We decided we would go slow and put our helmets on but not our jackets or boots and started up the bikes... Well Ron and I did, but Jean-Luce's bike just stooped dead when he put it in gear. He then noticed a strong burning smell and that he had absolutely no clutch! So the other bikes were stopped and the riders gathered around the sick machine and the swearing (in French - since Jean-Luc is from France and now lives in California) started...
After quite a bit of investigation it turned out that some extra wiring that had been added to allow electrically heated vests to be used on his bike had managed to short out. The wiring job was not bad but the vibration and dirt from off road riding had finally worn through the plastic coating and the wire had shorted. It had melted all along its length and had also taken out a couple of other wires and melted through the hydraulic clutch line. It had also very nearly melted the fuel line (it was blistered) and so the consequences had nearly been catastrophic. As it was we were left with the problem of the clutch since the electrical systems all seemed to be working after we had cleaned up the mess.
Well, we pfaffed and tweaked and poked and tried this and that.
And we got a local mechanic to try and then we pfaffed with it again... But it turned out that that little line had a great deal of pressure in it and we were not going to be able to get it fixed, so Ron and I just left Jean-Luc there and rode off the next morning back to Creel....
... The pirates code - Those who fall behind get left behind!
