#2597591 - 10/02/08 02:23 AM
Motorcycles....Part II
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Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 882
Walt
Member
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Member
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 882
Fla
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Now that some time had passed I thought I'd see how people were fairing on their bikes..I think a few people got bikes since the original thread died.
I have logged just around 1200 miles or so...Work and other things just has not given me the time to ride. (Not to mention it being 187 degs here in Fl.) lol...
Knock on wood I really have had no *Incidents* to speak of...My only trouble is keeping this crazy thing under three digits. I seriously only have to move the throttle an almost imperceptible amount to go from 75 to 105 in a blink.
How are ppl doing out there on 2 wheels?
Walt,
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#2597699 - 10/02/08 08:41 AM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: Bill_Grant]
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**DONOTDELETE**
Unregistered
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anon
Unregistered
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Dropped my Bandit last week after 8 years of ownership with no incidents Sometime during those eight years I have become so complacent in the fact that when I kick the side stand down that it is down that I have become lazy and stopped double checking it, a fact that didn't come to my attention until I wore a different pair of boots that caught the stand in the heel as I pulled my foot out of the way and thus retracted the stand at the same time. Went to lean the bike on the stand and get off at the same time, next thing I know I am lying on the ground with > 210kg of Bandit on me. Lessons learnt: 1) It's hard not to take things for granted when they have been working for years. 2) The general public are a bunch of utter tossers, not a single person who saw me pinned under the bike (and it was at least a dozen) offered any help whatsoever, even had a guy who knew me wait till I had struggled to pick it up before coming over to say he 'thought it was me struggling under there'. 3) A bike weighing over 210kg (205kg dry weight, the tank was nearly full so possibly even heavier) becomes suprisingly light with the effects of adrenaline. 4) Powerlifting a bike with one leg pinned under it is not at all condusive to the well being of legging seams...
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#2597748 - 10/02/08 11:25 AM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: ]
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Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 882
Walt
Member
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Member
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 882
Fla
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Dropped my Bandit last week after 8 years of ownership with no incidents Sometime during those eight years I have become so complacent in the fact that when I kick the side stand down that it is down that I have become lazy and stopped double checking it, a fact that didn't come to my attention until I wore a different pair of boots that caught the stand in the heel as I pulled my foot out of the way and thus retracted the stand at the same time. Went to lean the bike on the stand and get off at the same time, next thing I know I am lying on the ground with > 210kg of Bandit on me. Lessons learnt: 1) It's hard not to take things for granted when they have been working for years. 2) The general public are a bunch of utter tossers, not a single person who saw me pinned under the bike (and it was at least a dozen) offered any help whatsoever, even had a guy who knew me wait till I had struggled to pick it up before coming over to say he 'thought it was me struggling under there'. 3) A bike weighing over 210kg (205kg dry weight, the tank was nearly full so possibly even heavier) becomes suprisingly light with the effects of adrenaline. 4) Powerlifting a bike with one leg pinned under it is not at all condusive to the well being of legging seams... Wow that stinks ! I can tell you one thing w absolute certainty...I would have ran over to laugh at you close up..No seriously Why wouldn't people come to help ? Blows my mind.. Kinda reminds me of a recent video I saw where I believe somewhere in Maine a pedestrian was hit and seriously dozens of people just walked on by ! ....crazy. Funny on my 109 I had a pants leg snag the kickstand and was on my way over before I broke my leg free. Scared the cr@p out of me ! Lol....
Walt,
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#2597749 - 10/02/08 11:27 AM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: Bill_Grant]
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Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 882
Walt
Member
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Member
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 882
Fla
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Bill whats this Bell thingie ? Is that the good luck charm to ward off evil road spirits ?
Walt,
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#2597788 - 10/02/08 01:13 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: Walt]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,864
Bill_Grant
Hotshot
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Hotshot
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,864
Dallas, TX
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Bill whats this Bell thingie ? Is that the good luck charm to ward off evil road spirits ? You mean that you ride without a bell on your bike? Heheh, forget the charm aspect; I prefer to look at it as a tradition.Tradition sez, you have a bell on your bike. The little 'bike gremlins' are attracted to the bell shape, and the ringing drives them nutzo and they let go and fall off your bike. This is where 'potholes' come from. AND very important, you can't buy the bell for yourself. Someone has to give it to you. Now I know that you are 'unprotected', I will get ya one too.
~Bill
In my defense, I was left unsupervised...
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#2597796 - 10/02/08 01:23 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: Bill_Grant]
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 25,138
RSColonel_131st
Lifer
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Lifer
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 25,138
Vienna, 2nd rock left.
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LOL, never heard that.
Dano, any damage, or was it "naked" enough to not get scratched? I tried a few times to drive with the sidestand down this summer - thankfully the engine cuts out if you do that.
