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301 Posts
...to feed a mouse?
Well friends and neighbors, I happen to have an exact figure:
$3,971.37
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That's the insurance settlement for replacing the antennae array (GPS, AM/FM, BT 1, 2, etc) and the master wiring harness on a 2018+ Goldwing.
Fortunately I have vanishing deductible, so none of it came out of my pocket.
I thought I would post this as a sort of public service notice for those who (like me) don't have a hermetically sealed motorcycle storage facility and have to do hand-to-hand combat with rodent incursions.
I had the bike at my dealer for an oil change and made a spur of the moment decision to add a Utopia backrest while it was in the service bay. When they removed the seat to install the backrest (I never had any cause to remove it in the last year plus) they found a mouse nest at the rear in a cavity under the pillion area. When they removed the nest they saw the shielded antenna leads had either been chewed off outright, or the outer insulation stripped away.
Not content with attacking the Cadillac features, the mouse/mice had begun to nibble on a major wiring harness plug.
The antennae and leads can be purchased separately ($512 +/-). The harness cost is $2000. Plus labor. Considerable labor.:surprise:
You may well ask: "Why didn't you notice any loss of function?" Fair enough. The gps was still functional, I never have any use for telephone or bluetooth functions, and the only music I listen to is on my usb memory stick. None of the operational functions (lights, signals, ignition, etc) were affected.
After the discovery (and before the repair was completed) I packed the underside of the seat with dryer sheets, baited the barn area with two different kinds of rodent pellets, glue traps and mothball packets. When those measures were complete (admittedly well after the horse had left the barn:crying
I briefly considered posting a skull and crossbones placard with the annotation: "Abandon hope all ye who enter here".
Today I removed the seat refreshed the dryer sheets and installed 4 packets of a botanical rodent repellent in various nooks and crannies.
In 14 years of parking bikes in that machine shed, I have never had one assaulted so viciously. I've always used rodent repellents and dryer sheets and they've always been effective. Now I will be more alert to the escalation of conflict...
So for those of you who have 2018+ and park in rodent vulnerable conditions, I would offer the suggestion to get proficient at removing the seat and periodically check to ensure the only passengers you carry are on the pillion, not below it:wink2:
Well friends and neighbors, I happen to have an exact figure:
$3,971.37
That's the insurance settlement for replacing the antennae array (GPS, AM/FM, BT 1, 2, etc) and the master wiring harness on a 2018+ Goldwing.
Fortunately I have vanishing deductible, so none of it came out of my pocket.
I thought I would post this as a sort of public service notice for those who (like me) don't have a hermetically sealed motorcycle storage facility and have to do hand-to-hand combat with rodent incursions.
I had the bike at my dealer for an oil change and made a spur of the moment decision to add a Utopia backrest while it was in the service bay. When they removed the seat to install the backrest (I never had any cause to remove it in the last year plus) they found a mouse nest at the rear in a cavity under the pillion area. When they removed the nest they saw the shielded antenna leads had either been chewed off outright, or the outer insulation stripped away.
Not content with attacking the Cadillac features, the mouse/mice had begun to nibble on a major wiring harness plug.
The antennae and leads can be purchased separately ($512 +/-). The harness cost is $2000. Plus labor. Considerable labor.:surprise:
You may well ask: "Why didn't you notice any loss of function?" Fair enough. The gps was still functional, I never have any use for telephone or bluetooth functions, and the only music I listen to is on my usb memory stick. None of the operational functions (lights, signals, ignition, etc) were affected.
After the discovery (and before the repair was completed) I packed the underside of the seat with dryer sheets, baited the barn area with two different kinds of rodent pellets, glue traps and mothball packets. When those measures were complete (admittedly well after the horse had left the barn:crying
I briefly considered posting a skull and crossbones placard with the annotation: "Abandon hope all ye who enter here".Today I removed the seat refreshed the dryer sheets and installed 4 packets of a botanical rodent repellent in various nooks and crannies.
In 14 years of parking bikes in that machine shed, I have never had one assaulted so viciously. I've always used rodent repellents and dryer sheets and they've always been effective. Now I will be more alert to the escalation of conflict...
So for those of you who have 2018+ and park in rodent vulnerable conditions, I would offer the suggestion to get proficient at removing the seat and periodically check to ensure the only passengers you carry are on the pillion, not below it:wink2:
