Mintbread's Odyssey

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Mintbread
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#21 Unread post by Mintbread »

Well, a lot has happened since my last visit here so I thought it about time to add some more.
My leg is still giving me a lot of trouble almost 12 months after the accident. I have needed more time off work but I have tried to not let it interfere with my riding. I went back to see the doctor due to some excessive pain and he sent me off to get a CT scan done to see if there was any problem with the hardware currently residing in me. The diagnosis was that there is some micromovement of the rod inside my Tibia and there is a risk that over time the continued movement will cause the rod to break at the fracture site. He pointed out that fishing around for a piece of broken metal in my bone was not high on his keen to do list so we agreed that it would be wise to remove this rod and place (I use the word lightly as it is actually hammered down into the bone from up at my knee) a thicker rod in its place alleviating the stress.

We only had a small window of opportunity to do this this year as my wife is due to have our third child in early June so I needed to be back on my feet by then and for the rest of this year. Perfect. Or so we thought.

Days after discussing the rod replacement my wife got up early one morning and for some unknown reason chose not to turn the hall light on whilst making hr way to the kitchen. She missed the last few steps downstairs and landed very badly on her right foot, but thankfully not on the baby. She sustained what is called a Lis Franc injury which meant she tore the ligaments off several metatarsals in her foot which dislocated them. Several weeks later she herself was on the operating table to have three screws inserted into her foot to pull things back together.

Image

Being eight months pregnant, in plaster and on crutches is rather awkward, so it has been a real test for us all.
Needless to say my surgery has been put on hold for a while so I am living on a cocktail of painkillers to keep me sane. But at least I am still able to ride.

I am still working on getting my bike the way I want it so I have made a few changes over recent months. I got a great deal on a full Hindle exhaust system which sounds and looks awesome, but it has required me to rejet the carbs and switch to pod filters (both are which on their way from the UK as for some reason I cannot obtain them here in Australia).



Image

I have also added new mirrors and pegs and since that photo I have chopped off the fender and made a snazzy plate and indicator bracket. I also polished the wheels, which was very simple, only took a few hours and made them look a million percent better.

Next weekend a bunch of us from work will be heading up north for the weekend for a nice ride on some twisty roads before it gets too chilly to enjoy things. I plan on taking a tank-mounted video camera and another fellow is taking his and setting it up on his tail, so we should get some great footage from the front as well as the back of the pack. It should be a blast.
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camthepyro
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#22 Unread post by camthepyro »

That sucks about all your accidents, those aren't fun.

I'm a little curious about the Bandit, because I really like how it looks. It's a 1200, so that seems really big (at least to me), so I'm guessing it's power is more like that of a standard, not a sport bike?
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Sev
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#23 Unread post by Sev »

Glad to hear the baby is okay.
Of course I'm generalizing from a single example here, but everyone does that. At least I do.

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Z (fka Sweet Tooth)
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#24 Unread post by Z (fka Sweet Tooth) »

OUCH! Im glad the baby was okay... Hope she heals fast and things get normal for you guys again.

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Mintbread
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#25 Unread post by Mintbread »

Thank you for your concern. The reason she did so much damage to her foot was because she was thinking about not falling on the baby and ended up falling awkwardly on her foot.
She now has a nice pink cast, but thankfully that comes off next week so she should be walking in time for the birth.
I'm a little curious about the Bandit, because I really like how it looks. It's a 1200, so that seems really big (at least to me), so I'm guessing it's power is more like that of a standard, not a sport bike?
The power delivery is magnificent. It pulls from 2500rpm all the way to redline so it is very easy to ride anywhere in the rev range. If you want to ride it hard it will scare the bejesus out of you but it is just as comfortable cruising around town as it is on the highway.
If you are intimidated by the size they are also available in a 600cc guise and the latest is a 650 which both look like the 1200 except the engine is silver not black.
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camthepyro
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#26 Unread post by camthepyro »

Ok, cool. I was going through the list of bikes on this site, and saw the 600 and 1200 stats. It's listed on here as 80hp for the 600 and 98hp for the 1200. It seems weird that a bike with twice the displacement would only have 18 more hp. Is that just because of the way the power is distributed? I'm mostly asking because I was trying to figure out which bike I liked better, the Bandit 600, or the Honda 599. If I remember correctly the 599 makes 98hp, while the 600 makes 80hp. 18hp is a pretty significant advantage for the 599, but if the power on that bike is way up in the high RPMs like a sport bike, then I'm not as interested. I prefer having the power down low.

Anyway, sorry to go on and on in your blog, but you have a really nice Bandit, so I figured maybe you new a bit about them :D .
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Mintbread
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#27 Unread post by Mintbread »

I can't really tell you much about the 600 as I have only owned 1200's. www.banditalley.com has a lot of great info on the 1200, 600 and the 400 so stop in there and see what owners think of theirs. :lol:

Things have been crazy around here at the moment.
I finally got my jet kit and filters that I ordered from the UK as nobody in Australia stocked the parts I need. Damn island!
I thought I would install it all myself to learn a bit about my carbs along the way and then take it into my local and get it tuned on their dyno.
It only took about an hour to remove the carbs, the massive airbox, install the jet kit and pods then put itall back together. Soon as I was done I threw on all the gear and took it for a blast. Holy dodo, it is quick. :shock:

When I installed my full Hindle exhaust system I lost some of my beautiful midrange but once jetted it came back plus a whole lot more. The bike just pulls hard from everywhere in the rev range and took me by surprise several times like exiting a rouundabout in third, yes third, hitting a slight bump in a flat stretch of road and the front wheel pointed skyward.
I have not been out for a nice hard ride but I can definitely say that I will need a harder compound hoop on the back as this thing has become a real tyre shredder.

On another note, on Friday my wife called me after her appointment with her obstetrician as she was due on the 5 June to say that she had to go into hospital as her blood pressure was quite elevated and she was being induced the next day!
It was all quite a rush but yesterday at 12.38pm on 20th May we had beautiful baby boy named Riley:

Image
Seen here with his proud big sisters Jess and Erin.

My wife Christine is doing very well but poor Riley is a little briused and battered because he came so quickly (labour was jus over three hours).
I am sure I will add another picture or two over the coming days/weeks.
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NorthernPete
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#28 Unread post by NorthernPete »

congradulations.....
1988 VN1500
2009 GS500F

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Scoutmedic
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#29 Unread post by Scoutmedic »

CONGRATULATIONS! Glad everyone is doing well. Think we'll have to suggest that Mike order some TMW Onesies with all the babies showing up around here. :laughing:

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NorthernPete
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#30 Unread post by NorthernPete »

*lol* Id buy one!
1988 VN1500
2009 GS500F

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