Greg Krabach

Well - I decided that I'm going to sell my bike. God gave me wisdom (some at least) and I'll put it to good use. I look back on what happened...on how things played out and I realized how lucky I am. Many things could've got different [read: much worse] and the fact that I have the chance to reflect on that without permanent injury is a blessing that I am not about to take for granted.

As much fun as it was to ride, it was a big risk every time I went out - the instability that is gained when you remove two wheels is quite drastic (and I'm not about to ride a trike). I will seriously miss the ride, but it's all for the best.

Wise words passed to me by many bikers when I first got my bike, and I have never doubted it for a second, but now I have experienced it. I was on my way home from work the other day and there was some construction in my normal path, so I took a small detour that many others have been taking. Unfortunately, due to the extra traffic, some fine sand/gravel had built up at the corner and when I went to make the turn, my tires grabbed that instead of road. I'm not sure, but I suspect my tire also tapped the curb as it was sliding out from underneath me, but the end result is that my bike fell on it's left (left hand turn), and I flipped/rolled of the right hand side of the bike. I recall what seems like about 2 seconds of me sliding on my head (kind of fun in a "in hindsight" kind of way - not something I would willingly do again though), and then I instinctively rolled. I stood up - shook myself off, took my helmet off...assessed damage to myself. Looking at the bike I noticed it was leaking fuel [but this was out of the top of the gas tank and that's because the seal on the cap isn't very good], so I got the bike back upright.

Lucky me this was a very minor fall - but one I will never forget. Personal injuries amounted to bruising my left thigh (from hitting the bike prior to rolling off the right side), bruised ankle (slightly rolled the ankle when I tried [in vain] to land on my feet), a quarter sized area on the heel of my hand that got skinned through gloves (btw - paintball gloves, while useful, are not as protective as leather gloves), and about two days later my body aches all over from the stress of it. All-in-all, personally I say I made out VERY lucky [read: no major/permanent injuries]

My bike.....well that made out fairly well too. I broke the left mirror's frame, busted the front right turn signal, scratched some of the right casing of the bike, and snapped the clutch lever on the handle bar. Despite these issues, I was able to ride the bike home (able to position the remnants of the clutch lever enough to shift, but I never went past 3rd gear. Oh - and as for the helmet - it only sustained a nice line of scratches.

All this being said, I will ride again! I will get better gloves this time, and I will get protective riding pants (despite the fact that I despise the look of chaps - hopefully I can find something else for a decent price). And I even have the blessing of my beautiful wife !

That's right, the solid pattern continues and we're having a boy!

While Sheri was kind of hoping for a girl (hey, who wasn't), we both are still very excited. Baby appears to be completely healthy, including 10 fingers and 10 toes, even better apparently he likes to sleep on his back, so the technician says. During the ultrasound we saw him playing with his feet and then we also have a picture where he's touching his chin.Now, Sheri can finally start decorating everything and clothes can be bought.

Today's the second day I rode my bike into work, and things went a lot smoother than they did yesterday as I actually knew how to get to work this time- haha. It is really an exhilarating experience, riding down the streets with nothing but your wits, your dexterity and your bike's capabilities to protect you. Seeing where I came from - I would agree with everyone else when they say, "I would never have pegged you for a motorcycle rider".

On an entirely different note - end of the month Sheri and I get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl, yah! Now for those of you who don't know - our family seems to be wired to have boys. I have no sisters and I have 5 nephews and not a single niece. Sheri is hoping for a girl, and I have no preference [what do I know - haha]. All I know is if we have a girl....she will be spoiled for sure!

Well - after many hours, and much determination, I have done it. I got the bike working again!!! This is quite the accomplishment for me considering I know next to nothing about motorcycles when I started. All in all it took a new starter, 4 new spark plugs, and a bit of ether in the carbs to get it going.

I also plugged up the oil leak coming out of the stator casing and I determined it is the button for the horn that is not working. So, once I get the horn working and a little more riding experience, I'll be ready to go get my license endorsement, until then....it's "practice makes perfect" time.

I can say one thing for sure - I'm learning. I've learned to drive the motorcycle (still stalling at stops about 1/2 the time) and I'm learning about the motorcycle itself (both the mechanical & electrical systems).

I've got the new working horn in from eBay - just have to get that on now.

I've torn off the huge sissy bar - primarily because like I said - it doesn't fit my style, also I found that it gives me much more clearance room when I'm swinging my legs over the bike to get on & off.

Paint & side covers: these two items aren't crucial so I'm not worrying about those just yet.

Unfortunately - now my bike is having issues starting, but I would bet that this is my fault. I messed with the idle screw, which I am certain is causing the troubles I'm having right now. The bike will start, but stalls immediately and subsequent attempts fail to start. If I leave the bike for a while, it'll start & stall again and again - subsequent attempts fail to start. Sounds like too much gas/not enough air to me.

Whew - got an update before the end of Spring. I just got my new ride, unfortunately I don't know how to drive it just yet, but that'll be coming soon enough. This is my 1980 Suzuki GS 550 E. I got it on Saturday for $600 + $35 for a new battery. So far I've torn off the two arms for a windshield (guy that I bought it off of left the arms in as bolts even though he didn't have a windshield) and put new bolts in to hold the handle bars. There are four other things that I want/need to do. The first is put in a working horn as the current one doesn't work. The second is to get replacement side covers (they popped off and someone ran them over). See the huge sissy bar in the back? Yeah, I'm not sure that's my style and since I see very little chance of Sheri actually riding with me (she doesn't like my driving in a car, she actually once told me 'just don't drive like a maniac' - granted, I've never been in an accident) - anyhow back to my point- not my style, little chance of a rider so I think I'm going to have that removed, but I'll have to get my father-in-law to remove that as it's welded on :( If I don't remove it I"m going to add padding to it so that it at least looks proper. The final touch will be some paint -- continue below--




Here is Brian's (my brother) car:


That paint job is his handy work. I'm not exactly sure what kind of pattern I'm going to get on my bike (primarily just the fuel tank is going to be painted as the wheel covers are chrome), but something is definitely going on that bike, maybe lightning, maybe fire - we'll see.

btw - as per my last post, I bailed on airsoft so I'm selling the rifle I had in order to pay for the bike. And the D&D character I was talking about - yeah he did his job. He got hit by a 14th level minotaur fighter/barbarian wielding a Icy Burst Great Axe on a crit dealing 98 pts. of dmg in a single blow, I passed the Massive Damage (FORT) save and then he dealt another 35 dmg on a subsequent blow, putting my character at -22 HP. Needless to say - he died. Jeff's cleric tried to raise him from the dead, but I have another character concept I want to try out so the knight wasn't willing to be raised. Now I'm back in the party as a Half-Ogre Barbarian/War Hulk (with a strength of 32 [and it increases by 2 each level]) wielding a goliath greathammer that is going to beat down on that minotaur when we come across eachother again.