Rider down!

[oseaghdha]

On again off again

I quit riding after my best friend from high school was found in pile one morning. My first and last pallbearer job, so far.

That lasted about 12 years, except for dirt bikes. There were lots of dirt bikes!
Then one day I went to get a table my wife bought from some neighbors who were moving out state. The guy had an XV920 with a $200 tag on it. I wasn't even thinking about motorcycles. One thing led to another, as they say. Now it's pretty much all I ever think about, except for........nevermind.

You almost bit the big one, so there is going to be a mess of woulda-coulda-shoulda running thru everyone's heads right now.

I'm glad you are still on the right side of the dirt.

Get better, get your head right and then make decisions.

Forever is a long time, especially when you are dealing with an addiction.

[bikerphil]

When I was a youth, my dad would never let me have a motorcycle. When he was in WWII, he was riding on the back of a war bike and his best friend was driving. They crashed, my pops suffered a broken jaw but his buddy died right there. I convinced him otherwise and got my first mini-bike at age 8.

[XSBell]

Brief timeline...First bike was a Honda 50 MiniTrail @ 8 years old. First street bike when I was 16. 65 year old lady turned left in front of me(on-coming) when i was 17, helmet saved my life. Forbidden from getting another bike until I left home. Moved out when I was 18 got bike that month. Now I have a 17 year old that wants to ride and now that the tables are turned I can understand what my folks were thinking when I was his age. Knowing that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I agreed to let him get his learners permit so we can ride together for a year rather then him just going for it someday. Hopefully it does some good but after seeing what happened in Phoenix yesterday you just never know what the idiots around you are going to do...just can't be defensive enough when riding.

[Wildkat]

And as for Kat, well, John is the ONLY reason she is still a lady!

LOL
Not quite... he likes it more when I go to the other extreme...



Remind me to turn Spaz loose on you again...

lol

[bikerphil]

after seeing what happened in Phoenix yesterday you just never know what the idiots around you are going to do...just can't be defensive enough when riding.

Story and video....

http://www.azcentral.com/community/northvalley/articles/2010/03/25/20100325phoenix-motorcycle-crash-abrk.html

[latexeses]

I would think the verdict would come back pretty fast on that wreck.. Horrible.

I have a friend with the CHP in Riverside, Ca. who lost a friend to someone who didn't like CHP. Hit his friend at 45mph while his friend was stopped at a red light. Rear ender. CHP bike and all the gear.

Terrible, Terrible, Terrible.

We are all lucky to be here it seems.

[Yard Dogg]

DGXER, glad to hear you are recovering. This is a good learning example for a guy like me. I have been riding dirt bikes most of my life and have wiped out many times but have never broken anything. Street bikes are a whole different story. I bought my first street bike in 2008 and already have had what I consider too many close calls. People have switched lanes without seeing me, I've had a semi truck tire blow right in front of me, had another blown tire flipped up at me, was cut off by a an old lady when I was doing 65 cause she didn't see me, had a pallet fall off the back of a truck by some guy too lazy to tie his load off, and a few other close calls plus a few from my own riding errors. All these things that could have gone wrong only in a few years, then to hear your story makes me feel lucky. I will be a much more careful rider now. I hope you are up and about feeling strong soon.

[DGXSER]

Thanks all the great thoughts and wishes folks. I made it home yesterday and finally got my "new" room setup at home so I can get on computer.

Recovery has gone pretty well and fairly quick so far, but only time will heal bones. So another month or so till I can walk or lift ANYTHING with my right arm.

What went wrong, heck, I have ran that over in my mind more than anyone cares to here about. The short of it is, the only thing that could have helped is if I had been going slower the bike might have stopped in time. Anythin else would only have changed how I wrecked, not if I did. I am actually a fairly cautious rider. But was I really scanning 12 seconds ahead, I can't answer that now. I doubt I was going over 40 but maybe 50 when I saw the gravel and the speed limit was 35 or 40 there. So, really not much could have changed the event.

Maybe what we need is more training on how to handle those kind of situations. I mean, the MSF basic course does not cover that. Nothing really does that I know of. Maybe if I knew as much as Tod to lift my leg and not get pinched, maybe the rest would have gone better? I can what if this till the cows come home, but still never change it though.

At this point, I am glad to be home, glad to have amazing friends and family, and amazed at how many folks have shown their care and concern for me.

Ohh...and I found out a very interesting thing, the nurses at the hospital I went to, well the "Floor" nurses not the ICU nurses apparently thought I was a total whimp, could not take any amount of pain and was a poor candidate for rehab. Interesting what they decide cause you dont want them to flip you on your broken ribs to shove a tube up your butt so you can drop a load for them, which they went ahead and did anyway. And yes, that does hurt like a SOB X 3 on 16 cracked ribs. And still not cure the issue.

