This bike is vibrating my nuts off!
On the way home tonight, as I was almost there, I tapped the shifter and found it wasn’t there. I looked down to find my heel-toe shifter and its linkage dangling. I was just a couple blocks from home, so I kept it in second until I got in front of the garage, and got down to examine the damage.
One nut that held the linkage was just missing. I could put the bolt back through and shift again, but it was still hanging loose and couldn’t go more than a couple of taps before falling out again. I looked in my toolkit for a wrench that fit nuts similar to the one I was missing, but didn’t have anything that small.
So it became my mission: find a hardware store before they all close. I put the Moto Guzzi into first and didn’t take it out of first until I arrived at Cole Hardware.
I explained to the first person I found that I needed a nut, but that I didn’t know what size, and he walked out to look with me. I told him it would be metric, and he said, “wait here, I’ll bring the box out and we’ll try ’em”
Turned out to be a 6mm, and they lent me a set of channel locks, which I didn’t let them see that I didn’t use (I have a small crescent wrench in my kit). Thirty cents for the nut and a lockwasher and a few thank-yous later I was on the road again.
I didn’t get the nut tightened as much as I’d like but it will hold for now. Hopefully