| Author | Message | ||
     Maximum |
Homecoming yesterday was a strange one to me...after all I had only ever been to 2007 and 2008 Buell Homecoming events. If I remember correctly, 2005 had about 150 or so bikes...and 2008 add 300+ bikes. Well the unofficial 2011 homecoming saw about 38 Buells in the parking lot! Sean and I arrived around 9:45 and there was only about 8-10 bikes there at that that time.  I met Marty...a guy that used to work with Buell and still works for the "other" company. The funny thing is that Marty remembered sitting with Sean and I at the 2008 Buell Banquet dinner...small world! The bikes trickled in...and by around 10:45 there were about 35-38 total bikes in the parking lot. Pretty much everyone just spent the first hour or so standing around meeting and talking with each other...sharing bike stories...and snapping pictures.   I wish people would wear their Badweb names...as sometimes we only know people by their online user names...not their real names, or even their faces. Sometime around 11:00 Erik came outside to greet the unofficial attendees of the event. This was about 30 minutes of story telling and fielding questions from the group. Erik said that they currently were now employing a little over 20 people...and that they are working 7 days a week, 14 hours a day, in order to get everything done for the production and release of the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS.  It was interesting to hear that there are no dedicated office jobs...everyone is working the floor as much as possible to get all the things done by the respective deadlines! Truly a team effort. The question was asked if the current employees are all from the previous company...and his answer was that most of them are...but not all of them.  Erik also talked a little about how they are already beginning the planning for additional bikes in the line of Erik Buell Racing street bikes. He emphasized that they have started this company from scratch, new components, many new vendors, new designs, new tooling...etc...and that things are not going to happen over night. Yet when comparing this first year or two of Erik Buell Racing to the original street bike development back in the 80's...they are moving much faster...and Erik said that he is very pleased with the progress!  Erik also specifically mentioned that they are already working to develop the markets in Europe and Japan...goods news for you guys overseas! After about 30 minutes...Court urged Erik to get back to work. I guess there is a rule at Erik Buell Racing that no meeting can last any more than 5 minutes...then back to hands on projects! Erik violated his own rule by spending 30 minutes with us. I was very appreciative of this time and his willingness to share some information with everyone. I'm sure that like me, others were hoping for a tour...and a glimpse of the new bike...but that did not happen. We were told that all of the pre-production models were all out going through some sort of testing...but that there would be an 1190RS at the races for all to view. Once this informal meeting was done...most people headed over to Guss's for a little lunch.   Since there was no official schedule or agenda for this unofficial homecoming event...everyone was on their own to figure out what to do. I heard of some Uly guys heading for an off road adventure...not sure how that ended up. Sean and I decided to go to Uke's to check out the museum up stairs. We had been there in 2007, but Sean wanted to go back and check it out again.  So here is Sean with Uke's 1998 S1W yesterday...  and here was Sean with the same bike back in 2007.  Sean mentioned to me that he really could appreciate the history of Buell a lot more now than he did when he was 14 years old in 2007. I believe that he is finally beginning to understand why I love the bikes and the people of Buell...and why I have so much respect for the visionary named Erik Buell! Last night there was an unofficial gathering for dinner at Roma's Italian restaurant. Erik, Court, their respective wives, and about 20 other people were in attendance. I was sitting down at one end of the table...so I really did not catch any of the conversation from the middle of the table...wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that discussion. Maybe someone who was sitting towards the middle of the long table can add some insight for the rest of us. This afternoon we are going to head up to the Road America area...but we probably will not attend the qualifying today. Saturday we will certainly be there for round 1...and an update will follow. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Thanks for the update! wish I had one of those 14 hour a day jobs.... if you love what you are doing... is it really work? | ||
| Buelet |
