one hand posting

well it wasn't a cakewalk
3.5 hours of re-alignment and ligament grafting etc, then the rather
distressing inability of the post-op staff to control the initial pain
following surgery.
they said they were nearly topping me out with iv fentanyl and didn't
want me to stop breathing. but keeerriiiist on a crutch i have never had
such deep overwhelming pain.
so it wasn't all fun.
the doc says it was not easy but that my progs are good, excepting the
likelyhood of arthritis setting in after 20 or so years. i'll lose some
overall range but will have a solid 80-90% of normal after a year or so
of therapy etc.
all i can say is this, "i want to ride".
is that as sick as it sounds?
js
some bikes

 

So fuckin' intubate me!

Oh, man. Ouch, Jim.

Nope. It means that you'll likely get better. You won't accept that
80-90% and you won't accept the schedule (based on average recovery
rates). You'll push your therapy to the maximum rate allowed by your PT
and you'll be back on your bike sooner than people thought.

Should something like that happen to me (heaven forfend!), I hope I
should have such courage. (Well, I probably do. A week after my heart
surgery I played hockey again.)

 

My experience with surgery has fortunately been quite limited. I had
some ACL repair in 1999 which was probably the most serious, and post-op
drugs consisted of Vicodin taken by mouth. What was perhaps equally
important in pain management was a device that circulated ice water
around my knee to reduce the inflammation.

I think you can safely leave that consequence to medical science to deal
with. Rest up now and I'm sure when you're ready to take part in your
physical therapy, you'll give it your best.


i'll lose some

No. Goals are important. If you didn't care whether you rode again or
not, chances are you'd slack off on the therapy. The easiest way to
avoid pain is just to stop doing the things that cause it, and that
would be your likely choice.

Heal well, JIm


Rich, Urban Biker

 

Nope.
I'm glad my six weeks is up. Friday, I uncovered the bike and washed it.
Shoulder felt fine.
I tried to start it. Bluuuhhh...out of juice. Recharged the battery and
left the petcock to the 'on' position overnight. All the gas fell out.
D'oh! (I have this problem because I can't hoist it up onto the center
stand...)

Got gas Sunday, and rode over to my parents' house for dinner. Ah, the
joy of being mobile again. Fortunately, my riding wasn't as hashed up as
my ground handling of the bike! "Turn off gas petcock" is on my list of
Things to Do when I park it, along with "Turn off bike."

Today, I feel fine. No twinges from my shoulder. I'm back, Jim. Now it's
your turn! Hope you have a swift recovery, bud. It's the best!


--
--
Spidergraham
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

thanks!!
j

 

Glad to hear it, Barbz!!!

As for petcocks, your mileage may vary. Mine (for some reason, there
are two of them, one for each side of the tank) have positions of "on"
"prime" and "reserve". If I left them in the "prime" position, the gas
would run through. But there is no "off" position.

Rich, Urban Biker

 

Thanks, Marc. Will keep that in mind.

R, UB

 

I think I'd put inspecting the float bowls and maybe replacing the
floats and float valves on my list of stuff to do also. Even on the
sidestand the floats should be able to shut the gas off.

You also ought to take a look at the oil and make sure you didn't
get a whole bunch of gas diluting your engine oil. (It's probably
OK, but check it).

 

You are quite right. There probably is gas in the oil now. I suspect
that this happens because I have an after-market kickstand, which allows
the bike to lean over more than the stock stand.

I will change the oil! I should do that anyways, it's been sitting so long.

AND ACCUMULATING A SPIDER CIVILIZATION, I MIGHT ADD!

Gawd, there was even a teeny one living inside the handlebar tube where
the grip is cut away for Napoleon mirrors I need to reinstall! And a
big, greyish brown crabby one that was most unhappy when I removed the
bike cover!

Two wheels good-eight legs better!

--
--
Spidergraham
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

My understanding is that the floats gradually begin to let
more and more gas into the float bowls as they age. I'd be
hard pressed to explain why but this seems to be generally
agreed on by BMW lists. If they're old, it'd be worth taking
a look at them.

The floats are held in place by a steel pin with a set of star
shaped points on one end. To replace them, you would
support the carb body near the pin and tap on the round
end of the pin with a small punch or nail to drive the pin
out of the carb body.

I recall somebody once explained to me why you should be
nice to insects and spiders. (I had just swatted a fly.)

"You shouldn't kill flies. As a matter of fact, you shouldn't
kill any kind of insects."

Q: "Not even spiders ?"

A: "Oh especially not spiders."

Q: "Why especially not spiders ?"

(long, long pause).

A: "Because they kill flies." (thinking) "That way I don't have to."

Q: "Maybe if I ate the flies afterward ?"

A: "I don't want to talk about it !!'

 

Considering that there are billions of "bugs" for each and every human,
without spiders, they (the bugs) take over the world in about a day!

 

barbz wrote:

SNIP>

Barbz, glad to hear you're back in the saddle. I'm interested in what
kind of kick stand you have, and where'd you get it? My wife has a
lowered bike with a stock stand that now holds the bike way too
straight up. I'd like to get something that will lean it a little more.
It's a (much lowered) Guzzi Breva, by the way.

 

A word of caution: the more lean the sidestand allows, the harder your
wife will have to work to set the bike upright when she takes off.
Also, more lean puts more of the weight of the bike on a relatively
small contact patch, with the risk of exceeding the load bearing
capabilities of the surface on which she is parked -- similar to the
reason that airline stewardesses were prohibited from working in
stiletto heels back in the 60s.

R, UB

 

They used to slowly sink into the tarmac and fall over ?

 

Thanks for the caution. But as it "stands" now...it is alomst vertical.
I think a little more of a lean will still be in keeping with the
physical laws of nature...;~)

 

It depends on what they're made of. I bought a shitty old Toyota for $35
once and fixed it up into a $350 Toyota. The float in the carb was made
of plastic. When I shook it I could tell there was gasoline inside it.
The replacement float in the rebuild kit was made of brass. That worked
much better[1]

[1]once I got all the guck out of the fuel intake tube in the tank,
replaced the fuel pump that squirted fuel all over the inside of the
engine compartment, replaced the shift boot, put the #3 exhaust pushrod
back onto its tappet and tightened that down a bit, and replaced the
clutch. Had I also replaced the right door, the hood, a couple of shiny
bits and pieces and got a $99 Earl Scheib "Any Car; Any Color" paint job
I could probably have sold it for a thousand bucks.

 

Worse. They'd puncture the cabin floor. It's tough to get drink orders
when your clients are all wearing oxygen masks. ;-}

 

It is estimated that there are 60,000 spiders per acre on an average.
They're out there...waiting...waiting...

--
--
Spidergraham
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

I just went to the BMW shop and asked for an aftermarket stand. What I
got bolts on closer to the center of the motorcycle than the original,
which I couldn't reach with my toe. (I used to have to get off the bike
to deploy it) The replacement cost around $40, this was maybe 15 years
ago. You'll just have to ask, for all I know they might not make these
any more.

--
--
Spidergraham
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

I carry a little block of wood with me for hot days. The last time my
bike melted into asphalt, it damaged a pretty little sportscar who
parked too close! I'm not saying where, because I didn't stick around.
People who wedge their cars in trying to share a parking space with you
(when you are legally parked) get what they deserve. The driver squeezed
into my space, and when I came out, my bike was sort of leaning against
his car, being all cuddly and friendly. There was a big hole melted into
the asphalt, where the kickstand dug in, toppling the bike.

--
--
Spidergraham
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"