Raw Deal at Deal's Gap

[MarcS]

Maybe this post shouldn't be titled Raw Deal, since I was treated so well by everyone. But I got bit by the dragon. The short story is that I lowsided in a tight corner, and wadded the bike pretty badly. ATGATT let me walk away unscathed except for a bruise on my knee. And my wife bought me a bike to use until the ZZR is fixed.

The long story...

I arrived pretty early and found Ricky (schultzboy/BAB) on 360. We scratched all the way to the cabins, and no one was there, so we decided to do Cherohala and the gap while traffic was still light. We railed down the skyway pretty quickly, and worked our way over to the Gap. Right after the gap started -- measured in hundreds of feet, per Dewayne (LoDownSinner), I lost control of the bike in a tight right hand corner. I think the engine starved (fuel), since I was extremely low when I crashed, about to switch over to reserve -- the feed is on the left, and when the engine starves at speed/high RPM, it pretty much goes from decent running to cutting in/out/stalling. If that happened at a moderate lean angle, well... lowside.

The bike spun when it hit the ground, and the bike ended up backing into a rock/dirt wall. The subframe cracked, and the exhaust header bent, such that the rear seat and exhaust were pretty much vertical. There was a guy in a Miata coming the other way who stopped, and then Ricky had turned around and showed up a few minutes later. The bike was obviously unrideable, and I got a ride back to the cabins in the Miata.

I called my wife (Jill), and she headed down, making pretty good time (2 hours or so). We (Catt, Dewayne, Catt's daughter, Jill, and I) went back with their trailer that night to find the bike, but it was gone. We looked around the area a bit, but couldn't find anything. The next day, the group found the bike under the Tree of Shame at the resort; so we picked it up later that day. Catt drove the gap 3 times in her trailered SUV.

Turns out I know a lot of incredible people. Dewayne and Catt gave up a tremendous amount of their time to help me, and Dewayne is letting me keep the bike in his garage until it's road-worthy (I live in an apartment). Bill (Calabash) and my cabin mates (Melissa (melwel), Derrick (RiceBurner), John and Julia Bryer), and the group in general were all very supportive and helpful. Thanks guys...if any of you need anything, just ask.

Got home very early this morning and crashed. Spent the day poking around on eBay and talking with Jill. Turns out I married the right person: she ended up giving me a blank check to find a temporary bike to ride. I poked around on the Internet, and gave my sister a call (she's about an hour away and has a Vulcan 500 that she hasn't been riding very much until the past couple of weeks). I was going to ask her if I could borrow her bike for a bit for basic transportation so I wouldn't make things too hard on Jill since we've got one car. Anyway, my sister agreed to let me borrow the bike as a last resort, but she wanted to be riding it. Turns out my sister was heading down to a dealership with some friends, and ended up checking another close-by place. She found a 2001 Katana 750 with low mileage (4.5k miles in 5 years) in decent condition -- the bike had been dropped on both sides and has some rash, but the price was right, and after a test ride I ended up buying it for $3500. I figure I can ride it for a couple of months, and probably sell it for close to what I paid; maybe throw a coat of paint on the rash and sell it for a bit more to cover tax and all that. We'll see.

I came away from this really lucky. I wasn't hurt, I was helped by one of the most supportive communities in the world, and my wife put me back on two wheels in the blink of an eye (she said she couldn't stand the idea of me not being on a bike, even though she feels like she should be worried). Wow.

[Missy B]

Sorry about the fall, Marc, but...wow....a lot of great people over there by the Gap. After reading yours and Karen's stories, they are a great group of people.

Then, there's your wife...... :mrgreen:

Glad you're ok.

[Cindy]

Marc,

I'm so sorry to hear about your dragon bite. It seems like everytime there is an event there 1 or 2 bikes go down and those are not very good odds at all.

Did you ever figure out who towed your bike to the "tree of shame"?

At least there is good news, you have a bike to ride while yours is getting fixed. :)

[remy_marathe]

That sucks about the bike, man. I've had mine starve out from going downhill with low fuel, and I remember thinking how bad it'd be if it happened in a tight lean. Hope your ZZR repairs go smoothly and quickly.