Thanks for the great info & pictures! Makes me regret that we didn't squeeze this into our schedule! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Keep the photos and travelogue coming. Very much appreciated. Read every word. | ||
| Maximum |
Friday for Sean and I was pretty much just riding up to the Road America area...checking in to the hotel...doing some laundry...heading out to dinner (fairly fancy one at that)...and then going to see the latest X-men movie as the final entertainment of the day. Although we had a good day...very productive as father and son bonding...it was not anything worth spending too much time on a motorcycle forum. So, let's move to Saturday! Road America is a really cool place. This was my third time there...but this was my first time not to have a Buell sponsored area. It felt a little strange at first...because I wasn't sure exactly were I should go. We ended up riding up the hill and parking at the point that overlooks turns 5 and 13/14. The 2nd round of the Superbike qualification was going on...so we bounced between turn 5 and turn 6 checking it out. I took a few pictures of Geoff and some of the other riders while we were there.  After that we wondered down to the pit area to see were Erik Buell Racing was...hoping to see the 1190RS! They were almost at the far south side of the paddock...we were beginning to think that we would not find them...but then there it was. When we arrived Erik was talking with Geoff (who had just completed qualifying and was still half in leathers) probably about the bike and changes they needed to make.  There was no 1190RS to be seen...and we heard someone say that they were not going to bring it out until Sunday. This was disappointing since Sean and I would be leaving at the end of the races Saturday to get a head start to our next adventure location...Branson, MO. Just a few minutes later...what do my eyes see? An 1190RS rolling out to the front of the pit area! Yes!!! We would not miss seeing it after all.  I can honestly say that all of the pictures on the web that I have seen DO NOT do it justice! This machine is absolutely beautiful...a work of art...probably as close to perfection as I have ever seen in a motorcycle! The attention to detail is phenomenal, and the body work still looks wet!  I took a lot of pictures...but probably nothing different than is already all over the internet...so I will only post a few of them here.  I worked my way over next to Erik so that Sean could take a picture...trying to not disturb his conversation with another fan...staying close enough for a picture, but just under the radar! Well that didn't work as Erik felt my presence and turned to look at me...as to say who is in my bubble? So I told him to please don't let me interrupt...that I was just posing for a picture. He smiled and said..."that's fine"...then we ended up in a conversation about the bike. OK, maybe not a conversation...as he was telling me a bunch of engineering facts about the 1190RS...and all I could come up with was "she is beautiful"!  I ended up spending more time talking to Court...who was snapping pictures like they were free...well with digital photography I guess they are free! Anyway, Court and I talked about the bike, the future of Erik Buell Racing, and what makes financial investors interested in Erik Buell Racing. Great conversation...and I even understood most of it! After a while we moved on to check out other things and get ready for the races. I saw the National Guard sponsored bike...and wondered if that authorized me (as a Guard guy) to take it for a spin.  It was great having an additional chance to talk with some of the Buell guys. Maybe it was just because I am a Buell guy myself...but to me it seemed like Buell motorcycles were fairly well represented in crowd...good to see! Before the main races started...we went to check out the Jason Britton Stunt show. These guys are pretty amazing...it makes you think that there are no limits to what a man can do with a machine!    The coolest one was when the one dude got the 400 lb bike to do a bunny hop...both front and rear wheels came at least a foot off the ground without a ramp (from a flat surface).  The races were great...but honestly I find it a lot easier to see the action on TV...but the atmosphere is pretty exciting. Good thing I had the AMA app installed on my iPhone...that was the only way I was able to track the positions live!       We left Road American around 4 pm to get a head start to Branson...which took us through East Troy one more time. It is exciting to think about what the future holds for this new company...based upon what I see and hear...the sky is not even a limit to what can be achieved! We stopped for the night in Wenona, IL around 8 pm...as it looked like there was rain up ahead. I have ridden almost 4000 miles on my adventure up to this point...and I have yet to see one single drop of rain! Pretty amazing, huh? Well, as they say...all good things must come to an end. There is a band of thunder storms and rain showers south of us that is not going to be avoidable (without going way out of our way). We have the gear for rain...but Sean has never had to ride in it before...so he is my primary concern. So we are going to finish getting packed and suited up...and will be heading out soon! Till next post... | ||
