What did you do on or to your other bike part 2

[Cormanus]

I hope you've fixed that BMW, Gone. Taken with rdprdp01's recent post on collecting spare parts for the future, it's a reminder that there's nothing for nothing. All the modern technology and electronics make for smoother, more comfortable riding, but there's more to go wrong and a likelihood that a broken part may be irreplaceable.

I might get ready for the future and buy a walking frame. I can't see too much that can go wrong with them!

[Gone in 60]

Thanks, Cormanus. I amended my maintenance schedule and my initial bike modification list to include disconnecting the throttle cables, cleaning the contacts and securing the connections tightly. This has happened on two of our BMWs now, and thankfully neither incident affected a critical delivery. Both were rectified by a Honda.

Reminds of the BMW with a looming $2800 ABS module failure that I sold in 2019 to buy my thankfully bullet-proof CB1100.

[Gone in 60]

My runs ended early yesterday, so I spent the afternoon in the garage making improvements to the bike I had rotated back home for lights and horns. A very large Japanese beetle had flown into the garage and was hovering around the bike like a helicopter. Maybe it was attracted to the yellow color, but interesting company to have.

I kept hearing something hovering around later and thought it was the beetle until I realized that a hummingbird had flown in, and was flitting about at the ceiling going from one light fixture to the next.

This had happened a few years ago while I was working on my CB. We have a hummingbird feeder on our patio above the garage. I’d read that they will typically panic until they run out of energy and crash, pass out and eventually die. We couldn’t have Mrs. G discovering a dead little bird somewhere.

Putting on my thinking cap, I did what worked last time. I taped a red gift bow to a broom, held still, and waited for him to land on it. He was a tough customer and sniffed it for a second and moved on.

I then took a thimble, put a tiny bit of sugar in it, added water and shook it up. Mrs was at the dining room table on a Zoom call with her staff and was observing me doing this thinking I must have hit my head.

Went back down to the garage, nestled the thimble in the bow and turned off all of the lights except one to aim the bird to one spot. Stood still and waited…

He hovered around the bow and landed on it to check out the nectar. Good! Very, very slowly maneuvered the broom down and under the garage door to lure him back outside, and needing to tilt the broom, the sugar water dripped all over my bike. Didn’t pay too much attention at the moment, concentrating on the bird.

Finally he saw the great outdoors and flew away. Whew! Went upstairs to wash off the bow and have some lunch, as the whole incident took about 30 minutes and I was hungry.

After lunch, I went back to the garage to keep working, and now saw a decent number of bees all around my bike, which, drizzled with sugar water must have looked like a 550 pound lump of pollen. Great. Broke out the washing gear and gave the bike a bath and to rinse the sticky sugary drips off of the floor. I don’t mind a bee or two, but the local hive apparently got word of this. Dried off the bike and eventually got back to work.

Should have just let the stupid bird crash.

[Lunchbag]

Should have just let the stupid bird crash.

Nah, you did the right thing.  Very creative too.  Reminds me of my former neighbor and mountain dulcimer instructor who found a wounded baby hummingbird and nursed it back to health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7xBLvMIBZU. He spent over a week helping the bird recover, training it to eat nectar, and bringing it every day to its mom to get fed.

[Cormanus]

I agree with Lunchbag: you did the right thing.

[rdprdp01]

Should have just let the stupid bird crash.

Not how you roll, my brother. We need more kindness and patience in this world, even if it accompanied by a curse or two along the way. Am delighted but not surprised you saved another life. This time, it was a hummingbird. I believe the first reference of hummingbirds dates back to Latin America, where they were revered for spreading joy, resilience, healing, and spiritual connection. Looks like we can add slightly annoying and stubborn to the list. David

[Gone in 60]

Thanks and yeah, glad I saved the hummingbird. Now I just need to figure out how to get the last few bees out of the garage… I was changing a headlight bulb last night and they were keeping me company.