T
Tinker1980
Guest
Hello, my name is Mark, and I've been addicted to my MB for three weeks. I have a story to tell, about safety.
After work today, I installed my new innertube, and decided to ride my motorized bike to the local QT to fill my one gallon gas can. After spending a hard earned $3.23 for some 87 octane push-water, and mixing in the correct amount of 2 stroke oil, I strapped the full can to the rear rack on my MB, lashed a bungee cord over the can, and pedaled off into the night. (about 5 am) I rode under the I-244 overpass and my little helper was having a Happy Time starting to pull a hill, rattled over some railroad tracks and I felt something... odd... just in time to hear the gas can hit the ground and hear the motor stop. I leaned over the handlebars, to keep the weight off the skidding rear wheel since I was going an easy 18 MPH. After coming to a halt rubber side down and with no new skin abrasions, and stopped to investigate. The bungee cord had come loose when the gas can jumped up as the wheels rode across the RR crossing, came down faster than the bungee cord could take up slack, causing the cord to wrap up between the left-side sprocket and the spokes! After some time rolling the bike backwards I had the bungee cord out, and motored on home.
What I've learned:
Bungee Cord bad for heavy load. A gallon of gas is about 6 pounds, call it 7 with the plastic can. I needed a more secure attachment, and next time I fill up, I will have one.
The roads in Tulsa are bad. I mean really bad. You've seen the roads in the background when they show in the news, in Iraq, where we've been bombing the **** out of them for years? The roads around my house are worse than that. By far. Well, after some front end work twice in 6 months on a truck that was otherwise OK for 20 years, I guess I didn't just learn that.
I don't need to go 30+ MPH. I don't think the results would have been the same had this happened at a much higher speed.
-Mark
After work today, I installed my new innertube, and decided to ride my motorized bike to the local QT to fill my one gallon gas can. After spending a hard earned $3.23 for some 87 octane push-water, and mixing in the correct amount of 2 stroke oil, I strapped the full can to the rear rack on my MB, lashed a bungee cord over the can, and pedaled off into the night. (about 5 am) I rode under the I-244 overpass and my little helper was having a Happy Time starting to pull a hill, rattled over some railroad tracks and I felt something... odd... just in time to hear the gas can hit the ground and hear the motor stop. I leaned over the handlebars, to keep the weight off the skidding rear wheel since I was going an easy 18 MPH. After coming to a halt rubber side down and with no new skin abrasions, and stopped to investigate. The bungee cord had come loose when the gas can jumped up as the wheels rode across the RR crossing, came down faster than the bungee cord could take up slack, causing the cord to wrap up between the left-side sprocket and the spokes! After some time rolling the bike backwards I had the bungee cord out, and motored on home.
What I've learned:
Bungee Cord bad for heavy load. A gallon of gas is about 6 pounds, call it 7 with the plastic can. I needed a more secure attachment, and next time I fill up, I will have one.
The roads in Tulsa are bad. I mean really bad. You've seen the roads in the background when they show in the news, in Iraq, where we've been bombing the **** out of them for years? The roads around my house are worse than that. By far. Well, after some front end work twice in 6 months on a truck that was otherwise OK for 20 years, I guess I didn't just learn that.
I don't need to go 30+ MPH. I don't think the results would have been the same had this happened at a much higher speed.
-Mark