[ST] Crash and New Bike (long)

[John Morin <jmorin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Well it's been a little more than a month since the carnage in the hills,
better known as the Bandera Rat Raid. If y'all hadn't heard, I went down on
336. There's not really much to tell cause I don't remember going down, it
happened that fast. No slow motion, no sense of "oh shit, this is gonna
hurt!" All I remember is looking up and seeing blue sky from under a tree
and riders coming to a stop.  Anyway, I was following Greg Casey and another
rider on a S3 (don't remember his name) from Lakeway (suburb of Austin)
going south on 336.  We were going up the bigger part of the hill up to a
right hander.  Somewhere at the apex is where I went down.  Lowsided and
skidded off under a tree.

I had scrapes on the right elbow and shoulder of my jacket and on my left
knee and boot.  My helmet had most of the paint missing on the chin bar and
numerous stress fractures in the fiberglass. I truly believe my helmet saved
my life.  If I wasn't wearing a full face, I probably wouldn't be here.
I've got a picture of the helmet if anyone's interested.  The Joe Rocket
Meteor jacket did a great job considering the pavement was like a huge
cheese grater. I did have some minor burns on my forearms that were gone in
2 days. The biggest injury is a broken right ankle from where it got pinned
under the bike. Actually it's more like a chipped bone.  The outside bone,
not sure of the name, was broken at the very bottom, about a 1/4 inch. No
tendons or ligaments torn, but definitely messed up. Was in a cast and on
crutches for 3 weeks and now have a walking cast for another 3. Healing is
going very good. I also had about a silver dollar size bit of road rash. I
was wearing jeans. Yes, I've learned my lesson and will buy proper riding
pants. You'd think I had have learned from Dunc's street luge. I've worn
jeans through over 10 years of riding dirt and street.  Habits are hard to
break.

That Monday, I called my insurance company, Dairyland, and got the process
of settlement started.  They said the bike was totaled. I really didn't get
to see it very good but I do know that most of the front end was destroyed.
It slid into a tree and some large rocks and basically ripped the fairings
off including the light assy.  Not sure how much more damage.  I got my
settlement checks last week.  Only thing that wasn't cover was the jacket.
All I can say about Dairyland is that they were great. No hassles,
everything went smooth.

Now since I've been given a chance to buy a new bike and have been wanting
something more adventure type vs. sport touring because I plan on going to
Copper Canyon and other points south next year, I was looking at few
bikes...Tiger, R1150GS, Caponord.  I've ridden a Tiger and R1150GS, but not
a Caponord.  That didn't matter cause the Caponord fell off the list quick.
No reliable dealer support and, as many miles as I put on a bike, I felt a
little nervous about not getting parts.  I didn't even consider a Japanese.
I like a bike with style and soul. I like the organic (Tiger) or engineering
(BMW) styles vs. the Battlestar Gallactia looking bikes that have been
coming from Japan. The Tiger was looking good. I love the triple. Can't beat
the growl of a triple on the boil. But I remembered how top heavy this bike
is and didn't think it could handle fire roads and sand that well(IMO), plus
it was rather tall for me.  So I started looking for an R1150GS and found
one.  A blue and white 2001 with 7k on the clock, ABS, heated grips, engine
guards and other goodies for $1k more than I could get a new 2002 Tiger.
Yes, I jumped ship. Sorry, but if I was looking for another sport tourer, it
would be a silver '03 ST. A couple other factors why I chose the GS...one,
much more aftermarket accessories for the GS. Two, lots more dealers and
readily available parts; Triumph has got to get their parts/support worked
out. Three, when a group of us went to Bull Shoals, one of Dunc's buddies
had one. If anyone thinks these things are slow or can't go through a turn
at speed, think again. He left me in the dust. Oh yeah, he was also two up.
I'll probably never reach the skill level as this gentleman, but I know the
GS will perform when asked.

I hope to see everyone on the road soon. Again, sorry for the long post.

John
Austin, healing quickly
'01 R1150 (in the garage next week)
'01 ST BRG (26k - RIP)

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