My Motorcycle Story is unfolding

[storysunfolding]

Yeah, I upgraded for lower rpms on the highway

That would be the operating table's gear I'm afraid. Nothing that cool is in my arm

[NorthernPete]

so you say...Im calling you Lee Majors from now on...

[storysunfolding]

Update on injury:

Start with some good news. Monica was cleared of any responsibility in the accident by the Courts. Her insurance company is paying all my bills (over $35k at the moment). And this week the nerve that controls the muscles that lift my wrist is starting to come back on. That's right, if you feel in the right place you can just barely feel it contract. Luckily i have a few braces and utilities that let me function as normal. I'll also finish my msf instructor course on my birthday April 8th!

Bad news: It's still going to be months before i get everything back. I'll probably never be able to straighten my arm all the way without a bit of extra surgery that I'd have to pay for as well as the few months of rehab.

Still as my good friend Jen says "That;s so much better than being dead"

[storysunfolding]

Ok kids. Today was going to be the first day of riding to work again on the bike.... but...

That didn't happen. All was good until my neighbor sliped on the ice going to his car. I was backing my bike minding my own business when he slammed into my right side.

Now, I can just flat foot the vstrom. It's probably not the best height but i love the bike. Knowing that you can imagine that I was not setup to take a flying tackle from a 180 lbs man hitting my square on. Throwing the leg out to get more support didn't work as i hit a patch of ice that I was avoiding in backing. So the bike had a controlled drop.

Results-
-Scuffed hand guard (some 400 grain sandpaper and you'd never know)
-broken clutch lever
-broken left turn signal

But no scratches or anything on the fairings or plastics! (WHEW)

After a tragedy such as this, a bike with 100 miles being in a very unbikelike positon, I did what the sensible person would do. I bought a farkles!

The list:
-Replacement clutch lever and turn signal ($60 from the dealer- $5 cheaper than online!)
-Hepco and becker crash guards (apparently protect the fairing, engine, turn signals and well- me!)
-1 inch lowering links for the rear. You can safely lower the front one inch by raising the forks. The major component to the fall was my inability to have adequite contact with the ground. This should fix that enough to make it safer for me and the bike
-SW motech centerstand- for chain maintenance, lowering link install and parking fun!

I also picked up some mil spec connectors to consolidate all the inputs for my comm system sans the helmet hookup to one place in my tank bag. So instead of a bunch of cables coming from out of the seat there will be three. 2 helmets (passengers in the rear) and another with helmet up front.

I pick up the essentials tonight (turn signal and clutch lever). The rest come throughout the week.

[Wrider]

@%^^&*!#$@*& Ice!!! Figures, doesn't it? At least you didn't shatter your arm again... right? Glad you're up to snuff though! Good luck getting back on the bike fast enough to take your ridercoach class!
Wrider
PS, I just read through your whole blog, wow, interesting stuff! Glad the gf was cleared, and I know what you mean, those lips are all over on the front range in CO right now, as all of the major cities along I-25 are having construction done on it right now...

[storysunfolding]

Good luck getting back on the bike fast enough to take your ridercoach class!

Oh, I'm ready

PS, I just read through your whole blog, wow, interesting stuff! Glad the gf was cleared, and I know what you mean, those lips are all over on the front range in CO right now, as all of the major cities along I-25 are having construction done on it right now...

It's crazy stuff. The problem in our case was that the lip was neither parallel or perpendicular to the road. It was 30 degrees off. Not enough for our momentum to carry us over but enough to drag us from the road.

Major suck

[storysunfolding]

We will now return to our previously scheduled programming.

When I started my blog I never anticipated being away from it for so long and right from the onset. Needless to say my injury has left me with a greater awareness of my mortality and infinately lazier due to my 5+ months of inaction.

The arm has mostly come back. On a good day I can get it perfectly straight. I got the joint to pop for the first time in 6 months and I have to tell you, it feels great. Control of my right hand increased dramatically since January. I can lift the wrist and move most of my fingers. I don't have full strength or range of motion back but it's coming.

Alas recovery has left me in poor physical shape. My left arm is puny and my left arm reminiscant of Pop-eye the sailor. My gut... well lets just say that my riding pants still fit due to the miracle that is elastic. Overall my resolve to do anything physical has been trying at best.

That changes today.

In other news the bike is still amazing. After survivng her parking lot mugging, [yet unnamed bike] has regained her regal stature. Her clutch lever and turn signal were replaced, Hepco and Becker crash bars installed, centerstand mounted and rear lowering kit added. I lowered the forks to match and she's now the perfect fit for me. Before she fit like a glove, now she fits like a better fitting glove. As you can tell, I'm at a loss for words to describe this incredible feeling.

Over the weekend we finished her first 500 mile break in. I road to Purcellville Va to help a new rider gain the confidence to leave a parking lot and ride back roads. The day was windy, yet sunny and glorious. [Yet unnamed bike] tucked into curves seemingly automatically, exciting a thrill through me each time.

The day hit a sour note when I noticed a loss of air pressure in my front tire. I checked before the ride and she was at a perfect 34. After pulling over due to a slight chudder in the controls she was an abysmal 8. Yes, 8. It's better than a 7 but only in the way that a ford festiva is better than a gremlin.

