Birdman

Riding along the California 210 freeway at 75mph, with my usual vigilance and care. Suddenly this 2 foot piece of big rig tire carcass gets kicked up and smacks me in the shoulder. Now, I'm wearing a fairly heavy leather jacket, but that was almost like getting hit by a baseball bat without my shirt on. In the second just before impact, I was able to brace for the blow and hang on to the grips tighter. :goofy: Lucky it wasn't a bigger piece and lucky it didn't hit me square on. Just left a broad smudge on my jacket that buffed out fine. Couldn't freakin imagine if I were one of those clowns riding around in a t-shirt. :blink: Would've added me to HS's list of victims.

Man, what an unbelievable accident for you to come out with nary a scratch. Count your blessings, pal. Your bike looks mangled beyond repair. Such a sad sight. Thanks for the writeup and hope you recover quickly.

Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite Loctite :biggrin:

we'd love to invite you. TOO BAD NO ONE KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE FROM???!!! HINT: change your settings to include your location... Yeah, no kidding. We wouldn't mind seeing your '83, for that matter.

Great group of riders today. Thanks, Michael, for organizing and photographing. Shayne and Dave helped keep things together. L8's (Don?) spill looked worse than it was, although maybe that's cuz he hopped back on the bike like Brett Favre jumping up after getting sacked by Lawrence Taylor. I'm both embarrassed and sickened by dropping my viffer. That was sure stupid. And sorry for my "early" departure. I needed to get home timely to celebrate my 9 year-old's birthday. That would've been unforgiveable to miss. :wheel: We lucked out with the fantastic weather. Many awesome photos there, Michael. And that '86 VFR is incredibly clean. Those photos honestly do not do it justice. When somebody said CaptBob was running late, I said, "Oh, he's from Long Beach." Then somebody told me, "No, he's from Beaumont!" Fred

Thank you for your post here. We're behind your cause 100% and wish you great success.

Funny you mention it. I just bought one today. Normally, I'd buy one online, but found myself strapped for time and bought it at the dealer. 1. Yuasa YTZ12S 2. Honda/Kawasaki dealer in Temple City, Ca (a great store) 3. $160 + tax I know, I got ripped. But didn't have any choice and they gave me good service. The real lesson, however, is do not go cheap on your battery. Buy the best one you can get.

Excellent writeup, Keith. I've been in Solvang many times (or passing thru along the 101) and never made the stop. Really dumb of me. So next time, methinks. :fing02: Oh, they rotate their exhibits every couple months, pulling various other bikes from another storage facility, so it's entirely possible to see completely different bikes on your next trip. Their site lists a particularly unusual bike for sale... http://www.motosolvang.com/bike_pages/For_...nterceptorr.htm

Mine rests comfortably inside my tank bag. Makes it easy to connect gadgets. It's a Super Pro, powered via a Powerlet socket. No noise or interference, although it sometimes gets difficult to mix more than two accessories simultaneously. Typically it's only radar and music, but throwing two-way radios in there jumbles things a bit. When you guys mount it under your seat, how to you easily connect your junk? For me, that's the main reason for not going that route.

Thanks for the report. I was up there (via AWD) the weekend it snowed like crazy. Hwy 38 was the only road open to get in and out. Many accidents with cars sliding into the ditch. It took over two hours to travel the 30-odd mile stretch from Sugarloaf to Redlands. Good thing it cleared up enough to test out your accessories. I could not imagine doing icy roads on my VFR.

Okay, you asked for it. You're a squid! :goofy: You sound like a hard-chargin' kind of rider. Get better tires. Case solved. My own mistake made a couple times over the past year: missing a shift leading into a turn and breaking the rear tire loose ever so slightly. When I say "missing," I mean kind of getting my timing off and not blipping the throttle enough before releasing the clutch. I've never done it at great speed, but fast enough to know it was a goof. Anyway, that's my confession for the day. I ride PP's and they are a forgiving tire that can save your butt.