| 4_pete_sake |
Sean - there no points for arriving first in life in most situation.....if there are i have no idea who is winning or where i stand so....... safe travels to you both Cheers- Nate | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
We still want to see pics of the rest of your adventure. Thanks. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Thanks for taking the time, and making the effort, to update us, Maximum. Good job and much appreciated. | ||
| 7873jake |
This is one of those threads that should have a coin slot...so I can drop a few in to show appreciation. Thanks for the shots! | ||
| Maximum |
I do accept PayPal.  I forgot to mention yesterday...but when we stopped around 8 pm at the hotel...about 4 hours south of the races at Road America...we turn on the TV to the Speed channel and what is on? That's right...the two races that we were just at earlier that day! How cool was that timing? We got to see the whole race that we had just seen live from mostly turn 5! We made it to Branson Sunday evening with no problems. We did have to ride the first coup,e hours yesterday in light rain...but we did wait around in the Motel long enough for the big storms to pass.  The only issue we had was a little GPS glitch. Entering Saint Louis the GPS kept saying stay left...stay left on _ _...then it said exit 2C...which was on the right! I could have made it, but Sean would not have done it safely...so I just had to do a little recalculate and mini detour to get back on course. Actually the other issue was the I was all setup to take a moving picture of Sean with the Arch in the background...when I realized that my SD card was still in my computer. I hate it when that happens. At the races I met a Buell guy named Paul that was also heading for Branson...really small world! The weather is supposed to be in the 90's all week...we no rain. So it sounds like it should be a beautiful week.   We are here till Friday. Does anyone know some must ride roads in the area? | ||
| Court |
Also the reason there is no chair at Erik's desk . . . if you need a chair . . you're going to be there too long. Erik and I sat with Ourdee at dinner the other night . . . Erik sat on his right and I sat on his left . . . it'll probably take Ourdee a bit to recover! After we got done Erik got to have his picture taken with Ourdee and I've got some dandies. That was a GREAT bunch and a lot of fun. It was so good to see you and Sean again. I envy you guys getting to spend time together traveling on the tricked out Ulys and love reading your reports. By the way . . . I used to do a lot of power line construction in the Branson area and, unless things have changed a lot, there are very few bad roads! Have fun, ride safe and keep the photos and reports coming. Court | ||
| Court |
P.S. - Likely no surprise to you that Erik left Road America yesterday and headed straight back to work . . . he was back to the plant by 7:00pm . . . time to make up for "taking the weekend off". He works for a task master! But . . I agree that the coolest part was him telling about these folks who are such talented engineers . . there are cases where they design a part, do the FEA work, and then go program a CNC machine themselves and actually make the part . . there is a GREAT story of what could be a revolution in American Manufacturing being written in the wee hours in East Troy, WI. Additionally, I'm not sure folks realize how motivating it was for the folks inside (you are darn tootin' they knew we were there) and for Erik to have folks show up to say hello and to share their support. You'll learn more and more but it was HUGE and good timing to see a crowd of smiling, positive friends. | ||
| Eulysses |
The question in my heart here is: was there any conversation about supporting the present generation Buells with parts/tech support going forward by Erik Buell Racing? I would think that it would be a funding source for Erik Buell Racing's future...unless Harley has that all wrapped up. You guys overhear anything? It is the only burden I bear as a Uly owner. All else is good! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I read that Erik is interested in electric motorcycles. How about a Buell hybrid that would get 100+ mpg. | ||
| Etennuly |
So where is Waldo and Jr? Haven't tracked you for a few days. | ||
| Maximum |
