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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: guzzisteve on July 11, 2026, 09:13:20 PM

Title: Lightning Strike
Post by: guzzisteve on July 11, 2026, 09:13:20 PM
Bang, fire detectors go off, lots of smoke in bedroom. Wife grabs dogs & says git up & get out, called 911. I go to garage & grab fire extinguisher & come back to find no fire anywhere. Cops come, Sir can you leave the house. I kept looking till the fireman ask me to go.

Anyway, my Cali2 parked in same corner of house the lightning hit, just below in the garage. I go for a ride over to a bike night and bike is charging close to 15V at speed, I turn on headlight & it's by 14V. Normally it's low around 13V at speed w/lights on. If I shut off headlight it goes into red zone at 15V.

Haven't looked at anything yet but WOW the static electricity did something. Needle on volt meter on dash used to be all the way to left when shut off & now it's all the way to the right when off.

Too much to do w/house now & contractors so I'll find out what improved my charge system later.

Hardy Board saved our house, any other siding would have been on fire. Down spout had 6" hole burnt w/lots of smaller holes where it hit. Wife was sleeping 3 foot from hit.

































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: ridingron on July 11, 2026, 10:33:53 PM
Sounds like a little excitement around the ole homestead! Good to hear everyone is safe. Hope the insurance covers the damages.
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: TN Mark on July 12, 2026, 06:26:29 AM
Glad you’re both ok Steve. We also have Hardy board on our house. From everything I’ve seen, it’s NLA.
All the best to you getting the house and the bike restored.
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: AJ Huff on July 12, 2026, 06:34:16 AM
Wow! Glad you are OK!

-AJ
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: Ncdan on July 12, 2026, 06:52:45 AM
Bang, fire detectors go off, lots of smoke in bedroom. Wife grabs dogs & says git up & get out, called 911. I go to garage & grab fire extinguisher & come back to find no fire anywhere. Cops come, Sir can you leave the house. I kept looking till the fireman ask me to go.

Anyway, my Cali2 parked in same corner of house the lightning hit, just below in the garage. I go for a ride over to a bike night and bike is charging close to 15V at speed, I turn on headlight & it's by 14V. Normally it's low around 13V at speed w/lights on. If I shut off headlight it goes into red zone at 15V.

Haven't looked at anything yet but WOW the static electricity did something. Needle on volt meter on dash used to be all the way to left when shut off & now it's all the way to the right when off.

Too much to do w/house now & contractors so I'll find out what improved my charge system later.

Hardy Board saved our house, any other siding would have been on fire. Down spout had 6" hole burnt w/lots of smaller holes where it hit. Wife was sleeping 3 foot from hit.
Glad yall are ok Steve.
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: leafman60 on July 12, 2026, 06:53:15 AM
Could that be a message from above???? Hmmmmm? :azn:
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: Vagrant on July 12, 2026, 07:40:10 AM
You got off lucky. It could have been much worse.
My old place was hit twice and the neighbors once. The varied and different damage was really strange.
Did you check it with a normal digital volt meter. Maybe it just fried the volt meter.
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: SIR REAL ED on July 12, 2026, 07:43:49 AM


WOW!!!

I'm glad no one was hurt!
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: guzzisteve on July 12, 2026, 07:57:53 AM
I thought maybe it flashed the rotor, so now works better. I have never worked on charging sys on that bike at 125Kmi. Changed loom, fuse box 15yrs ago. The diode board doesn't look burnt. Been thinking about changing brushes so it charges a bit better. Maybe damaged volt regulator. I'll start it today & check w/a meter.
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: guzzisteve on July 12, 2026, 08:02:49 AM
Could that be a message from above???? Hmmmmm? :azn:
That would be for my wife, JoAnn to be nicer to me. I been across the hall since the pneumonia visit in hospital.
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: AirPirate on July 12, 2026, 10:02:14 AM
It will never hit your house again...supposedly. Glad you guys are OK.
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: cliffrod on July 12, 2026, 10:23:44 AM
Glad to hear you & your wife are ok.  Hopefully the resolution of damage won’t be too problematic.

Soon after we moved to SC in 1980, lightning hit the barn while we were milking.  I was washing an udder and cow was likely touching metal stall so it seemed that we helped ground it….  All I remember is a tremendous boom that seemed to hit me on top of the head like a giant hammer.  Then Dad and hired man were holding me up by arms & dad repeatedly saying “put your feet down” after they had apparently picked me up off the floor.  My legs were fully bent.  Phone rang.  Mom said “that lightning is getting really close, maybe you should shut down until it passes.”  Dad said “yeah, Clint just got hit.  We’ll be right up.”  She was not impressed.  No trip to dr, I seemed ok so just back to work. 
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: SIR REAL ED on July 12, 2026, 10:57:09 AM
Glad to hear you & your wife are ok.  Hopefully the resolution of damage won’t be too problematic.

Soon after we moved to SC in 1980, lightning hit the barn while we were milking.  I was washing an udder and cow was likely touching metal stall so it seemed that we helped ground it….  All I remember is a tremendous boom that seemed to hit me on top of the head like a giant hammer.  Then Dad and hired man were holding me up by arms & dad repeatedly saying “put your feet down” after they had apparently picked me up off the floor.  My legs were fully bent.  Phone rang.  Mom said “that lightning is getting really close, maybe you should shut down until it passes.”  Dad said “yeah, Clint just got hit.  We’ll be right up.”  She was not impressed.  No trip to dr, I seemed ok so just back to work.

The good ole days when Dad's medical advice if you were injured was "Don't be a baby!  Just walk it off!"

One of my former co-workers says, when he was a child, his Dad's remedy for all illness was a tablespoon of Kerosene mixed with brown sugar!  He said it apparently worked.  He rarely got sick!

Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: SIR REAL ED on July 12, 2026, 10:58:57 AM
Could that be a message from above???? Hmmmmm? :azn:

Obviously, a response from above to Moto Guzzi idolatry!

You have been warned!
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: Bulldog9 on July 13, 2026, 07:56:53 AM
Lightning Strikes are crazy and do crazy things. Glad you and family are OK. Stuff is just Stuff.
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: guzzisteve on July 13, 2026, 11:04:17 AM
Right, crazy stuff. Still have to go get a clamp for the ground stake, JoAnn doesn't like the ViceGrip I put on it. Haven't looked at bike yet to see if it is really charging by 15V.

Update

Guage changed only. Bike charges 13.8 max and goes no higher. All is fine. Gauge now reads 15+ volts at max even with lights on.
Could be worse & be an ITI and not work.at all like speedo's & tach's
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: rocker59 on July 15, 2026, 08:16:53 AM
We also have Hardy board on our house. From everything I’ve seen, it’s NLA.
 

https://www.jameshardie.com/product-catalog/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=23706299753&utm_content=195924520058+e_&utm_term=hardie%20board&ad=802906987627&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23706299753&gbraid=0AAAAABcb7UuSK3Jg3yQIRnp6uiLw6b00O&gclid=Cj0KCQjw39zSBhDhARIsANammDsY4DF1Zo8bjpPbzCHdguqMQynOIuFbXxZJl1FKJHSscpfDur4HzwUaAoo-EALw_wcB
Title: Re: Lightning Strike
Post by: guzzisteve on July 15, 2026, 09:28:49 AM
Right Mike, we've had 2 Hardie contractors come in so far.

(https://i.ibb.co/YFfJj629/IMG-0146.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YFfJj629)


(https://i.ibb.co/HpDpfy2L/IMG-0149.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HpDpfy2L)


(https://i.ibb.co/PGxfgfBv/IMG-0153.jpg) (https://ibb.co/PGxfgfBv)