No go 8/17 sat

The three of us plus Josh and Bevin loaded up and left Silverton around 0745. Heading north on Rt550 to Montrose, then east on Rt24 until just past Black Canyon. Next riding north on Rt92, with canyon views and wonderful twisting roads. At an overlook we agreed to a bathroom break in Hotchkiss

In Hotchkiss our refueling and bathroom break at a local grocery store called City Market. It turned into a long stay when the 2016 Triumph Tiger 800XCx refused to power up. Lots of diagnostic work later, we gave up and sent Josh home to get a truck.

The bike would not turn over, and we never heard the fuel pump. All fuses checked, many relays re-seated and moved. Fuses uncovered from deep below the battery. Even attempting a few push starts. Nothing.

Diagnostic mode on the console reported no errors. The Tiger Forum searches offered numerous possible causes. Heat related, security key immobilizer, solenoid, or one of the many safety sensors. My money was on a sensor like: kickstand, clutch, or oil sensor.

Josh's trip back to collect everything necessary to retreive the bike was estimated to take 4 hours. While Josh was traveling, those of us left behind felt a long lunch would speed our wait. We located a sit-down burger place and walked the 1/4 mile to find it closed. Then back past an ice-cream frappe booth and farm stand to find lunch at the grocery store where we started.

After eating, plenty of time remained to explore more forum solutions. One suggested turning the key on and off for 10 minutes, hoping the security check would work for one of them. We got away from the security lockout feature after finding a post detailed description noting that the alarm light would blink when it wasn't reading correctly. Our bike key could stop the alarm light flash when it was within 10 feet of the bike.

A post noted problems similar to ours from low battery voltage. So we connected a booster pack and gave that a few tries. We tapped all the small switches for clutch and kickstand sensors. Then, tapped all of the relays. Another post found success by fiddling with the fuel pump connector and spraying it with WD40. We poked the fuel pump connector and sprayed it with the last of our WD40, but we could never reach it well enough to unplug and replug it. No luck with any of it.

After hours in the hot sun we headed for the ice-cream frappe stand, only to find it too had closed. Google Maps noted ice-cream 0.3 miles away, so we walked that way. Actually Nate rode his motorcycle and the remaining three of us walked. Nate's recon soon found three ice-cream options all closed. So we went to a gas station for Icee drinks instead. Upon return to the bike, Bevin gave the key a turn, and heard the fuel pump. The bike started fine three times in a row.

Our morning plans had changed from going to Josh's friends house tonight. A call to Josh, stopped him while still an hour away from us. At a restaurant where Bevin rode to meet him for dinner. After dinner the bike started fine, and they returned to Silverton with the truck and car.

Nate, Tucker and I started towards some new destination. Missing our last evening with the locals. But really enjoying our time with Bevin. And all of us hoping Bevin finds a cheap reliable fix for this starting issue.

So back to our original three, we attempted to stay ahead of storm cells that darkened the Hotchkiss skies. We did ok, but had to stop and climb into raingear on the roadside. Then past and through a variety of Colorado's famous ski towns. Josh had wanted to avoid Rt70, but we found a section of it to be amazing. Traveling along elevated roads, over rivers in canyon and through mountain tunnels.

The danced with rain cells all evening. Our rain gear worked great, so we continued along comfortably as temperatures drop to 58F. By 2000 we had decided to stop at the Georgetown Lodge in Georgetown CO. With plans to visit Boulder tomorrow.