Hanging up scooters after an accident

Hello Friends

We have had some nice Spring weather here in Columbus, Ohio and I decided to go for a ride.

On my way home I was sitting behind three stopped cars waiting for the traffic light to change. I happened to glance in my rear view mirror and an F150 truck was bearing down on me. I realized that he wasn't going to stop but with his distance and closing speed I really didn't have time to react. I could tell that he was braking but he was looking down in his lap instead of looking where he was going. He must have judged that the traffic would start moving or that his braking was going to stop the truck short of me. He guessed wrong.

I stood up just as he slammed into the back of me. It jerked the handlebars out of my hands and I ended up laying on my top box and up against his front end/hood. It knocked the Swing into the stopped car in front of me. It became a crush zone. Probably a good thing that car was there but on the other hand, I now had broken tupperware, topbox and damaged front forks.

I am 72 and my wife and I don't recover as fast as we used to. I was lucky that I was not really injured. I was just sore for a couple of days. The truck driver was both embarrassed and apologetic but that doesn't help the situation much. He was cited for assured clear distance.

My wife was hit by an Odyssey several years ago while we were out for a ride. She was riding a Yamaha Majesty. We usually ride single file and we had our turn signals on and we were going to make a left turn. She was in front of me when the Odyssey driver decided to pass us. The Odyssey startled me as it went by me and then it hit her broadside. She spent several weeks in the hospital with a concussion, broken collar bone and broken ribs. At the time, she said "One more accident and that's it". She never felt as comfortable on the scooters after that accident.

My wife and I decided that it was time to hang up our 2 wheelers. There are just too many drivers out there that are either reckless or overestimate their multitasking skills.

I reached a settlement with my insurance company for the Swing and sold my wife's Reflex.

I have ridden 2 wheelers for 60 years and have always enjoyed it. When the weather gets nice I still get the urge but there is no question that we are safer as full time cagers.

I wish you all farewell and the best of luck.

Sorry to hear this but glad it wasn't worse for you,, way back a left turner got me, multiple broken bones bruises and internal injuries I'm still going but like you someday it will end but for now it's not today. I do my best to stay out of towns but when I go there I do I leave at least a full vehicle length between me and the vehicle I'm behind and looking in the mirrors for these types of idiots. Always look for an out.

>he was looking down in his lap instead of looking where he was going.<

he should have been charged with this too if he was on a phone.

Hello, rjdoles,
Sorry to see you go, but thank goodness you are ok. Maybe a message from somewhere to stop. I still ride, but keep thinking WHEN will the event occur to get me off of two wheels? I ride with some guilt/trepidation all the time behind the handlebars, but not yet quite enough to keep me off. I still do bicycling, which is as-or more-dangerous. "still crazy after all these years."

You have reached sanity.

I like your Cushman. Had one (about a 1954, 8 HP 2 speed Eagle) my dad bought used for me to commute to work back around 1960. That was my intro to motorized two wheels. Stuck on bikes ever since. The time will also come for me soon, too. Hope it's at least as safe as your bowing out.

Best wishes.

bikehiker wrote:

Hello, rjdoles,

I like your Cushman.  Had one (about a 1954, 8 HP 2 speed Eagle) my dad bought used for me to commute to work back around 1960. That was my intro to motorized two wheels.  Stuck on bikes ever since.  The time will also come for me soon, too.  Hope it's at least as safe as your bowing out.  

My story is similar to yours. In 1962, I was 14 and my dad bought me the used Cushman for $125. It was actually a 1958 Allstate Highlander 721 made by Cushman.

Thinking about today's technology those things were pretty crude transportation and not all that safe. Mine was a hardtail and no padding on the metal seat so your butt was the only cushion. They were rear wheel drum brake only and centrifugal clutch with one speed (no transmission).

The alternator voltage varied with engine speed from practically nothing to a little better than nothing. At idle the headlight and taillight were barely visible.

