On Sunday I took part in the Ride Of Respect through Wooton Bassett. Along with a number of friends we set of to Hullavington looking forward to a fantastic day. I took my Dragstar as it better at slow speeds than the Hornet. As we went through Brinkworth the bike started to backfire and finally came to a standstill on the side of the road. My friends stopped and asked what was wrong and I told them that the Regulator/Rectifier was knackered. I told them to push on and enjoy the day and I would sort myself out,( no point us all missing out). One friend Dave Clarke stayed behind to help.
While I was debating my next move a bystander who was clapping and waving at all the bikes walked up to me and asked if he could help. He told me to push the bike onto his drive and use any tools that I needed. I said that if I had a full battery I would be able to continue and he then produced a charger and began to charge the battery.
After a cup of tea he told me how he could not be on the ride as he had just had reconstructive surgery on his knee after an accident. He continued to explain that it would take a while to charge the battery so why dont I take his bike which was in the garage to finish the ride and bring it back when I had finished.
This came as a bit of a shock for two reasons, 1 he was recovering from a bike crash (what condition would the bike be in?) and 2 he doesn't know me from Adam! He went to the garage and produced a brand new KTM990 Adventure with only 2 weeks use! I used it to finish the ride and took it back, had more coffee and a chat, restarted the Dragstar and went home.
Sometimes you meet some real genuine people in the strangest places and this gent was one in a million. My upmost respect to him and his wife for their kindness and hospitallity and their trust in a fellow biker. My friends have said that if I fell in **** I would come out smelling of roses! This time they were right. Respect.
Originally Posted by Blackbonnie