This year was a good year for the Kawa. Last summer it was either too hot or raining, but since the EM2008 cleared our roads in June, the KLE 500 has been a very enjoyable commute and I even took the GF for a few rides.
Turns out that all my last year's problems getting it to start had to do with condensed water setting into the tank (which happens when you get to drive so little that you can't empty it in a season) and they were all gone.
Problem is that in Vienna, end of school holidays the roads clog up again, and so it basically parked since early september, now with a very cold october it's back in the hangar for this year.
But I'd never want to be without a bike again. My new favorite laugh are now 125ccm scooters who think they can slip by me while standing at a red light, trying to have me let them go on first when it turns green.
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#2597800 - 10/02/08 01:30 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: RSColonel_131st]
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**DONOTDELETE**
Unregistered
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anon
Unregistered
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I broke two indicators, the clutch lever, scratched the engine casing on one side and took a chunk out of the rear fairing thingy under the seat which thankfully you cannot see unless you look up and under the bike.
I have a new lever which just needs fitting and the indicators I'll glue back to gether for now, the engine casing I think is only superficial and a rub down and respray will probably cover 90% of it.
Still an expensive fall if I was to get it all sorted back to pre-drop state.
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#2597812 - 10/02/08 01:53 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: ]
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 40,112
20mm
Site Emeritus Honorary Forums Manager
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Site Emeritus Honorary Forums Manager
Sierra Hotel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 40,112
Tucson AZ
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Dano, Glad you're OK. I had a similar thing happen to me back in the "days of yore" when I was young and invincible. Or so I thought.
A friend of mine and I had identical Honda CL 350's, except his was red. We pulled into a bank parking lot, he's on my right. We go to get off, he loses his balance and falls into me. Now we're both down on the asphalt with motorcycles with hot parts on top of us. Actually, if I had been watching it go down, so to speak, I'd have thought it hilarious. I still would have rendered aid, but while laughing.
Nobody got hurt, I think he broke his left turn signal, I didn't have any damage other than a nick or scuff.
Guess I shoulda had a bell on, or he should.
------------- Watch for new SimHQ feature announcements in October!
Pat Tillman (1976-2004): 4 years Arizona State University, graduated with high honors. 5 seasons National Football League player, Arizona Cardinals. Forever United States Army Ranger.
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#2597822 - 10/02/08 02:09 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: Bill_Grant]
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 40,112
20mm
Site Emeritus Honorary Forums Manager
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Site Emeritus Honorary Forums Manager
Sierra Hotel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 40,112
Tucson AZ
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My ding a ling, my ding a ling, caught me a playing with my
------------- Watch for new SimHQ feature announcements in October!
Pat Tillman (1976-2004): 4 years Arizona State University, graduated with high honors. 5 seasons National Football League player, Arizona Cardinals. Forever United States Army Ranger.
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#2597829 - 10/02/08 02:24 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: 20mm]
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 72
igor7111
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 72
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not to bum anybody out here, hell i had a bike in my younger days, but don't these salesmen have a conscience? my son weighed all of about 130 lbs., never owned a bike before. so he goes into a honda dealer and the guy sells him a crotch rocket, i dunno....1300ccs or whatever. as my son drives away, the salesman (i later found out) says "that kid is gonna kill himself on that bike" ooookkkk, so lotsa questions right there, but anyway, a nice commission for the scum.
so he has some fun with it over the summer. on september 18 he decided to just take a quick spin before work. windy day. the police think he was blown off the road, hit a rock and was thrown onto a pile of junk cement. died instantly. i'm trying to sort it all out, how a gust of wind blows you off the road, how he doesn't get OFF the bike seeing what's coming. anyway, he's gone....18 years old. my wife and i will never be the same again. then people rip him because of the helmet issue....was he? wasn't he? he was thrown 50 #%&*$# feet onto a pile of concrete....do you really think a helmet would have made a difference? anyway, just wanted to spout off. i'm pretty angry.
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#2597838 - 10/02/08 02:41 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: igor7111]
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 40,112
20mm
Site Emeritus Honorary Forums Manager
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Site Emeritus Honorary Forums Manager
Sierra Hotel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 40,112
Tucson AZ
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I don't blame you for being angry, you've lost your son.
But for what it's worth, motorcyles have a risk inherent in them. I've known people who were killed, horribly injured, I myself have taken probably 4 hard dumps. Two hospital trips, but nothing that serious.
It just takes an instant. You had a bike, you know this. Something unexpected, a car that wanders into the oncoming lane, a patch of gravel in the wrong place. A mechanical problem, a million things that when they happen put the driver into impact with the road or other objects. It's done in an instant and cannot be undone.
