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[ST] Buy some 30amp fuses!

Just got back from Sears Point and a couple of days riding down the Coast
towards LA to do some scouting for an upcoming motorcycle holiday that we're
adding to the schedule. Great weather, lots of Triumphs, some great riding
and some exciting racing. I rode a 2000 Tiger which was an absolute blast
and my buddy who typically rides one of his two Harleys fell in love with
the Sprint ST. Thought I'd share a couple of experiences, one will save you
all some frustration.

Less serious: If you're ever riding through Big Sur, stop in for lunch to
the restaurant at the Ventana Resort. The Arugula Bisque soup is almost as
good as the view. If you can afford the $250-400/night it is also a pretty
special spot to spend the night, I didn't.

Very Serious: On the way back up the Coast from Morro bay on a beautiful
sunny day, the 2001 ST that my friend was riding just quit. Head lights
dead, ignition dead (turn signals worked), so I checked the fuses. Sure
enough the 30amp ignition fuse was blown. Great! Middle of an empty stretch
full of delicious twisties with a dead bike. Guess what? No spare 30 amp
fuses in the fusebox, only a 15amp and a 5 amp. Same on the Tiger I was
riding and it should be noted the 2000 Tigers use the bigger sized fuses,
not the micro fuses that everybody including GM trucks use these days, so a
swap was not an option. Not to rub in the fact that the entire British
motorcycle and automotive industry was wiped out by shitty electronics once
already, but I was pretty surprised to find out that the most important fuse
in the panel (besides the main for which there was a spare) had no
replacement. Upsetting actually that they did have a replacement should the
horn short out! Luckily I had a soft packet of chewing gum and used the
aluminum paper from the wrapper to bridge the fuse. That got us to the next
gas station, which didn't have any correct fuses but had a sandwich shop
with thicker guage aluminum foil from which I fashioned a much less heat
prone fuse replacement. Once back in San Fran, I bought some 30amp fuses and
will replace the 5 amp spares with those on all our bikes. Once the fuse was
replaced, the bike ran flawlessly and I suspect it was a bad fuse to begin
with, because the bike was running great before and after the fuse blew.
Moral of the story: buy a spare 30 amp fuse for your bike.

Parting note: California is beautiful, has some excellent roads inland and
the Coast is beautiful, but there sure are a lot of people down there! I
love Canada! Also, I think I've discovered the suitable punishment for a
campervan/RV driver who makes every effort not to let people past while
plodding along at 25mph: 24hrs in a modern home theatre with nothing but
"white noise" on the screen and turn up the volume!

All the Best,
Mike Ciebien
Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Holidays
www.rockymtnmoto.com


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