So, i had the most craziest experience ever on a vehicle, any vehicle.
I was driving to work Monday morning when a blind, reckless car almost cut me off, and in a fit of rage i honked at him. A little longer than usual, just to show i am pissed.
i let go of the horn button, but still here the annoying loud shrill of the hirn. Tap it a few more times thinking its stuck. Nope - it refuses to turn off.
I hit the kill switch and turn off the motor, but nothing happens. The dash is still working and the horn is still shrieking. I quickly try to initiate a shutdown and see the notification to switch off and remove the key. I do that, but nothing happens. I think may be i can drive down to the factory (2km away) but the motor would not start now.
so here i was in Whitefield, in front of a hospital, stranded with an extremely loud horn shrieking non stop. As the last option, i call the Roadside assistance number and it gets answered almost immediately. Lohith picks up and within a few secs into the conversation he understands that the bike is non responsive and there is nothing that i can do at that point. He quickly figures out that the fastest way to help me is to dispatch a team from the factory so they can atleast turn off the horn. its still 9:30am and he dropped off to find the right set of guys who can help me.
By now, there is a crowd of taxi drivers who are inspecting the vehicle and giving me all their unwanted advise. one guy reaches into the wheel arch and i politely pull him back and ask the group to back off as this is not a normal bike. By now Lohith calls me back and tells me Mr Satish from the factory while be there in a couple of minutes.
10mins pass and i call back Lohith wanting to know where the team was, just then i spot an 450 with red plates. i wave them to my spot. The pillion literally jumps of his bike and runs to my 450 trying to figure out the dash options. Absolutely nothing works!. Satish and the other guy quickly pull out screw drivers and start removing the plastic panel exposing the charging unit and the horn assembly. He quickly inplugs the horn wire and finally there is relief to our ears!
Satish, it turns is a QA manager at the factory. They push the bike into my office parking lot and give me a lift to my office. I get a call from Lohith that the tow truck would be sent in some time. Around afternoon the tow truck comes in a takes my bike away for diagnosis.
I asked lohith to keep the bike for the rest of the week since i was travelling wouldn’t be available to pick it up. Sometime in the week they call me back to tell me that it could have been some sort of overload but they are unable to replicate it in the service centre. I was assured that it would not pop-up again. So far, I’ve not seen a repeat of that issue.
Long story short, i was one of the reasons for the June OTA that brought out some stability related patches. (Not officially confirmed though!).
One thing though, i did not lose my patience at any point of time. I knew i could trust these guys to turn up and help me out - and they did!