The rear wheel brake had a square cam that pushed the shoes against the drum. If you let them get out of adjustment and had to brake hard, the cam would slip over and the pedal would go to the floor. Braking at that point was trying to get your toe under the pedal and lift it to apply the brake. In a panic stop, the brake produced more noise from the rear tire sqealing than braking force. At least they put a nice black mark on the pavement to the point of impact.

My passengers had to sit on the gas tank and had to put their feet on the frame rails. They usually got off with their right shoe eaten by the rotating clutch assembly. Guards over rotating parts were not in vogue back then.

Still when you were 14, these scooters were the cat's whiskers.

Mr Doles you will be sorely missed here. While you haven’t clocked up that many posts here on the forum many of those which you’ve shared have been very helpful and informative.

So nice to hear that you weren’t seriously injured. Best regards to you going forward.

Tim

Accidents SUCK for sure. I'm glad you weren't hurt more seriously and were able to recover.

I was in an accident years ago on my 65 Ducati 350 when a car made a left turn in front of me. Luckily I wasn't going fast, only about 20 mph in town. I couldn't stop in time and bounced over his hood. The front fork was bent a bit but I was able to ride it home. I hurt my back a bit and to this day get migraine headaches now and then.

Good Luck on your future and stay as safe as possible.

rjdoles, sorry to hear about the accident and I'm happy it wasn't even worse for you. Riding is a very personal thing and like kenny Rogers sang ... you got to know when to hold, know when to fold 'em".

On a side note and in reaction to your comment on you and your wife "usually rode single file", I hope that also means staggered (you both occupied a different tire track) and one was comfortably behind the other distance wise (usually 1-2 seconds depending on your speed).

I'm glad things turned out as good as they did given the alternatives. All the best to you and the missus moving forward.

Glad you've survived, that's the main thing.
I would recommend a small open top sportscar as a substitute, a Mazda MX5 is always a good bet.
And you can still hang around here if you want to, no need to leave us all cos we'll be interested in 'what happens next'.

Sorry to hear about the accident but glad it wasn't much worse! I feel you about stopping riding. Wife and I are getting a newer small car soon and I have the feeling I to may quit riding 2-wheelers on the street once a car is chosen. My reason is not from an accident but just getting over it. I'll get a 20" electric bicycle that can haul a passenger and play around with that if I get the urge to ride 2 wheels. Can ride it in bike lanes and slip on sidewalks if needed.

Good news bad news story .....  Sorry for your accident but really glad you are able to tell us about it.  And really glad your wife made it out of her accident as well.

I maintain hearing stories or accident reports like your helps us all and may sharpen our skills or attentiveness.  I've learned to always keep the rear view in mind whenever stopping, especially.  This was learned after a couple of incidents where there were squealing tires behind me.  I also try to stop towards the right side of the lane.  That has saved me a couple of times.  The guy in the car behind seems to seldom pay full attention.

Kenny Rogers put it right ... know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em.

So,,, going for a BMW Z car now ???  That could be fun.  Be safe!

Mike

I am so sorry your life has changed forever. So happy to hear you did not get hurt. When stopped at a light I always stop to the left side of the car in front of me for an escape route between the two stopped cars in front of me. Had to escape once from a teenager texting.

Likewise sorry to hear about your accident rjdoles. I've been considering giving up on two wheels. Maybe late this summer. I started much like you on a Cushman, the slantback 50 series. Only one brake on the rear, no brake light unless the generator was manually engaged. I've owned a bunch of bikes since then and am still riding my '08 SW. If I had any sense I'd probably sell it and settle for my Jeep Liberty for the rest of my driving days.

I'm getting to an age that I think my string of luck with no accidents might end. I don't bounce well these days. I hope that you find another, perhaps safer interest soon.

exavid wrote:

Likewise sorry to hear about your accident rjdoles. I've been considering giving up on two wheels. Maybe late this summer. I started much like you on a Cushman, the slantback 50 series. Only one brake on the rear, no brake light unless the generator was manually engaged. I've owned a bunch of bikes since then and am still riding my '08 SW. If I had any sense I'd probably sell it and settle for my Jeep Liberty for the rest of my driving days.

