Morning commute ended in a motorcycle fire

[ctwo]

I was impressed by the foot traffic grime on the walkway into McDs

 

[CocoLoco]

+1

Made me think of the grime the food leaves on the inside of a body.

 

[boney]

I was impressed by the foot traffic grime on the walkway into McDs

Remarkable isn't it? I saw that too!

Back to OP:

Have you had a chance to investigate? That didn't seem like a fuel fire, unless the fuel flow stopped when you shut off the bike.

 

[dravnx]

I was thinking the same, looked electrical to me.

 

[Blankpage]

All part of the charm of owning a British bike

 

[bunnygoat]

You handled it well.

 

[clutchslip]

Wowsa. It sure was fortunate that the McDonald's was there. Great thinking. I probably would have just asked for water.

Did you pay for servicing the fire extinguisher?

Interest and reasonable question. Perhaps he will go back to cover that.

facepalm mcdonalds employees faces, so helpfull....

You expect people to know exactly what is going on when some stranger runs into their place of work with a helmet on and start screaming for a fire extinguisher in a restricted area? I am sorry, but I don't think McDonald's or any other place has training for excited helmeted customers with emergency motorcycle fires in the next parking lot. Wouldn't you be suspicious of a guy running into the work area with a helmet on?

He's lucky the manager didn't tell him to buzz off. They have NO OBLIGATION to give him a fire extinguisher that is there for the safety of the employees, the customers, and the establishment. Real world.

 

[ZCrow]

Did you pay for servicing the fire extinguisher?

I did offer. I dropped off a thank you letter with an offer to repay and my contact information. I got a text reply on my cell from the manager:

"Hi, I'm Maria the store manager for the McDonald's on second St, we feel good that nothing bad happen with your [motorcycle emjoi], you don't have to paid us nothing, we hope to see you again soon, but this time please don't scare us. "

I replied, "Definitely! Sorry for the scare. That was not my intent. Thanks again."

Remarkable isn't it? I saw that too!

Back to OP:

Have you had a chance to investigate? That didn't seem like a fuel fire, unless the fuel flow stopped when you shut off the bike.

I dropped it off with Lawrence at LG Moto on Friday. I won't know the outcome until early next week. He shared a personal story of similar motorcycle fire he experienced at speed and prepared me for the possibility that fires like these can result in the bike being totaled. I have my fingers crossed that it is not the case.

All part of the charm of owning a British bike

Pretty much. All of the nuisance issues I have had with this bike have been electrical.

Wowsa. It sure was fortunate that the McDonald's was there. Great thinking. I probably would have just asked for water.


Interest and reasonable question. Perhaps he will go back to cover that.

You expect people to know exactly what is going on when some stranger runs into their place of work with a helmet on and start screaming for a fire extinguisher in a restricted area? I am sorry, but I don't think McDonald's or any other place has training for excited helmeted customers with emergency motorcycle fires in the next parking lot. Wouldn't you be suspicious of a guy running into the work area with a helmet on?

He's lucky the manager didn't tell him to buzz off. They have NO OBLIGATION to give him a fire extinguisher that is there for the safety of the employees, the customers, and the establishment. Real world.

If it was an electrical fire, water would definitely be the wrong answer.

No obligation, for sure and I am sure if Legal or Risk Management had any say it would be a big "NO". I am a Corporate Security Manager and I can tell you we have had situations at our offices involving third parties near our facility were our team took action, provided first-aid and saved lives. When given a chance, people more often do the right thing rather than not.

On the flip side, when I showed the video to my wife her first comment was I bet they thought you were robbing the place. You can see in the video one of the customers was recording the interaction on their phone. It had not occurred to me until after how intimidating I probably looked.

That's all afterthought anyway. Action Jackson got no time for shoe gazing.:teeth

 

[Tom G]

Why do English pubs always serve warm beer? Because the Lucas fridge is broken.

 

[seralat]

Oh man! So sorry to see that. Lawrence is a good guy. He'll help you out if anyone can.

 

[kurth83]

Wow, yes the blowing was a bit funny, and I kinda thought things were going to go south after that, but fetching the fire extinguisher from Mickey-D's was brilliant, and kudos to them for the help too.

Glad nothing serious happened.

My dad had an old bug that had an engine fire once, somehow he put it out, and the thing ran fine after that.

