A Scottoiler, a broken throttle, and a cool dealer/owner

[Blake Sobiloff <sobiloff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I spent all of yesterday finally fitting my Scottoiler; boy, what a
pain! It didn't help that the spot I park my bike in my apartment
complex's garage doesn't have a light near it. I borrowed a couple of
well-lit spots from vacant tennants, but twice I had to pack up shop and
move when those tennants came back. Regardless, I got it done decently
and was looking forward to riding today for the first time in several
weeks (due to snow and sub-zero temps).

So today I headed out on a little loop out to my dealership and back. I
like the route because it's heavily-trafficked roads, meaning little
chance for any lingering patches of ice or sand in the corners. The
Scottoiler was staying in place nicely, and lots of dirty old chain lube
was coming off. What remained was a gleaming chain -- nice!

Get to the (closed on Sundays) store, pull a U-turn and head back the
way I came. At the third light I'm finally at the head of the line, so
when the light turns green I decide to see how the new race pipe feels
at full throttle. Feels good! I shift to second and let off the
throttle, but I keep accelerating.

Uh oh...

I twist the throttle back and forth all the way a couple of times, but
it's clear that it's merely decorative at this point. There's no return
action, and now the engine's bouncing off the rev limiter in second.
(Boy that race pipe makes the bike fast! :-)

The good ol' MSF training takes over and my thumb hits the kill switch
as I pull in the clutch and start checking to see if I can get over to a
cut-through in the median up ahead. I knew there was a line of cars
behind me at the light, but lightspeed has left them a distant memory,
so I cross over a couple of lanes and coast to a stop in the
cut-through.

Thinking that the likely culprit is related to the heated grips my
dealer put on a couple of weeks ago, I whip out my mobile phone and
start ringing all the numbers I have for the dealership. I'm hoping I
can find some kind soul at the shop who can pick up my bike, even though
they're officially closed. Sure enough, I find someone at the accounting
number! He goes to check the shop but doesn't find anyone there, so he
offers to get the truck and give it a shot himself.

To make a long story short, we successfully wrestle the bike in and out
of the back of the pickup truck. I wheel the bike into the safety of the
showroom, where it can wait for the mechanics to return on Tuesday. The
"accountant" turns out to be the owner of the chain of dealerships, and
he keeps the store open while I wait for a buddy to give me a ride home.
In the meantime we chat a bit, and he invites half a dozen window
shoppers into the store, showing them the bikes they're interested in
and being a generally helpful person. (He also keeps telling everyone
that they're going to start being officially open on Sundays... :-)

So, what could have been a very frustrating experience instead turned
into a neat chance to meet the owner of the dealership chain and
experience some great customer service. Plus, I got a neat story to tell
my date later that night! 
- --
Blake Sobiloff <sobiloff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Higher Education Consulting
KPMG Consulting LLC
McLean, VA

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