7 hours, 30 minutes, 400 kilometers (240 miles)
Lead acid batteries suck.
Seriously. I only put one back in after I was told by BMW (Ahem, Motoworks) that it would void the warranty. I had zero issues with a L-ION battery for 3+ months from -22 degrees to 120+ degrees and easy more than 1 million +feet of elevation change. Somehow, when my battery came back from Buenos Aeries, it was dead. Ok, maybe, just maybe there was something there…
So, I left Durban on my route towards East London. The bike started up no problem.
Daily Diary
Did a pretty thorough bike check
Had to stop and get some gasolina (remember, Aaron?).
Dead On Arrival
I was about 5 hours into the ride when my bike just died going downhill. Yes, died. No dash info, no lights, no nothing. Luckily, I was coasting past a gas station near – https://maps.app.goo.gl/fiMy9zbZvTZcaaie9. Turns out DAN pretty much owns that whole roadside area. But enough about Dan. I never even got to meet him.
There were a couple of people just parked and drinking – that’s 1000% SA BTW. But they didn’t look like they knew their own names, so I asked the attendant if he knew where I could get a motorcycle battery. He said “East London” which was where I was heading and still 3 hours away. There was no way I was making that! I tried boosting (jumping for you ‘Mericans) the bike one time and it didn’t idle for more than 30 seconds. It was acting the same as when I picked it up from the warehouse.
Oh well, for those of you who know, know me – no reason to panic. It’s 3PM on a Saturday, right? Yeah, wrong country.
Fellow Riders, Unite!
Luckily, another guy was walking by and I asked him. Although he didn’t know anything about the area, he said “why don’t you ask them?” I looked to where he was pointing and I just started hearing the scream of sport bikes! I hoofed it up to the side of the road and started waving, but they were already pulling in to the gas station.
The younger kid walked over and asked me what the problem was and I told him my battery was dead, like dead, dead. He said there’s no chance I could get a battery anywhere around, but he knows “a guy” who might be able to help.
The kids called him up and told him to have me call him, so I did. His first response was “how did you get this number?”. That “guy”, and his crew, turned out to be some of the most generous and nicest people I’ve ever met. I know a lot of generous people. I know a lot nice people. Turns out, he’s in a motorcycle club in Mthatha.