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A little humor
- Thread starter ENCORE50A
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His son
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Right on brotha
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It was probably the most fun I've had on a ride. My buddy Ruben is the only guy I know who got hurt worse then I did on a bike and not only didn't die, but ride again!
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I'm bustin a gut here. My freakin wall Callander is still on Sept 2019 I quit shaving EVERYTHING, & I have shot 2 deer & 1 turkey in sweat pants tee shirt & house slippers ( My Huntin slippers) this yr I shot 2 deer right out the fam rm door. I had to put down my coffee 2 times to shoot out the door. LMFAO My truck is up on blocks next to the barn.
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I hear ya bro, I've had a near fatal crash too & way to many not so bad ones & holy S*#T close calls myself. I've lost count a long time ago of how many bros & buddys I've lost over the last 35+yrs on the rd & in & around the MC world. No Idea how I'm still here, in kinda one piece, & still have my freedom.
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I never knew I only owned four pair of sweats. I will endeavour to correct this shortcoming in the immediate future.
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Yeh, it's been a long strange trip alright.
I went along for almost 40 years without a serious incident then I made up for it in one accident. My left hand? It's fine! It's the only thing I didn't break. Seriously! I think I broke more stuff then Knievel in that accident. Spent months in the hospital, years in rehab, and dozens of surgical procedures. But I swear, I bought another bike while still in a body cast on crutches. The guy who sold me the bike thought he was on candid camera. Took me two years to get on it. I've had to make some adjustments to how I ride and for how long but I still ride. In fact I did a 2000 mile solo ride around the great lakes and Ontario. I camped out all but two nights. It was awesome. I've been riding something with a motor and two wheels for almost 50 years now. I'm not slowing down yet! (Well, maybe a little)
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Turns out there's a break-in period with a new pair of Crocs, too. (Who knew?)
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I was in Virginia for a few weeks of Army schools, when my wife emailed me the first 3D ultrasound wherein I first saw my only child's face. Later on the drive home to Colorado, I noticed how many motor vehicle operators (from four to eighteen wheels) had their faces stuck in their smartphones, even through the 3/4/5 lane mayhem zone on I-80 between I-65 and I-55 at 80+ mph. I had 2-1/2 days alone behind the wheel to think about all my near misses in traffic on sport bikes, and of all the other things I could probably do for that unborn baby girl with what I'd saved up to buy myself an Indian Chief Vintage as a retirement present to myself within just a few short years of that time. I spent the next day after I got home shining up my commuter bike for Craigslist pictures. Until something changes to get other motorists' attention back on what they're doing once they put it in Drive, I'm afraid I'm done trying to share the road with them unless I have some steel & airbags around me now. Overall I don't regret chickening out & leaving 2 wheels behind me, but then sometimes I see a sunset & feel my right wrist involuntarily start to roll a bit. Maybe someday I'll get us into a retirement community where I can at least have a scooter to go get cat food & Metamucil. Maybe I can put Indian saddlebags on a Super Cub...
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I stopped riding a long time ago, but also for the same reasons........ people in cars with their heads in their ask. And that was long before cell phones!
I have no clue, even back then where people's heads were. I lucked out the last time, when a woman was waiting on a car that was ahead of me so she could turn left, then while it seemed like she was looking me right in the eye, turned right in front of me. I locked it up and had it sliding and I don't believe you could have gotten a finger between me and the back of her car. I didn't lay the bike down, but damn it was close. Thank God the wife knew enough to keep her feet on the pegs and ride it out with me.
I pulled that bike over, we got off and the wife was crying like a baby. Another couple we didn't know, was on a bike back behind us and stopped to see if we were ok. His first words to me were, "I can't believe you didn't crash!". I'll never forget how close that was, nor the location. East Lansing, MI and on Grand River Ave, just past the old Greyhound bus station.
Once the wife was able to get back on the bike, we rode it directly home, I parked it next to the road and put a FOR SALE sign on it. Three days later, a guy came and bought it, loaded it on a trailer and that was the last time I ever seen the bike. I'd put a lot of money and time into that Harley, chopping it. All molded, painted with what back then was called "flip flop colors". Had the mural of Pandora's box on the gas tank, with Zeus on the oil tank, holding a spear in one hand, three lightening bolts in the other. 18" over stock Fury twisted steel front end.
In 2016 and after being retired 11yrs and also being retired away from "city life", I got the urge to ride again. I asked the wife if she'd like to ride again and to my surprise, she said yes. We decided we'd go look over the Harley Road Glides. However, before we made the trip to the Harley dealer, we were watching a NASCAR race when an advertisement came on from Polaris about something called a Slingshot. It REALLY caught the wife's attention.
Side by side, inside a cage, seat belts and roll bars. Thinking about getting older and holding up a heavy bike wouldn't be as easy as days long past. We made the trip to the Polaris dealer and to shorten the story, the wife wrote the check.