I'm getting to an age that I think my string of luck with no accidents might end. I don't bounce well these days. I hope that you find another, perhaps safer interest soon.

What an amazing 50 years of technological improvements. The Swing has a good suspension, variable speed drive, front and rear disk brakes, mine had antilock brakes, fuel injection, good lighting, turn signals, loads of storage space, wind protection and good instrumentation.

All features that the Cushman didn't have but if you were 14 years old and your only transportation was a pedal bike it was great.

Sadly none of those features protect you from careless drivers.

It was and indeed I was in love with it four a year and a half until I got my first car, or more correctly my mobile mechanic's school.

Well sorry to hear about your accident you've had a long time riding motorcycles I understand getting older is hard to recover more so than when you were young, I am getting older now too. I broke my back in two spots when I was hit on my Harley by a drunk driver it was bad I am 64 now but I still ride I just cant give it up, i love the feeling of sitting on the bikes and moving down the road. Ive been in many bad accidents mostly racing dirt bikes but ive had my share of people hitting me on my street bikes and indeed it is scary. When I was hit last I was still in a cast all the way down my legs and i was out in the front yard seeing if I could kick start my Harley still of course I was a little younger and a little tougher I suppose ,I hope you and your wife have a long wonderful life and I suggest finding something fun to replace the motorcycles with that's safer for you.

Very sorry to hear about your accident. Distracted drivers are worse than drunks.  60 years on two wheels has many good memories well worth it. Right???  

Saw the aftermath of an accident yesterday Very bad rear end collision.  Women in SUV killed.
The truck was in back seat of SUV.  crushed it.  

Sad day for many.

Well, there are helmets for bicycles too. Getting on two wheels after an accident is great therapy. It is still a ways to the ground if you spill. Keep sharing your experience with us. Be well.

Hiyo wrote:

Well, there are helmets for bicycles too. Getting on two wheels after an accident is great therapy. It is still a ways to the ground if you spill. Keep sharing your experience with us. Be well.

I have gotten back on two wheels after a few minor scooter accidents but the older you get, the harder that is.

When I was 16 I bought a 65 Honda 305 SuperHawk. A few other friends with motorcycles were riding/clowning around one evening and the guy in the lead had a 305 Scrambler. He suddenly went ripping across the back of a neighborhood strip mall and I took off after him. It was an unlit parking lot. We had accelerated to about 70 mph when I saw the speed bump in my headlight. Luckily, Mike had just cleared the end of it but I was not so lucky.

The front end of the SuperHawk made it over OK but the rear suspension gave me a slap in the butt that pivoted me right around the handlebars. Had I known about the speedbump and been standing on the footpegs, I may have made it.

For an instant I was staring into my own headlight and then I landed in front of the bike. I should mention that I had all the safety gear of the day on. That would be a t-shirt, shorts and sandals. The bike started flipping end over end so I saw sparks plus headlight, taillight, headlight etc. I think that my sandals disappeared before I hit the ground. Every now and then the bike would land on me.

I was tumbling and I managed to turn onto my back and got spread eagle with my arms and legs out to try to stabilize myself. I could feel the asphalt burning whatever was touching the ground like my heels, butt, elbows and shoulders. I would lift one shoulder, butt or heel to try to even out the burn and hoping there was nothing in my path that I would hit. I was relieved when the bike started dropping back although I slid for a long time.

I spent 13 days in the hospital. I couldn't walk because I had a hole in my right ankle from the kickstand or something. A nurse applied alcohol, scrubbed it out with a soft brass brush and then a doctor stitched it up. I had also been scalped maybe from landing on my head although I don't recall that. Every day a nurse would wheel me to a room with a bathtub filled with Dreft soap. She would let me soak for a few minutes and then peel all the dressings off my roadrash areas and put on fresh ones.

