ADVENTURES OF RUNNING OUT OF GAS
OK. I did it. I ran my bike out of gas last week. It’s silly. It’s stupid. I was riding out in the country. The gas station was some 4 or 5 miles away…and I didn’t make it.
But that’s not what this rant is about.
What it did give me was an opportunity to try out the roadside assistance coverage provided by the manufacturer of my bike. The actual service is administered by a company called Road America.
Not having the card with me, I called directory assistance from my cell phone to get to the manufacturer and followed many phone prompts to Roadside Assistance (I’d like to say I’ve become inured to phone prompts, but it’s not true: I just don’t like them!).
Anyway, after the initial pleasantries, I waited on the phone for over 10 minutes while the Road America operator handled whatever administration was needed to ensure that I was a real person in their system.
Once my existence was established, I was asked the question: “What zip code are you in?”
Hmmmm. I have ridden many hundreds of thousands of miles on motorcycles including coast-to-coast several times. And most of those miles were particularly pleasant. But, other than where I lived or worked, I have never identified my location by zip code.
Fortunately, this operator didn’t insist on my zip code. She was willing to accept an address.
As my internal tolerance meter was rising into the red (I hate running out of gas, and I hate waiting on hold and I don’t like phone prompts), I told her I was out in the country and I didn’t know the address, but that by whatever stroke of good fortune, my tank ran dry in front a major landmark: a college. I assured the operator that anyone in this area would likely know where this location was based upon that landmark. She assured me she could not help me without an address. Since I was not at home on my computer and able to look up the college address (or the address of the farm field next door), I asked to speak to her supervisor.
The supervisor was courteous and efficient. She took my landmark and asked for any other landmarks. I told her that there was a highway nearby but that I was not on it and gave her the nearest exit. She said they would have someone enroute in 30 minutes.
Which is what happened.
Friendly Roger showed up half an hour later with a truck big enough to relocate the college. He pulled out a gas can and brought it over to my bike. I asked if he had any trouble finding me. He said he was new to the job (and he came from further away than I figured), but he had no problem finding me since there was only two roads in this valley, including the highway, and he knew I wasn’t on that. (I’m not sure if he was familiar with the college or not).
Well, I was never so happy to pay $10.00 for 2 gallons of gas, and gladly signed his papers, and gave him a big “thank you” before we were both on our way. Well, actually, we helped a marvelous 74-year-old-man and his wife who stopped for directions. The gregarious gentleman could have kept me entertained for the rest of the afternoon telling me even more about all the famous classics he rode during the 50s and 60′s, and how he raced in the Isle Of Man TT. But alas, we all had other places to be….
“Hurray” for roadside assistance.
“Hurray” for folks of any age who like to talk about motorcycles.
I ran out of gas in Ohio this past summer after becoming lost and getting caught in some roadside maintenance. I was trying to make it to a gas station I’d passed on the way north, but didn’t realize I was further north than I thought. After trying the “universal motorcyclist in distress” sign of placing my helmet next to the road, and receiving zero response, I call AAA. I belong to the Texas branch of it, and that’s who I got. In the process of trying to figure out where I was located (didn’t bother to check my map or trip tik!), A Ohio Highway patrolman stopped to see why I was on the side of the road. After getting proper current location and passing it on to the now Ohio AAA, the officer put out a series of road flares and departed. I had been advised by AAA that, because of my membership level, I’d have to pay pump price for the fuel, when it arrived. When the guy arrived with a one gallon can of gas, he charged me $5. All I had was $20s. He then pulled awad of bills out of his pocket big enough to chock a horse, and, for some reason, didn’t have $15 change!! I wonder if this guy knew that, by flashing that much cash, were I of a less law-abiding citizen, he was leaving himself open to an unpleasent end? Anyway, I proceeded to the nearest exit to fill the tank, only to find the pump price was $2.45. After filling the tank, I got a motel room for the night. After returning to Dallas, Texas, I stopped by a localAAA office to leave a comment on these “over-charges”. I didn’t expect anything to come out of it, but AAA sent me a $10 gift card.
I still consider myself a newbie, but 6 years ago I was out on some country roads when my fuel light (modern fuel injected SV) started flashing. I knew I had xx miles to go and actually passed up a gas station that look questionable (didn’t want to contaminate my new ride with crud from a station that did not maintain their fuel system). Not paying attention to the number of miles, I ran out 500 yards from the next gas station. I pushed it the rest of the way in the hot July sun and that was the last time I passed a gas station when the light was blinking. I now reset my trip odometer as a precaution knowing how many miles I generally get from a full tank. Good lesson learned for a newbie.