Is it safer than being on 2 wheels? Yes. It is a much larger foot print for people in cars to see, at least somewhat better. Yes........ I still have that urge to be on two wheels, but we're happy with the Slingshot and most importantly, the wife feels much more safe. That means everything.
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Maybe autonomous vehicles will make riding safer. A computer program cant do any worse than the nut with his/her eyes on a fone and a cheeseburger in the other hand. driving with their knees.
I too will give up my cruiser for something a bit lighter and just do more shorter rides.
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Hey, Thanks, Encore. Maybe someday when my daughter no longer qualifies as a dependent on my tax return, I'll also find some new and safer way to get bugs in my teeth in whatever Brave New World we live in then. I appreciate you sharing your success story in returning to Happiness Behind Handlebars. You've restored my hope!
I imagine it was just a different world of tougher for you to say goodbye to your handworked custom Harley, than it was for me to offload a $900 secondhand stock Honda Rebel 250. Like I said, used primarily as an in-town commuter bike - but it was enough to put my face in the wind exploring paved rural county roads on sunny Saturday mornings and it sure was helpful to our checkbook during $4/gallon gas days in Colorado after the 2008 meltdown. I had sold my CBR600 to pay for repairs on my parents' home a few years prior, another situation in which I've never regretted my decision but lament the circumstances that made it necessary. Now, THAT bike, I still miss!
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They made a 450 rebel for 1 or 2 years. Wish i could find one. But if you miss gettin a face full of bugs just bust that w/s outta yer truck and head up and down some dirt roads! Wear some safety glasses and you will have a blast! Im not gonna comment on how much fun you'll have if you do it at night with the lights off...
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I'm still in it kinda deep!
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Well the Polaris Slingshot really doesn't have handlebars LOL
Its a trike with a wheel, sorta. It has the GM 2.4L engine with a 5 speed transmission RWD. Your butt is only 5" off the ground.
When ever someone wants to go for a ride, I ask them rather they want the scenic ride or the adventure ride. Those who choose the adventure ride, normally leave finger prints in the roll cage. Its well known to scare the living ship out of 1st time adventure riders
Honestly, Polaris did very well with the safety features on this machine. No air bags, but belts and roll hoops. Some of these have been in pretty bad accidents and the safety features worked top notch. There's actually a video on youtube of a guy hitting a deer with one. Never broke a panel on the machine. They set so low, it flipped the deer right over the top!
Sorry for the following poor photos. Remember, these were taken back when digital was only a twinkle in someone's eye.
I wanted the mural on the bike to reflect Greek mythology. The custom painter put the legend of Pandora's box on the tank. She opened the box and all the demons escaped. They were painted in 3-D in the smoke that rose up around the tank cap. Then of course Zeus on the oil tank holding the spear and lightening bolts. The 18" over Fury twisted steel front end and the twisted "Z" handle bars set it off pretty darn good. Lots of labor, love and money in that bike.
Again, sorry about the photos. They do not do the bike justice at all. Actually, I had lost all my photos of this bike somehow. I was lucky that one of my sisters had these.
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I had an iron head in 77Well the Polaris Slingshot really doesn't have handlebars LOL
Its a trike with a wheel, sorta. It has the GM 2.4L engine with a 5 speed transmission RWD. Your butt is only 5" off the ground.
When ever someone wants to go for a ride, I ask them rather they want the scenic ride or the adventure ride. Those who choose the adventure ride, normally leave finger prints in the roll cage. Its well known to scare the living ship out of 1st time adventure riders
Honestly, Polaris did very well with the safety features on this machine. No air bags, but belts and roll hoops. Some of these have been in pretty bad accidents and the safety features worked top notch. There's actually a video on youtube of a guy hitting a deer with one. Never broke a panel on the machine. They set so low, it flipped the deer right over the top!
View attachment 8547
Sorry for the following poor photos. Remember, these were taken back when digital was only a twinkle in someone's eye.
I wanted the mural on the bike to reflect Greek mythology. The custom painter put the legend of Pandora's box on the tank. She opened the box and all the demons escaped. They were painted in 3-D in the smoke that rose up around the tank cap. Then of course Zeus on the oil tank holding the spear and lightening bolts. The 18" over Fury twisted steel front end and the twisted "Z" handle bars set it off pretty darn good. Lots of labor, love and money in that bike.
Again, sorry about the photos. They do not do the bike justice at all. Actually, I had lost all my photos of this bike somehow. I was lucky that one of my sisters had these.
View attachment 8548
View attachment 8549
View attachment 8550
. It was my second "New" bike. It was an XLT sporty. Actually very rare today as it was originally built for the European market.
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Mine started as a "72" XLH 1000.
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My present dance partner, 2007 FLHT. I've had it since it was new.
