Things I learned while STRANDED

[Ves]

Or a roll of tin foil....

 

[Westy]

Yeah, the ol'broken cable conundrum....just as bad as the "oops, broken lever or shifter" one.
Back in the ol dirt days they were standard fare in my tailbag...less so since i've gotten old, conscientious, pragmatic and careful....basically slow.

[squeezer]

I will add one: carry water and some type of food, because if you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, it could be a while before help arrives. I speak from experience.

That's what I was going to add, especially the water.  I always keep an emergency bottle stuffed somewhere while touring.

[SmkyMtnBandit]

noob here, high end multi tool, stick of epoxy putty, small hand gun... you know... in case you need to hunt  

[robr]

 Fuel can be kept in the small 1/2 quart sized backpacker's stove fuel bottles, as a plus sevice stations will fill the red ones. Also in your flat repair kit carry both plugs and patches for tube/tubless repair, since then you will be able to fix your riding buddy's tire (he didn't think he'd get a flat) at 3pm on a sunday in the Adirondacks when every thing is closed.

[HipGnosis]

Something I learned when my riding partner was stranded (and learned which position of her petcock REALLY is reserve);
GatorAid bottles can be used as an emergency gas can.  
Buy the G.A. at a gas station, drink as much as you can.  Find an appropriate place to dump the rest.  Shake it out good.  
Move your bike to the farthest pump, w/ the pump blocking the view of the cashier (just in case they care).  Put some gas in your tank, then put gas in the G.A. bottle - being extra careful if the gas nozzle doesn't want to 'trickle' the gas, only GUSH (it almost shot the bottle out of my hand!)
Cap the G.A. bottle and put it in your tank bag, standing up.  Zip up the tank bag as much as you can - to hold the bottle.  Ride back to riding partner.

[black hills]

I've witnessed several people who were "broke down" with minor inconvenieces like clutch cable, broken lever, etc. Sometimes you can still ride it, you just have to try

[Marcster]

Something I learned when my riding partner was stranded (and learned which position of her petcock REALLY is reserve);
GatorAid bottles can be used as an emergency gas can.  
Buy the G.A. at a gas station, drink as much as you can.  Find an appropriate place to dump the rest.  Shake it out good.  
Move your bike to the farthest pump, w/ the pump blocking the view of the cashier (just in case they care).  Put some gas in your tank, then put gas in the G.A. bottle - being extra careful if the gas nozzle doesn't want to 'trickle' the gas, only GUSH (it almost shot the bottle out of my hand!)
Cap the G.A. bottle and put it in your tank bag, standing up.  Zip up the tank bag as much as you can - to hold the bottle.  Ride back to riding partner.

Though it didn't involve a bike, I was able to borrow a 1 gallon gas can from a station once.  They wanted a $10 deposit (if I remember correctly), to ensure return of the gas can.

[HipGnosis]

I was able to borrow a 1 gallon gas can from a station once.  They wanted a $10 deposit (if I remember correctly), to ensure return of the gas can.

Even a 1 gal gas 'can' won't fit in your tank bag.  Even IF the station you go to has one (most don't now-a-days).

[Marcster]

Even a 1 gal gas 'can' won't fit in your tank bag.  Even IF the station you go to has one (most don't now-a-days).

True enough...  I guess that's where one of those bungee cord spider web thingies would be handy?

[Black Ice]

Maybe one of those bota-bag/collapsible canteens would be useful to carry along.  

[black hills]

Turkey baster wokrs great, suck gas out of friends tank, put it in yours
After you use it throw it away and buy another for $4 at the grocery store

[HipGnosis]

IF I were to buy something ahead of time to carry.. it'd be a hand pump and hose for siphon cleaning a fish tank.  Amazon has em for $0.70.
Or a BIG syringe from a vet-supply.  Where did I put that flavor injector (but isn't that a $30 value)?

[black hills]

IF I were to buy something to carry.. it'd be a hand pump and hose for siphon cleaning a fish tank.  Amazon has em for $0.70.
Or a BIG syringe from a vet-supply.

+1  either would work great and at the low cost you can toss them after each use so as not to stink up your luggage

[motopronto]

 this tip has probably been discussed on this good thread but-  have an emergency airline ticket to get home without getting it in the shorts by cashing in a frequent flying free round tripper. SW airlines sends one to use at a moments notice. Heck, it even transfers to anyone you want , as long as you initiate the transaction.  If i have one , i always take it with me on long trips..

moto

[DST]

Small additions:  

1./ Increase the brightness setting on the screen of your mobile phone, and use the phone as a "flashlight"... assuming you forgot to bring a flashlight.

2./As pre-trip prep, swap any "hex" head bolts on your bike to high grade STAINLESS allen head socket bolts for parts which might might loosen, or need adjustment.  The absence of rust, and availability of allen keys can help.

3./Nitrile disposable gloves are handy too.

[molamphy]

Another Noob to the forum (Thanks UFO for the heads up) and I'm definitely going to read lots of posts as a buddy and I prep for our trip to AK this spring.  

I have a plastic box (rather small) that I keep fuses, zip ties, tire repair stuff, leatherman, led light, extra wire with alligator clips and connectors, various size cotter pins and some hose clamps.  It's seperate from my tool bag and waterproof.  I'm going to add electrical tape wrapped around a pen and some duct tape wrapped around a pencil now.  Erasers are good for cleaning electrical connections.  Need to add a couple of small pieces of fine grit sandpaper, too.  
Great ideas here and I'll be adding to my kit as I read more.

[Jehos]

I didn't see this mentioned yet...

Zippy ties have a *lot* of uses on a motorcycle.  I had a saddlebag mounting bolt break on me the first day into a 3-day trip from TX to the east coast.  Thankfully that bag was only carrying my spare jacket, so I folded that up and tied it to the back seat, then rigged up a way to zippy-tie the empty saddlebag back on.  It got me to where I was going, where I was able to find a hardware store and buy a replacement bolt.

Related to the card-around-the-neck idea, I got a set of custom dogtags made with my personal, medical, and emergency contact info on them.  I figure if they live through wars they're likely to live through motorcycle crashes.  The modern style ones are remarkably easy to read (the lettering is raised instead of being punched into the metal).

And yeah, the biggest thing you can do to not get permanently stuck is have someone know where you're leaving from and where you're heading to every day, so if you don't check in they know to send help.

[Black Ice]

I didn't see this mentioned yet...

Zippy ties have a *lot* of uses on a motorcycle.  I had a saddlebag mounting bolt break on me the first day into a 3-day trip from TX to the east coast.  Thankfully that bag was only carrying my spare jacket, so I folded that up and tied it to the back seat, then rigged up a way to zippy-tie the empty saddlebag back on.  It got me to where I was going, where I was able to find a hardware store and buy a replacement bolt.

Related to the card-around-the-neck idea, I got a set of custom dogtags made with my personal, medical, and emergency contact info on them.  I figure if they live through wars they're likely to live through motorcycle crashes.  The modern style ones are remarkably easy to read (the lettering is raised instead of being punched into the metal).

And yeah, the biggest thing you can do to not get permanently stuck is have someone know where you're leaving from and where you're heading to every day, so if you don't check in they know to send help.

Good ideas, and welcome to STn!    

Those mini-bungee cords, or "jack straps" that you find in truck stops also come in handy for lots of stuff.

[Oddball]

Learned this from Vivid and thought I would pass in along.

Use your digital camera to record phone numbers and address.  And then just use the preview function and zoom in on what you want to read.

Here is an example of one I took.



It beats taring up phone books when an other rider might need those pages some day.