Let us know how the repairs go.

 

[Darkness!]

Let us know what the upshot is. Personally, I'm guessing it's the connectors from the stator to the reg/rec. I just had this happen to me on my street triple.

Zack. Couple of questions:

1. Have you had the charging system replaced?
2. If you did, was it OEM or Rick's?
3. Are you running a Lithium Ion Battery in your bike (Ballistic, Shorai, etc.)?

 

[JakesKTM]

I am curious as well what the diagnosis is.

Thanks for sharing, a lesson for all of us.

Glad you are ok.

 

[dravnx]

If it was a gasoline fire, It would still be leaking gas. Pretty easy to tell. Electrical fires are caused by a short that typically burns the wire away and then the insulation is what burns and emits all the smoke and flames.
My bet is still on electrical.

 

[ZCrow]

Let us know what the upshot is. Personally, I'm guessing it's the connectors from the stator to the reg/rec. I just had this happen to me on my street triple.

Zack. Couple of questions:

1. Have you had the charging system replaced?
2. If you did, was it OEM or Rick's?
3. Are you running a Lithium Ion Battery in your bike (Ballistic, Shorai, etc.)?

1. Few years back the regulator/rectifier failed while I was out at Point Reyes. BARF Angel Boney rescued me and later I discovered my bike had a recall for that very item.
2. Monrue Motors did the recall replacement work.
3. Nope, standard battery. I purchased it from SF Moto and was the battery the fit by bike.

A few years before that I had a problem in the wiring harness with the ignition. SF Moto traced it repaired the issue in the wiring harness.

About 2 years ago the brake light failed. City Cycle Werkes diagnosed that my SC Project pipes were too close to the assembly and generating too much heat. I replaced it with an integrated LED unit and had City Cycle Werkes install it.

 

[The Smokester]

Glad you're okay and hoping the moto has a cheap fix.

I had a Suzuki which started to dump massive amounts of gasoline out through the carburetors between my legs while I was sitting at a light in Hayward. Got me moving pretty fast. :laughing No fire, though, and just required cleaning the the carbs.

 

[KooLaid]

Wowsa. It sure was fortunate that the McDonald's was there. Great thinking. I probably would have just asked for water.


Interest and reasonable question. Perhaps he will go back to cover that.

You expect people to know exactly what is going on when some stranger runs into their place of work with a helmet on and start screaming for a fire extinguisher in a restricted area? I am sorry, but I don't think McDonald's or any other place has training for excited helmeted customers with emergency motorcycle fires in the next parking lot. Wouldn't you be suspicious of a guy running into the work area with a helmet on?

He's lucky the manager didn't tell him to buzz off. They have NO OBLIGATION to give him a fire extinguisher that is there for the safety of the employees, the customers, and the establishment. Real world.

Read my mind 100%.

 

[Darkness!]

1. Few years back the regulator/rectifier failed while I was out at Point Reyes. BARF Angel Boney rescued me and later I discovered my bike had a recall for that very item.
2. Monrue Motors did the recall replacement work.
3. Nope, standard battery. I think it is a Shorai. I purchased it from SF Moto and was the battery the fit by bike.

A few years before that I had a problem in the wiring harness with the ignition. SF Moto traced it repaired the issue in the wiring harness.

About 2 years ago the brake light failed. City Cycle Werkes diagnosed that my SC Project pipes were too close to the assembly and generating too much heat. I replaced it with an integrated LED unit and had City Cycle Werkes install it.

1. Munroe motors very likely put in an OEM replacement (which isn't made for Li-Ion batteries).
2. Shorai batteries are all Lithium Ion. Which, in our bikes seem to require a Li-Ion specific reg/rec so the stator doesn't overcharge the battery and the wires don't get too hot and burn up (as I mentioned, happened to me and I highly suspect that's what happened to your bike too)

 

[Busy Little Shop]

Mercy... So relieved you saved your prize... Motorcycle flambe is my worst
fear... it happened to friend and it all most happened to me due to resistance
in the Rec/Reg quick disconnect from corrosion...

 

[RVFRick]

Mercy... So relieved you saved your prize... Motorcycle flambe is my worst
fear... it happened to friend and it all most happened to me due to resistance
in the quick disconnect from corrosion...

:wow That's scary stuff. What connection was that? Did the fairing catch fire?