[x_cuesme]

MarcS-

Vert sorry to hear about the bike- very glad your gear held up and you walked away. Nice to hear about all the great folks and your very understanding wife- Hope your bike is fixed soon and all goes well-

x_cuesme

[Calabash]

Hey Marc, we missed you on the Blood mountain ride, there is always next year. Hope it is OK to post pics of your bike, as a warning to others to be careful out there.

It was exciting to know your bike was not stolen and just sitting there waiting for you.

It looks scarey to look at it though, because it looks like whoever rode it got hurt as bad as the bike.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/calabash/MarcsBike.jpg

I hope you get your bike fixed soon so we can ride together again.

[azpenguin]

Good to hear you walked away, at the very least. And it looks like you married a keeper! (Note to self - know fuel level before attacking a set of twisties.)

[azpenguin]

Just saw that pic - after seeing how badly the bike is twisted, and knowing you walked away... there isn't a better argument for gear than that.

[MarcS]

Wow, this weekend was a downer for BB between me and LDYAPXR...thanks for the warm fuzzies. No idea who towed the bike, and I'm not particularly worried about it since it doesn't look like they did any damage. The most annoying part about that was how much of Dewayne and Catt's time it wasted...

Oh, and Jill's started reading the forum (anonymously)...she likes you guys :D

[asp125]

Glad to hear you're alright, that angel riding pillion must've been watching out.

[subvetSSN606]

Ouch! I'm glad it was just the bike that got hurt. Looks like it hit pretty hard.

And I'm glad you were with a bunch of the people I consider among "the best people on the planet."
Quite a group... that I feel blessed to know, ride with, and call friends.

Tom

[JohnBryer]

If you read the east TN forums, I believe Killboy towed it to the tree of shame for you.

[Lezbert]

Marc,

I'm glad you're OK. As I tend to say: Bikes can be replaced. People can't.

BTW...A blank check for a temp bike? Yes, your wife's a keeper. lol

[MikeInSLC]

Sorry to hear it Marc...glad you're alright. It's good to know that you're riding and travelling with a good group of people. It makes a world of difference. One of my riding buddies crashed earlier this year on a dirt ride that I didn't attend...he broke his leg pretty badly and dinged up the bike a bit...the other members of our group got him to the hospital and spent a lot of time with him there, while others got his bike on a truck and to one of the guy's garage where it was mysteriously repaired and returned to as new shape :). It's good to know the caliber of friends we have through motorcycling...

Here's to a hurried return to riding and lessons learned...glad you're alright.

[HotFix]

I gotta say - this is a great story. I'm sorry to hear about your bike, but the fact that you walked away and how everyone (friends and strangers) came together to help you out... man that is just awesome.

[jenniferb]

Sorry to hear the Dragon took a bite out of you, but glad to hear it wasn't a big bite! The picture of your bike, OUCH!

[Chrystal]

Ohhhwwwww!

Sorry to hear about the fall, but I'm glad you walked away.

Bikes can be fixed.

[Whizbang]

Here's the meat of an article I posted last year on the original BB.com:

The funny thing is, I remember thinking at several points during my trip from Minneapolis to North Carolina, "what if today is the day I'm going to go down?" No reason. It just popped into my head along the way. A couple of times. Here's three other weird coincidences:

1. Before the trip I had just replaced my Alpinestars Gore-Tex Web boots with heavier duty, armored Alpinestars Effex boots.

2. I decided that plain, 5-pocket leather jeans weren't enough protection for my legs, so I bought a pair of Xpert Nova sportriding leathers with padding in the hips and armor in the knees.

3. I bought a first aid kit before the trip because that's just something you should have with you on long motorcycle trips...it ended up being used by myself and an EMT.

It's like I was preparing to crash! What gives?! Did I will this into reality? Did I know I was going to crash? My girlfriend said, "you were just properly prepared for a long distance trip." Who knows. What I learned was that there are truly only two kinds of dragon slaying knights: those that have fallen on their swords, and those that will. I sure did.

