From: davewi@soccer.wv.tek.com (David H. Wise)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: YAC
Date: 22 Jul 92 18:52:27 GMT
Reply-To: davewi@soccer.wv.tek.com
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville,  OR.

Terry Powell writes to me:

>How is Martin?  How is your bike?

You asked those questions in the wrong order :-)

They're about the same, banged up and scraped but serviceable with tlc.

Background:  The locals gathered for a group ride when Bill Johns was in
town last weekend.  We were Jeff Earls, Scott Larson, Brad Hepler, Bill
Johns, myself, Pat Loughery, and Martin Golding.  We went to the coast
via mumble, went up 101 to 53 (GREAT ROAD!) to 26 to Astoria where
we picked up 202 intending to travel it and then part of 47.  We were about
15 miles from Astoria, going around some good twisties.  I had come down
with a case of nerves earlier from trying to keep up with the go-fasters
and was now in the NDR crowd.  We had been trading bikes around, and I
was on Pat's Nighthawk, Pat was on Martin's 860GT, and Martin was on my
CX.  I'd been watching Martin's headlight, which would disappear as I
went around a curve, then reappear as he negotiated same.  His headlight
didn't reappear around one curve.  I can't swear to it but I might have
heard a scraping sound.  I got a really bad feeling, Pat dropped
back, I slowed down and turned around.  Got around the curve and...
bike on side in middle of road, Martin face-planted near guard rail.
He was wheezing and quivering and obviously out cold.  Guy in a camper
stopped and produced a blanket and pillow (thanks, whoever you are), and
stuck around, along with Pat and me, while another guy went off to call 911.
Then Bill Johns appeared and kept the rest of us from going into a funk.
Martin started coming around, fumbling to take off his gloves and helmet,
about the time the ambulance appeared, 15 minutes later.  By the time they
loaded him up he was talking but didn't know how he got there.

He has two gashes in his scalp (one in front, one in back), and a roadrash
stripe across his waistline where his pants and jacket separated.  His
goggles look like someone twisted them then stamped on them.  We never
found his glasses.  They kept him in the hospital in Astoria until Carol
came for him that evening.  I'm relieved he came out of it ok.

He (of course) doesn't remember going down, but distinctly remembers spacing
out and going into a curve way too hot.  It might be the one he went down
on, it might not.  We'll never know.  The evidence points to a high-side,
since the bike slid on its right and the turn was a lefty.

Damage to my bike (all on the right side):

 bent steering limit flange on steering head
 bent handlebar
 snapped-off mirror
 torn up handgrip
 broken throttle tube (the thing the grip slips over)
 dented gas tank
 bent footpeg
 scraped and dented muffler
 bent muffler bracket (interfered with rear suspension)
 snapped-off rear turn signal

We all headed home after that.  I rode Martin's Duc, leaving my CX in
the care of a nice family on 202 who didn't mind it sitting in their garage.
Kudos to Bill Johns, who escorted me the whole way on his FJ, which had
a working headlight.  We just missed getting an equipment violation warning.
The officer was starting to write when someone stopped and shouted about
a drunk driver up the road.  He dashed back to his car and roared off.
He had his priorities straight.  After 140 miles on the 860GT, I had sore
butt deluxe, but it's still a fun bike to ride.  Remind me to bring a
pillow next time.

I came back for Packy Sunday.  My wife Sandy escorted me in the car.  It was
the most thoroughly uncomfortable ride I've ever had.  Due to the asymmetrical
arm positions, my shoulders ached from about 20 miles on.  I went back along
202 to Astoria and took 30 home.  At Astoria I stopped and pried the muffler
out away from the wheel hub so the suspension would work.  I should have
taken up Carol's (Martin's wife) offer to truck it home.  In fact, we should've
loaded up both bikes and all ridden back in the truck.  I wasn't thinking
straight yet, I guess.

It's Wednesday now, and Packy is back in running condition.  I fixed the peg,
grip, tube and muffler bracket.  I put the metal part of the peg in a vise
and twisted it back straight with a pipe wrench.  The rubber was in better
condition than I thought -- the bolt-on squid feeler had just turned 90 degrees
(does this stand for a squid reading of "maximum"? :-) and this twisted the
rubber.  I snipped off the fringe of rubber at the scraped end of the peg,
turned the feeler straight again, and all was well.  I slathered the end of
the grip with Aqua-Seal (tm).  The tube was mostly whole, with two pieces
broken out.  I cleaned them, put them back in place, and applied cyanoacrylate
glue.  I put the bracket in my vise and pounded it back into shape.  I replaced
the bar, mirror, and turn signal from a salvage yard.  The mirror is a piece of
crap, but it only cost $3.  It will tide me over until I find a stock mirror
in decent condition.  I decided to try a different style of bar than stock.
I wanted a CX500D bar, but the yard I went to doesn't label bars by the bike
they came from.  The one I got is flatter and not pulled back like the stock
CX500C "cruiser" bars.  The stock bars always hurt my wrists on long rides
because the grips have about a 90 degree angle between them.  The new bars
feel strange so far; I'll ride with them for a few days and then decide
whether to keep them.  Even if I don't I'll probably still get something
different from stock.  Interestingly, I won't have to fix the steering
limiter if I keep these bars, because at limit the new bars miss the tank.
If I did have to fix the limiter I'd probably just touch the flange with a
welding rod to build up some material.  I'll just let the tank and muffler be.
I did paint over the scrape so it won't rust.

As far as I can tell, the crash guards never touched the road.  Go figure.

--
David Wise	davewi@orca.wv.tek.com		      So many bikes,
DoD#427		1980 CX500C (Packy)		      so little money
WANTED: Elefant 860GT! R100GS! XT350 KLR650 FJ1200 XL600V 907IE!!! 850-T3!!
--
David Wise	davewi@orca.wv.tek.com		      So many bikes,
DoD#427		1980 CX500C (Packy)		      so little money
WANTED: Elefant 860GT! R100GS! XT350 KLR650 FJ1200 XL600V 907IE!!! 850-T3!!