Sunday, July 28th, 2019
Ride Report: None - Unplanned Repair Day in Hays, KS. There's a new one for ya, eh? Details below...
As the consistent reader knows, The Rig blew a gasket (I speak metaphorically in this instance, all you mechanics out there calm down. The technical explanation will come later.) yesterday and needed a crutch in the form of a Kenworth wrecker to get to Hays for repair. When we made the call to come up here, we figured to be here till Tuesday when the shop said they could effect repairs. However, we also knew that one of the shop mechanics was gonna come by about noon today to determine what the issue was and order the necessary part(s) in order that they get here Monday, in time for Tuesday's planned repair.
So, first up on the agenda - sleep late. We made it to 0730. Hey, after two months of Susan's phone chirping at 0651 (time for a 9 minute snooze, doncha know) or earlier - I'm not complaining. And knowing that we were gonna be here till Tuesday we elected to unleash the Burgman for errands, dinner and the like...
This is me first thing this morning backing the Burgman down the ramp to freedom: 650 cc's of raw, variable speed transmissioned, retractable mirrored, custom seated, muscle - that purrs like a kitten and fails to frighten old ladies upon the (indistinguishable) sound of its approach.
Sure enough, about noon today (Sunday) there's a knock on our door and who do we find when we open up but Flo - the expected repair guy. Not only is he here to figure out what part we need, but he says the parts stores are open and he can do the repair today. Great. But that means we unloaded the scooter for no reason since, if the repair is completed today - we head back to Bazine for two more days of riding before heading to Manhattan.
So, Flo plugs his super secret mechanic's magic box into The Rig, pushes some buttons, waits for the magic box to click and make sounds like a one-armed-bandit, then pronounces that there are 5 (not one or two, but five) error codes on the discombobulator. This is a problem, because the discombobulator is connected to the frangulator, and if the frangulator isn't working right, the gas pedal can't talk to the nebulizers that squirt fuel into the sparky place. Well - now that we know this, the answer to the problem is obvious - Flo and I agree. So he calls the local auto parts store and they happen to have one discombobulator in stock for an 05 Ford E-450 van equipped with a 6.8 litre V-10 engine. This Flo guy is a genius - and the store has a part in stock! And the parts store will deliver the part! How lucky is that? I prolly can't give this guy enough money.
Flo then goes back to the shop to further ponder the frailties of discombobulators and about ten minutes later wanders back with a box that would hold maybe 7 dominoes. This, he pronounces is the requisite discombobulator. He takes out the air filter, loosens two screws, and unplugs thingys from both ends of the old discombobulator. "Yup, there's your problem right there." I agree smugly - all the time wondering what precisely goes on inside a discombobulator that makes it worth $130 - plus tax. Did Henry Ford know about these?
Flo reverses the disconnection process, and moves to the driver's seat. He starts The Rig. A misnomer, he apparently starts a randomly selected group of cylinders in the V-10 engine - just enough to make it almost idle. This condition persists until the engine tires of the charade and stops running entirely. Thereafter, Flo shuts off the engine, hooks up his super secret magic mechanic's box and pronounces that...wait for it..."There are 5 (not one or two, but five) error codes on the new discombobulator." Flo looks at me and adds, "This is why it sucks to be a mechanic. Sometimes these electronic parts are bad out of the box." But Flo, I say pleadingly, we already put the chairs inside The Rig in their "travel" locations. "Yup - sorry to tell ya, looks like you're spending another night here." I was distressed. Susan was non-plussed about the whole repair thing. Teamsters have been thru this before.
As a result, we took my cousin Deb Niermeier up on her offer to drive to Hays from Stockton, KS with my Aunt Vera in order to have dinner with us at the local Chinese Buffet. She apparently reads my blog religiously (as do all my readers, I'm sure) and knew we were in nearby Hays.
Me, Deb, Aunt Vera and Susan after eating too much at the buffet. Then it was back to...
The Rig - firmly ensconced street-side at Ward's Auto Repair in Hays, KS. Our home for the second night. We hope to hit the road tomorrow - if one of the other auto parts stores in Hays has a discombobulator in stock.
On the off chance that such is not the case and that the reader happens to know where we can locate a good quality discombobulator, please call Wards with a tip. No cheap stuff - this one has to actually dscombobulate. All callers will remain anonymous and a small finder's fee may apply.
Till next time...
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