Deal's Gap. The Tail of the Dragon. US route 129. The road that winds out of Knoxville, TN, into the hills of North Carolina has teeth, breathes fire, and knows what scares you. 318 curves in 11 miles. And we're not talkin' sweepers. This is 25 and 15mph switchback, decreasing radius, and double-apex world. One mind-bending bend after another. It's all technical. You don't think, you just DO IT. Maintain your concentration at all times or you may find yourself enjoying the view from the bottom of the hills. If you're still breathing. People die here. There were 5 other non-fatal crashes on the day I'm about to describe, which is about average for a weekend day at The Gap. Who knew buying jeans could be so dangerous?

OK, that was cheap. Go easy on me. I'm wounded.

It took me 4 days to get to The Gap from Minnesota on my trusty steed, a 2004 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom. Once there, I attacked the Dragon for 3 days straight. Every day improving my riding skills. When you're forced to lean your bike into extreme curves, you learn fast about what real traction feels like and how to use it. There is actual video evidence of my bike scraping pegs and kicking up sparks thanks to Josh and the tank-mounted digital video cam on his scorchin' Yoshimura-piped TL1000 (which he admitted was getting a run for its money out of corners by the torquey V-Strom. That's because I'm from the streets, bee-atch)! Josh was a member of the ragtag group of quick but safe experienced riders and/or hockey junkies from New Jersey and North Carolina I joined through invitation by Beginnerbikes.com member John Bryer, a man who has been known to say things like, "the FJR1300 is a really heavy bike." These guys were smart enough to divide themselves into two groups: slow and fast. Within the first 10 minutes of riding with them I knew where I belonged. Needless to say the V-Strom was keeping the pace with a beautifully salvaged Aprilia RSV Mille ridden by "Gixxer Joe" D'Amico of http://www.speedrocks.com/ fame, Josh's TL, and a Ducati 748 piloted by a former road racer named Ron who has been known to say things like, "I'll just follow you. You're goin' pretty good."

The Hurt Report, a study conducted in the late 70's/early 80's to analyze motorcycle crashes, suggests that the two most dangerous times in a rider's career are the first 6 months of riding as a beginner and a period between 2-4 years as a rider's skill and confidence increases. The key word here is confidence. When I left at 8:30am on Saturday, May 15, 2004, I was definitely confident. I had slain the Dragon at least 7 times over the past few days and was starting to feel like a good rider. Better than before. Better. Stronger. Faster. I had received compliments from men who had raced professionally. I'd ground down my peg feelers. I was turning into a cornering superhero. Turns out that swelling of the head puts undue pressure on the brain when you squeeze into your full-face. To reach the Deal's Gap gas station, where I was to meet another Beginnerbiker, the Triumph ridin' Abe, I had to go through a bit of the Dragon's Tail. Luckily, it was the easy bit.

Yeah sure uh-huh right.

The bike felt light and agile and I took the corners with vim, a word which sounds funny when used without its sibling, "vigor." There were 2 bikers ahead of me who were going at a good clip so I thought I'd catch up to them and keep up. This was my pre-major mistakes mistake - keeping up with someone else rather than minding my own line and pace. Keith Code warns of this in his book, A Twist of the Wrist. That book will be getting a reread. I knew something was wrong immediately as I entered the reasonably sharp, uphill, right-hand switchback. My line was way off. My entry point was too deep. The front wheel crossed the center line and I felt the adrenaline rush through my veins as I looked at the ditch on the other side of the 2-lane road - my first major mistake. LOOK where you WANT to go, not where you're GOING. Can't stress this enough. The rest happened in an instant.

Deep into the lean I knew the only thing to do was stay on the gas and lean harder, looking through the turn to keep the bike on task. I started to do that, but for some reason I questioned the rear wheel's traction for a millisecond. After days of going practically horizontal with the bike I suddenly didn't believe that it could lean far enough. Continuing to go wide my eyes once again darted toward the oncoming ditch. In that moment, I knew I was going to crash. "You're looking at the ditch, Whiz. You're looking at the ditch. Look through the turn. Look through the oh sh-" Then I experienced something I hadn't felt since my first 6 months of riding: rider freeze. I stopped doing anything right. I hit the brakes too hard - my second major mistake. The bike stood up out of the lean and I felt the front wheel bounce into the rocky side of the road. Suddenly the bike stopped moving forward, but I didn't. I closed my eyes tightly. Everything seemed to shake. The bike. My body. I flew through the air and landed with a thud, slide, and a sustained grunt, a sound which I remember hearing myself make as I scraped along the rocks. Something dug into my right side. I felt my skin get sliced as if by a cheese grater near my hip and my helmet grazed the ground. My right elbow took a hard hit, but the CE approved armor did its job. Just a minor bruise there. I don't remember feeling the bike slide into me.