Vvvrrroooommm!
Be safe.
What a co-incidental subject. Just reurned from a 3200 km circular trip; two up; heavily laden tankbag, top box and panniers. We travelled a good portion of this distance on poor African back roads which rattled and bumped us along at slow speeds, which eventually resulted in the frame system holding the one pannier loosing a bolt and leaving the box hanging by only one point.
We were way out in the country districts on a road I was unfamiliar with, and we stopped and called the BMW Roadside Assistance. I offered them my current GPS reading which they seemed to be glad with. Some while later they phoned my cell and said they couldn’t find my location. I then established that they didn’t have a GPS!!? So using a map and establishing the nearest larger towns, we narrowed the point down, but still leaving too much ‘unknown’ for my comfort. The undertook to send a vehicle out to look for us. This vehicle was to depart from the nearest city, which was about three hours away!
So then phoned the agent and spoke to a mechanic who went into their showroom; stood next to a G650GS like mine; talked be through where to borrow a bolt from another location on the bike and secure the pannier frame. This little cell phone ‘classroom’ session took only 10 minutes and we were mobile again. I then called off the Roadside Assistance and we completed the final leg of our trip.
I must say that I was taken aback that a Roadside Assistance was not equiped with GPS facilities in this day and age; and I was super impressed with the dealership and the way they handled my problem.
I was testing out an old bike I had resurrected and was out on a back road 5 miles from home and 5 miles from a fuel station. I was sure I should have had enough fuel to get home. I pulled off the fuel line and nothing came out, even when I flipped the reserve valve. Looking into the tank on this Honda CB350 I couldn’t see any fuel. Then it hit me there was fuel on the other side of the frame hump. I laid the bike on it’s side and then stood it up and drove home. The transfer tube was clogged up!
I’ve run out of gas, three times. I had a faulty fuel level meter which, in turn, lied to the trip computer about the distance to empty. In each case the bike simply shut off and appeared to have plenty of gas and a fair distance to empty. The first time, I added gas out of desparation because I didn’t want to wait for a tow. The second time, obviously, I still had the first experience fresh in my mind. Ultimately, I realized something was amiss as there appeared to be more gas in the tank (and the distance to empty was farther away) each time I ran out of gas. Fortunately, I live in a fairly built up area and I was never more than a couple of blocks away from a station.
I have `roadside assistance’ with my insurance policy, never had a problem with it…………….
I can honestly say that I have never ran out of fuel on any bike I’ve owned. When I first get a new bike, I fill the tank, reset the trip meter and take note of the distance when either the fuel light comes on or you have to switch over to reserve. On most bikes I’ve had, 300kms until reserve is about the norm.
My ST1100 does about 400kms before the fuel light comes on so I just fuel up when that happens or any distance between 300kms to 400kms if possible.
The only time I’ve needed road side assistance was when the bike failed to start which was caused by a battery failure. We were 240kms from home at a shopping centre car park where we stopped for take-away and shopping. I had to call the automobile Association for a start. Just as well it was the battery çause, had it been the alternator we would have been strandard due to Australia being one of the few countries with a complusory lights on legislation back in the 1990′s. I don’t have a light switch on the bike.
Years ago, I ran out while riding my KZ650, I removed the tank, hitched a ride to the gas station. Well long story short, on my way in under an hour, and met 2 real nice foks to boot…
The only time I ran out of gas on my R-T-W ride (1969 R69S) was in California. And then I was a good 30 miles from the nearest station. My thumb was my road side assistant. Hitchhiked to a gas station, paid a $50 deposit to use their can, and hitched back to the bike, gassed it up and rode back to the gas station. A wasted half day that was.
The 6 gallon tank on my Road King gives me pretty good range (around 250 miles). At my age,(nearly 70) I have to get off the bike every hundred miles or so just to empty my bladder and take a fanny break! Every other stop, I’ll top off my tank.
As Craig mentioned above, I’m going to keep a 20 stashed in the pages of my owner’s manual that I keep in a zip lock bag in my saddle bag. It’s good to have some cash, just in case.