It took quite a while before I was ready to ride again and even longer before I got my confidence back but from that day I always rode with good footwear, bluejeans and a helmet. I didn't have another accident until recently, nearly 56 years later. I don't know whether that was good luck or being more aware/careful or both.

It is funny how many years ago that was and yet that night is still clear in my mind. I am pretty sure that I won't be getting back on a two wheeler again.

Well do enjoy the forum now and again anyway.

Hello All
My wife and I gave up the two wheel scene after my last encounter with a truck but this coronavirus has forced us to spend so much more time at home that I am rethinking that. My wife can read a book for hours but I need something to do with my hands. I told my wife I wanted to buy a project bike. The intention was to fix it up and sell it.

I got on Craigslist and started looking for a bike. I just missed an 1985 Honda Elite 150. Then I found an ad for a 1977 Goldwing GL1000. It was a barn find that had been sitting for 15 years, had 45k miles on it and the owner said that he parked it when it developed an ignition probllem.

The 77 has a kickstarter and I was able to kick it through so I knew the engine wasn't stuck. It didn't have a battery so I didn't know about the electrics. The clutch handle was broken off. The front brake handle flopped back and forth and the rear brake pedal stuck down when I pressed on it. The throttle would not move. Overall the bike was in really nice shape and I thought that the problems I found were ones that I could deal with. I bought it for $500 and brought it home.

I never bought a barn find before where everything would have to be checked out. I never owned a bike that had 82 horsepower, weighed 600 lbs or that was so different. Just figuring out where things are was going to be a challenge.

When I got it home I sprayed the whole bike down with degreaser, power washed the degreaser off and then used a leaf blower to dry everything back off. I sprayed a little Stabil fogging oil into the cylinders and then order a battery and cables. Most of the past two month have been waiting on parts as I checked things out.

When the battery arrived I installed it, turned on the ignition switch and was pleasantly surprised to fine that all the lights, horn, gauges and starter worked. What I didn't have was spark.

The coils checked out and but there was an archaic electronic ignition that had replaced the original plate where the points were. I didn't know how to troubleshoot a potted black box ignition module so I ordered a DynaTek electronic ignition module and ballast resistor kit.

Once it arrived and I installed the ignition module I had spark. Wings have an inspection port over the flywheel and it has timing marks on it. I used the kick starter to crank it around and static timed both ignition coils. I poured some gas in the tank and sprayed a little starting fluid in the air filter box and hit the starter button. It fired right up with lots of smoke as the Stabil burned off. It wouldn't stay running if I left the rpm's get below about 3000 rpm.

I rechecked my static timing and the cylinder 3,4 coil was right on but the 1,2 coil was still off quite a bit. I reset the timing again and tried to start the engine again. Much better but it would still not idle. I put my hands over the exhaust on both sides and there was a much higher volume coming out of the left exhaust than the right. I adjusted the carburetor linkage to get a rough balance between sides and it would rough idle.

Over the past two months I have purchased about $800 in parts. I replaced all cables, the front master cylinder, rebuild all three brake calipers, new brake pads, replaced the cam timing belts, put on new tires and changed all fluids and filters. During the times when I was waiting on parts I have taken off anything that bolts on and cleaned, polished or painted it. I have had the carbs off twice and they are close but not quite right yet. For $1300 I have a bike that goes like the wind if you want it to but it doesn't have great manners at low speeds and low throttle openings yet.

I got a lot of good information from the goldwingowners.com website but then someone on that site recommended that I go to the Naked Goldwing site ngwclub.com as the focus would be on these old bikes. Great suggestion.

The plan was to get it running and then sell it but riding is something that you never get out of your blood and now that I have ridden it a couple of times .........

Wow! That is a good looking bike. Fun project and now you have a toy to play with!  Nice job.

So nice to have you stop by to say “Hello”, Mr Doles.