The next thing I knew was that I was lying on my back. I started thinking right away, so I knew I was alive. Plus I heard birds. "I crashed. I really crashed. Not just a bike drop. Not even a sliding low side. I just flew off my bike and landed in rocks on the other side of the road. Man, that sucks. I'll bet my bike is not doing well. How am I doing?" I moved my hands. "I still have hands. That's good. Man I like my Alpinestars gloves. Feet?" I couldn't move my right foot. "Not good." I lifted up my head. My right foot, thankfully clad in those new boots made of thick leather with internal molded plastic armor, was pinned under the V-Strom's rear axle. "Wow. She must have either flipped over or spun around. Jeez, I crashed pretty hard." I pulled it forcefully out from under the wheel. I started to sit up. "My side feels wet." I reached down and noticed that the road or something had torn through my T-shirt and scraped up my side pretty fiercely. Road rash. "Dude, I have road rash." You could see all the debris, dirt, and small stones embedded in my skin. Not pretty. I was dusty and grungy with pebbles and wads of dirt and grass stuck to various parts of my gear. "How did I get road rash with full leathers?" No zipper attachment, dummy. Plenty of armor and leather protection, but divided in two. Time to rethink my gear yet again. I tried to sit up, but was hit with waves of nausea and light-headedness. "Maybe I'll just lay down for a while." So I did for about 3 minutes until a motorist came by and saw me lying there. He was nice enough, but it was 2 passing motorcyclists who really helped me get the bike back on its feet. She was a mess. I was sad.

I won't go into the details of repairing myself or the bike which got me back on the road for the 1300 mile journey back to Minneapolis. Two words: looooooooong and paaaaaaaaainful. I would like to send out a thank you to Ken Wheeler, the man who dropped everything and got my bike road ready for $35. If the Dragon takes a bite out of you, Ken is THE man, blowtorch in hand at his motorcycle repair shop called simply Wheeler's. Thanks also to Karl L and everyone who helped me literally get back on my feet.

One of the things I'd like to pass along to anyone who crashes is to take it easy and don't feel like you need to get up and move around fast. If it's a serious enough fall you'll go into shock, which is the body's way of forcing you to take inventory and sit still. My hands were still shaking an hour after I'd been sitting down with ice on my foot. Make sure you stay warm. Also try not to feel like a jackass. Despite the fact that I knew exactly what I did wrong and wasn't horsing around, I felt like the loser in the crowd. The bad rider. I was surrounded by motorcyclists who were gearing up and getting ready to tackle the Dragon, revving their engines and even doing wheelies up the road into the twisties. I was just the "guy who crashed." Never mind the days of amazing riding and a skill level which seemed to grow exponentially within a few hours of arriving at The Gap. After I went down I felt like I was just Crash Guy.

Here's a link to some pictures I posted in that article:

http://home.mn.rr.com/whizbang/whizbangraphs.htm

Take care and ride safe!

[JohnBryer]

Good to see you here Adam! I enjoyed reading that again....and yes, the FJR is still heavy!

[asp125]

Whizbang! Good to see you here! :woot:

[Whizbang]

Hey folks. After the dissolution of the original board, and all the baloney that went along with it, I decided to pull a disappearing act. When John sent me the link to this story I couldn't resist. I know exactly what this guy went through. Crashing is no fun. It's nice to know there are other riders out there who feel your pain. Figured it would be nice to weigh in.

I don't know if I'm "back" necessarily. I'm afraid if I start posting again, I'll start posting again. :rolleyes: There were a slew of folks on the Beginnerbikes.com board that didn't care for my sense of humor and I don't know how many of them are still here. The last thing I want to do is spend my time going rounds with those people again. :awcrap[1] I might peruse the boards and see who's who and what's what. I do miss everyone. I'd especially like to know what happened to Matthew. I still don't know. I think about him every so often.

