I've a tale to tell. A tale of despair, anguish and woe. A tale that can now be told in it's entirety. Sit back and get comfortable.
Every year we hitch up the Bunkhouse to Her Purpleness and ride to Minnesota in early September to visit family, friends and attend the Davis Rally. Weather was great this year, the rally was down on participants and vendors but still a great time, and spending time with family and friends was a treat. Turned cool the day we hit I-35 to travel back south, but we were still cozy with the heated jacket liners. About 30 miles north of Ames IA we felt a bump, and noises came from under the trike. Not just noises, expensive sounding metallic banging noises heard even over Billy Idol's version of "Mony Mony" cranked up through the helmet speakers.
Forward propulsion ceased, though the engine still ran like, well, like a Goldwing. On the shoulder I looked everything over and found we were well and truly broke down. Called the road service, the first tow didn't show, the second tow was very professional. While waiting for a tow an officer of the Iowa Highway Patrol let us sit in the car to stay warm and safe for the hour and a half it took the towing to be sorted out. Got a tow the 65 miles into Des Moines courtesy of the insurance roadside assistance. The Honda dealer wasn't familiar with trikes it seemed on the phone, and, as this was a Friday evening and we wouldn't get to the shop until after closing, said they couldn't do anything with it until Tuesday.
The towing company driver, who happened to own the company, let us keep the rig on the flatbed overnight in his yard and we found a motel for the night. He even picked us up the next day! The next morning we dropped the Bunkhouse, he backed the flatbed up to a U-Haul truck, tipped the bed and we slid the trike right in to the box. Hooked the trailer on the back of the truck and homeward we went. Dropped the trike off at our favorite Honda dealer in Neosho MO close to home.-----
Later in the week we got a call to see the damage. Must have hit something just right, the destruction was extensive. A bracket welded on to the rear axle was stressed to the point the weld broke, allowing rear-end fluid to leak out. One of the ladder bar struts bent, that pulled out a heim joint, the drive shaft shifted and pulled away from the engine. The front yoke gave way, disintegrated itself (only found half of the yoke, and that only because it was wedged between a frame member and the belly pan). The driveshaft flailed around breaking a brake solenoid, and some other sundry bits. The trike body dropped when the bracket broke, and the gas tank acquired a dent in the bottom from hitting a ladder bar. Oh, the frame of the bike itself was bent also.
You've most likey guessed by now the insurance company declared the trike a total loss. We had enough accessory coverage (thankfully) to cover the cost of the trike kit, the rake kit and other bits and pieces like pinstriping, air wings, the Corbin seat that came with the rig when we got it and such. Didn't pay all that much for the bike itself, as it was 17 years old and bereft of rear tire, suspension and driveline. (Unsolicitated advice: Get more accessory coverage than you think you'll ever need, or get agreed on value for the trike and accessory coverage for trailers, stuff in the bike, etc.) Turned in the title and picked up the checks, one for the bike and the other for accessories. Her Purpleness is no more, being broken up for salvage somewhere.
Well, that is the tale of despair, anguish and woe. We have been aggressively hitting the bike dealers, trike shops, talked to trike reps at Bikes Blues and BBQ and hit the internet. Here is where the story takes a turn from "woe" to "Whoa!"
Ladies and Gentlemen, in the thumbnail below, may I introduce Her Purpleness ll (or maybe Her Purpleness the Sequel. "Sequel" for short.) or whatever name comes up, Gloria thinks a new name is needed. It is a 2004 GW1800 Champion conversion, in Magenta. Honda only made magenta 'Wings in 2 years, and we now have had them both. We pick it up next weekend (Oct. 28 or 29)
Every year we hitch up the Bunkhouse to Her Purpleness and ride to Minnesota in early September to visit family, friends and attend the Davis Rally. Weather was great this year, the rally was down on participants and vendors but still a great time, and spending time with family and friends was a treat. Turned cool the day we hit I-35 to travel back south, but we were still cozy with the heated jacket liners. About 30 miles north of Ames IA we felt a bump, and noises came from under the trike. Not just noises, expensive sounding metallic banging noises heard even over Billy Idol's version of "Mony Mony" cranked up through the helmet speakers.
Forward propulsion ceased, though the engine still ran like, well, like a Goldwing. On the shoulder I looked everything over and found we were well and truly broke down. Called the road service, the first tow didn't show, the second tow was very professional. While waiting for a tow an officer of the Iowa Highway Patrol let us sit in the car to stay warm and safe for the hour and a half it took the towing to be sorted out. Got a tow the 65 miles into Des Moines courtesy of the insurance roadside assistance. The Honda dealer wasn't familiar with trikes it seemed on the phone, and, as this was a Friday evening and we wouldn't get to the shop until after closing, said they couldn't do anything with it until Tuesday.
The towing company driver, who happened to own the company, let us keep the rig on the flatbed overnight in his yard and we found a motel for the night. He even picked us up the next day! The next morning we dropped the Bunkhouse, he backed the flatbed up to a U-Haul truck, tipped the bed and we slid the trike right in to the box. Hooked the trailer on the back of the truck and homeward we went. Dropped the trike off at our favorite Honda dealer in Neosho MO close to home.-----
Later in the week we got a call to see the damage. Must have hit something just right, the destruction was extensive. A bracket welded on to the rear axle was stressed to the point the weld broke, allowing rear-end fluid to leak out. One of the ladder bar struts bent, that pulled out a heim joint, the drive shaft shifted and pulled away from the engine. The front yoke gave way, disintegrated itself (only found half of the yoke, and that only because it was wedged between a frame member and the belly pan). The driveshaft flailed around breaking a brake solenoid, and some other sundry bits. The trike body dropped when the bracket broke, and the gas tank acquired a dent in the bottom from hitting a ladder bar. Oh, the frame of the bike itself was bent also.
You've most likey guessed by now the insurance company declared the trike a total loss. We had enough accessory coverage (thankfully) to cover the cost of the trike kit, the rake kit and other bits and pieces like pinstriping, air wings, the Corbin seat that came with the rig when we got it and such. Didn't pay all that much for the bike itself, as it was 17 years old and bereft of rear tire, suspension and driveline. (Unsolicitated advice: Get more accessory coverage than you think you'll ever need, or get agreed on value for the trike and accessory coverage for trailers, stuff in the bike, etc.) Turned in the title and picked up the checks, one for the bike and the other for accessories. Her Purpleness is no more, being broken up for salvage somewhere.
Well, that is the tale of despair, anguish and woe. We have been aggressively hitting the bike dealers, trike shops, talked to trike reps at Bikes Blues and BBQ and hit the internet. Here is where the story takes a turn from "woe" to "Whoa!"
Ladies and Gentlemen, in the thumbnail below, may I introduce Her Purpleness ll (or maybe Her Purpleness the Sequel. "Sequel" for short.) or whatever name comes up, Gloria thinks a new name is needed. It is a 2004 GW1800 Champion conversion, in Magenta. Honda only made magenta 'Wings in 2 years, and we now have had them both. We pick it up next weekend (Oct. 28 or 29)