Fortunately for me the doc at the rehab center found out I was a 2nd degree black belt in TKD and understood you do not get there by being a whimp. So he took me into the rehab anyway. I owe them a thank you letter. They are the reason I am home already.

Good to be home and good to be back online!!

[STEPPENWOLF]

Welcome home Don..........

[trbig]

Welcome home....



Wuss.


LOL.. Yeah, I hope that little chuckle hurt. I can honestly say I feel your pain right now... a bit. When you feel a sneeze coming on and try to will it away by saying, "No, no, no, no.. " to yourself.


Take care and get well, Don.


Tod

[DGXSER]

Tod,

Yeah, I am a big ole wussie. Just lay me in a bed next to the 80 year old ladies in the convelescent nursing home for months and let me rot.

Try clutching a pillow tight to your chest when you need to cough or sneeze. It REALLY helps!!

I am almost to the point my ribs do not hurt much at all, but now and then they remind me they are still pissed for all I put them through.

Now when I finlly get to use my right leg again, that is when I find out what pain is really about. Trying to use an ankle that has been locked in place for two months will be like rebreaking a bone I think.

It seems like a tough spring for the XSers!! Hope everyone heals well and as quick as I have so far.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Glad to hear you're home Don. That's ALWAYS a lot better than the stinkin' hospital for your recovery!

At least I bet you're able to actually get some sleep now & again...

How do they know that you just nodded off finally? It's like a 6th sense or something... kinda evil, too....

When my Dad was in for an 8 month 'stay' a few years back, he was in such pain nothing would help him sleep. I watched them give incredable doses of narcotic sleeping pills to him... all the way up til 2:00 am... around 3:00 he start to doze off, and at 4:00 the parade of Dr's would barge in, turning all the lights on... unbelievable... I made up many new bad names for some of those guys...

Hopefully, you're resting better now that your home, the SWMBO is not so evil...

Speedy recovery to you, my friend. Take care.
Bob

[DGXSER]

Thanks Bob,

home has been very restfull, it also seems to give me better strength and more energy. I can do just about anything by myself. It s amazing how much balance you can develop and the ability to pivot and twist around to move on one foot.

A note to all you XSers out there. I had a chance to inspect my helmet today. It had lots of mud caked on it and some definition abrasions into the paint on the right side. Which tells me it did its job of protecting my skull, my jaw, and maybe even my neck from major injury. So please everyone wear your helmets!! They really do play a part in your survival when things go wrong. Ok, enough preaching.

[dbeardslee]

Death of an XS

Last weekend we started the disassembly of Thunderstruck. Steppenwolf was there with his camera, so without further ado...

Lest anyone forgot, here's a close up of the damage to the head.



We started from the top and got rid of the tank, seat, and what was left of the handlebars and controls.



Then it was on to the carbs and air box. It felt kind of sad pulling the carbs for the last time after all the work Don put in on them.



Here's the central nervous system coming out. I'll say this for it - every connector on it is clean and in good condition. As I was removing it I kept all the little doodads plugged in to it - tip over switch, relays, etc. It's about the most complete wiring harness you're ever going to see .



Then it was time for the big lump in the middle. Moving straps - the cheaters way to remove a motor. And remember, if you're not cheating, you're not trying .





An impromptu trip to the hardware store to pickup a mover's dolly and the motor once again has wheels under it. Don's still limited in his mobility, so we wanted to put it on something he could move around without too much trouble.



There's nekid bikes, and then there's nekid bikes. This is a nekid bike .



It took us about 5 hours to get her broken down this far. Still a lot of odds and ends to pull off, but the lions share of the work is done. The frame is bent, but just on the top from the shock mounts back. I don't know if it can be straightened or not - looks like a definite maybe. Don's going to get to work sprucing up the parts, and then they'll be coming to an e-bay auction near you. This bike has been exceptionally maintained, so like the people who carry donor cards always say, many parts will continue to live on.

We often see build threads showing the progress of restoring one of these old beauties. And although it was a rather sad task, it only seemed appropriate to document one on its way out. And thanks to Steppenwolf for his diligent camera work.

[DGXSER]

Thanks Doug for posting this. Is it indeed a sad day. I took alot of time to find that bike in that good of shape, alot of time and help on this board to get it running like a swiss watch. And only a few seconds to change both it, and me, into humps of stuff needing alot of work. I am starting the process of walking again, I even went up to my second floor at home today!!! First time since the accident.

Unfortunately, this time it needed more parts replaced than could be gotten and still make it economical for a resale. Alot of people here offered parts to me and I deeply and greatly appreciate it, but I felt it would be inappropriate and just plain wrong to accept parts and then sell the bike.

Doug and Bill both worked hard on it, especially taking the engine out. I have never in my life felt as useless as watching them work at that and me just sitting there like a lump. These guys really worked their butts off. I did turn a wrench once or twice and a screwdriver to, however, what they did in four or five hours, would take me four to five days yet.