So there is Jim, stranded on the side of the road. He wound up having to call AAA and have them trailer the bike back home, about 50 miles. It ruined his whole planned bike trip, of course.

So he had Ray Price Harley come out and pick up the bike at his house. It’s a busy shop, and they didn’t have time to thoroughly look the bike over for a couple of days. When they did, they told Jim they would have to open up the engine in order to see the extent of the problem, which would cost a fair amount of money.

But, as everyone at Ray Price knows Jim, they decided to see what they could do to get Harley to do the repair for free, since it was obviously a mechanical defect on the bike. Even though it had 50,000+ miles on it, there was no other reason for the engine to fail.

When they did open up the engine, they found this:

Rear cylinder on the bike, with the piston removed.

The exhaust valve had broken and dropped into the cylinder, contacting the piston and shearing off metal fragments. Of course, this wrecked both the front and rear cylinders.

Broken valve spring

Damage to the front cylinder from metal debris

Fortunately, Harley was convinced to do the repairs gratis due to the obvious mechanical issues. But Jim decided, the bike had just become too unreliable for both of us to do the long rides we enjoy. So he started looking for another one.

The process up to this point had taken about 2 weeks. While Jim does also have a Buell Blast that he was able to ride, I hadn’t been on a bike, and we hadn’t been on a ride together, in that time. He had always wanted to try out an 1125R, though, one of two SportBikes in the 2009 Buell lineup. If you know anything about sport bikes, they are not meant for passengers. But, being game for just about anything involving riding with Jim, we hopped on for a test drive of the 1125R.

Almost the instant we headed out of the driveway at Ray Price, I knew this was not the bike I wanted to ride. Take a look at the specs from Buell. See the pointy end at the seat? That’s where I was sitting. Not the most comfortable place in the world – especially on a 146Hp bike with a V-twin. Now, Jim is a great bike driver. He’s careful, pays attention, and doesn’t take too many chances. But on that bike, I felt constantly like I was just going to fall right off the back of that pointy seat. It was precarious, painful, and downright unpleasant.

When we returned to the dealership (after about 20 excruciating minutes), I told Jim I didn’t think it was the right bike for a passenger. I assured him, however, that should he choose to buy a new bike, he should get the one HE wants and not one that will be the most comfortable for me as a passenger. Because, at the end of the day, it is his bike, and his ride.

He agreed, though, and said there was no way he could ride a bike like that on the 1,000 mile trips that we do every few months. And he wanted something comfortable for both of us.

Next: A goodbye and a hello.