[Geary]

While far from the “closest I've come” this is one of the more amusing motorcycle stories I can share:

The beginnings of my long career as backyard mechanic began in 1966 (age 17), with a '54 Triumph 650 motorcycle. These early Triumphs were magneto powered, and this particular bike didn't have a kill switch .. so when parking, I would merely stall out the engine in-gear, brake engaged.

One of my first “repair” jobs involved disassembly of the clutch pack, which was held intact by a single center nut. I don't even remember now why I'd disassembled it, but I had. During a spirited test drive to celebrate my new found mechanical prowess, my throttle stuck open partially, giving me an immediate surge of adrenalin midway into the first of a series of sharp uphill turns. Squeezing the clutch lever, I was horrified as the lever went flat against the handle. No clutch. I had failed to properly torque the hold-down nut, which secured the clutch stack.

Thankfully, the early Triumphs didn't have those sissy air cleaners on the inlet, nor did they yet have dual carbs .. so I was able to reach down and barely get my right hand over the single inlet, choking the engine out, while going through the turns steering with only my left hand. By the time I was able to pull over at turn #3, I had a pretty good sweat going. This was my first lesson on tightening fasteners to their specified torque.