Dirt to Street. My blog about anything, usually motorcycles.

Message

Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:54 pm

I assume your avatar pic is you. What the heck did you do to yourself to get that?

Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:30 pm

blues2cruise wrote:I assume your avatar pic is you. What the heck did you do to yourself to get that?

haha that's pre-TMW i think. Or at least within a couple of weeks of me joining. That's blood (obviously) coming from a nice little wound over my right eye (within an inch or two. This is what happened:

That day Luke (step-dadish thing) comes down to my room with his MX gear on and says "Come on, get your "poo poo" on" "Damn straight!" and I'm awake and ready in like 15 mins. So we hop on our bikes, him on his modded with $3k+ in the motor race prepped Kawi KX250, and me on my Honda XR200R. So we take off out of the driveway to the right and head down the service road, he's in 2nd or 3rd gear, ~40 MPH and there i am, 4th gear almost maxed hanging right on his tail. Now, at this point, I'd like to mention that my brakes on the XR were shot to "poo poo" at that point in time. So he slows down, I slow down and he stops, I stop, he turns around, and I see the look of suprise on his face that I've kept up for the past half mile of trail. Now it isn't a proper trail at this point, but a very worn service/fire road. "Well, Geoff, you've really improved since you started riding a copuple months ago. Here, trade" So he gets off the KX and we swap. So I'm on the KX, I make it to 2nd gear and get scared. I'd like to point out that a STOCK KX250 has 51 HP, the max recomended HP for a noob STREET bike that weighs between 400-600 lbs easy. On a bike that weighs LESS than my XR200R. With $3K into the motor. It's easily a 80HP 2-stroke MONSTER. So bear with me when I say I'm a little afraid of it. So we head to the top of the mountain, and at the top we switch back to our rspective bikes. He pins the throttle in neutral for about 20 seconds so the plug doesn't foul (apparently i didn't keep it revved high enough for as long as i should've when i was riding, used to a 4 stroke and all). Alright, he's ready, so we head back down the mountain. And at about the point where we stopped and switch the first time, i hear him click to 2nd and just NAIL the throttle and he wheelies away from me and get's up to a good 40-50 mph. Not one to be left behind, I get my bike going up into 4th and just keep it strung out there, 40-45 mph. Now there's one corner that i usually slow down a bit for, but not this time. I end up taking it with 4th strung out still. It's easily a 50 mph corner for a GOOD rider (ie Luke who's taken it at higher speeds) but here I am, only riding for 2 months at this point, all on the dirt. So i get down around it (down hill left hander) and there's luke, just about stopped, waiting for me about 50 ft away. "HAH I'll just BLAST by him on the inside" I thought to myself. WHOOPS, too close, my left bar clips his bars, throwing my bars to the left, throwing me to the right (he of course barley faltered, and stayed up no problem) effectivly high-siding me at 40-45 mph. So I fly a good 10 feet through the air, land face first on the hard, semi-rocky ground, and slid a good 30 ft to a stop. Now, I WAS wearing a helmet, boots, jeans, and a heavy jacket, all which did their job, BUT i was also wearing a face mask strapped to my helmet since it was kinda cold out. Also, no goggles, by my glasses on. Now when I hit a couple things happened. First, the little adjuster screw for the helmet's visor snaps and the visor folds down over my eyes (I believe this save me from further damage to the face personally) and second, my "procreating" maske moved my glasses up and into my right eyebrow, causinga deep cut that took 10 stitches to close, 2 internally in the wound, and 8 on the outside. But anyway, I'm laying on the ground, Luke keeps me from standing (apparently i kept trying to stand up, or so he tells me. From the time i left the saddle to a couple mins later i blacked out. Not from head trauma, but just cause i was scared shitless i guess). I remeber him trying to get one of the bikes started, me checking myself over, and him saying "Geoff don't stand up OR let yourself fall asleep". And great, the bikes both flooded. My was obviously THROWN on the ground at speed, and he dropped his and was running to me before i stopped sliding just about (so he tells me) so they're flooded good. So he startes RUNNING the half mile or so to home, in MX gear, sans helmet, but still in his Sidi's (mmmm, sidi). A few minutes later, he and mom come driving down the trail in his truck, get me in the cab, and stop at the house since i was apparently the only one together enough to remind them to get my wallet that had my insurance card in it. Any way, as mom's runnging in, i yell "Ma! Get the camera too!". So she grabs the camera and my wallet and we go. At this point, my left wrist was in more pain than my face, which was the worst part of the crash, despite the stiches. BUT the good news was, i NEVER got a concusion, not even a headache, thanks to the helmet. I called out from work that day (for obvious reason, the "fudge" heads made me get a doctor's note too, cause my stitches and splinted wrist weren't enough) but was there the next day.

