No offense but you were stuck in sand and called the dealer, then yelled at them because they wouldn't help? Breakdown maybe, but stuck in sand?

 

Well yes. Its a good enough point, but if it were me, I would try to help, not just shrug and apologize.

 

I guess you're right. My local dealer knows me, I would like to think they would help me out but who knows.Same thing if I was in the middle of a trip. I guess the issue was they were close to closing? I would have asked them to ask their guys anyway, maybe offer to pay extra Glad it worked out. My GPS took me down a rutted farm track while on a trip once. I was thinking WTF.

 

Final Update:

I walked down to the shop this morning at 7am and RT was already up, had the sleeper sofa closed, back in place and was ready to go. He said he really slept well last night and thanked me again.

The weather was awesome last night at RT said he just sit outside a while and enjoyed the peace and quiet before turning in.

We jumped into my car and went up to the local Bojangles and picked up biscuits and Bo-rounds. Came back to the house and as soon as we finished eating his buddy called and was sitting in front of our house. His buddy MT is a retired Georgia State Patrolman and he left his house at 2:30am to get here. Super nice guy.

I am usually a pretty good judge of character and RT has a nice family and awesome support group. I’m sure our paths will cross again.

We gave him a fit strapping his bike down. I told him if I was him I would add at least 6 more straps. LOL It looked like a spider web!

They rolled out at 9am heading back to northwest Georgia.

He has ridden all 48 lower states, Canada and Hawaii. He hopes to get Alaska in one day. He has owned a lot of nice bikes, all Harley’s since the 70’s. He got it honestly. His father rode a Harley in WWII and got him hooked! He had a cool picture of an old shovel head with a side car on it.

Nice people and we feel very blessed to have met him and are glad we were able to help him.

Reading about the guy stuck in the sand. We all make mistakes, we all have unexpected problems. If I took that call at a dealership beside my job, I would be concerned for that individual. The very least I would do would be to dispatch the police or a wrecker and make sure he was safe. A person could die and I would not want that on my conscience. Someone could be without water, hungry or even in a very dangerous area. We need to all slow down and show a little more compassion and love to others. It’s easy for me when it comes to fellow bikers because 80% of us are good honest, red blooded American patriots that simply love motorcycles.

God bless and thank you for your kind replies. This is not about me. I appreciate a dealership that will help, and we all could be in this situation or have been and it’s good to think there are people that care enough to help and rob or hurt you.



The picture above is where he broke down on I-40.

Below is when we got him back to our house from the dealership.



Early this morning waiting on his buddy to arrive.









They are loaded and heading back to Georgia.

 

Last week I had a flat in a pretty good rain on the way home from work around 5pm. Luckily I was right in front of the Tipton County Sherrifs office and pulled in. This is a new bike with about 2800 miles on it. I called Kokomo HD and they had someone there in about 20 minutes. I am used to their exeptional service, but even I was impressed. Glad I get the wheel and tire warranty. $50.

 

Thats probably the best $50 you ever spent.

 

I've been to every state (rode to and/or through most) and I've never called a dealer for tow service (and wouldn't expect it).

The ONE time that I needed tow service for a bike I had a h**l of a time finding and getting it even though I have road service through AAA. HOG and Progressive.
I was finally was successful with Progressive but I had to pay extra for the extra mileage to get the bike to the dealer of my choice.

Through several decades of riding I have stopped and helped many (bikes and cars) and will continue to so so whenever I can.
Here's a few things that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND:

IF you are on the side of the road and NEED ASSISTANCE...set your helmet down on the ground behind your bike as a signal for help!

And---

1: Keep you bike in roadworthy riding condition (especially with a recent battery).
2. Keep a "basic" tool kit on your bike.
3. Have a tire repair kit and/or mini-compressor.
4, Have a rolled-up piece 5' of siphon hose---just in case. Someone will be willing to give or sell you enough to get you to a service station

 

He does look like Eustace..lol

 

I can’t tell how happy I am that your local dealer took care of you in an emergency. It’s a great story, especially in today’s narrative. Except when I was commuting, there are two kinds of riders. Local, day rides, say 200 miles from home and touring, say 2000 miles from home. I’ve had issues on the road and made shout outs to several dealers taking care of me more than 1000 miles from home. I don’t have that kind of relationship any longer with my local dealer. But it makes me glad that yours still cares about their customer. It used to be common, now it’s rare and that makes it so much more valuable.

I’m often in the frame of mind when I’m 1000+ miles from home and **** up, that I’ll just put a bullet in it and buy the nearest Craig’s list special to get me home. Fortunately for me, I’ve have great help/service in St. George, eastern New York, and Montana when we’ve had bike issues. Well one was busted ribs and a broken ankle, but you get the picture. Not bike issues, injured rider issues and Yellowstone made it painless for us to take care of an injured rider and her street glide special.

 

Yes he does! When the Carolina Girl said that he laughed and told us he’s heard it a hundred times. He’s a funny guy and kept us entertained. His standard reply to that is no, he’s my brother, I’m Eus-Less.


Yes, there was a time when most dealerships would quickly come to your rescue. When you are 100’s or 1000’s of miles from home who you gonna call, the place that knows your bike and fixes them. Most all dealerships have trucks equipped with lifts, or trailers. They don’t do it for free and we should not expect that. But sadly many don’t even do it at all anymore. I was south of Orlando about 6 years ago with a buddy that lost a belt on his bike. It was 4pm on Friday before New Years. We were in a pickle. My first call was to the local dealership and they were outstanding. They were to us within 30 minutes, and had also taken the liberty to reserve a room at a nearby hotel knowing he would be there at least overnight. They really tried hard to sell him a new bike and I don’t fault them for that. But there kind support and service was above and beyond.

On another group ride to Florida one of our bikes lost a stator just into SC. We limped into *** HD and they saw 6 bikes all two up with gear and moved my buddy to the front of the line. They did not have all the required parts, but located them at a Charlotte dealership and they went to pick them up. One guy continued tearing down the bike and when they arrive with the parts they were ready to install. We were on the road within three hours.

My wife and I do a lot of solo rides. My backup plan now after finding myself in a similar situation as this. I hook up our trailer to the pickup. I have all my straps in the truck. The truck is full of gasoline and I have two hundred bucks in the console. I have a shop large enough that it’s all inside and I have three guys I can call. One of them is usually in a position to get the truck and roll our way. If we are too far I’ll just rent a car or fly home and roll out to pick the bike up.

I’m happy that I’ve built a little of a network around the southeast if I find myself in a pickle. Just being at and having your bike in a safe place means a lot.

We gotta watch out for each other.