[JohnBryer]

There were a slew of folks on the Beginnerbikes.com board that didn't care for my sense of humor and I don't know how many of them are still here. The last thing I want to do is spend my time going rounds with those people again. :awcrap[1]

I think most of that BS is gone now. Time has a way of making that kind of stuff seem meaningless.

I miss reading your comments. You've got the ability to spark some really good conversations on the forum, and the new forums are really missing that.

[Derick]

I think most of that BS is gone now. Time has a way of making that kind of stuff seem meaningless.

I miss reading your comments. You've got the ability to spark some really good conversations on the forum, and the new forums are really missing that.

Indeed, I think we want to focus more on riders and safety and all that jazz, rather than the drama. :smug:

[Whizbang]

...which was the intention of the original site. Nice to hear you've actually pulled it off here! Congrats! Maybe I will stick around! :)

[JohnBryer]

Now, if you can just market the site a bit and get some more members, there might even be some traffic too. :razz:

[AnthonyC]

It looks scarey to look at it though, because it looks like whoever rode it got hurt as bad as the bike.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/calabash/MarcsBike.jpg


WOW :shock:

Glad you're ok MarcS, the bike at least can be repaired/replaced.

Ant

[NYRobG]

...I'd especially like to know what happened to Matthew. I still don't know. I think about him every so often.

Welcome back Adam!!

You're not the only one with that question, bud. He checked in once in Feb. (I think?) on a Delphi message board that was put together by KZRob, but we never saw his log-in appear again after that, though I suppose he could be using any log in. I'd just like to know that he's OK.


MarcS,
Sorry about your lowside, but we're all really glad you walked away relatively unscathed.

Ride Safe all!!!

--Rob

[Derick]

Now, if you can just market the site a bit and get some more members, there might even be some traffic too. :razz:

We're tryin, I thought the helmet giveaway would be more popular...but it appears not. We already have our shoe in.

[VanDawg38]

Welcome back Adam!!

Yes.

I'm curious as to what Adam's riding these days. Seems to me he was going through bikes faster than MsPotatoPotatoHead.

Still on the SV? Extrapolating your bike progression, I'm thinking you could be on a 999, Mille or RC51 by now.

[subvetSSN606]

Hey Adam! Good to see you again!

Tom

[Whizbang]

I'm curious as to what Adam's riding these days. Seems to me he was going through bikes faster than MsPotatoPotatoHead. Still on the SV? Extrapolating your bike progression, I'm thinking you could be on a 999, Mille or RC51 by now.
The SV is still the bike for me! I was doing quite a bit of amateur non-competitive track riding this summer and still feel like the SV1000S is the perfect sporty blend of street, touring, and track riding capabilities. Here we are, doing what we do best...


http://home.mn.rr.com/whizbang/On%20The%20Edge.jpg

I've also been spending a lot of time on my wife's bike.

Oh yeah. By the way, I have a wife. :grin: Here she is on our 2001 Triumph Legend 900TT...


http://home.mn.rr.com/whizbang/Motorcycles%20001.jpg

If y'all remember I bought her a used Ninja 250 while we were dating and she learned to ride like a pro. In between bikes we got married because my friends were like, "DUDE! A chick who rides? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? MARRY HER NOW! NOW!" So I took care of that.

After a while, it was time for her to step up and she wanted something more standard. She had rules for this purchase, however. "If we're getting another bike it has to be something you ride a lot, too."

Gosh. Well...oh alright. If you insist. "Let me find something I really wan- ...I mean WE'D really like." The Triumph was it. Less bulky-looking than the Thunderbird, but it's basically the same bike. We've had some electrical problems with her and she needs her carbs cleaned badly, but otherwise she's a zippy little triple. I guess not so little. She's got 900cc's of "get-out-of-my-way-beeatch!"

Next year my good friend Brian and I are thinking of taking our local track days up a notch. Here we are playing "follow my line" at the Dakota County Technical College Riding Course, which we hit five times this year...


http://home.mn.rr.com/whizbang/Chen%20Takes%20The%20Lead.jpg

We're going to hit Brainerd, Road America, and Mid America next summer and look into doing some CRA racing in 2007. If I do that, I'm going to sell the SV and split her functionality into two bikes: for touring and commuting I'd pick up a Honda ST1300, and for the track and sport riding in a 100 mile radius or so I'd get an SV650 for which I'd get some racing plastics.