We are still here in Branson hanging out with my wife and girls...and some folks from my wife's side of the family. Monday all the kids went to Silver Dollar City to do the amusement thing...while my wife and her Mom went out to do some women shopping...which left me, the father-in-law, and the brother-in-law to do man shopping. Although I am not normally a big outdoors (hunting/fishing) kind of guy...they wanted to go to the Bass Pro shop...so I went along. Didn't plan to buy anything...but managed to leave with a new pair of sandal type shoes...  The rest of Monday was spent in the pool, barbecuing, and playing some card games...good family time. Tuesday my wife and all the kids went to a water park in Branson...and had a good time in the sun and water. Since I'm not crazy about spending all day in the hot sun...I decided to explore the roads of the area on my Uly! I started off heading south from West Branson into Arkansas...then west over to Eureka Springs...exploring many roads in the area. I managed to find a one mile stretch of curvy road with more tar-strips than I have ever encountered...talk about an adventure!   I ended up stumbling upon this online motorcycle store that I had ordered stuff from in the past...cyclegadgets.com...but they were closed.  I figured that they were closed for a summer motorcycle trip...but when I looked them up later I found out that they had gone out of business back in January. That is a shame...they seemed like good people...and true motorcycle enthusiasts. On the way back I headed a little west, then north up to Missouri state hwy 76...which was a very nice 50-60 mile section of southern Missouri curvy hilly country roads. This was a great end to a nice day of riding. More pool time and games wrapped up day Two. Wednesday we rented a boat to do a little tubing and water skiing on Table Rock Lake! There were 10 of us out there taking turns...battling the water and the speed of the boat!  Me...  My wife Lori...  Sean...  And my daughters Shelby and Stephany...  This is a picture of one of us wipping out...but I'm not saying who!  It was another great family day today! Tomorrow go zip lining in the morning...then later in the day we will do the ole' Show Boat cruise. Friday Sean and I start the final leg of the three week, 5,000 mile adventure! | ||
| Etennuly |
Steve and Sean's excellent adventure for sure!  | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
How are the sand fleas treating you down there? You being from Colorado, the heat in the Ozarks, has got to be hard to take. Anyways, thanks for all the photos. Been looking forward to seeing how your trip progresses each day. I'll bet you got pretty burned out on the lake.  | ||
| Etennuly |
Ought to be getting home soon! | ||
| Maximum |
We are home safe and sound...5255 miles in 20 days I will do my final trip update from the last couple days either tonight or tomorrow. | ||
| Etennuly |
Yeah, take a breather! Nice ride! | ||
| Maximum |
Alright, time to wrap up this trip. As I mentioned above, Thursday we were scheduled to do 2 hours of Zip Lining in the morning. The place we went to in Branson had a course of zip lines that consisted of 7 sections for a total of approximately one mile worth of line! The longest single line was right at a ¼ mile long. This was not as scary as I thought it would be…but it was pretty fun. As I ended up being the camera guy…the only pictures I have are of everyone else.     Later on Thursday we all went to the Show Boat Belle…which is your basic river boat that launches from the south east side of Table Rock Lake (just west of Branson). It was a dinner/show that was hosted by a magician…who at one point of the show needed a “volunteer” from the audience and selected my daughter (who was hiding hoping not to be selected). Stephany did and awesome job...she maintained her composure and performed flawlessly as I played the role of the proud dad in the audience!  There was also a very talented 5 piece band that was set in boxes similar to the old TV show Hollywood Squares. They provided support for the music and comedic performers as well as music during dinner.  Another performer was Janice Martin…who was an aerial violinist. You heard me correct...she was a talented singer, pianist, and fiddle player…but she also played the violin while performing aerial stunts. Very impressive!  We finished up our last night in Branson by taking some family photos that included my family and my wife’s parents, brother, and his son (all from Louisiana).  Friday was a morning departure for home…with a night stop scheduled for Colby Kansas. Nothing exciting to report there…spent several hours on route 54 towards Wichita with Sean and I on the bikes and my wife in the car behind us.  Colby left us only 250 miles to go on Saturday…which was good because I think Sean had enough fun for one road trip. He said that he wished my wife was taller…so that she could ride the Uly for a while!  Saturday was another perfect riding day…even a little cooler which was nice…and we made it home by noon. The blue Uly now has about 12,000 miles on her…while the Red Uly is up to 48,000 miles! Both bikes performed great…with not a single mechanical issue during the trip. We also had pretty awesome weather. With over 5,000 miles traveled (5,255 for me and a little over 3,000 for Sean)we only experienced rain for about 100 miles in southern Illinois as we headed to Branson from Homecoming. That was less than 2% rain for the entire trip! As great of a trip as it was…it wasn’t without a little mishap which created an obstacle to overcome. I will share this story in my next (and final) trip post to this tread (hopefully today if time permits). | ||
