Patricia and I took the motorcycle to a marina to pick up a water pump for our 4hp Yamaha outboard (yeah, another repair that needs to be done). After picking up the water pump we took the opportunity to explore Dennis Beach, Dennis Port, and Harwich Port. We had just passed through a "downtown" area and saw a scenic pull-off overlooking a harbor and Trish noticed a large trail on the road behind the bike. I quickly laid down on the ground and looked under the bike and discovered that I had a hole in the oil filter. It's common on bikes to have the oil filter on the bottom and facing forward leaving them somewhat exposed. The mystery to me is that we were on nice paved roads and I don't remember hitting anything.
The issue was somewhat compounded since my cell phone battery was at 20% and Trish forgot her phone. I have roadside assistance coverage thru an AMA membership but that would just get us a tow to the nearest shop. I took a gamble to see if I could quickly download the Uber ap before my phone died. Luckily the install was successful and I was able to hail a ride within minutes. $23 dollar ride back to the campground to get the truck was a small price to pay.
The nearest auto parts store was about 20 minutes away so we ended up being away from the bike for over an hour. Fortunately the bike was still there when we got back with the parts.
The bike was 1.5 quarts low on oil so hopefully no engine damage occurred (bike seems to be running fine)
. We followed the oil trail back and you could see that the leak started about a quarter mile back from where we stopped. I didn't see anything laying in the road so I still have no idea what I hit.
I quickly installed the new oil filter, topped off the oil, and was back on the road. We were very fortunate this happened in an Urban setting and so close to our campsite.
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