Other than that, I've been riding safely, NOT getting speeding tickets, and getting so good at riding that I'll soon need knee pucks on the street.

Just kidding. But I could use some pucks for the track.

[JohnBryer]

If I do that, I'm going to sell the SV and split her functionality into two bikes: for touring and commuting I'd pick up a Honda ST1300, and for the track and sport riding in a 100 mile radius or so I'd get an SV650 for which I'd get some racing plastics.


:nofinger: ST1300 is a geezer bike! (sorry Ezra!) :slap:

FJR! :ugly_tock

[Chench53]

Marc, sorry you crashed, :( but glad you came out OK. :) I can't help but notice you wrote "I think the engine starved (fuel), since I was extremely low when I crashed, about to switch over to reserve --"

I worry about needing to switch to reserve in a turn, and I deliberately switch to reserve before I need to if I know it will be coming up soon and I'm not just going to be riding in a straight line. If you knew you were "extremely low" why didn't you switch to reserve before you started (if you were at the top, headed to the gas station at bottom) or why didn't you fill up at the bottom?

Just trying to understand... had you considered your gas level before that run? So I'm just wondering what the decision/thought process was.

Good luck with the repairs, make sure to give some extra hugs to your wonderful wife too! :D

Gerry

[Whizbang]

:nofinger: ST1300 is a geezer bike!
We'll see who's in who's rear view mirror.

[cough] ride circles around you and your FJR on a scooter [cough]

Actually I've just read reviews that the ST has a little better two-up riding comfort, which is the main reason I'd get it.

Hey, here's something you guys might like. I've got a band called BIGJUNK that's been playing around the Twin Cities club scene and we've got a song I think you'll all dig BIG time. Head to www.bigjunkrocks.com and look for the music page. Click on the "Motorcycle" MP3 link. It's our show stopper. I'm rather proud of it myself. The three tracks at the top are basement recordings, and the one's below are from an old demo. The basement tracks are pre-final mix and mastering, so go easy. It's the lyrics I think you'll love. I'm singing and playing the guitar. We're just a 3-piece.

ROCK ON! :rockon:

[MarcS]

Chench -- you're right, I should have switched over earlier; I was going to switch over on the next straight after that curve. In retrospect, my best opportunities to do that were earlier, but I guess I thought I had more gas than I did (the ZZR can really chug the gas in low gears). I overestimated the amount of fuel I had left based on the tripmeter (usually get around 160 before reserve, I had about 130). Even so, we were really close to a gas station that I was going to fill up at.

[JohnBryer]

Yeah, the ST is likely a better 2 up machine than the FJR. You should look at the new RT too. Very nice for 2 up riding...although, why would you want a 2 up bike when your wife rides :crazy:

[christhisguy]

Glad you're ok Marc! I hear ya on the reserve catching you by surprise. My XR needed to be switched over after an alarmingly low # of miles, but that followed a lot of flog- er, climbing in 1st and 2nd. Couldawouldashoulda... And hey, don't you get a patch or something for making the Tree of Shame without serious injury? ;)

Kudos to all the good folks who helped.



Hi Whiz, nice to see you stop by. Sounds like we've all got "keepers". :grin:

[Chench53]

Chench -- you're right, I should have switched over earlier; I was going to switch over on the next straight after that curve. In retrospect, my best opportunities to do that were earlier, but I guess I thought I had more gas than I did (the ZZR can really chug the gas in low gears). I overestimated the amount of fuel I had left based on the tripmeter (usually get around 160 before reserve, I had about 130). Even so, we were really close to a gas station that I was going to fill up at.
Marc, thanks for the answer. It's easy to be right when you're Monday-morning quarterbacking, right? You did consider it, and thought you had enough fuel, especially considering the usual 160 and you were only at 130 miles.

On my Savage I never seemed to worry about when to flip to reserve, even though it is such a tiny tank. Despite the much larger tank on the VStar, plus that I can actually tell when I need to switch on the VStar, I think about it much more for some reason, and I still don't like when it has to be done on either.