| Maximum |
As promised…here is the story behind the ride report. It was Tuesday May 31st…we had spent the previous night at Vern’s and we wanted to end up in Indianapolis by the end of the day…which would have made for a short ride on Wednesday to East Troy for Homecoming. Vern had led us around some nice roads in north eastern Tennessee for a couple hours…and at some point he was going to head home while Sean and I continued on our way to Indiana. This point was going to be at the top of Cumberland Gap…a scenic historical site that overlooked an area where three states (Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky) come together. We stopped at the top to take a little break and take in the sites.  Although we had been following Vern all day…I was going to lead down the mountain as Vern was going to split off at the bottom and head towards home. I was feeling a little dehydrated because of how hot it was that day, so I figured that we would stop in town at the bottom to have a drink before continuing the trip…so I had not yet loaded a route in my GPS. On the way down the mountain I saw a left turn (at the last moment) and I thought that I needed to take that turn…so I did…but Sean didn’t have time to make the turn with me. He slowed down, and then continued ahead on the road he was on…Vern stopped and pointed straight to indicate that I should not have turned left there. I make a u-turn and get back on the other road…with Vern behind me. As I come around a right hand curve I see the Blue Uly in a ditch on the right…facing back in my direction. First thing running in my mind is “what on earth just happened”? As I get closer I see Sean staggering to get up and then fall back down as I approach. I quickly park…and Vern and I get over to Sean to see if he was OK. We helped him up and he seemed fine…no blood…no broken bones…but he did seem a little in shock and traumatized. It wasn’t till a few hours later that we actually understood what had happened…which I will cover later. Now we shifted our focus to the bike. Both bags had come off the mounts…and at least one (maybe both) was open. One of the open bags was under the exhaust header…melting a semi-circle in the lip of one side of the bag. The bags apparently took most of the abuse…as they were scraped up pretty good. In addition, the license plate fender was cracked, the tail light lens was smashed, and the right rear blinker was broken. Scanning further I noted the right foot peg slightly folded at the mid point of the peg, rear brake pedal was a little bent, and the right hand guard was scratched…yet still attached. We got the bike up and it fired right up. I took it for a short test right and everything seemed fine. We put the bags back on and everything seemed to work fine…except that the right back had a broken clasp that held the bag to the mount…so a ratchet strap was used to secure the bag. Upon further inspection Vern noticed that a frame bolt…the one right behind the left air scoop…had sheered off. We tried for over an hour to get the sheered bolt out…but we just did not have the right tool for the job. Even though the rear light lens was broke…the break light was still working, and was still red. The right blinker still worked too. The one frame bolt needed to be fixed…but did not seem to be critical. I evaluated our choices…some of which included terminating the trip. I tried to call a couple of our Badweb Harley employee friends (Zack and Jeremy) to see what…if any…options we would have for parts. This option did not look good. Vern suggested that we go back to his house…take off our broken parts…and replace them with parts off of his Uly so we could continue the trip. He also had the right tools to get the sheered bolt out. So we decided to take an easy route back to Vern’s to start the big part swap! It was after 3 pm that we finally got back to Verns…and boy was it hot. It was already 5 pm before long and we needed a break for dinner. After some pizza and water…and a reduction of the Sun’s heat…we headed back out to the shop. I had asked Sean to contact his mother…knowing if she has to hear that her son crashed…it is best to hear it