I goofed and didn’t get my Goldwing to safety in time, so it’s enjoying the snow with the CF Moto. Interestingly though, only one of the two bikes started in this 20 degree freeze...
Despite the cover being partially ripped off by high winds and the dashboard filled with snow, it started after only a second of cranking.
I’m especially impressed because the dashboard clock runs 24/7, so I expected a weak battery or something.
The Goldwing - while spared from snow cover - didn’t start. I believe this is in part for two issues:
1) It hadn’t run in a month (in the summer this isn’t a big deal, but it still takes just a little cranking to wake it up).
2) I have no idea where Neutral is. The front brake is locked. I only tonight realized that this is somewhat common and the resolve is to bleed the brake or run the bike for about a mile. The reason that this is a problem is that if in gear the engine tries to start while also powering the transmission. That’s hard on the bike in the summer, let alone the cold.
The easiest resolve here will be to figure out how to convince starting fluid into the impressively well sealed carb system. Once the engine fires I can then free the front brake, get it onto a trailer, then off to safety.
In the meantime, the scooter is the winner!
