Welcome to Friday Fudge. If it’s weird, funny, or strange motorcycle news, or it just plain won’t fit anywhere else on the site – you’ll find it here.
Gromming about
As we told you a few weeks ago, the Honda Grom is fast replacing the company’s earlier Ruckus as the choice of slightly unhinged riders with a bent towards small-displacement lunacy. It’s also becoming the choice of the the thrifty, which might explain why this Scotsman went out and splurged on a brand-new motorcycle.
Alas, there must not have been enough change left in the porridge jar to buy a car, as this dour Scot apparently has decided four wheels bad, two wheels good, and is riding his Grom in the snow. The YouTube description claims he purchased snow tires for his ride, but knowing the country’s legendary thriftiness, we find that hard to believe.
Flag drag
A rider in the US has been denied a warranty claim on his Harley-Davidson trike’s transmission because the dealer doing the work told him his flags caused the damage.
According to David Zien, a former member of the Wisconsin State Senate who rides a trike due to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident, his clutch burned out on a trip to Dallas, but when he took the bike into a dealer for repairs, they wouldn’t cover it under warranty.
Their reasoning? Zien flies no less than seven flags off the back of his rig, and they claim that destroyed his gearbox.
““The issue isn’t that the flags are heavy, but they provide terrific drag on the engine and the transmission, especially when the bike is at highway speeds,” ” Harley spokeswoman Maripat Blankenheim told Milwaukee’s Journal-Sentinel newspaper.
“When you alter a motorcycle with non-compliant products, that does impact your ability to make a warranty claim.”
Zien’s done hundreds of thousands of miles on two wheels, with a riding career dating back to the 1970s, and says he will still continue to fly flags off the back of his bike, telling the newspaper “”I am all Harley-Davidson, heart and soul. But they ain’t going to take away my flags.” However, we wouldn’t be surprised if he starts flying the Indian banner, or maybe even a pennant from Victory, at this rate.
Source: Journal-Sentinel
Down the drain
There are worse ways to crash, but you’ve got to admit that this really stinks.
Curious crash
This video leaves us with all sorts of questions. Like, what was going on in this church in the first place – a combined video game tournament and rock concert? And what made this kid decide it was a good idea to wheelie past the pews? Did he have no idea of the concept of stopping distance? In any case, it’s a good lesson on what not to do on your dirt bike …
Yes thriftiness is a trait we have in Scotland generally speaking but we don’t skimp that much on our vehicle’s , most have a new or recent ride and with yearly MOT most are in better condition than what we see on Canadian roads. Oh and i would also ride in winter if our provincial law allowed it.
Re: the Flag Man
i gotta say on this one that HD is right and he is wrong – 7 flags dangling off the back of his trike ????
The claim is for the clutch, something that would ordinarily be denied as a ‘wear’ item like tires and chains – nothing to do with the transmission.
7 year unlimited mileage – have a look at the fine print, pal…?
http://fox6now.com/2014/05/26/harley-davidson-denies-warranty-claim-for-man-whos-ridden-2-5-million-miles-but-why/