from him directly. I should have been a little more explicit…because the first contact with his mom should NOT have been a text saying “I crashed”! He ended up talking to her and she did not seem to be stressed or worried at all. We worked all the way until just after midnight to swap out the required parts and double check everything. The next morning we continued our trip to East Troy with the borrowed parts. I did not take the time to take pictures of the damaged parts that we swapped out (I was a little preoccupied with finding a way to continue the trip)…maybe Vern can take pictures of the bags, fender, and tail light so that everyone can understand the damage. But since we arrived back in Colorado I was able to snap a few pictures of the cosmetic items that we did not replace. Here is a shot of the hand guard. I believe that because the guard was secured to the Kaoko throttle lock with a bolt…the guard stayed in place and protected the controls.  Even though the bags took most of the damage…it was a good thing that I invested in axel sliders (the former Dark Horse Moto style from American Sport Bike) because they surely saved the forks and swingarm from any real damaged.   And the last picture I have shows us why…as I tell Sean…we always wear helmets (along with all the other safety gear). This was a very low speed mishap…but when Sean went down his head must have hit a rock…or at least the asphalt.  After analyzing the damaged and getting the complete story from Sean…what he remembered…we finally pieced together what happened. Sean was preparing to make a u-turn to go back and join up with Vern and me (not knowing that he was still going the right direction). In order to maximize his turning space, he pulled onto the small right shoulder area (which was more like a drainage area)…and then he turned his head around to the left to check for traffic. While his head was turned, he hit a rock on the shoulder…which took him by surprise…his left hand released the clutch to grab the handlebar…the bike then lurched forward which caused his right hand to rotate down applying the throttle. Of course you probably see where this is going…the torque of the Uly motor caused the front end to come off the ground…and in fact rotated all the way up until the rear of the bags were on the ground supporting the bike…which compressed the bags enough to make them pop off the mounts. The rotation continued until the triple tail hit and the bike rolled right…landing on the right side…facing back in the opposite direction. Sean felt like an idiot and was heart broken by the mishap. He was not doing anything irresponsible…but his lack of experience did him in. After thinking about it…I realized that he had less than 3000 miles of experience (at that point of time) in the three years of riding…as opposed to my 100,000+ miles in my 38 years of riding (I started riding at age 8). There are so many things that I think are common sense that may only seem that way to me because of my experience. I wanted to share this incident with everyone that has been following this thread so that others may benefit from this information…but at the same time I didn’t want Sean to feel uncomfortable at Homecoming…so I saved this to share at the end of the trip. So here are my final thoughts. The first thing…which we call a “sustain” in the military…is that the first thing I did at the incident was to make sure Sean was OK. In 2008 when Sean had his last crash (which broke his collar bone) I knew that he was alive…so the first thing I said to him was “you destroyed the Blast”. That did not positively impact our relationship back then…which I have been working to mend. This time I did not get angry…and I focused more on his well being. This has allowed our father – son relationship to become stronger. This proves that an old dog can learn new tricks (or traits)! Like most accidents…it is rarely one event that is a cause. It is normally numerous things that culminate in an accident. In this case, it was hot…I was feeling dehydrated…judgment could have been effected in all of us. If I had not made that mistaken last second left turn…Sean would not have had a reason to make that u-turn. And as Vern said…if he would have continued to lead us down the mountain there would not have been a wrong turn. Certainly I could have spent more time working with Sean on low speed maneuvering…which would have made him comfortable enough not to feel the need to go onto the shoulder to complete a u-turn. There are probably many more factors in the chain of events leading to this mishap. I don’t discount Sean’s errors…in fact we have had lots of time to discuss better clutch management and how to hold the throttle in a manner that would cause the power to roll off…as opposed to rolling on…during an unexpected surge of the bike. We also discussed how sometimes it is best to