Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on December 31, 2017, 07:09:57 PM
lol Ej, night riding i remember as well. i wore  a bug screen/balaclava? at times ( depending on helmet being used)
Aaron

A foot of snow predicted for tomorrow 
No bike rides for a long time.

there are two typess of riders. those  that have had an off, andd thosse that will. pete heres hoping and saying we're glad things worked out..
Aaron

Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on January 02, 2018, 12:54:09 PM
there are two typess of riders. those  that have had an off, andd thosse that will.
Aaron

1.) No matter how many times I hear it... That's a chilling statement.

2.) I always tell myself that all my spectacular "offs" in the dirt protect me from a spectacular "off" on the highway.

3.) I do worry about hitting deer at night at speed. I tend to ride fast at night here in deer country.
But honestly now, If I slam one in the black of night at 55 MPH or 85, would really it make much much difference?

4.) Meh... I'm getting too old for all this moto crap anyway.
I'll be 62 this Spring and pretty well busted up from 40 years of working like a jackass on heavy equipment.

OK then... I'm done complaining.
Have a good evening crew! ...well, except for you Aussies. You guys have a good day. 
-Ej-

The interesting thing about a deer-strike at 80 MPH in the black of night is that "if" you survive it, there is little to fear since you never saw it coming anyway. 
Just saying...
And yeah, it bothers me. The furry bastards are like highway snipers at night. It's the one aspect of rider safety that I have absolutely NO control over.
-Ej-

i had one hit miss piggy ( my crown vic, 2 days AFTER replacng cornering lamp. i get a few dozen coming through my yard daily. too bad city of clinton frowns upon gunfire. course 1 ive no gun atm, and 2 no way a 1 legged man can pull/drag bambi to dinner table lol. ( deer steak if done right = yummy) anyhoo back to bikes, ive had a few offs. all thank god were low to no speed. including a 24ft box truck backing into one of my gs' while i was sitting on it. memories Eh? lol. prolly will make it to 43 on the 16th, lets try for 44 lmao.
Aaron

Fortunately we have no deer issues where I am, and the places there's a chance of them being I don't ride at night, so that works for me.

As for dodging that oil on the road though, I need to get better at that!

This is my third off, first was the ute changing lanes on top of me and just barely collecting the end of the left bar (I predicted it and nearly avoided it but not quite), second was being rear ended while waiting for traffic to clear so I could turn left (his foot slipped off his brake pedal was his excuse/reason), now oil was the third one.

First two, my options were limited in avoiding them, I at least got close on the first one due to seeing the traffic banking up in the left lane when I was in the right lane and slowing down as a precaution.

This one, if I had've given the road a bit more of a look, I would've likely seen the black line... I know now I guess...

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Pete my friend, the most important thing is this can be fixed. you cant be replaced. so its good that you survived to tell about it. thats al that matters. and on the flip side, you now have a project set up post kitkat
Aaron

Very true, the whole thing could've been so much worse...

The plan was definitely to refresh the 450 after the Kat is done, that refresh just got a bit bigger... repairing the pipe's gonna be a bit of a bugger because that will mean the 450 has to be off the road while it happens, so I definitely need the Kat completed and run in before then.

Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on January 02, 2018, 11:30:48 PM
memories Eh? lol.
prolly will make it to 43 on the 16th, lets try for 44 lmao.
Aaron

Please dont drop dead until I get this truck load of "stuff" to Tennessee. 

I was explaining it to my DW over breakfast yesterday. . .
I told her that soon as she is well enough to travel again we will be heading to TN and then turning around for a stop in New Hampshire to have some specialty work done on the RV.
Just saying. Your on my bucket list. 

Quote from: peteGS on January 03, 2018, 12:57:14 PM
Fortunately we have no deer issues where I am, and the places there's a chance of them being I don't ride at night, so that works for me.

As for dodging that oil on the road though, I need to get better at that!

This is my third off, first was the ute changing lanes on top of me and just barely collecting the end of the left bar (I predicted it and nearly avoided it but not quite), second was being rear ended while waiting for traffic to clear so I could turn left (his foot slipped off his brake pedal was his excuse/reason), now oil was the third one.

First two, my options were limited in avoiding them, I at least got close on the first one due to seeing the traffic banking up in the left lane when I was in the right lane and slowing down as a precaution.

This one, if I had've given the road a bit more of a look, I would've likely seen the black line... I know now I guess...

Geez pete! You are quite a durable fellow. 
I've never had a "off" on the street, but you ride about ten times more than I do so its understandable.

Glad you can shake it off and continue.
Thanks for posting the pic too. 

Best regards,
-Ej-

perhaps both on the 450 and the kitkat, a guard of some sort . a crash bar if you will.
Aaron

Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on January 04, 2018, 03:16:16 PM
perhaps both on the 450 and the kitkat, a guard of some sort . a crash bar if you will.
Aaron

FWIW...
I run crash bars on my DL1000, see below circled in yellow...



They look good, fit good, work good (ahem... bike drops), but they make getting under the front schrouds to do maintenance a major pain in the ass.
Just saying,
-Ej-

but fwiw, would you rather deal with the pita or damage from a drop. plus you gain an extra grab handle
Aaron
my roomie in 2002 in phoenix, said duuuuude you wont make 50. last year i was certain of this. damn near didnt make 42. but im embracing my inner optimist and will give it the best ive got

Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on January 04, 2018, 09:18:48 PM

my roomie in 2002 in phoenix, said duuuuude you wont make 50. last year i was certain of this. damn near didnt make 42. but im embracing my inner optimist and will give it the best ive got

Kinda' funny that we always think we know when were going to "check out" but honestly, there's only one guy that knows the exact time and date... and he aint talking.
Well... other than when he was talking to Moses on the mountain, but that was a mighty long time ago. 
-Ej-

indeed. december 2015 actually christmas eve, was teh suck. the er floppy hand incident nov21st of that year was although very painful was hilarious at the ER.  after i rebroke or broke worse left ankle ( now stump side) at a church outing. went to er upon arrival back from nashville. ended up with radial nerve palsy in left wrist. doc saidf will prolly be like this ohhh for 4 to 6 weeks. ( he was off by 5 days short of 6 weeks. ) i figured how to still wave with that wrist, which was bent at that point. no muscle controll; i see a very pretty nurse walk past, i grab left wrist with right hand and shake it, making a comical waving motion. after 4 walkbys of the nurse i had the doctor nearly laughing. its taught me alot about life in general. in closing, i agree with what you said. " he aint talkin" my job to try my best to hang around for as long as possible
Aaron

You pair are going strong, keep at it, you'll be just fine 

I've wanted crash bars on the 450, but unfortunately that's the price I pay for that custom set of pipes... the left header obscures the typical mounting points for crash bars.

The old school three point ones can't fit around it, and the more modern slider stile replaces the front engine mount and comes straight out each side. The left side of course is still obstructed by the header.

Something else to consider during the refresh.

For the Kat, there's no such obstruction and crash bars are already on my to do list, probably the modern slider style will do unless the old school three point ones pop up at a reasonable price.

I had no crash bars on my GS500F. None on the Harley either.
Geez, come to think of it both my 49cc mopeds don't have em' either! 
Meh... I ride like an old woman now-a-days anyway. 
-Ej-

And peteGS... the chicken strips on my DL1000 tires tell it all. LOL