Have you ever been stuck to your seat?

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brianinpa

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Over the this past weekend, I took a trip down to Southern Virginia to spend the weekend at Willville Bike Camp and ride around on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had the 84 Standard and the trailer was loaded with about 250 pounds worth of stuff. The trip South was for the most part uneventful unless you count that I had to tear the bike almost completely apart to get to the damn fan motor fuse. It was running a little hot, and that's what got me to looking. After that, no problem expect the rider got a little hot...

Saturday was great day of riding through the area and the bike was fine except I picked up a nail in the rear tire. :head bang: I plugged it and all was fine for the rest of the day. Sunday it was time to head for home. Rather than hitting the super-slab, I decided I was going to ride the BRP north and then the Skyline Drive which would make for a relaxing day ride. Fast forward to about 1:30, and the weather changed my mind. Clouds started covering the mountains and it was no longer relaxing so now it was time to drop down on the super-slabs.

I took the time to wait out a downpour at a Cracker Barrel and then it was onto I-81 North. About 10 miles north of Harrisonburg, VA I was riding along doing about 80mph when the bike lurched and I heard this horrendous grinding noise. Then I felt a huge thump as something ran into me... oh, :sensored:!!!! My trailer came un-hitched! Or so I thought... I guess God has other plans for me still because I was able to just get off the throttle and cost the bike to a stop on the shoulder... it sounds benign but there were a few tense moments as the trailer slammed into the rear of the bike a few times as I was bringing everything to a stop. (Proof is coming)

It turns out the bolt that threads into the ball vibrated loose. The ball was still locked in the tongue of the trailer, but the bolt is gone. So what to do... I tightened the chains up in a way that kept the trailer tight on the hitch ball mount and limped two miles down the road to the next exit, unhooked the trailer, found the nearest Wally World and bought a new ball. Believe it or not, I found an Exxon gas station that was actually open and the guy left me use an impact gun, socket, and air hose and just like that, I was up and running again.

So if you ever think safety chains on a motorcycle trailer aren't necessary... you'd be wrong. I lost about a 1/2 inch of metal from my jack stand, but the chains kept the trailer right behind me rather than on top of me. I'm glad it happened on a straight road, and not one with twists and turns like the Skyline Drive...

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If you look close enough, you can see a mark in the middle of the ice chest that the tire left as a reminder. Most of it I was able to clean off, but there will always bee a reminder there for me...

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What does this have to do with being stuck to the seat... well, my asshole puckered so tight, I sucked part of the seat up my ass!
 
Oh man, lucky!

I had the threaded stud part snap off the ball once while towing a station wagon down to LA from Oregon. It was just like you described as a bump, as the hitch dropped down under my truck cradled in the chains. Chains saved my ass and those around me on the freeway!
 
Makes me wonder about the quality of our new tow balls. Glad that you survived the ordeal Brian. :good:
I tell everyone that the pucker effect is my ABS and Traction Control! :smilie_happy:
And the answer is a resounding “YES”! :blush:
 
A few year ago, I had some simple 1/4 20 threaded eyes that I just hung the hooks on. I gave up on those and now I just wrap them around the rear bumper pipes. I'm glad I changed that.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=203270#p203270:2ab7vdjc said:
brianinpa » Wed Jun 06, 2018 9:44 am[/url]":2ab7vdjc]
A few year ago, I had some simple 1/4 20 threaded eyes that I just hung the hooks on. I gave up on those and now I just wrap them around the rear bumper pipes. I'm glad I changed that.
:yes: :good:
Our trailer safety chains must be attached by a D shackle to the non removable part of the tow bar. They now are requiring rated D shackles! :doh:
 
This incident has me rethinking just how I'm going to connect the chains in the future. There is nothing wrong with how I had them, but I want to get rid of some of the extra slack that I had. That may have prevented the trailer from sliding up under the bike and lifting it up a bit.
 
I got distracted after the riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway line. Thinking about my rides there. I would love to have a trailer but some of the minuses hold me back. This is just one problem but not having a reverse on the Gold Witch worries me even more. I know I would get myself in a spot where I shouldn't be, and being the dumbass I am I would.
 
I've been 'entertained' by trailers coming loose several times, and that pucker-factor is certainly understated...

But that being the case, it is the kind of thing that defines 'experience' when handling situations.
Grandpa passed away when I was six, but when I was five, we were sitting on a dock, drop-line fishing for perch, and he told me that we "are all born with the ability to see -and change- the future, we just usually don't learn 'till after it's too late..."

What he meant, is that experience is telling us what WILL happen, and wisdom makes us act to correct that which we see wrong.
 
My trailer has nearly as much use as the bike at this point. I did away with the HF S-hooks and installed D-rings and check the ball regularly. Towing our new to us boat from Connecticut to New Jersey was an experience too!

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[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=203309#p203309:1v25aeaw said:
mcgovern61 » Thu Jun 07, 2018 11:53 am[/url]":1v25aeaw]
My trailer has nearly as much use as the bike at this point. I did away with the HF S-hooks and installed D-rings and check the ball regularly. Towing our new to us boat from Connecticut to New Jersey was an experience too!

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:good:
 
Gerry, that is exactly what I am thinking I am going to do, except I was going to attach the chain at the front bolt for the coupler to take out most of the slop that the chain provides.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=203432#p203432:1sa92rcr said:
FlipFlop » Mon Jun 11, 2018 12:21 pm[/url]":1sa92rcr]
I have thought about a trailer... not anymore, nope nope nope.
Takes away all the advantages of being on 2 wheels, if you had a trike maybe...
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=203432#p203432:1466n4je said:
FlipFlop » Sun Jun 10, 2018 10:21 pm[/url]":1466n4je]
I have thought about a trailer... not anymore, nope nope nope.

Don't let this deter you. I cannot count the number of miles I have pulling the trailer. If I had only checked the ball tightness before starting the trip, I would have prevented this from happening: I did not do that, but you can damn well bet that it is on my list of things to check before pulling the trailer the next time. Another problem... the design of the hitch ball. The ball is mounted to the hitch plate with a bolt threading into the ball.

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There is nothing keeping that on if the bolt back off. Most trailer hitch balls that you buy today have a hole drilled in the shaft that allows you to put a cotter pin through it to keep the nut from backing off completely and the ball from falling off...

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Guess which kind of hitch ball I have now?
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=203438#p203438:5m5q1iqx said:
Ansimp » Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:30 am[/url]":5m5q1iqx]
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=203432#p203432:5m5q1iqx said:
FlipFlop » Mon Jun 11, 2018 12:21 pm[/url]":5m5q1iqx]
I have thought about a trailer... not anymore, nope nope nope.
Takes away all the advantages of being on 2 wheels, if you had a trike maybe...

But it sure does add to the amount of stuff that can be carried for a get-away camping trip.
 
Mine is not loose, but I like the idea of the cotter pin. Also, mine does not have a bolt going up into the ball, I have the stud in the ball like a standard car hitch (Harbor Freight).
 
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