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Stranded (and recovered) in Ryde

needles

needles

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Workin' 9-2-5
Moto(s)
2019 BMW GS 1250
Spent last Sunday on the shoulder of a Delta levee road for five hours waiting for a tow that never came — because AAA sent a flatbed with no motorcycle equipment despite me selecting "motorcycle" in the app and entering the R1250 GS by make and model. Good times.
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The short version: rear tire went flat fast (razor blade, as it turned out — not the valve stem failure I'd diagnosed roadside), AAA dispatched the wrong truck, second dispatch produced a truck two hours out with no ETA updates, and a rep eventually told me that if I needed help I should "call 911." Fifteen years of Premier membership, specifically because Premier covers motorcycles.

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What actually saved my afternoon: a Delta farmer who noticed my mirror sparkling while he was cutting grass, drove back to check on me, and gave me a ride into Walnut Grove. A random dude on a 10-year-old R1200R with "creative" registration also stopped to troubleshoot — couldn't fix it, but solid human.

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Anyone else had AAA completely drop the ball on a moto breakdown? Curious whether this is a dispatch training problem or something systemic. I'll be having a pointed conversation with them.
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On the upside: if you haven't ridden Salmon Falls Road out of the Gold Country early on a Sunday morning, put it on the list. And the Delta levee roads on CA-160 are genuinely good — just maybe bring more water than you think you need and don't trust your valve stem diagnosis.

Full write-up if you want the whole story: https://dashedyellowline.com/2026/05/03/stranded-in-ryde/
 
Maybe the Premier AAA motorcycle service is more reliable in an urban area. Still, bad on AAA for sending out a tow truck that can’t handle a moto.

Would a can of Fix-A-Flat helped in this situation to get you home? I’m sure most of us, including me, don’t carry that on rides but this could be a lesson.
 
Glad you were rescued. Checking out the ride report now.
 
I've had cage friends with aaa stranded with ridiculous wait times.

The workaround seems to be to keep AAA in the loop with what is happening and then find your own tow, keep the paperwork, and submit the bill to aaa.

My neighbor did this and got their tow reimbursed by AAA no problem.

Apparently most tow companies know what aaa will and will not pay for.
 
I had a tire go flat due to bent rim. Flatbed tow truck showed up loaded bike up and didn't do a very good tie down job. I pointed out that the bike might fall over but driver claimed he'd tied multiple bikes that way and no issues. The bike fell over and busted one piece on my BMW 1200GS. I called my favorite BMW parts shop after identifying what part needed to be replaced and asked them to hold it. I called the tow truck owners boss and told him the story while on the way home in the tow truck. Tow trucks boss called the BMW shop paid for part and it was shipped to me.
 
Do you carry a flat repair kit? You didn't mention it, so I thought I would ask.
It has saved me a few times.
 
I've used AAA several times for motos, and they always send a flatbed. The drivers usually manage to secure the bike, creatively or correctly depends on the tow. Not sure if there is a way to get a moto specific tow directly and the invoice AAA, but yeah, they don't seem to handle moto towing well. Too bad there isn't a moto specific AAA like service.
 
Oh and since ya missed the ferry, we should go do that at some point. Finally got a ferry ride last year on the way back from the NorCal BDR with a buddy. I got us properly lost first trying to avoid the ferry, we ended up taking it, and it was hilariously short, but great.
 
A Tube would have you back on the road in 30.

AAA has let me down the First time I Ever Needed it!
And so has The AMA tow service! I m no longer a Member of Either.
 
I suppose, the torque on my hypers rear wheel would prevent me from getting it off on the side of the road no matter what, pneumatic impact guns are kinda impractical to carry around :laughing
 
N4teTheGreat said:
I suppose, the torque on my hypers rear wheel would prevent me from getting it off on the side of the road no matter what, pneumatic impact guns are kinda impractical to carry around :laughing
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Single sided Swing arm! You don't even need to remove the wheel.
 
That sucks Dan.

Razor blade sounds like a slash. Typical plugs won't work there. We tried like hell on my multi. 3 plugs in a row still let her leak and eventually it would not pump back up = fail

AAA helped there, but the tow range $crewed the pooch as I did not have the mAAAximum coverage so I had to pay.

I am an AMA member, but that is not for towing per say. It is to support the sport and the AMA is the only organization that does that big time nationally and one of just a couple that the money grubbing wipes in charge of our lives will listen too.
 
Darn @needles , sorry to hear this man.. i would hate to be stuck with this in a remote location.. does anyone know if the valve could have been serviced / replaced on the spot if you had a spare
 
i just re-read - it was not the valve stem failure, but rather razor blade - sucks !! I got a flat once from a wood stick, punched my rear through.. lottery.
 
greenmonster said:
Maybe the Premier AAA motorcycle service is more reliable in an urban area. Still, bad on AAA for sending out a tow truck that can’t handle a moto.

Would a can of Fix-A-Flat helped in this situation to get you home? I’m sure most of us, including me, don’t carry that on rides but this could be a lesson.
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I don't think so as the gash was ~ 2 inches long (hella thin tho). I didn't see it on the roadside. The tire tech only saw it when he put the high pressure air into it.

Lonster said:
Do you carry a flat repair kit? You didn't mention it, so I thought I would ask.
It has saved me a few times.
Click to expand...

I do - but it's the mushroom plug kind that would not have saved me here.

buellistic said:
Center stand + single sided swing arm...a Breeze.
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Ye'r way above my pay grade. :chuci I need to learn some skills!
 
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