I am not sure where to start so it may be best to explain what has me in my current predicament.
I am a postal delivery officer for Australia Post which, I think, happens to be one of the best jobs in the world. My job entails riding a Honda Ct110 around the suburbs, across lawns, down footpaths and dodging children and dogs to deliver mail. I figured it is as close as I will ever get to being a GP rider, but I can still say to people that I ride for a living.

I had only just recently returned to Post after a few years recouperation after I crashed my VTR and destroyed my right wrist in the process. I had been back on the job for two weeks and I was right back into enjoying life, so I should have known something was up.

It was a rainy morning and when I went out to my bike to load up my mail, I noticed that the mechanics (the bikes are regularly serviced after hours) had put a new tyre on the front. I thought that was just what I needed on a wet day but put on all of my wet weather gear and tried to enjoy the ride anyway.

I lost the front end twice that day but managed to keep the bike upright. I was on a new run and was unfamiliar with the placement of mailboxes, so as I was chugging along the road I saw the next delivery point and jumped on the brake. I reckon the front wheel slid for about 10 yards before it decided to head left so I managed to slam my foot down and hold the bike upright. The pulse rate went up to about 150, but other than being embarrassed about my forgetfulness regarding the tyre, all was well.

On this run I also had some shops I had to delived mail to so that involves dodging a lot of pedestrians and cars. I was riding along the footpath past and underground parking lot with a blind entrance when a car came barrelling out at a far greater speed than the conditions warranted. We saw eachother at about the same moment, and as we both came to a stop the bumper bar of her car was about an inch away from my leg. Heart rate back up to 150.

I lost the front end about a minute later exiting the shops on some wet pavers, but again my size 11 saved the day. The next kick in the teeth came when I stopped at my depot box (a drop off point on a run where extra mail is sent out to as to avoid returning to the depot to pick it up). I put the bike up on its centre stand because when you load the bikes they get unstable with all the weight added to each pannier and it can fall over. I was in the dirt on the side of the road and as I turned around to close the depot box the damn bike fell over! It was obviously on a soft spot due to the recent rain and the centre stand dug in and over she went. The damage was minimal, but annoying just the same as I had managed to break off the front brake lever.

It was a 20 minute ride from the depot and had about an hour and a half of delivery left to do. So I decided to jury-rig it back together with a few discarded elastic bands and tentatively finish my run. The brake was useable but I only had about a third of the stopping power I had before, so the rest of my ride was exciting to say the least.

I finally get back to the depot swearing and cursing at the bike and my bad luck only to get a call from my wife to find out how my day had been. I unloaded on the poor woman explaining that it was the third worst day I have ever had (worst was my VTR crash, second was getting hit by a taxi on my way to a run) and that I was on my way home, and glad of it. 20 minutes later I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital.

I jumped on my 1200 Bandit and headed for home. I made a right turn, rode up a short hill and stopped at a set of lights waiting to make a left turn. Lights went green, I went round the corner and accelerated as I always did. Second or third gear the back end stepped out to the left so I eased off the gas and then it grabbed on like you wouldn't believe. Next thing I know I am hitting the bitumen with the bike a close second. It all happened pretty quickly but I do recall trying to kick the sliding bike off my leg as it was causing quite a lot of pain. I came to a stop before my foot did, which led me to believe my leg could require some medical attention.

_________________

This all happened on the 18th of May 2005 and the progress has been slow and painful. I have so far required three operations to get my leg into a suitable condition for use, but it will no longer be very pretty. I am yet to return to work as a result of the injury but thankfully since I was on my way home from work I was covered by workers compensation.

My time recovering has been spent organising my new ride and continually answering the inevitable question "You are not going to keep riding, are you?" To which I give the standard reply, "Of course I am".

The prognosis from the doctor is a good one as thankfully I didn't damage any joints in the accident. So once the bones heal I should be good to go. Although I can't see me getting back to delivering mail till next year at the earliest.

My leg:





My bike is a completely different story. It was a 96 1200 Bandit so it didn't take much for the insurance company to write it off. I kept an eye on the motorcycle disposal site that the insurance companies send the bikes to, and found that the old girl was a little more banged up than I expected. I had some parts on order to make a few changes, bars, headlights etc prior to the crash so I thought a repair would not be too expensive. It had a bent subframe, bars, dented tank, ruined can, smashed engine cover, and damaged all the body work on the right hand side.

I hobbled in to have a look at the bike first hand and the fellow running the place had found me a far better deal in the form of a 03 1200 Bandit for a few more dollars. It was not much of a decision to make, so we trailered the bike home and it is sitting proudly in my garage in many pieces.

When I bought it:





I have so far stripped off all the damaged parts and am in the process of getting the replacements together.

_________________

Things are plodding along nicely at the moment. It looks like I might be finally going back to work in October some time. I am getting around on my leg a little better lately and it seems to be responding well to me putting weight on it.

The frustrating part is that I am physically able to ride again but my bike is still in too many pieces to make that possible at the moment. Although yesterday I put in a big order for part at my local dealer, but I am dreading having to pay for it all. I am currently blissfully unaware of the exact amount it is going to cost me, but at this stage it is probably for the better.

I cannot believe the amount of money it costs to have a motorcycle accident these days. My last major accident thankfully happened when a teenager in a company vehicle turned in front of me. My insurance company picked up the tab for my bike and the company who's car I ran into payed for all of my riding gear to get replaced. With a little creative replacement cost estimates from my local bike shop, I made out quite well in the end.