After airing the tire to 34 at a service station I checked the pressure religiously to see what would happen. She was losing air at a rate of 1psi/10 minutes.

After a diligent search I couldn't find a hole, mark, nail or rabbit tooth anywhere in the tire. When the visual inspection failed water was streamed over the entire surface of the tire, valve stem and rim edges for traces of air bubbles... nothing. Alarm was beginning to set in as it was a Sunday and I was over 100 miles from home with no spare tire to be found and an irrate girlfriend wondering just what the "fudge" I was doing as we were to meet her father for dinner.

I found salvation in a can of fix a flat. The tire is still holding strong but I am debating if I should buy the piece of mind for new rubber. Less than 400 miles on a new tire? It hurts. Not in a oh you got kicked in the balls way, but in a "I turned down a $400 three year tire/rim replacement plan because of second hand bad service reviews" way. I know tires won't fail on me every 500 miles unless I become more rotund, but that doesn't prevent the nagging side of me from second guessing my decision. I wonder if this is why women buy so many shoes...

However, glued back together tire or not today markes my second consecutive day of commuting on the bike. I could either take a toll road here and sit in traffic, or enjoy one of two routes with sexy curves and rises devoid of traffic. I take one in the morning and the other at night.

The morning route has a rise with a 27 degree incline, a small peak and a 30 degree descent. Forget coffee, the adrenaline is enough to leave me shaking for a good 10 minutes. If we had a DDR machine at work and if I had ever played DDR I'd imagine that nothing could stop me with that energy. I contemplate how fast I'd need to go to become airborn. 40? 45? We'll find out when I finish contemplating if I'd "poo poo" myself.

Today also marked the first time since getting on the bike that I truely hated a cage. Imagine a white 94 corolla. It's dingy, the paint is peeling but the tires look armor-all-ed. Scary? Haha, I eat 94 dingy corollas with imaculate tires for breakfast in the jeep hahahaha. The bike however...

So this maybe 19 year old girl talking on her cellphone starts into my lane. To my left is about 1.5 ft of shoulder and a jersey barrier. I hit my horn and start to brake while veering left. The car keeps on coming, my horn while loud, completely ineffectual to the cellphone stimulated youth. Imagine a bb gun against a PCP user. Now imagine a steel toed boot kicking said PCP user in the face.

I quickly concluded that either a stebel horn or a locomotives airhorn will be my next mod. I also concluded that steel toed boots make 94 dingy corollas piloted by distracted teens jump back into their lanes.

Was I in any danger? Yes, it was a car. Could I have stopped? Yep, I had plenty of time and room behind me. Did I realize that I could fit between said corolla and a jersey barrier while also using my steel toed boot to dent the back door of a 94 corolla to express my rage? Yes. Not the best decision of my life but strangely satisfying when going 25 mph. Any faster and we would return to my comtemplation of what it would take for me to "poo poo" myself.

And that ends todays entry. More to come, and hopefully I make it an enjoyable read for you. Due take into account that I can only finger punch with the right hand and my eligance has declined as my inpatience increases. Thus, it will only get better from here!

[-Holiday]

i didnt read all that, but when are we meeting on skyline?

btw, i moved my MSF instructor class back to September because I have to move in the middle of the March training and I cant miss any days. So I guess you'll be an MSF instructor before me.

[storysunfolding]

i didnt read all that, but when are we meeting on skyline?

btw, i moved my MSF instructor class back to September because I have to move in the middle of the March training and I cant miss any days. So I guess you'll be an MSF instructor before me.

This coming weekend? If not the next time I'm free is Monday April 9th. It's the day after my birthday and the day after I become an MSF instructor... which reminds me.

Saturday was the orientation to the new courses opened by my isponsoring company. 40 instructors from the area were supposed to be there. 19, me and two other RCP candidates showed up.

The orientation was mainly for the course as it's not a standard layout due to the spacial orientation of the parking lot. However, it has been approved by the state.

We went over policy, then everyone jumped on bikes and did the exercises. My hand was bothering me so I neglected the quickstop but did the others. There's nothing more intimidating than hundreds of years of combined riding experience watch you pilot the MSF test to instructor standards. There's also nothing funnier than watching twenty 40-50+ year old instructors hunch over the honda rebels and scoot around the lot. At 23 I am obviously the youngest guy there.

It was fun and I met some great people. However I ran into what has been a constant thread on this forum. As we were leaving a current instructor hopped on his police HD (he's a m/c cop, how awesome is that) and asked me when I was going to get a real bike. Wait, for effect this has been reformatted

Grizzlied old guy: When are you going to get a real bike?
Storysunfolding: What's a real bike?
Grizzlied old guy: *smiles and motions to his bike*
Storysunfolding: HA hahahaha. Keep telling yourself that and it might come true someday!
Grizzlied old guy: *breaks into a smile* haha. See you later

He followed me down the road for a few miles before our paths split. I'm going to enjoy working with these guys.

[-Holiday]

uhhhm. i dont know about this weekend. front royal is 194 miles away so i'd probably have to make a two day trip out of it.

not that that means i wouldnt do it.

maybe april would be better