It's something we can all learn from, albeit a hard lesson I guess. Let us know how the repairs come along, I hope they are speedy. :)


Gerry

[LoDownSinner]

It was the right-hander just after 'The Slide' heading north from the Fugitive bridge if you look at the map (http://www.tailofthedragon.com/maps_dragon_road.html), someone told me it was the same place where Adam went down.

We got the ZZR to the house safe and sound. It's snuggled in with it's new buddies, waiting for some TLC. I'm not sure, but I think even the mighty YZ was moved to tears (either that or I've really got to tear that carb down again...).

As soon as you get the stands to the house, we can do a detailed triage. I'm hoping that it looks a lot worse than it is. I'll be back from Mobile/Pensacola Friday evening if you want a hand. I'm pretty sure I've already got all the tools we'll need.

[SabreScott]

Sorry to hear of the accident. Sorry about the bike. Glad to hear you walked away. We understand.

Scott & Karen

[Catt42]

Marc, I told you Jill was a Keeper.....sounds like she proved it again with the new ride for your commute. Feel free to bring her to Nashville with ya when you come to work on the bike.

Catt

[MsPotatoPotatoHead]

Ouch, sorry to hear that Marc. Glad you're okay and that you've still got two wheels under you.

[MarcS]

Catt, you and Dewayne have no idea how much I appreciate your support.

Jill freaked out when I told her about how her green hair spray got on your seat. She wants to clean it up. Dewayne sent me a PM with your home phone #, so I'll give you a call around 6pm tonight. I'd like to get the stands up there pretty quickly, and pull the forks and fairings to make sure that there aren't any big things other than what I already know about that are damaged. Already bidding on eBay on a lot of the necessary parts (subframe, left peg, rear light, rear cowling, passenger footpeg brackets aka exhaust mounting bracket, front seat).

[mudarra]

I overestimated the amount of fuel I had left based on the tripmeter (usually get around 160 before reserve, I had about 130). Even so, we were really close to a gas station that I was going to fill up at.


It was nice meeting you and Jill. Just wish we could've hung out under better circumstances.

I was suprised myself at how much more fuel gets burned at high RPMs and elevation. Cherohala is a gas guzzling tire eatin monster of a road.
:heyyou: Ok, so I didn't HAVE to run it a 10000 RPMs. But whats the fun in that?

BTW- we held a grave side service for your bike.

http://mudarra.smugmug.com/photos/38641085-M.jpg

[JohnBryer]

I was suprised myself at how much more fuel gets burned at high RPMs and elevation. Cherohala is a gas guzzling tire eatin monster of a road.
:heyyou: Ok, so I didn't HAVE to run it a 10000 RPMs. But whats the fun in that?


But you were doing everything you could to keep that FJR behind you!! :thumbsup: :rockon:

[mudarra]

But you were doing everything you could to keep that FJR behind you!! :thumbsup: :rockon:

:redtounge :redtounge

[VanDawg38]

It was nice meeting you and Jill. Just wish we could've hung out under better circumstances.

I was suprised myself at how much more fuel gets burned at high RPMs and elevation. Cherohala is a gas guzzling tire eatin monster of a road.
:heyyou: Ok, so I didn't HAVE to run it a 10000 RPMs. But whats the fun in that?

BTW- we held a grave side service for your bike.

http://mudarra.smugmug.com/photos/38641085-M.jpg
The new exhaust is growing on me.
http://www.cars-on-line.com/13700/78dodge13759-A.jpg
Glad to hear you're doing better than the bike.

[asp125]

Actually. .. I think he's well on his way to building one of those euro streetfighters:
http://www.fighters-magazin.de/fm/assets/images/kpilzm.jpg
http://www.fighters-magazin.de/club/kpilz.htm

[VanDawg38]

That's what I was looking for! LOL. (Sorry, Marc.)

[MsPotatoPotatoHead]

P.S. Howdy, Adam!!! Long time no see - VERY glad to see your name pop up in this thread. Stick around. Anybody takes exception to anything you say.....will suffer a group ass-kicking!


I'm curious as to what Adam's riding these days. Seems to me he was going through bikes faster than MsPotatoPotatoHead.