This time however I managed to crash all by myself, so again the insurance company paid for my bike but all of my riding gear that was damaged either in the accident or shortly after by hospital staff had to be replaced at my expense. I have finally managed to buy all that I require on the road which cost me no less than $2000 all said and done. That is not including my Alpinestars boots that were cut off but still weareable.

I have never seen, nor am I aware of any type of cover for riding gear to go along with that of the bike but I think it would be a damn good idea. All I managed to squeeze out of them was $300 for replacement of my helmet which they would only give me once I gave them my damaged helmet and the receipt for my new one. When I paid $800 for my new lid, $300 is not a lot but I guess it is a whole lot better than nothing.

My bike is coming on a lot more slowly than I anticipated. I hoped to have it up and going at about the same time that I was but I think it is still a few weeks off yet. I have decided to fabricate a few things myself, one for the fact that replacements are hard to come by at a good price, and two, there is that satisfaction you get knowing you made it yourself and it is the only one like it.

_________________

I finally returned to work after four months and 17 days sitting around waiting for my leg to sort itself out. I am only going in three days a week for four hours a day, but at this stage even that small amount of time seems to tire me out. My employer has been very good about it all and want me to take things very slowly, so getting back on a bike and delivering mail any time soon seems out of the question.

My bike on the other hand has, in the last week or two, come along in leaps and bounds. I would have loved to have ridden to work on my first day back but I am still awaiting a couple of parts and then I have to get all the registration checks done.

I spent the day today doing all the wiring for my instruments, headlights and indicators since I scrapped the fairing and headlight assembly in preferance for the naked look. That in itself has been a bit of a drama because there have been several OEM parts that I have wanted but due to the fact that Suzuki did not bring out the naked version here in Aust the spares were not available. I have enjoyed the challenge of fabricating a few of the parts myself though.

My last hurdle is having to get a replacement front brake line because the one currently on the bike is not long enough as it is being obstructed by the recently installed mounting brackets for the headlights. All that is left after that is getting one bolt for an engine cover and the mirrors. I have not even heard this engine turn over yet because of the damage when I bought it, but I am confident that it will all be well.
I guess I will find out in the next couple of days either way.

_________________

Almost back together:

_________________

Hey, she's looking pretty good, Minty.

You going to keep her fully naked or mount a little flyscreen on the forks or something?

_________________
No Witnesses....

No, I am going to keep her completely naked. I am not a big fan of the little screens and for the small amount of highway riding I do, I am prepared to put up with a bit of wind.

_________________

It's alive!

Today was the moment of truth for the power plant. I went in and picked up the few remaining items I needed to complete the bike and one of them was a bolt for the starter cover that was damaged in the accident.

I put the bolt in, filled her full of oil and realised I only had a drop or two of remarkably stale fuel in the tank so I had to zap up to the local Shell and get some fresh go juice. At this point I was getting a little nervous as I have had the bike sitting in the garage for a couple of months and have never heard it start.

When I bought the bike, the registration label said it had expired in December of last year, so the bike must have been sitting not running for the last 10 months. I was being optomistic and thought the worst I would have to do was clean the carbs and replace the plugs to get her going.

I filled the tank after I had put everything back together, wheeled her outside and climbed aboard, half excited and half nervous. Choke on a couple of flicks of the throttle to make sure there was some fuel for the carbs and then stabbed the starter.

Bingo, half a second later the engine came to life. If I didn't know better I would have said it started like it had been ridden yesterday. It started better than my '96 Bandit ever did. At this point I was absolutely busting to take it for a ride as I have not been on a bike since my accident in mid May. If it wasn't for the fact that I had no front brakes (pick up a new brake line tomorrow) and that it isn't registered yet I would have taken her for a spin or two around the block.

I also got a set of mirrors that I put on today and I must say that I am not at all happy with them. I am sure that I will get used to them but I have been looking at the bike for so long without any mirrors at all that they seem so out of place on it.

Hopefully tomorrow afternoon I can take her for a test ride and then get the re-registration out of the way by next week.
I can't wait to get back on a bike...

_________________

Right on, Man. Congrats on getting the beast breathing.

No registration would'nt have stopped me taking a lap..... but lack of bindage would.

_________________
No Witnesses....

Thanks. I have been a little worried ever since I bought it about whether it would run, so it was quite a relief.


I went out and got the new brake line needed to complete the bike yesterday but in true ironic fashion it decided to rain all day, so whether the bike was ready or not I was not going to take my first ride in five months in the rain.

I spent a lot of today double checking the things I had replaced/repaired and installed the new brake line and bled the brakes. After I gave her a nice wash and polish (I kept the t-shirt I was wearing during my crash that they cut off me at the hospital and used it for a rag on this momentous occasion) I inflated the tyres to their correct pressure and thought to myself, this is it, I can finally go for a ride.

I went inside and put on my new riding pants, new jacket, new helmet and gloves (my boots are yet to be replaced post accident as when the medics cut them off they only did it on the inner section so they are still wearable) and went out to throw a leg over.

I started her up and knew instantly things were not right. It wouldn't idle and felt like it was only firing on three cylinders at best. I then had to take most of my gear off again and find out what the problem was. My first thought was for the spark plugs so I took them out and gave them the once over. They looked a little grubby so I cleaned them up a bit and stuck them back in. Success.

The gear all goes back on and I am sitting in the driveway ready to go for my first ride since my last bike unceremoniously dumped me on the road and shattered my right leg. Nervous? No. Excited? Absolutely.
I can without a doubt say that I love to ride bikes more than anything else and to be able to get out for a blast, even a quick one on an unregistered bike, made my day.

_________________