Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Location: Mt Pleasant, IO
Departure Time: 3:00 pm
Starting Mileage: More than yesterday.
This morning I woke thinking about the voltage regulator. A lose ground seemed like a plausible culprit.
After breakfast, updating the blog for yesterday and showering I headed outside to grab some stuff.
Back in the room I soldered up a ground wire. Then went back out and installed it.
HOTEL ROOM SHOP!
Of course I dropped the ground screw and washer then couldn’t find them for some time. The sun was intense and sweat was rolling off me.
The battery voltage was checked, the bike fired up and checked again. It wasn’t changing. It was time to do the unthinkable. Back inside I sat down with the instructions. According to them the voltage regulator needed to be polarized by jumping across two terminals. They also said it would spark and not to hold it more than 2 seconds.
Using my needle nose pliers I touched both terminals, but they slipped off. To be sure I touched them a second time.
Key on, ignition, the generator light went out and the meter was reading 13.55 volts. Perfect!
The bike was loaded and we suited up. Key on, starter button depressed, nothing. The bike was totally dead.
Gear off, tools out. I suspected a blown fuse. Fairing off, headlight out, no blown fuses. The meter read less than 3 volts off the main power wire entering the headlight. I worked my way back to the battery. It was dead. Somehow the voltage regulator had shorted internally. I removed it and reinstalled the old one so I could at least get the bike running. It wouldn’t quite start so I asked Mike the motel owner who was preparing to leave for a jump. Bubba fired up. I asked Mike if he could let his car run a bit, he did.
Lee spent an hour making calls and arranged for another voltage regulator to be at a store in Peoria that was close to our route.
After securing the part Lee suggested we eat lunch. She reminded me that my last real meal was yesterday morning at Mark’s. There was a Mexican place across the parking lot so we gave it a go.
The $7:95 lunch specials were over the top. We stress ate like wolves!
From there I walked across the street to an Advanced Auto. Since Illinois requires motorcycles to have headlights on I was looking for options. I asked about an LED bulb that would replace the H4 halogen. Roman told me they didn’t have anything like that and he understood them to consume just about as much power as the halogen. As he was saying that I had an epiphany, remove the H4 and duct tape Lee’s headlamp in its place.
I purchased a battery charger then walked over to Wal-Mart and picked up a 50 foot extension cord.
Back at the Super 8 I connected the battery charger to the battery. It read 65%. I wanted to maximize our potential of reaching Peoria without an issue.
Mike the hotel manager was wonderfully warm. He offered us juice, then brought out yogurt. I told him I’d fall asleep on the couch. He said he would give us a free nights stay if we needed it. Very generous.
A 2:50 pm we suited up. The battery charger read 75% charged. Bubba fired up and we were once again heading east on RT 34.
At one point the engine started to sound noisy. Lee noticed it too. I pulled into a side road and added the quart and a half of oil I had. With the dipstick broken I used a zip tie to guesstimate the level. No more noise, everyone was happy.
CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI
Illinois is corn country with a lot of straight roads.
When we reached O’Reilly Auto Parts I asked if I could park the bike in the shade on the side of the building. No problem and they opened the side door so I could charge the battery while I worked. The charger read 62% initially so in 120 miles the bike used only 13% of the battery.
This time I read and reread the instructions before installing the new voltage regulator. When the bike started the generator light went out and the meter showed that the charging system was working.
WELL THEY ARE CALLED HEADLAMPS
Lee navigated us out of Peoria. Once out of town RT 24 E was arrow straight for most of the time so we moved right along.
As we travelled east the generator light would glow a little then go out. I was now using the headlight and attributed it to the undercharged battery.
Like last night the light seemed to illuminate more and more as we went.
In Chenoa the bike died when I stopped at a flashing red. When I pushed the starter button there was no response. Diagonally across the four lane road was a restaurant so I pushed the rig into the parking lot while trying to not get hit.
The owner let me plug in while we discussed our options. We could see a motel sign from the lot. Lee called and got us a room then we went inside for something to eat while the battery charged. It was 8:30 pm.
I ordered the Greek Salad, Lee took a walk on the wild side and went for the banana spilt.
GOT JUICE?!
We managed to cover 180 miles today. I have a plan to do better tomorrow.
Adventures With Bubba 