[Author Index] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

[ST] Exorcism; Cows; and Third Time's a charm



- -Exorcism, Part I-

Today I rode the Blue Devil down to my dealer to have them fix two
warranty items. My warranty is up on the Tuesday and I wanted to make
sure that these demons were exorcised by then. They replaced my original
fuel sender, tightened my top box mounting plate and reseated its
gasket. This took them all of an hour and twenty minutes. After I left I
filled the tank and lo and behold the needle goes to full. First time
since the day I got it. I decide to go home a different way. "I wonder
where this road goes?" was the phrase du jour. Trust me it is a great
way to exorcise the demons from a hectic week at work.

- -Cows, Part I-

I wound westward out of Freehold, NJ and eventually found myself in cow
country. I figured I would work my way toward the Delaware River where
the twisties are abundant. I ended up heading north on Rt 519 which runs
through some nice rolling hills and a few fun curves. Every time I saw a
yellow sign with a black squiggle on it I grinned ear to ear. Rolling
hills through cow pastures. The Blue Devil and I were in heaven. At one
point I come upon a sharp left hander and the sign says 15 mph. The white
wagoneer stopped me from going much faster than that. Shortly after the
curve I caught a beautiful view of the valley below. Cows, corn and
churches. When 519 meets Rt. 173 in Greenwich, NJ the signs for 519
suddenly disappear. I decide to turn left (later I would learn that I
chose the correct way). After a couple of miles the signs indicate that
I'm approaching the intersection of I-78 and US22. Nope. I don't want to
go there. I'll head back into cow country.

- -Exorcism and Cows Part II-

As I'm heading east on Rt. 173 at about 40-45mph I'm approaching a spot
where there is a liquor store on the right. After the store the road
curves to the right and heads slightly down hill. That was when a woman
in a Volvo coupe traveling west decides to turn left into the liquor
store lot. I swerve to the left, grab the brakes, I hear a skid which I
swear was her (I was only on the front brake) and BANG. I was watching
her and concentrating on not going into the oncoming lane. In my effort
to avoid that I slam into her, right between the bumper and the quarter 
panel. I'm not sure where she went from there but the "Blue Devil" went 
another 68' (according to the officer) down the westbound lane. I went 
about 35' down the center line after landing on my right forearm and 
having my helmet smack the ground. I look at the Blue Devil lying there 
on its right side with the rear wheel spinning. "F^ck. F^ck. F^ck." I 
look the other way, the woman comes up to me and asks if I'm OK and do I 
want her to call 911. My knee is killing me. "YES." I look back at the 
Blue Devil and all I can think is that the engine will get ruined if it 
continues to run on its side. "F^ck. F^ck. F^ck." I get up, wave to stop 
the traffic coming up the hill and hobble over to it and hit the kill 
switch. I see the brake lever has been snapped off. I hobble to the 
grass on the side of the road and collapse.

"F^ck. F^ck. F^ck." I remove my gloves and helmet. I take out my
earplugs and take the time to gently place them in their case in my
inside left pocket. I take off my jacket and dig for my cell phone. I
see that I have a decent signal so I call my wife. The phone kept
cutting in and out. Later I discovered that all she knew was that I was
down, the Blue Devil was trashed and I would call her later.

By now a paramedic and a fireman have shown up. I start looking around. 
The Blue Devil is on its right side 6 feet from me pointed straight at 
me. The little center light is still on. The right turn indicator is 
lying loose. The right mirror appears to be missing. I can't tell where 
the right hand grip is. The top box appears unscathed and the left side 
is untouched. Looking around I see a relay, a few unidentifiable bits 
and numerous shards of fairing. Looking back at the Blue Devil I realize 
that it is dead. Three days short of its second birthday. That woman, in 
one move of absolute stupidity, managed to exorcise the Devil out from 
under me. I would rather have a woman get me off the Devil for better 
reasons. I look back toward her car and I start laughing. I knocked her 
rear bumper completely off the car. At one point I hear her say that her 
husband is going to kill her. I'm thinking "Lady, get away from me 
before I do."

Surveying the damage of my personal equipment I notice that my helmet 
and visor are scratched up. The right knee of my Vanson Pro-Perf pants 
is torn through the first layer of leather. I feel a slight pain on my 
right forearm, see an abrasion so I look at the Vanson Avenger jacket. 
It has a similar scrape. Later at the hospital I would learn that my 
right Triumph Trophy boot was scraped up. I still haven't looked at the 
gloves. Over $1000 in cow skin and my skin is doing OK. Thank you. Oh 
Great Cow. Thank you. Thank you. You did not die in vain. (You merely 
were dyed in Vanson.)

By now the place is crawling with paramedics, firemen and one lone cop. 
The fireman are throwing speedy dry under the Blue Devil. I hear them 
trying to figure out where the gas is coming from. I tell them that 
there's about 4 gallons in the tank. One guesses that its the overflow 
tube and if they pick it up it will just spew all over the place. I just 
  figure that the Blue Devil is dead and they'll figure out what to do 
with the body.

I'm being poked and prodded and asked all kinds of questions. The cop 
asks how fast was I going. Quickly remembering that the speed limit was 
40 I reply, "Uh. About 40." They package me up and cart me off to the 
local hospital.

At the hospital the cop asks me what happened I give him a brief run 
down from my point of view. He asks me again, how fast was I going.

"About 40. I'm not really sure. It happened pretty fast," I reply.
"Let me tell you something," he starts. "Your bike was 68 feet from the 
point of impact."
"Wow." I'm thinking here comes the bad news.
He breaks it to me gently. "That tells me that you weren't traveling 
very fast. It was clearly her fault. It's obvious that she turned in 
front of you. Had you been going 50 or 60 your bike would have gone 
another two or three hundred feet."
I can't help but think, "YES! I've been exonerated.

After all the x-rays and other doctor type things, they determine that 
all I have is a very sore knee. Heck. They don't even give me a good 
prescription for pain killers. Party poopers.

I don't know where they took the Devil. The last time I saw it it was 
laying there motionless. One of the firemen had shut off the key. The 
lone center light was out. I fear my baby is dead.

- -Third Time's a Charm-

During the ride home it dawns on me that that was the third time that 
the Blue Devil has been down. All three times on its right side. Once at 
5 mph, once at 0 mph, but this one was a doozie. Third time's a charm. 
Yeah. Right. Who's charm? The Devil's?

Pictures and updates to follow.

Oh. BTW. Thank you to all who replied to my chain query. I ordered the 
chain and sprockets yesterday morning and canceled the orders after I 
got home. Saved myself some money the hard way!

- -- 
Steve "Devil Dawg" Lawler

2000 Sprint ST "Blue Devil" M.I.A.
Twisted sense of humor still intact




     *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
      The ST/RS Mailing list is sponsored by Jack Lilley Ltd.
          http://www.TriumphNet.com/st/lilley for more info
   http://www.TriumphNet.com/st for ST, RS and Mailing List info

=-=-=-= Next Message =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=