just stop…evaluate a change in situation…then act. We talked about staying on the road and paying more attention to what is in front of him…and how we need to work on developing his low speed maneuvering skills when we get home…he can use the Blue Uly since the damaged bags will make excellent crash bumpers! The most valuable lesson came from Vern…after Sean thanked him for all of his help…and apologized for wasting a better part of his day. Vern’s response was…”Sean, my day is not nearly as important as the people in it”. This comment blew me away…and still has an emotional effect on me. Shortly after this comment I told Sean that if he will remember Vern’s comment…and the heart behind it…for the rest of his life…and live his life that in that manner…this entire ordeal would have been worth it in exchange for such an important life lesson! Vern may not be comfortable with me saying this…but he is truly an extraordinary individual! Not only did he allow us to borrow parts so that Sean could finish the journey without the negative reactions to a damaged bike…but the patience and kindness he showed are traits worthy of the title “role model”. Thank you Vern! All-in-all…this was an excellent adventure. I feel inadequate to fully capture all of the great things that were learned and experienced…and the personal growth that took place within this father and son…but I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this thread and maybe learned something along the way too! Ride safe everyone. | ||
| Nittanyxt |
My son and I spent 3 days at Vern's last year,to say he's a good egg doesn't even come close! Glad you had a memorable trip. | ||
| Court |
Amazing ......absolutely amazing. Sean got a great lesson and it had nearly nothing to do with motorcycling. People like Vern are what make this comity so special. Sean is a smart guy ......he will hone his skills and do great. But spending a motorcycle trip with his Dad and jeering folks lie Vern are the most important lessons. Great read. Court P.S. - let me know if you need hand guards. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
he is a good egg.... he's got a rotten egg stench to him every now and then... but still a good egg. | ||
| Blake |
Nice! Thanks for sharing. | ||
| Motorbike |
Maximum, thanks for the write-up. I read every word of it. Loved your pictures, I felt like I was right there. Glad to hear that Sean was not seriously injured. As you say, experience would have made a big difference here. I'm sure he learned a lot from that one incident. You are a very lucky man to be able to take a trip like that with family and friends like Vern. | ||
| 4_pete_sake |
Steve- Simply wonderful stories you have shared with us all and one of many moments that you shared that caught me ....it was the fact that you consciously made the choice to not share all of this (accident of Sean's) with the forum so as to save face for you son/friend.... amazing. I never would have thought that much in advance in this regard... I try to think in advance as much as possible in life but this is a moment I would have missed the simple elegance you caught. Very lovely indeed. Two cheers for VERN.... hip hip hooray .... HIP HIP HOORAY.... Welcome home to you both. -Nate | ||
| Etennuly |
Oh my goodness. I'm just Buellen' around with some good people! I am so glad Sean wasn't hurt and made the entire trip to its completion. I am glad to see that he is not turned off to riding by this accident. And to say he has a very proud father, may be an understatement. Nothing I have done, and everything I have done, pales in comparison to what Steve does for all of us. He just returned from a long stint away from his family and home to fly helicopters in harm's way for our Country, and when he is home he is on call to rescue people in his home area in Colorado. Something I hope Sean knows is important to all of us, thanks for sharing your dad! Heck, I drove truck around our beautiful country this past winter to make ends meet, and I was whining about being away from home nearly the whole time. Not a job for me, and I was only gone seven to ten days at a time. I may have been shot at once or twice in a bad part of DC, but I never had to return fire  . I doubt being on a ten month mission away from home would work for me. I am very glad to have been a little part of Steve and Sean's big adventure. BadWeB is an amazing.....I don't know.....thing, place, community? Steve and Sean, you are welcome, I am glad you came this way. Thanks for the kind words ya'll. .....I just got a ping from UPS, some stuff from Steve M.! My parts are on the way back already?! I got to get back to work so I can get the Uly back to being itself. I did not mind loaning parts off my Uly.....it was time to re-torque a lot of this stuff anyway!.....oh yeah.....I got to do the other fork seal and an oil change, and..... |
