It was the week before Christmas 1995 and was 24F outside. I'd just finished a 4pm- midnight shift & gone for bite to eat at an all night diner. On the way home, I stopped to check my p.o. box. Colder than cold, I was weraing street clothes under a leather BMW "Sprint Suit" (anyone remember when Comp. Accessories sold those for $325?) Anyhow, I was also trying out some Stearns neoprene fisherman's gloves for warmth. {They sucked}. On the way out of the post office parking lot, I hooked a hard right U turn up a steep exit road. I rolled the throttle on abruptly because it was fun to try and loft the heavy Transalp's front wheel a bit up that hill. Problem was, I caught the edge of the fresh pavement at the same time I gave it the gas. My left hand, gloved in the stretchy neoprene and bitterly cold, came off the left handgrip as I tugged back on the bars. I sort of fell backwards and to the right side. My right hand was in firm acceleration mode causing the bike to really get moving. "Oh, crap!" fogged up my face shield and the wobbling Transalp raced across the road - not up it. Blinded by the fogged shield, I hit the curb, went straight *through* a 4 foot holly bush - snapping it off at the ground - and then up a short embankment into the back side of a structure made to contain trash cans. It was a roughly foot high 4X6 concrete slab with a 2X4 framework paneled with siding-like boards placed vertically. The Honda made it over and through the wall. I got caught by the top of the framework and raked off the bike. Since it was on private property, I wasn't charged with anything. But, I got a police report for insurance purposes. At first, the officer on scene was wary of my condition. He checked my breath and determined I was cold sober {no pun intended} and telling the truth. But, he couldn't see the motorcycle. "If you wrecked a bike, where is it?" Me, "See that tail light sticking out of the wall up there?" Officer, "Oh, man. That had to hurt!" Yep. It did. eddie
----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] robert@... [b]To: [/b]transalp1@... [b]Sent:[/b] 3/30/2010 5:50:28 PM [b]Subject:[/b] Re: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Nazi helmets NKLR???
THROUGH a plank wall?!
So ..... tell us the story!
Robert P. Wichert P.Eng +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 (snip)In 1995, I rode a Honda Transalp through a plank wall (long story). The chin bar on my Shoei RF200 had a nice dried paint stripe across it. My teeth and jawbone were completely unharmed. In fact, thanks to a full set of leathers, i had no injuries other than some bruises. The Honda was technically totaled. eddie