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Two weeks ago . . .

Discussion in 'Trips N' Trails - the ride is the adventure' started by joshbob, Feb 23, 2015.

  1. joshbob

    joshbob Well-Known Member

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    . . . I went on a nice day ride with Tony here in eastern Carolina - just a seedy looking old fart (me), and a badass looking tattooed dude, cruising on our shovel bobbers. It was a fun time and one of the very few times the two of us rode together in search of adventure.
    It was nearly 70 out, a rare, perfect February day to ride. About noon, while out in the country, my foot activated clutch lever came loose and I couldn't disengage the clutch, so I pulled over, hit the kill button, got off and we proceeded to tighten it back up. We talked about it and decided that when I got home, I was going to have to drill a hole through the lever and part way into the shaft and drive a rod into the hole, or thread the hole and install a set screw, to keep the lever from slipping again.
    The afternoon wore on. We had just been burning gas up till around the time the bars started to open, and we went to a couple. Altogether, I had just 1 beer and 3 or 4 bottles of water, plus whatever snacks were available. At around 4 PM we headed back to our neck of the woods and parted ways. I was still 15 miles from home when I came up behind a pickup stopped at a light. I geared down and was still in second when the dang lever slipped again. Before I could react, the front tire of my bike smacked into that big, steel fender and flopped over on the left side, throwing me into the road on my left shoulder. Boys, that asphalt is a mighty hard aquaintance to meet!
    I felt I was hurt pretty bad, as it took about a minute before I peeled myself and the bike up off the road. The guy rushed out of his truck, checked to see if I was okay. He wanted to call an ambulance and I said, " Don't bother - I'm good." There was no damage to the truck and my bike looked okay. There was nobody else around, just us, as we were in a little bitty town.
    I got my tools out and tightened the dang thing up again, hoping it would hold till I got home. I kicked the bike over and got on and realized I couldn't raise my left arm to reach the bars. I got going and made it home, arm hanging uselessly at my side. I could barely move it to my jockey shifter to change gears.
    Next day, I went to my chiro and got x-rays. He said I had 3 broken ribs and a separated shoulder. There were other injuries as well, but those were the most serious. This was an adventure I'll not soon forget;).
  2. badinfluence63

    badinfluence63 Well-Known Member

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    Dang JB...sorry. Is your bike a jockey shift. Doesn't make it any less painful. And nothing you can do about ribs either. They heal when they heal. Does it hurt to breath? Do you have to lay a certain way? Probably not much damage to the bike? Scratch here and there? Any chance of switching.

    Other then that how you been?
  3. FLHTbiker

    FLHTbiker Moderator Staff Member

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    Sorry to hear of your troubles JB, that had to hurt and the older we get the longer it takes to heal up. With this winter you guys in the east are getting plenty of time to heal up and get momma to make you lots of home made soups. Hang in their and not the way we like to hear from you so get well.
  4. Fatboy128

    Fatboy128 Well-Known Member

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    Get better soon brother!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  5. marc 55

    marc 55 Well-Known Member

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    Damn...Glad you walked away from it...Get well soon...
  6. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Glad you're ok, guess you'll have to pin your shifter

    I've cracked a rib or two, hurts like a mother, and that's
    generally when you need to sneeze a lot so the pain doubles.

    Get some good pain pills, a nice sofa and rest up...
  7. Roadster guy

    Roadster guy Well-Known Member

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    I hurt my back snowboarding with my daughter, now I feel like a wimp after reading your issues!
  8. bguillory66

    bguillory66 Active Member

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    Wow! Sorry to hear this JB, glad you gonna recover and get back on da hoss that throwed ya! Get well soon, spring a-comin.
  9. joshbob

    joshbob Well-Known Member

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    Yup, I have to lay on my back, but it hurts no matter how I lay down. Still hurts when I breathe, but I'm doing better now - missed work the first week and part of the second - but now back at it. My bike suffered far less damage than I did! A few scratches here and there; nothing a little sanding and a rattle can of flat black won't fix.

    I am going to pin the lever to the shaft. Also going to add a front brake, but haven't decided to go with a disc or a drum - but I have plenty of time to think about it - and save up some money.

    A drum would look retro and I wouldn't have a big, fugly reservoir on the bars. On the other hand, a disc would have a lot more stopping power, and I could keep the wheel I now have. I have shaved lower legs, but I saved a brake lug and could have it welded back on a lower leg where needed, if I go with the drum.
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2015
  10. badinfluence63

    badinfluence63 Well-Known Member

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    Disk stops better then drum,imho. Not as neat,retro or tucked in as drum but more efficient. I ran disk on my pan,no front brakes Iused these:

    http://www.performancemachine.com/
  11. Sleepy

    Sleepy Well-Known Member

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    Go for the disc. hope you heal well. Take it easy .
  12. marc 55

    marc 55 Well-Known Member

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    I put PM's on my Wide Glide and loved them...Better than stock...
  13. Fatboy128

    Fatboy128 Well-Known Member

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    That is something I've been considering Do you have twin calipers on the front? Did you go with both calipers and rotors?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  14. JohnnyBiker

    JohnnyBiker Well-Known Member

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    That really sucks Joshbob ! I hope you heal quick! Be careful! Bikes can be replaced, you cannot!
  15. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Go with disk I say this because it's your daily driver not a show only bar only bike
  16. marc 55

    marc 55 Well-Known Member

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    On the subject of accidents American Iron this month has a pretty good overview on what to do, what not to do and how to navigate the legal system...
  17. Roadster guy

    Roadster guy Well-Known Member

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    +1!!!
  18. joshbob

    joshbob Well-Known Member

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    Yes, and there are a lot of nice bobbers out there that have disc brakes fore and aft. I think PM brakes are a bit out of my price range. Looking right now at a Kawasaki front caliper to match my rear one. I will just have to get over having a fluid reservoir on the bars - some of them aren't so bad, after all.
  19. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Yeah but it's better than laying on the sofa in pain and not riding at all...
    FLHTbiker likes this.
  20. joshbob

    joshbob Well-Known Member

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    Nah, I'm up and moving around more than sitting around. I'll be riding soon, maybe in a couple of weeks. By then the weather should be a lot better. We've been having some bad weather here lately, ice and snow and the like. It's 17 out now. Today headed out to my chiro and breakfast and to see Tattoo. Should be a good morning.

    The interesting thing about my accident is that Mac the Wife and my mother-in-law never said a negative word about me riding again :).

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