The quick-disconnect on the fuel line of my BMW Rockster failed and I called the flatbed for a trip to the dealer. He tipped the bed down and started to pull the cable out of the winch and I told him that wasn’t necessary, that I would push the bike a ways up the tilted bed and he could run it back up into place. (I’d done it before….no biggie) he said no….he’s gonna winch it up……we debated the issue and I told him to hit the road, I’ll call someone else. He finally agreed and we got the bike up on the truck. at which point he got out some straps and pulled on a pair of those cotton gloves w/ little black plastic dots on them for better grip…..however they looked like the had been soaked in used crankcase oil. Now let me explain that the Rockster is painted w/ a true flat, charcoal like finish…..which lookes great but is a pain to maintain. It absorbes oil like a sponge and even touching it w/ a clean finger will leave prints just from the natural oil in skin, and doesn’t just wipe off like a normal gloss finish…..I told the guy he doesn’t need gloves as my bike is immaculate and I explained that the paint absorbes oil. Again he bristled and said he uses gloves….too bad. I told hem you’re not touching my bike w/ those greasy gloves so take ‘em off or put me back on the groung an haul-ass!! He finally took them off but you probably can guess what happened as soon as he was out of my sight,,,,,,,.
when I went to the dealer the next day I found he’d rubbed the oily gloved ALL over the bodywork…..tank and sidepanels where he had no reason to touch in the process of strapping down and unloading the bike……I the service manager at the shop an I got on the phone w/ the tow company and got nowhere……then we called BMW and convinced them this was a willful act of vandalism and they said they would take them off their list of approved tow companies……THEN the tow co. people called the shop and wanted to make it right w/ me……..I told them to kiss my ass.
The quick-disconnect on the fuel line of my BMW Rockster failed and I called the flatbed for a trip to the dealer. He tipped the bed down and started to pull the cable out of the winch and I told him that wasn’t necessary, that I would push the bike a ways up the tilted bed and he could run it back up into place. (I’d done it before….no biggie) he said no….he’s gonna winch it up……we debated the issue and I told him to hit the road, I’ll call someone else. He finally agreed and we got the bike up on the truck. at which point he got out some straps and pulled on a pair of those cotton gloves w/ little black plastic dots on them for better grip…..however they looked like the had been soaked in used crankcase oil. Now let me explain that the Rockster is painted w/ a true flat, charcoal like finish…..which lookes great but is a pain to maintain. It absorbes oil like a sponge and even touching it w/ a clean finger will leave prints just from the natural oil in skin, and doesn’t just wipe off like a normal gloss finish…..I told the guy he doesn’t need gloves as my bike is immaculate and I explained that the paint absorbes oil. Again he bristled and said he uses gloves….too bad. I told hem you’re not touching my bike w/ those greasy gloves so take ‘em off or put me back on the groung an haul-ass!! He finally took them off but you probably can guess what happened as soon as he was out of my sight,,,,,,,.
when I went to the dealer the next day I found he’d rubbed the oily gloved ALL over the bodywork…..tank and sidepanels where he had no reason to touch in the process of strapping down and unloading the bike……I the service manager at the shop an I got on the phone w/ the tow company and got nowhere……then we called BMW and convinced them this was a willful act of vandalism and they said they would take them off their list of approved tow companies……THEN
I have made numerous long distance trips on both of my bikes, a KLR 650 and a Goldwing. Both have long legs but even so I stop to stretch and relax about every 100 to 150 miles and I always fill up at that time so I have never ran out of gas yet on my motorcycles. However I have had to be towed four times in my work van. We have a towing/roadside assistance/repair policy with the company that maintains our vehicles. My last call for help was at 1AM one morning, I had broke down in a bad area of a large city. The tow truck arrived in about an hour and while towing my work van to the chevy dealer was going to drop me off at a motel. While driving 45 mph down a 4 lane highway with a turn lane in the center he grabbed a clipboard and started filling out forms, when he did he took his hands off the steering wheel. The wrecker with my van attached veered to the left across the turn lane and into oncoming traffic. My screams of terror and the squeal of tires from the oncoming traffic panic braking caused him to look up. When he did he lost it and nearly went out of control when he jerked the wheel back to the right to get back onto ourside of the highway. Of course there was traffic overtaking us and he cut them off causing a lot of squealing tires and honking horns from our side of the highway in addition to the same from the oncoming lanes. I told him to pull over and stop as there was a motel near us. The next morning as I was waiting for a taxi to take me to the chevy dealer and my van I looked at the highway where the event took place and couldn’t believe the number of skid marks on both sides of the road. Some even left the road and went up onto sidewalks. It was a wild rescue. To top it off our vans were supposed to always be placed in secure storage due to the expensive parts we carried and in addition keys to many banks so we could service thier electronic equipment at night. Needless to say the tow truck driver charged me for secure storage but dumped the van off in a no parking zone in front of the dealer. Due to the late hour the police didn’t tow it. However the dealer was upset it was there and was getting ready to have it towed. I arrived just in time. I have often thought it was a rescue from hell but when I look back on it I realize that I had a prompt response from the tow co., I survived many near head on collisions, I survived many near rear end collisions, my van was not towed by the police even though it was parked half the night in a no parking zone. and nothing was stolen out of it even though it was in a large city. Guess I was really lucky. Sam
Years ago (early 80′s) I ran out of gas one night after having shut down the bars at 2:00am in San Diego. I was cruising up in the hills when i ran out and switched to reserve. After riding back into town, I FORGOT to stop and get gas. Ran out again. Luckily, I was right in front of a gas station, so I parked the bike in front of a pump to wait for the station to open back up. I crashed in a vehicle that was parked out back and got up about daylight and waited till they opened.
