Fuel Pump Woes

It’s HOT! I am leaning against my Beemer, watching the heat shimmer off the pavement. The nearest shade tree looks to be 2 miles away – uphill. I have no idea where the nearest town is, but I see some grain elevators on the distant horizon. Out west, that could be 2 miles or 20 miles. The July sun is causing the tar in the road to bubble, creating those loveable little tar snakes us motorcyclists despise. Sweat is beading up and running into my eyes, stinging like salt water. The Oklahoma panhandle in July is NOT somewhere you want your bike to quit on you.

The day started great and I got away from home at 9:30 am. My trusty beemer was running good and I was totally enjoying the ride. It was hotter than a horny toad at a Little Sahara beach party, but the 70 mph breeze and my Joe Rocket Sahara vest made it bearable. Clipping along about 30 miles east of Guymon, the BMW all of sudden just quits running. No cough, no sputter, just nothing. I try to start it by leaving it in gear, but no luck. Finally I coast to the side of the road and after a bit of troubleshooting, I figure out I ain’t going nowhere any time soon. Shade would be a very good thing right now, but I am not going to find any shade unless I can shrink down to about 6 inches tall.

After pondering my situation for a spell, I see another motorcyclist in the distance. A Goldwing rider and his wife stop to offer assistance. They drove about 5 miles to Hardesty, got me a trailer ride back into town, and brought me some nice cold water. I love motorcycle riders!

Now Hardesty, Oklahoma is your normal western town, very tiny and worn. The people are always nice and they helped me troubleshoot the problem. After a few calls to BMW of OKC (another very helpful group) and some good old fashioned troubleshooting – in the shade thank you – I determined the fuel pump was out.

Naturally nobody had one anywhere around, and the BMW shop was out. Their special order deadline had already slipped, so it was either wait in Hardesty 4 days to get a fuel pump or figure something else out.

I called my best friend Alex and he helped me tremendously. He went to my house and got the fuel pump off Kay’s BMW and flew it up to me in Hardesty. There is not an airport in Hardesty, but that is just a very minor inconvenience in the Maule. Landing in a local farmer’s field, Alex brought me a fuel pump and more importantly, saved my trip!!!