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2nd ride report of the week! had a quick run out from the outlaws (Louhans) to Chalon sur Saone to pick up some bits for father in law's new laptop. At least it should have been a quick run...Decided to go the back way down to the Saone & follow the river into town, the weather was superbe, mostly blue skies, 20+°c by midday. I set off about 2 ish afetr lunch & rode the tiny back roads following the river SEILLE down to the SAONE at their junction just south of TOURNUS.
I took the dirt track behind the bike in the 2nd picture & followed it for a while before rejoing the back roads, can't be many motorised vehicules along here cos this was about 15yds from the roadside
crossed over the Saone at THOREY so's to enter chalon from the south & avoid the town bridges which are always snarled up with traffic.
being on the west bank made the jaunt into the center easy so I picked up the bits from the shop & thought, cup of coffee... town center...café... pavement table... book to read... sunshine... coffee & a cigarette... top plan.
Parked up right in the center of town & proceeded with plan A. All was well untill about 5:30 when I decided it was time to start back, got togged up : jacket - earplugs - lid - glasses - gloves... start the bike, get on, clutch in *PET*...
****!
Clutch cable snapped.
ommmmmmmm......
Zen......
Un-tog & inspect
the actual cable nipple at the lever end had broken in half, leaving the cable free.
Ciggy & a think...
Had I been somewhere in the countryside I would have just ridden home clutchless but from the town center I could think of no way out without at least 4 sets of lights...
Phoned mother in law to get the phone numbers for a few bike shops in the area & started phoning them.
now Chalon Sur Saone is a large town but it is situated in the rural heart of france, thursday evening about 6pm, the shops all close at 7 friday 1st May is a majour bank holiday & NOTHING will be open. I have to be at work 200km away on sat morning... NONE of the bike shops are prepared to come out to me & none of them have the correct cable anyway. The Honda dealer assure me that they'll be able to cobble something up with another cable but only if I can get the bike to them.
Phone the insurance company, to whom I pay a break down insurance. (The french system is not like the uk system, the break down man arrives with his truck & transports the bike to the nearest dealers. If necessary the insurance will then transport you, home, leaving the bike to be repaired) they'll have a break down truck there in ...2 hrs... OH FFS! what is the point of that?
OK, funk the insurers, you're on yer own pal!
right!
having an 18 year old bike, I do carry some basic tools when I'm away from home, but I've now only got 1/2 an hour to get out of here & to the dealers before they close...
after inspection of tools available I came up with this
As the cable had snapped off inside the lever, I still had the entire length to play with. I released the bottom end, threaded the top end through the hole in the lever that the top nipple usually sits in & clamped it with a pair of locking grips (this took about 5 attempts before I was satisfied that they were clamped as tight as they would go on the cable & were at the best angle to a) pull the cable & b) not slip. I then used cable ties to attatch the grips along the length of the clutch lever. Having reattached the bottom end & adjusted, it seemed to work but I knew that I'd only got enough time for 1 go at this, if it let me down at the lights i'd be likely to have an accident & miss the shop as well. So I pushed the bike about 2k, beyound the worst traffic in the center of town fired it up & rode the 10k to the dealers, the system worked a dream. I managed to fix up a cable they found me, it's a bit long & has insufficient travel to be absolutely right , but it only cost me 20€ so I ain't complaining. I got home at 8pm gone...
this is adventure riding!
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