Total Loss: Adios Bonnie

Bonnie is officially a total loss. Cause of death: bent frame. If it weren't for my forthcoming trip to Afghanistan, I still might have tried to get her appraised by the folks at Grove Cycles to see what it would cost to get her rebuilt. But right now, it's better for me to just take the insurance return and start looking at my post-deployment options and needs.

Despite the good return, it was hard to just let her go in that impound/junkyard. I'd spent a lot of miles with her and learned a lot about motorcycling. I'm a little afraid that this will be the end of my chance to have a toy while I'm young. The benefits of a roof and 4 wheels might be too much to resist and it could then be a long time before I get another bike. I guess we'll see.

Final Odometer: 14729

Here's a video from the Austin motorcycle show I didn't make it to on the day of the crash. Unfortunately, it looks like it was pretty awesome.


Revival Does the One Show Austin 2013 from Revival Cycles on Vimeo.

Motorcycle Monday: Bruised and Frustrated

As you may have heard from facebook, I had a motorcycle accident Saturday in Round Rock, Texas. I was southbound on Interstate 35 going to see the The 1 Motorcycle Show in Austin when traffic went from 75 to zero mph faster than I could comply. I ploughed into the back of a red Challenger, went over my handlebars, onto their trunk, and off to the median side.

Scene of the accident; right in front of the Harley shop. Click to view larger Map.

Fortunately, the cars behind me were able to stop in time. Two guys hopped out to check on me and were rather surprised that I got up cursing like a sailor. Emergency responders got to the scene very quickly. I accepted an ambulance ride to the trauma center at Seton Williamson Hospital where they checked me out. They got some x-rays to make sure nothing was broken, gave me a prescription for Aleve and some muscle-relaxers, and let me go home.

So now I'm wavering between "I'm glad my bones are intact and can go home; interstate motorcycle accidents don't usually go so well." and "Why couldn't I see it sooner/brake sooner/swerve left onto the shoulder? Now I don't have bike, and it hurts to move, and I'm gonna have a bunch of army and insurance paperwork to do, etc"

I was too scatter-brained to think of taking a picture of the damage, but here's a by-memory rundown of things what would have to be replaced:

Front Forks - One was torn open and leaking dampening oil, so they're done for.
Front Wheel - Smashed in. Fender destroyed. Disc brake might be salvageable.
Rear View Mirrors - I remember seeing one bend backwards
Oil Radiator - The way the front wheel was pushed in, I have no doubt this will need to be replaced.
Exhaust - I remember seeing a pinch in one of the exhaust headers.

From the engine on back looked alright save for the strip of rubber I burned off while braking. I'm sure it will have to be checked thoroughly to make sure the frame is still true and none of the welds have been weakened.

I did grab a "before" picture, though.

I'm still waiting on the insurance assessment process, so I don't know if Bonnie will be deemed salvageable or not. But in the meantime, I've started speculating on what a custom re-build on the front end might look like. I'm fond of this look with twin headlights with stockier sportbike/dirtbike front forks.

Yamaha XV 750 by Classified Moto. Photo from Pipeburn

Starbuck's personal Honda XL 600 by Classified Moto. Photo from BikeEXIF