CLIFF NOTES: I crashed on the trail at ~40 MPH due to being a squid. Hospital visit followed.

This is the pic that my avatar is clipped from. Warning, there's blood, and worse, my face, looking VERY disheveled. And a bit harrier than i am now:
56k may take a bit That was taken at the hospital, waiting for the nurse to let me into the emergancy room. There i am, bleeding from the face, waiting 30+ mins to get fixed up. The blood flowed and dried like that when i was laying on my back in the woods.
This is on the ride to the hospital, me trying to smile. Couldn't though, it pulled at the wound too much

Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:38 pm

Wow! Glad to hear it wasn't worse. In your pic you look a little dazed.

Thanks for sharing.

Fri Apr 21, 2006 3:37 am

blues2cruise wrote:Wow! Glad to hear it wasn't worse. In your pic you look a little dazed.

Thanks for sharing.

haha no prob. and i think i was. I spent most of the time in the ER waiting room laughing with this guy and his wife who ride quads, so now that i think on it, i robably DID have some sort of brain damage

Sun Apr 23, 2006 7:25 pm

This post has absolutly NOTHING to do with motorcycles. But Grafton 2006 was awsome. It's a yearly car meet for .net. People from Toronto to Philly show up. We partied, almost got kicked out of a hotel at least twice, and got the cops called on us. All in all a good time. I also got COVERED in mud helping a buddy get his Saab unstuck from the wet grass/mud that i got stuck there. Ripped the hand brake at 40 mph in a parkinglot (no worries, it was closed) and went into the grass. Then I had to push him out, slipped, and his tire sprayed mud all over me. So worth it.

Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:42 am

April 28, 2006
Finally! A day off from work! So I did the natural thing, and took the XR out for a ride. Did the normal trail, got to the access road, and discovered, to my joy, no mud! WOOHOO!! First time I've been able to wind the bike up in a while. Third gear topped out for a little bit, just enjoying the rush when all of a sudden BAM. Two really big boulders in the path, to block cars. Stopped in time, went between them, and went to the road, turned around, and went back. But I HAD to go down to where I knew would be mud. "Oh sweet, it's still muddy" so I go into it. And stop. Mud up and over the front axle, almost to the top of the wheel. Mind you, this is a 21" front wheel plus the width of the tire. and i had maybe 6 inches of tire sticking up from the mud. FUN. Took me a good 20 mins to pull it out. I was beat so I just headed home. All in all, a good ride I'd say, except for the getting stuck part.

Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:28 pm

June 1 - 5, 2006
"fudge" YEAH!!!!!

Finally got me a bike. It's a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 650R, black with silver belly pan.

She's still nameless as of now. Was thinking Nina (ninja minus the j) but that's not the most original way to get a name. I LOVE this thing. It's easy going and manuverable when you're in traffic, but when you twist the throttle it just kicks you in the "O Ring" and goes. I'm not sure if i'm completely happy with the brakes or not, but they could just not be broken in. Only been able to ride her 3 of the 5 days i've had her. But i've hit 328 miles already, maybe i should schedual the 600 mile service now...

Also, got some new gear today. A pair of Joe Rocket Highside Gloves, First Gear MeshTex pants, and Icon SuperDuty2 boots. Also picked up a Fieldsheer back pack.

oooo, liquid cooled.

VermilionX · Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:34 pm

are you gonna fix the tail?

Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:36 pm

VermilionX wrote:are you gonna fix the tail?

Yes. After i get a pipe and PCIIIUSB. Also gotta find a company that makes a good undertail. AND i gotta find a way to remove the rear pegs and make it look clean.

VermilionX · Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:38 pm

GeoffEX650R wrote:
VermilionX wrote:are you gonna fix the tail?
Yes. After i get a pipe and PCIIIUSB. Also gotta find a company that makes a good undertail. AND i gotta find a way to remove the rear pegs and make it look clean.

damn! pipes and PCIII.

i wanted to get those too but not anytime soon. all i want for now is a TRE which should be coming in the mail soon.