Hey, I resemble that remark! ;)

[Mugster]

Hey, that sucks marc. Sorry you wadded that scoot. At least you have a bike already until ya fix it. If you need anything wrenchwise, give me a shout.

[dalan]

Just caught up with this thread... Aw damn, Marc, sorry to hear you wadded up your ZZR. Glad to hear your gear kept you in one piece!

You have a great wife there... and all you fellow BBO'ers down there who helped - YOU ROCK! http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/images/smilies/hail.gif


And whizbang - good to see you again!

[Caddie]

WHOA! Glad to hear you're okay! Good luck getting the ZZR back on the road.

Welcome (back), Whiz!

[Puffs]

Woah, i totally missed this thread.

MarcS, as a guy who has always been so helpful to me and many others on this forum, I grieve your loss. I am glad you are okay, and glad you are already riding again. I am sure she will be in riding shape before you know it.




Whiz, nice seeing ya back. :)

[Jill]

Greetings!

This is Marc's wife Jill officially checking in.

I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who helped us this past weekend. I am still amazed by how kind and absolutely amazing everyone has been. Seriously, I didn't think people this nice existed. ..and I can now say that I've hung out with bikers while having green hair. :) (For those wondering, it finally completely washed out, but every so often I still find glitter.)

[MadMaxmlin]

Woah, i totally missed this thread.

MarcS, as a guy who has always been so helpful to me and many others on this forum, I grieve your loss. I am glad you are okay, and glad you are already riding again. I am sure she will be in riding shape before you know it.



Yeah, what he said!

Glad you're still on your feet, and glad to hear you're still riding!
If it's one thing I hate to hear, it's someone who loved riding who crashed and decided "I'm not into riding anymore"

Get back on that horse! (just an expression, I know you already have)

[crankshaft]

Hey Marc,
Sorry to hear about your crash. Glad to hear that you're alright. Sounds like you have a great wife. Sorry I wasn't there to meet her and see you again. Well there's always next year's Bug Bash!

[LDYAPXR]

Sorry to hear about the accident but a big thumbs up to Jill! Sounds just like what I did when our bikes were stolen in LV. I was on the phone with our local dealer as soon as they were open and told our Sales Manager to pull the only Red R1 that they had left off the floor and we would be in first thing Tuesday morning. I couldn't stand to see him without his bike either. Mine can wait but his was his baby and now he is at least smiling again a little. You Go Jill!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chrystal]

MarcS, as a guy who has always been so helpful to me and many others on this forum...

Yeah, but sometimes he picks on me....:( :)

[MarcS]

Yeah, but sometimes he picks on me....:( :)

Aww, but I'm a puppy dog! :)

[Bugguts]

MarcS, so sorry to hear about the crash! Glad the gear kept you outta harms way. Your wife is a gem!

Glad to see Whizbangs name here! Hello from Bugguts, formerly DMarie on the old forum!

[JohnBryer]

Yeah, but sometimes he picks on me....:( :)

I wouldn't worry about him picking on you too much now. Everytime he posts something you don't like, just put this picture in the thread!

http://mudarra.smugmug.com/photos/38641085-M.jpg

[jixaw]

Oh man!!.....just saw this...I am sorry to hear about your spill...I am glad you are ok....

do you think a pingle and some bigger fuel lines would have helped at all?

best of luck on your recovery

[MarcS]

What's a pingle? Bigger fuel lines MIGHT have given me a little slack, but the fuel pump has a reservoir that was empty when I opened up the bike. Of course, I can't be certain that was the case when the bike went down, but it certainly supports my theory.

[sanglant]

What's a pingle? Bigger fuel lines MIGHT have given me a little slack, but the fuel pump has a reservoir that was empty when I opened up the bike. Of course, I can't be certain that was the case when the bike went down, but it certainly supports my theory.

Pingle makes a lot of drag racing parts. Among them is a larger fuel valve, like I use on my Katana. It would not have helped your bike at all, as all they do is supply fuel for very high rpm use for extended time, and they keep the float levels constant so your tune doesn't go lean on the top end (an often overlooked benefit). If you're out of fuel, though, you're just out of fuel. Pingle's don't have reserve switches, either, so if you run out, you are really out.