Bike for sale

Arms and legs? Hmmmm.....

Fandango, master Yoda would be correct. If you lived in Tokyo or Bangkok a bike would be a great idea. But here in the states the average gross vehicle weight being operated on the road is 3500 lbs. Now multiply the enertia variables and we arrive at the following theory: At best you will lose only one extremity, or brake multiple bones and have skin from your ass sticthed onto your face, but that is all gravy compared to the grand prize. Please research the fatality statistics before you ride. I am not telling you not to ride, I ride myself. But as a veteran rocketeer I have the constant reminder of the cost. I have no feeling from my knee down on my left leg as when I was hit it crushed my nerves when the bones shattered and broke through the skin. It has been 15 years and I now have feeling in my foot and the limp is only noticeable when it is very cold but I still remember the sight, sound and smell at impact when everything slowed down and I heard birds chirping, angels singing, sirens, people screaming, it was all so dreamy, almost surreal. That was shock setting in, the adreneline makes a funny taste in your mouth. Then I was in and out of consciousness and I remember little blurbs like, the man who said "DON'T LET HIM LOOK AT HIS LEG!" and the lady that screamed "DID ANYBODY GET THE LICSENCE PLATE NUMBER?" and kicking the nurse who was picking bone fragments with tweezers and how cool the demerol-morphine coctail felt on the 3rd dose as I drifted back over to lolly-land. Then I woke to a motorcycle cop in my room who let me know that he took good care of my bike and shut off the fuel as the carbs were flooding from being laid down, and that I had been hit and run by a driver making an illegal left turn, and that if I did not have proof of insurance I was going to lose my license for a year. I remember looking the driver of the car right in the eyes as she clipped me, she was a young beautiful asian woman. Her eyes were terrified when she hit me, she was probably un-insured as most laotion citizens are in central California. She probably has the same night-mares I do. For all she knows I could have died, she did'nt stick around to find out.

 

Who you calling Yoda?
Hey, that asian lady sent me an e-mail with her picture. She said she is sorry and was wondering if you would like to get together for a drink. I'm not sure why I am the matchmaker here, but.....

 

Glad to see everyone's concerned about me, I think.

I had a Festiva and that sure didn't feel too safe. No biggie. I still probably won't get past the concrete wall of opposition that is my wife.

 

I don't need 'permission' to do it. She's against it because she doesn't want to see me turn into hamburger. If she knew that I was worth more to her dead than alive, it may be different! (Insurance policies, you know...)

 

I too can give you a bad motor cycle story kinda like wedges but maybe worse.
When I was 15 I was riding a small motor cycle on the road, illegally, kinda like you did DF. I was heading through an intersection doing about 25, there was no stop sign for me so wasn't paying as close attention as I should have. I looked down at the motor for a second as I was playing with the car while riding the bike. I looked up and low and behold there was a big yellow school bus going through the intersection who also didn't have a stop sign. I had no time to stop and layed the bike down trying to turn the corner so I didn't run straight into the bus. I ended up sliding face first into the lower side of the bus and then slid right under the rear tire where the rear tire ran over my pelvic area. I remember laying there doing a self damage assesment and thinking I sure as heck didn't want to go to the hospital. I tried to get up but couldn't for some reason. I thought ok a broke left leg is one problem as it wouldn't move and was numb, and then notice my left pointer wouldn't work when I sat up and supported my weight with my hands in an attempt to get up. I also remember thinking that I must have broken my two front teeth off as I couldn't feel much of them left. Then everyone started to through blankets on my and told me to lay back down. I was choking on blood for some reason. Little did I know at the time is my chin was in little tiny peices. My jaw bone was so messed up it was sticking out inside my mouth, my front teeth I thought I broke off were just jammed in my gums so far I could barely feel them. Every tooth in my mouth was pulled out of wack since I had braces connecting them all together. My left hip was broke through the socket, my back was seperated from my hip, the small bone in my left hand pointer finger was crushed in a small section.

I stayed in the hospital in traction for my hip with my jaw wired shut for 6 weeks and then one week in rehab to get the strenght back in my legs for being layed up so darn long. Later on I ended up having to get my hand operated on since I broke the plate they put in it. They had to take some bone out of my pointer in my hand and splice it together, it's about 1/4 inches shorter now. I had to get my jaw wired again later since my teeth were so bad, they had to cut them loose and wired my mouth against a splint to hold them straight. I ended up with kidney stones from being laid up so darn long, and my neck hurts all of the time.

I like the good miilage from the bikes also and drive 84 miles round trip daily and have pondered at getting a bike but just don't know about it due to the dangers. I will admit even with what happened to me I still would like to get a bike but not for work purposes just to cruise on occasion.

 

Holy fajitas!!!!! You guys can quit with these stories. Now I'm hestiant do drive my Durango even, much less a school bus! Seriously, accidents happen, I know. Fortunately, I'm wiser than old DF was as a teenager. And if anything comes of this, you can bet I will be nowhere near the high end of my speedometer, nor will I be caught for a minute riding without proper gear. It's sort of a toss up between bike and Festiva. Having had a Festiva I'm not sure that's a whole lot safer than a bike. At least you dress properly on a bike...

 

If you get a bike, please wear a helmet. Over 50% of head injuries suffered by motorcycle riders are from the riders hitting their head on something; oftentimes the ground or similar hard object.

 

Sean, I think DF's already hit his head on a hard object.

 

For that kind of green you can find pretty nice Gold Wing Hondas. They seem to be big enough that the idiots in cages can see them and not run over you. John, please try renting a bike first before you buy one. You need to see if the older/ slower John really has the patience to dodge the idiots out there.

 

^^^ Gawd, ain't that the ever-lovin truth. I've scavenged like a mofo to repair some of my old bikes...I only buy Honda/Yamaha if I can help it....

I've only ever had ONE Kawasaki, and that one made me so peeved about quality issues I'll not be touching another one....unless it's an old Police Bike 1000.

Your first bike WILL be wrecked. It's not an IF, it's a WHEN. Wear a Dang HELMET! DON'T SPEED!! RIDE PARANOID!! Take the MSF safety course! The reason I say Ride Paranoid is simply because you have no idea how bad most car drivers really are until you are on a bike...go ahead and figure that the idiot in front of you that LOOKS like he's doing something stupid...well, He's Gonna Do It. If you prepare for it by slowing down and preparing for evasive manuevers, you may not end up crashing.

Get ORGAN DONOR put on your license. Heck, I'm thinking about tattooing it onto my chest. We just had to clean two idiots off the street who weren't wearing helmets and were travelling in excess of 80 in a 45MPH zone. Can you say Road Pizza?

A motorcycle is a wonderful thing, IF you treat it with the respect it deserves...much the same as a loaded coach gun Do NOT depend on car drivers to do the right thing. They are invariably idiots. You will become a MUCH better car driver after about 6 months...your head will develop a swivel and you will actually LOOK around before doing something.