Wife and I are out in the car this afternoon. On the way home I see a biker at the side of the road clearly trying to fix the bike (seat is off; jacket is on the road). I stop and ask if I can help; he immediately says thanks but no. Then I realize I know the guy! I ask again with some familiarity; he then asks if I have a pair of wire cutters.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any in the car, but I live only a short distance away and offered to go and get them. He thanks me and adds that if he gets his bike running, he'll be gone by the time I get back (fair enough). As I am coming up to where he was (he's gone), I see a couple of bikers just pulling away, so I figure he is good.

About 500 feet down the road he is working on the bike again; I pull over with 4 way flashers on (no sense getting hit) and stop. The two bikers also stopped on their bikes (still running) see me and I tell them that we can take care of this - they pull away. While we are working on his bike two other bikers stop and offer assistance (keep in mind this is a back road, very lightly traveled). Awesome.

We get his bike running and I follow him home....he is kind of stressed (understandable) but happy to be home. He is relieved and thankful. I feel good that I could help out a fellow biker, and someone that I even know! Not to mention the people who stopped to offer help; happy ending all around....thought I would share.

 

If you recognized him, who was he to you...past friend? And why didn't he recognize you?

 

Good on you.

Many moons ago, I was taking a load of crap to the dump on my utility trailer (which also happens to be my bike hauler). As I was pulling into the dump, my dad and I saw a fella on the side of the road broke down with his bike. I told my dad, if he is still there when we get unloaded we will give him a hand. Sure enough, he was still there when the trailer was empty, and trying to arrange a ride into town for him and the bike. Long story short, he didnt have to wait any longer, we just loaded the bike up, and took him on into his shop a few miles up the road. good deeds such as these are not forgotten

 

He did after a bit....like I noted, he was pretty stressed.
Plus we hadn't seen each other in a while.

Nice! "what goes around....."

 

You'll be paid back ten fold. These kinds of stories remind me of this song...

 

Out of curiosity what was wrong with the bike?

 

Wiring really bad. It's a panhead chopper, but lot of tape and wire nuts.

 

Must have been a Honda

 

Back in the 70s I was broken down on the side of a road and five or six 1%ers pulled over. I remember thinking "Oh, oh, I'm in for some sh*t now". They were pretty friendly, had my bike up & running within 15 minutes & even let me keep it, lol. In the 60s & 70s it was pretty common to pull over & offer help. Not so much anymore. I know when I pull over nowadays, most people are on their cell phones & just wave me on.

Kudos to overthehill? & ScottinAZ

 

Back through the years I have stopped and helped (or offered help) to many folks, not only bikers.

For the folks these days who stop on the shoulder of the road to talk on their cell phones or whatever, doing so is NOT safe and you should get off of the road as far as possible.

IF you must pull to the side of the road, and if you do need help and expect me to stop, you'd better place your helmet on the ground several feet behind your bike.

Many people (including first responders) are killed and injured "on the side of the road" and the more people and vehicles you have there just increases the chances of an accident, especially at night of in rainy or foggy conditions.