that the bike couldn't be fixed. This was around 10 in the morning.

Well we waited and waited, and eventually after a couple of hours a patrolman turned up in a small van, said he didn't know anything about bikes and he'd let them know we needed recovery. And off he went.

So we waited and we waited, and by 2pm we phoned up the AA only to be told that as they didn't have dedicated bike recovery trucks they had to send one of the smaller recovery trucks, and the guy only worked an 8 hour shift (with no option to sleep over like the dedicated crews). We had to wait for his shift to start so he could pick us up and driver us to Birmingham (and get home before his shift ended). There we would be transferred to another recovery truck to take us home.

Some time after 4pm the guy turned up, with one of those trucks with the device on the back that the front wheels of a car go into to be towed. The only way to attach the bike was sideways across the back, and as you all know the FZR comes equipped with a very expensive to replace fairing, so my hubby had to spend time taking the plastics off before we could get the bike secured without damage.

So we set off, via the campsite where we had put our tent up earlier that day, we take it down and head off. The chap stops to get petrol and me and hubby raid the shop for food as we are starving by now.

I don't know what time we got to Birmingham as I slept some of the way, but there we had to wait for the next truck to turn up, but luckily that arrived with a trailer. The bike was secured and off we set for the next leg, getting home in the early hours of the morning.

By comparison, his BSA breaking down in Belgium (a coil went) was a breeze (used Carol Nash, recovery truck out quickly, bloke knew a local guy who could help, bike fixed and back to the campsite within a few hours).

Posted: 30/11/2011 at 20:47