| Author | Message | ||
     Rick_a |
It's been a few months, but the Suzook and I are back on the road. It's riding like nothing ever happened. Me...not quite.  20180201_082145 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr  20180201_082250 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr | ||
| Buellerxt |
Great news, Rick. Ride safe and enjoy!  | ||
| Rick_a |
I didn't realize how many terrible drivers were encountered daily until my wife took me to work for a few months. I hate my commute more than ever.  | ||
| Tootal |
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| Ltbuell |
..glad you're better.Yeah, so many numnuts out there must of gotten their drivers license from a pool hall and excel like its a billiard table instead of a road, no turn signals(ckeck for lose of blinker fluid time)Nice "motard" setup you have...that a 400? Love to find one either already motarded out or fix one up.Need to get the '01 Yamaha WR426F i have, running, and sell it,first.Again great that you're better.LT | ||
| Rick_a |
I'm not so much better, but am functional. Wearing a backpack hurts. Doing little jumps and wheelies really hurts. I still can't bear much weight or sleep on my left side. Baby steps. I'm also a bit unhappy about having asymmetric clavicles. I am happy to be alive and riding again. Many here have certainly had it worse. It's a 650. The 400 is a lot more popular, lighter, and more modern, but the 650 is more stable, simpler, and handles the highway better. I have a thing for 90's bikes, and these are virtually unchanged from their introduction in 1996, which is incidentally the same year my favorite Buell was introduced. Good luck with your 426. | ||
| Ltbuell |
....kind of like me after my two "medical" episodes back in 2016.Pretty sure i let all know what happened.Been a "day by day " kind of thing for me.Not 100% back to normal for sure.Still need to gain more body mass.Still under the target weight.Shoot,i weigh less than i did over 40 years ago in high school. I weigh about a buck 25 now.When i got out of the hospital, i looked like a WW2 prisoner of war survivor of 105, you could really see my ribs,sunken cheeks,etc.....couldn't lift any more of 8 pounds....yeah it has been a long process to recover from the events.The first one was when my main abdominal artery ruptured and i almost bleed to death....ER doctor said if i'd of gotten there 15 minutes later, i'd of been a sack of fertilizer for my wife to spread about. Then several months later, my gastorentologist call and tells me i have Celiac disease and Colorectal cancer.So 6 weeks of chemo and radiation to shrink the tumor and then the same doctor who patched me up the first time goes in and removes the tumor and 3/4 of my large intestine...wwweeeeeeeeee.Fortunately i only had to wear a "bag" down there while my innards healed up( that was a real fun time all to its own,yuck).So now i'm on Social Security Disability. I can ride my Buell('00 X-1 Lightning), but i have to now watch it even more.If it starts to fall over, i have to get out of the way and just let it go.I have been contiplaiting possibly selling it due to health reasons.Not quite sure yet.Really would like to not sell it,but if i have an "unfortunate; moment and i'm all by myself....it might just force me into adios "ole Buella B" as i call her.That's why i was saying what i said about your bike.I know a friend who i use to work with who has a "motared DRZ 400"...what a fun bike....he has such a blast on it....like the looks/lines of it.Those things along with your 650 command quite a following and price.Someone told me to "motard mine,426.I said it would take way too much to do it.I'd rather find one that's already done.....a buy an ride thing....so it goes.I like the older bikes too.Had a '87 Kawasaki 750 Ninja(first year for that size model, what a awesome bike it was).Use to have,back in the mid 70's a '68 Husky 250...miss that bike.Love it more than the newer dirt bikes. Also had a '78 Dick Mann TT500...what a light weight torque monster( a lot lighter than the stock TT500's).Another one i should of kept....hate when we do dumb things and don't realize the "down the road' aspect of something really good right under our noses.Can't cry over spilt milk, water under the bridge thing.Again, all the best on your road to recovery, Rick.LT | ||
| Rick_a |
That's a lot of stuff to endure. My father had multiple heart attacks over several years before succumbing to the one that killed him after being told he only had but months to a year to live. My mother endured almost ten years with a cancer that should've killed her in months. I'm sure the fun is yet to come. My own ailments are due to overexertion and carelessness in my youth. I'm certainly paying for it now. Having been crippled by someone else's carelessness was a bit insulting and disgraceful. I had a grade 3 shoulder separation in my youth. The difference, I'm told, is that a growing body can fully recover from such things. Overall, I came out of this accident remarkably well for having been tossed off a motorcycle at speed and having landed on my shoulder and head. I hit so hard it felt as if my shoulder had exploded. I fully expected X-rays showing shrapnel where my shoulder had been. That said, the last thing I needed at this point is to have something else sore in the morning. The wife says I need a higher tolerance for pain. When so many things are sore for so long, at times it can be a bit much. I can always count on her for the tough love, these days  My plan is to stop riding when I can no longer swing a leg over the bikes of my choice. I plan to get one more and ride the wheels off it before I quit. I quite remember that era of early Ninjas. They were the first big tired repli racers of their day. Someone had one parked at the local train station every day, and I quite enjoyed the sight of it. At the time I wasn't very informed of what I was looking at, but the shapes, build, and stance suggested something fast and powerful. The TT500 was a cool bike that was a little before my time. The first singles that really caught my eye were the Yamaha SRX600, the ATK 605, and the Wood-Rotax super singles of those days. The tough part about doing a motard conversion is not the build itself, but finding the right balance between agility and stability while finding a suspension set up that is an acceptable compromise between road and trail. One thing us Buellers have in common is we tend to have good taste in a wide variety of bikes. Here's to many good rides ahead.  | ||
| Ltbuell |
Thanks,Rick.Yeah, i know about finding the right"sweet spot" on agility and stability with the suspension setup....they all go hand in hand.....i know from being at the race track and watching/helping with setting up race bikes for racing...sag and height, compression.....it does make a difference.Many riders have made comments like how the bike is"from night and day" difference.Learned many neat things from a great friend on setting suspension and how it translates to how the bike reacts and handles can make an enormous improvement.Yes, we do have a good taste in a wide variety of bikes. And to you, many great rides ahead as well.  |