But motorcycles also have a reward factor. That's what keeps people riding them. It's a choice.
Again, my sympathies for your loss.
Pat Tillman (1976-2004): 4 years Arizona State University, graduated with high honors. 5 seasons National Football League player, Arizona Cardinals. Forever United States Army Ranger.
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#2597909 - 10/02/08 04:50 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: 20mm]
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Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 882
Walt
Member
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Member
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 882
Fla
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Very very sorry as well...
Walt,
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#2597938 - 10/02/08 05:25 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: Walt]
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 3,270
sinner6
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 3,270
Fort Worth,TX
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Well, I got the 2008 Concours 14 in June, since then I have ridden it 6500 miles and it only has gotten better.
Dano, my last bike was a Bandit and I once did the EXACT same thing to my bike....only I was at the local "head shop" getting a gift for a friend. Talk about embarrasing.
As for the concours, I had it 4 days when I did basically the same thing, my driveway has a downward slope and I parked it without realizing the kickstand was on the seam in the concrete. That gave it just enough clearance to roll forward of the stand and fall over. Luckily, the saddlebag took the impact. A week later, at a buddys house, I was parked at the curb and his neighbor accross the street backed out of his driveway...straight into my bike, knocking it over. I had no choice but to uinvoke my insurance, and have since gotten all fixed up. Nothing makes my heart sick like seeing a bike lying on it's side.
Steam: Sinner6 Uplay: Sinner76028 MWO: Sinner6
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#2597959 - 10/02/08 05:55 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: igor7111]
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 40,112
20mm
Site Emeritus Honorary Forums Manager
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Site Emeritus Honorary Forums Manager
Sierra Hotel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 40,112
Tucson AZ
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thanks, both of you. again, not to rain on anybody's parade. i guess the hell of it is, after our son, we joined a support group. you think that's it. but every month, there are new people that have just lost their son or daughter. its like, no, this isn't supposed to keep happening. but it does. probably always will. it's certainly opened my eyes to alot of things. i think we're in purgatory here. and they're in heaven. someday...we'll see them again. it can't come soon enough. anyway, thanks for your support. Aw shoot, not much can be said, but you take care and the best to you and your family in this time.
Pat Tillman (1976-2004): 4 years Arizona State University, graduated with high honors. 5 seasons National Football League player, Arizona Cardinals. Forever United States Army Ranger.
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#2597964 - 10/02/08 06:01 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: igor7111]
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 36
bubbazanetti
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 36
Canada - Kootenays BC
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not to bum anybody out here, hell i had a bike in my younger days, but don't these salesmen have a conscience? my son weighed all of about 130 lbs., never owned a bike before. so he goes into a honda dealer and the guy sells him a crotch rocket, i dunno....1300ccs or whatever. as my son drives away, the salesman (i later found out) says "that kid is gonna kill himself on that bike" ooookkkk, so lotsa questions right there, but anyway, a nice commission for the scum.
so he has some fun with it over the summer. on september 18 he decided to just take a quick spin before work. windy day. the police think he was blown off the road, hit a rock and was thrown onto a pile of junk cement. died instantly. i'm trying to sort it all out, how a gust of wind blows you off the road, how he doesn't get OFF the bike seeing what's coming. anyway, he's gone....18 years old. my wife and i will never be the same again. then people rip him because of the helmet issue....was he? wasn't he? he was thrown 50 #%&*$# feet onto a pile of concrete....do you really think a helmet would have made a difference? anyway, just wanted to spout off. i'm pretty angry. So very sorry for your loss, it must be catastrophic to lose a child. I am a strong advocate for compulsory motorcycle training and a graduated licensing system. Modern bikes are so very powerful and traffic/road conditions amazingly challenging.
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#2597991 - 10/02/08 06:23 PM
Re: Motorcycles....Part II
[Re: 20mm]
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 24,027
oldgrognard
Administrator
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Administrator
Lifer
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 24,027
USA
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Dano, I have a related story. When I was a fresh Lieutenant at Ft Benning, the only transportation I had was my motorcycle. I went to Pensacola Florida to visit my sister for Christmas. Coming back it was terribly cold. I had to be back so waiting wasn't an option. Push on young man. I was freezing. Stopped to get gas and as I pulled up to the pumps I put my foot down to balance the bike as I stopped. Problem was my legs had gotten so cold they were a bit slow and weak. I could feel the bike over-balancing, but couldn't get my legs to cooperate. So down it went. I was so PO'ed and embarrassed that when I got it leveraged back up, still not having proper control of my arms or legs I used too much oomph and , you guessed it, over the other way. I got it up and on the kickstand. Standing there freezing cold, strained and embarrassed all I could think of was what a show I put on for the people there.
My language was not the best.
Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Someday your life will flash in front of your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.
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