Nice bike. Too bad there isn’t a ‘before’ photo so that we can truly appreciate all your efforts.

Now if there was only a dusty old Silverwing tucked away in one of those Ohio barns...

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

So nice to have you stop by to say “Hello”, Mr Doles.

Nice bike. Too bad there isn’t a ‘before’ photo so that we can truly appreciate all your efforts.

Now if there was only a dusty old Silverwing tucked away in one of those Ohio barns...

I am already combing through the Craigslist ads for my next project. They say "idle hands are the devils workshop". I probably have several hundred hours in the bike but that time flew by and helped me keep my sanity. I look forward to getting up in the morning so I can get out to the garage.

That's a great story, and very inspiring from several angles too!
Thanks for sharing.

NICE, I have a friend in o-HI-o-s original capital that buys fixes and then rides " finds " then ends up selling them to buy another find

Very nice bike. Carbs. are always the hardest part vacuum slides stick hard to remove all the dirt in jets and internal passages. A clean tank is a must before any carb. work or dirt goes back in. Carb. boots are a problem vacuum leaks can really mess up balance.

I too have a friend in Ohio who has fixed up many Good Wings just like yours. They are really nice machines. The original power cruiser! The saddle is not my friend these days as I am trying not to irritate the old prostate. The fixing up part of my 03 Swing was quite entertaining over winter while recovering from the big C. It was great therapy and really helped but I may be moving her along with some regrets.
Anyway thanks for showing us your wing.

I am already combing through the Craigslist ads for my next project. They say "idle hands are the devils workshop". I probably have several hundred hours in the bike but that time flew by and helped me keep my sanity. I look forward to getting up in the morning so I can get out to the garage.

Ready for a 1982 Yamaha 550 Seca? my garage find that I never touched.

550 Seca, a nice little gem. They punched way beyond their size. I bought a 1982 Vision 550 new in 83. Remember them? It had half a V Max motor that revved to 10500 and an 85 mph speedo which I could bury the needle in about the middle to end of 2nd gear. All that and it was comfy on long tours. Wished I knew how good I had it 🤨. Sold it to put air conditioning in my first house.

Nice looking 'Wing. I had a shop in Tacoma, WA for nine years repairing 'old wings'. I'd buy neglected ones and tear them down and rebuild them. Not to be a show bike but to be a good 'rider'. It was fun, cleaning parts, repainting as necessary, and reassembling them and riding them for awhile before selling.
I got to ride all models of Goldwings that way. The GL1000 really wasn't made for a road bike, it was Honda's answer to The Kawasaki 1000. I sold out my shop and parts supply when I moved to Oregon but enjoyed those nine years bringing neglected back into shape and road worthy. Those old bikes are too good to scrap.

I found most of my old wings through neighborhood advertisement papers. The kind of paper that's mostly classified ads and such. Craigslist is also a good place to hunt too.

One caveat, if you do repair to resell don't change the name on the title. I got a bit of trouble when DMV noticed my name on a several Goldwings  titles when people went to re license bikes they'd bought from me. After that I just left the title in the name of the person I bought them from until I sold them. Saved me the cost of getting a dealer's license.

oldwingguy wrote:

I am already combing through the Craigslist ads for my next project. They say "idle hands are the devils workshop". I probably have several hundred hours in the bike but that time flew by and helped me keep my sanity. I look forward to getting up in the morning so I can get out to the garage.

Ready for a 1982 Yamaha 550 Seca? my garage find that I never touched.

My brother-in-law offered to give me an 80's something Suzuki GS550E Four that has been in his garage for years. I recall riding it when he first got it and I couldn't believe how fast it was. Probably quicker than my 70 CB750.

I didn't know much about GoldWings until I got this one. The 75-77's were the lightest and quickest. They were more sportbike than cruiser because they were a 1000 cc bike that had pretty hot camshafts and big carbs. They have a lumpy idle and their willingness to rev is pretty exhilarating. In 78 they dialed down the camshafts and fitted smaller carburetors to make them better cruisers and then began packing on the pollution controls, pounds and tupperware.

