77: Bodge Repairs and Rocky Mountain Oysters
ARR RAW round-table discussions with motorcycle adventure travellers - featuring Grant Johnson, Sam Manicom, Shirley Hardy-Rix, Brian Rix, Michelle Lamphere and Jim Martin.
RAW LISTENER QUESTIONS: Have a question for the RAW panel? Send it to us here.
Listener Questions:
Stephen Nash: What's the best bodge repair any of the panel have ever done?
On the HUMM 2010 I made an indicator lens out of the bottom edge of a plastic water bottle that was in a bin. It was still on the bike when I sold it months later. On my current 9 week jaunt around Europe. We met a friend in France and after pulling over to check directions his bike wouldn't start. It was very hot with no shade so we wanted a quick solution. We suspected it was the clutch switch that had failed ( clutch has to be pulled in to start the bike Suzuki v-strom 650) but to check we needed to short it. Looking around the floor my friend spotted a little twist-tie as used on new cables or freezer bags. He stripped the plastic off doubled over the wire. Pulled the connector and shorted the connection. The bike started. We sealed it up with some electrical tape and duct tape and 4 weeks later it's still going strong.
Stephen Nash: When traveling you often expect to have some bad eating experiences but, what's the best tasting thing the panel has eaten that they expected would be awful?
I was served a traditional Slovakian dish (Sheeps whey I think) that I thought was going to be revolting but had to eat out of politeness. I ended up having seconds.
Bodge Tools and Equipment List:
Jb weld
Bailing wire
Cable ties
Jubilee clips gear clamp
Electrical tape
24” Electrical wire
Heatshrink
Folded muffler tape
Duct tape
Cough drop tin of spare nuts, washers, split pins etc.
Tin foil - folded up and tucked in to the kit
Two large truck tire repair patches
Old chapstick - filled with grease
Tiny square sandpaper
Clear tape
Gaffer tape
Cable repair kit - Oxford
Condom - ask Brian
Grant Johnson: This is the ORIGINAL cable repair kit, I still have after many many years. Venhill is old time quality British made: Amazon