- Joined
- Oct 17, 2015
- Messages
- 1,962
- Location
- near Harrow, Ontario, Canada
- Bike
- '83 BMW R100RS
- STOC #
- 8870
Well, I knew that gravity would eventually get the best of me - and today, it did.
I have been been on a 2-day ride with some buddies from another city and after splitting off from them to return home this afternoon, I took a detour down a country road. As an aside I must tell you that I am restoring a 1976 Yamaha XS650C - just like one I had at university in the 1970's. Anyhow, I was tooling along this back country road and I saw a nice 650 on the shoulder with a "For Sale" sign on it in front of a messy yard full of other assorted cars, bike and stuff. Hmmmm - I wonder if this guy has a nice fender for my '76? So, I hit the brakes and wound-up right on the edge of the very narrow shoulder of the road just past the driveway.
Soooo, I tried to do a 5-point duck-walk turn-around on the narrow road so that I could go back to see the bike and enquire if any of the parts needed for my resto-job might be available.
Unfortunately, my last cycle of back-and-forthing put my front wheel onto the shoulder which proved to be 4 inches of very soft sand. I couldn't back-up, and really had no alternative but to try going forward and.....down she went on the right side. The engine immediately died and I stood up - undamaged (except for the customary embarrassment). There were 4 or 5 burley guys sitting on the front porch of the house where I had stopped and one of them called to ask if I needed help....and yes, I sure did. Anyhow, they all ambled over and righted my ST - and pushed it out of the sand. They also kindly providing me with the name and phone number of the XS650 vendor - who turned out to be absent.
Dang it! Sand sucks and so does the earth!
I have been been on a 2-day ride with some buddies from another city and after splitting off from them to return home this afternoon, I took a detour down a country road. As an aside I must tell you that I am restoring a 1976 Yamaha XS650C - just like one I had at university in the 1970's. Anyhow, I was tooling along this back country road and I saw a nice 650 on the shoulder with a "For Sale" sign on it in front of a messy yard full of other assorted cars, bike and stuff. Hmmmm - I wonder if this guy has a nice fender for my '76? So, I hit the brakes and wound-up right on the edge of the very narrow shoulder of the road just past the driveway.
Soooo, I tried to do a 5-point duck-walk turn-around on the narrow road so that I could go back to see the bike and enquire if any of the parts needed for my resto-job might be available.
Unfortunately, my last cycle of back-and-forthing put my front wheel onto the shoulder which proved to be 4 inches of very soft sand. I couldn't back-up, and really had no alternative but to try going forward and.....down she went on the right side. The engine immediately died and I stood up - undamaged (except for the customary embarrassment). There were 4 or 5 burley guys sitting on the front porch of the house where I had stopped and one of them called to ask if I needed help....and yes, I sure did. Anyhow, they all ambled over and righted my ST - and pushed it out of the sand. They also kindly providing me with the name and phone number of the XS650 vendor - who turned out to be absent.
Dang it! Sand sucks and so does the earth!