I need to sell this bike and find a scooter or Shadow project as I am probably going hurt myself with this thing. It begs me to use a lot of right wrist so that I can hear the music and I am a willing participant. I should know better because my reaction time probably isn't what it used to be. Where I used to get thrown off a dirt bike and just shake it off, now it takes me a day to recover from mowing the lawn.

I noticed a Yamaha Majesty in the backyard of my daughter's neighbor. It doesn't have a plate on it and hasn't moved for about 4 years. I might approach her about acquiring it as a 400 cc scooter just might put a damper on my suicidal tendencies.

My 2 crazy bikes were a Yamaha RD 350 and the Suzuki 1100 GSGK.

Y'all don't get too cocky on that Majesty if you land her. The distance from saddle to ground isn't much different .
Years ago I had an 85 Honda Sabre V65. I still have the memory of those fun years. If you don't remember those were the bikes to beat and why Yamaha built the Vmax. High 10 second quarter miles and what I thought pretty good handling too considering the wooden tires we were offered.
That little Suzy was (is) a little gem too. They had those heads with the yin and yang combustion chambers that was unique to Suzuki. If I remember right those 550's were not bad looking. That era of Suzuki styling was an acquired taste.

I officially made the decision today to quit riding scooters on 2 wheels. Quit riding motorcycles years ago. I was considering quitting the scooter (Liberty 150) over the last few months. I'm tired of the heat, cold, rain, cars driving like idiots, etc AND I wen't down at 5mph while crossing rail road tracks today. Plus my wife was on the back. Just got slammed on the ground and a few bumps and bruises but that was the final straw. So I'm done. Gonna retreat to a safe little cage. I still have the Silverwing trike.

Well wish you didn't have to do that. My Swing may be needing a new arse for her saddle soon too. I went the trike way after recovery. Started out with a Royal Star Venture dedicated trike which was nice. Traded sideways to a Burgman Motortrike, still got it. Thought I'd pick up a cheap scooter and fix er up. That was the Silverwing and she turned out nice but I didn't.

I just got reminded why we sold our scooters. I was in the left lane of a two lane commercial area and a woman in an SUV, while talking on her phone, just pulled into my lane nearly pushing me into the curb while I braked hard to keep from being hit by her. She didn't bother with a turn signal and just went on her way like nothing happened.

I guess that her thinking about other drivers is "You shouldn't be out here if you don't have good brakes".

Scary shstuff. And yet they question the why of road rage.

There ought to be a horn/braking interface whereby such an emergency braking maneuver would automatically trigger a very painful air horn blast. That’d certainly scare the bejesus out of that offending azzhole. Legal too.

Funny you mention air horn. I carry a air horn (those little white and blue ones form the boating section at Wal-Fart) in my left pocket and a jogger wrist wrap of mace on my right wrist. I was going to work and this guy just changes lanes and almost hits me. I lay on the scooter horn and he gets back in his lane. I reach for the air horn and was gonna blast him at the intersection. He must have thought I was pulling a gun. He gunned it and almost rear ended someone trying to escape. He got caught at the intersection turning left as I was pulling up (I didnt give chase) and he ran over the median strip into oncoming traffic to escape! All I wanted to do was blast the air horn in his window, and mace him if he got out. I didnt even have my Go Pro with me. I am looking into a louder horn. I have LOUD Wolo horns on the cars. And front/rear cameras.

Happy to hear that somebody felt fear after nearly injuring a fellow motorcyclist.
Some years back I was stopped at a RR crossing with one other car at 1:30am. A young feller got out of the car ahead of me and started approaching my vehicle. I reached under the seat for my Maglight. The lad turned tail and got back in the car. I am still not interested in whatever he had to ask me or whatever his intentions were.

rjdoles wrote:

I just got reminded why we sold our scooters. I was in the left lane of a two lane commercial area and a woman in an SUV, while talking on her phone, just pulled into my lane nearly pushing me into the curb while I braked hard to keep from being hit by her. She didn't bother with a turn signal and just went on her way like nothing happened.

