We've all been there: having a good ride, then something goes horribly wrong. The bike dies, the swingarm falls off, the battery explodes.....and there's a Sears/WalMart/Autozone/generic auto store right ahead (as if the bike knew)

What is the best job you've had to repair / replace in the middle of the parking lot?

Me? Had to repair the plastic 3-way junction for the cooling system in a Walmart parking lot. Found some QuikSteel in the auto section (never leave home without now) and sealed all three hoses to the junction block. That was after riding along I-81 in the breakdown lane in Virginia for 2 miles with no coolant (no thanks to All-State motor club who couldn't find anybody to give me a tow)

Then today, I'm cruising along, going to a bookstore to get a magazine when I notice my shifter feeling sloppy. I stop, look down and see that the shifter is almost pointing at the ground. Panicking, I look around and spot Sears right there. I pull in, assess the damage (pivot bolt backed out, damaged end of bolt threads, then I damaged the bolt hole by trying to force it back in), go into Sears and buy a Bolt Rethread kit (which I already have @ home) and spent the next 45 minutes carefully fixing the bolt and hole (thank god for my expanded tool kit that I bring everywhere)

 

I was riding to work one day when all of a sudden my clutch lever pivot bolt decided it wanted to pop out. So i had to hold the lever so i didnt lose it, pull over and let the bike slow down till it stalled to a stop. Got off the bike and looked on the side of the highway only to find some bailing wire. So i put the clutch handle back in place and wrapped the wire through the bolt. And it worked quite well till i bought a replacement.

 

Clutch cable broke at the lever, wrapped a screw-driver around end of cable and pulled
HARD to clutch out of first, spped-shift from there.

Had to change the rear U-joint on a 65 Barracuda on the side of the road in the rain once. (If we get to include car stories) or, same car, pulling over in a foot of wet
snow to shake the linkages free of all the packed-up snow binding them.

Ern

 

I changed the tire on a truck 30 miles from no where with out a jack.

 

i did a ball joint on my dads s10 in a grocery store parking lot

 

Not much with the bikes. I've replaced fuel lines, removed a petcock, changed tire, etc. All dumb easy stuff.

On cars... hell, I've done it all. lol..
I replaced a timing belt on a Honda accord in a wendy's parking lot (one tooth off so I had to finish the job 50yrds down the road in a quick fill lot..haha). Water pump on a corsica in someones driveway. Alternator and belts on a jeep cherokee alongside the road. Radiator on another jeep in the parking lot at work.
Axle, tie rod, rim, etc in someones front yard (don't ask... LOL)
All good times.

 

i replaced a throw out bearing on a nissan hardbody in a court house parking lot. Put a tire back on a motorcyle that fell off on a customer in a sonic parking lot. Swapped a motor in a 87 toyota pickup truck in a walmart parking lot.(motor blew so drove my buddies picker truck to his house and loaded up the spare motor he had and swapped it in the parking lot.) A lot of fun stories

 

CV joint Merkur xr4ti in a Supermarket Parking lot in blazing hot sun ......sucked *****
and the motor went south about 2 weeks later

 

OH EM GEE and WOW! lol quite a few crazy stories! and I have NONE! had to change a flat tire in a lowe's parking lot on my camaro. ran over a HUGE bolt. I don't even know how it got in my tire but the hole was about the size of my pinky after it flew out! I was going to try to drive it to a shop i take my car until about a 100 yards later the stupid bolt flew out!

 

On a previous bike I had replaced the rear tire and somehow got the rear disc pad out of place. Since I don't use the rear brake much I didn't notice until I got to work. I was able to remove the rear wheel and repair the brake using the factory tool kit!