Nowadays, I’ve come to my senses and quit drinking and driving. Haven’t run out of gas since!
…Dewey Brown
I ran out of gas 2 years ago 5 miles from work out of a 32 mile trip. I was suppose to have enough gas but my reserve did not work properly. I did not use a road side service because I did not have one at the time. I had to call my wife and she came with a can of gas and saved my day, she does have a good sence of humor and I bought her a cup of coffee. I do have road side assistance with my new insurance company.
I’ve had road service on my bike for years, through my insurance. It’s ridiculously cheap at 50 cents a month. They cover pretty much everything you can think of, and the coverage also applies to the trailer if you are towing the bike. I have used it many times over the years. I’ve had a dead battery, multiple flat tires, a broken clutch cable, failure to start due to electrical problems, and ran out of gas. In each case I was very happy to have the service, except once. That one time was when I ran out of gas.
I forgot my wallet one day when I went to work. When I left work that night I realized I was very low on gas. I didn’t have any cash or cards on me (lesson learned – I now have cash stashed under the seat in a Ziploc bag). I was hoping I could stretch the fuel out enough to make it home. I came up about 5 miles short. I coasted off the highway and parked the bike on the entrance ramp. I walked to a hotel and used their phone to call for road service. I explained the situation to them. They said that I would have to pay the responder in cash for the fuel. I again explained that I didn’t have any cash. They then refused to send me help. Even though I only needed 50 cents worth of fuel, they wouldn’t give it to me. I ended up walking home 5 miles in my motorcycle boots, which was pretty painful. To say that I was pissed off would be the understatement of all time.
The only time I have needed roadside assistance was for all the wrong reasons, I pulled to the side of the road at a viewpoint, went to continue the journey and looked over my shoulder so as not to rely on my mirrors, I saw a SUV going slowly so thought I would accelerate away before he came, the only trouble was the act of looking over my shoulder meant I drifted onto the gravel verge and when I accelerated away the bike fish tailed and threw me off like a bucking bronco, bruised and battered but the biggest hurt being my pride, I called for roadside assist and was very glad when they turned up within the hour and got me home safely. Have never needed to give a Zip code, I think New Zealand is so small you generally get a local call out.
ride safe and keep the rubber side down
I’ve never used road side services for the bike. I do a lot of preplanning before I take off with regards to gas. I need to stop for a fill before 200 miles so for me it’s a lot like old age. Never pass up a chance to go to the bathroom. In this case, i include a gas station.
Now I’m thinking that sooner or later I’ll pick up a nail or something that causes me to be broken down along side some lonely road. Kowing the zip code I’m travelling in is a little too complicated though. I’m not sure about how to do that. Is there an ap for my phone for that?
I have used the roadside assistance through my motorcycle insurance twice. The first time was two years ago in early June, Westbound on I-10 in the Texas hill country. I had picked up a screw which flattened the rear tire slowly enough that I didn’t loose control of the bike at 80 mph. (posted speed limit) Roadside assistance arrived 45 minutes with a trailer and tiedown straps and after dropping the bike at the shop which stayed open an extra 30 minutes for me, the roadside assistance driver dropped me at a local motel.
A year later I was eastbound in the same area and ran out of gas 3 miles from the exit I was going to take for a stretch and a fill up. The same two driver showed up with a 2 gallon gas can and remembered me from the year before.
I think it’s worth it’s weight in gold. Ride safe.
I have used the roadside assistance through my motorcycle twice. The first time was two years ago in early June, Westbound on I-10 in the Texas hill country. I had picked up a screw which flattened the rear tire slowly enough that I didn’t loose control of the bike at 80 mph. (posted speed limit) Roadside assistance arrived 45 minutes with a trailer and tiedown straps and after dropping the bike at the shop which stayed open an extra 30 minutes for me, the roadside assistance driver dropped me at a local motel.
A year later I was eastbound in the same area and ran out of gas 3 miles from the exit I was going to take for a stretch and a fill up. The same two driver showed up with a 2 gallon gas can and remembered me from the year before.
I think it’s worth it’s weight in gold. Ride safe.