I guess that her thinking about other drivers is "You shouldn't be out here if you don't have good brakes".

My grandad told me two things when I got my first bike: 'around every blind bend there's a steamroller stopped in the middle of the road' and 'everyone else on the road is out to kill you'.

This 77 Goldwing barn find has created a connundrum for me.

I bought it so that I would have a project during this covid as I was going a little stir crazy. My intention was to get it running and then sell it. Since I bought the bike it gave me a reason to get up in the morning. I was eager to get to the garage. On days when new parts arrived I could install them or on days when I was waiting on parts I could take something off the bike and paint, polish or clean it.

When the new battery arrived it allowed me to check out the lights, gauges, switches and verify that the starter worked and confirm that there was no spark.

When the brake parts arrived and with the help of Youtube I rebuilt the master cylinders and calipers. The bike now rolls free and the brakes work great.

Likewise Youtube helped with the replacement of the timing belts.

I bought tires and with my wife's help we got them on although that is an episode we probably won't be repeating.

The previous owner said that he parked the bike about 15 years ago when it developed an ignition problem. I checked the coils and they were OK and it had an aftermarket electronic replacement for the points. I had no way to troubleshoot that system so I ordered a DynaTek ignitor kit. Once I installed the points replacement plate and new ballast I got spark. I was able to static time both coils.

Amid the cloud of smoke that was my Stabil cylinder fogging oil burning off I was elated when it first fired up. I soon discovered that it wouldn't idle. After sitting for years, a carb rebuild was a given. The 4 carbs and all the intricate linkage were the most intimidating part of getting the bike running. I had the carbs off twice. After the carb rebuild the engine didn't run any better. I found a blog from Randakks that specializes in OldWings. It stated that if the float levels on all 4 corners of all 4 carbs were not 21 mm all other attempts at tuning was a waste of time. The carbs came back off and although my float levels weren't that far off........ Once I readjusted the float levels I had a sweet running bike.

The problem is that my $500 barn find is probably only worth $2000. That is not much more than I have in the cost of the bike and the many new parts. It was more of a project to give me something to do over the past four months to maintain my sanity in this covid world we live in. What is that worth?

I know the risks with so many irresponsible drivers out there. Being in my 70's even a minor accident has greater consequences for me now. I have had the bike out a few times now and it is such a pleasure to ride that it is going to be hard to give up.

My grandad told me two things when I got my first bike: 'around every blind bend there's a steamroller stopped in the middle of the road' and 'everyone else on the road is out to kill you'.[/quote]


It was my mom that said if you're going to ride at least wear a helmet, she bought me my 1st one, no idea how many I've bought since but I still wear one. I darn near bought the farm when a left turner got me, mom's helmet made it a little worse for hurt, but ruined the helmet. Thinking back I made the trip to the hospital in the back of a hearse, no emergency squads back then but that's another story.

Never wrecked as a licensed driver. There was a time when a friend and I 'borrowed' his brother's Rupp mini-bike. We were riding in an old factory dirt lot. I was trailing a fellow on a Honda (with brakes and everything). He turned because he could. I went straight because I couldn't turn and slammed a chain link fence at about 30mph. Luckily it was in between the posts. Pretty sure the brakes (?) by Mercury were the cause. It was rather cartoon like. My glasses remained at the fence while the Rupp and I were hurtled rearward. Never really wrecked (on 2 wheels anyway) other than that.

Weirdest thing to happen to me while riding my bike was: stopped at red light and guy in front of me decided to backup for some reason. His car started to ride up my front tire. I could see his expression in his mirror as his rear end to rise up into the air, a WT? look. Anyway tire and rim were fine and he apologized but I guess it taught both of us a lesson.