It isn't always the cager's fault...

[oldhack62]

Thanks a bunch, everybody -- what a group! :clapping:
I've spent the last couple of days surveying the old wreck -- my body, I mean, not the bike -- so haven't really done much pondering about what's next.
The aches and pains where flesh met hard surfaces started making themselves known 3-4 days after the accident. Yesterday was no fun at all, when it became apparent I've a cracked rib (near its connection to the spine), which started the musculature around it spasming (think, half-torso charley horse :shock almost every time I moved. Fortunately, it's just a very sore spot today, after several pain-killers and a night in the recliner instead of bed last night. Like the rest of me, it'll heal, but it kept my mind off motorcycling for a day.
My across-the-street rider-neighbor also has volunteered his wrenching and any compatible parts from a GL 1000 he has in his rural barn, should I decide to rebuild. I might wait till I see his vehicle -- in particular, to get a closeup look at its standard front end and get an idea how easy/difficult it will be to transform mine -- before I decide how to proceed. My easy-to-shift, self-imposed deadline for making a decision is the end of the coming week -- unless I decide to put it off further :? .
In any case, I'll let y'all know.
Again, thanks to all.

 

[Tory]

My best advice is to borrow the neighbers bike and go for a ride.QUICKLY before you think to much about it.

 

[Andyb]

Hey,Old Hack. I thought it might be time to check in with you. How are you feeling? Are you over your aches and pains?

 

[joedrum]

hey andy old hack has decided to let the 1100 go and has offered it to me ....so i took him up on it ....ive always wanted an 83 1100 dresser as i like the way they are geared and i like the fact that they are not so big as to be a parking and moving nightmare when being pushed around by hand .....

i got most of the parts to put it all back together i think accept for the front fairing i dont know if i can fix the one it has or not i havnt seen it yet....i just got back from fla. from a music gig that realy drained me it must have been a 150 degrees from where i was sitting on the drum set and i played my guts out .....its going to take me a few days to get my energy back .....

i notice on the post you have a fairing i might be interrested in that ......old hack is going to get a 1500 vulcan to replace the 83 and seems very pleased with the choice .....so im pretty psych aqbout having an 83 dresser but im going to have to do nothing for a few days to recharge my double nickle body......

 

[Andyb]

hey andy old hack has decided to let the 1100 go and has offered it to me ....so i took him up on it ....ive always wanted an 83 1100 dresser as i like the way they are geared and i like the fact that they are not so big as to be a parking and moving nightmare when being pushed around by hand .....

i got most of the parts to put it all back together i think accept for the front fairing i dont know if i can fix the one it has or not i havnt seen it yet....i just got back from fla. from a music gig that realy drained me it must have been a 150 degrees from where i was sitting on the drum set and i played my guts out .....its going to take me a few days to get my energy back .....

i notice on the post you have a fairing i might be interrested in that ......old hack is going to get a 1500 vulcan to replace the 83 and seems very pleased with the choice .....so im pretty psych aqbout having an 83 dresser but im going to have to do nothing for a few days to recharge my double nickle body......

Joe, how many bikes do you have now? You seem to be building quite a collection of wings.

The fairing has your name all over it.

 

[oldhack62]

Well, as often happens, life intrudes...Didn't mean to keep anyone in suspense -- but, the day after my accident, a new school year started for me, with this week being the first week with students back full-time. So, I'm spending my days being worn out by 18 second-graders, and haven't felt much like riding anyway by the time I get home.
That said, I'm feeling much better, thanks. The stitches came out more than a week ago, and observers (fortunately, I can't see my own face!) state that the scarring is remarkably subtle -- or will be, anyway. The 'busted' rib is still sore -- particularly when I sneeze, which can still make me do the "Chicken Dance", approximately! -- but doesn't keep me from performing any activity I wish to anymore.
In the end, the prospect of frame/electrical work was less appealing than simple motor mechanics, which I understand and perform better -- so, as Joe notes, I'm aiming to take on a local 'broke-motor' bike and repairing it -- unless I can find someone to finance a new one for me, which would alleviate all issues but the insurance costs.
And, it doesn't hurt at all that I know the remains of my Interstate will go to someone like Joe who'll appreciate them for what they are, and put them to good use. Nothing would make me happier than to find, a year from now, he considers this rebuilt wreck his main 'dresser'. I don't doubt he's the man to make that happen!
My chief goal right now is to get back on a rideable bike regularly -- even if it winds up being a sub-$500, currently non-running 'vintage' 185cc Honda available locally! Then, I'll spend the fall/winter sprucing up something more permanent.
But, I suspect I'll keep my hand in here, too, because I'm pretty sure I'll own another Goldwing at some future point. Even in my too-brief 'Winger sojourn, the benefits of the stable, solid riding comfort -- especially for two -- became obvious. Once a 'Winger, I guess...
Thanks to all.

 

[toytender01]

Tim
I have been sitting back monitering your plyte....Sorry for your situation ...but very glad you came out of it ok...I know that you will be back on a wing in the future as I know how adictive they are..My first wing wad a 79 naked which i pit a vetter faring on and rode it back and forth to work during the week and then went on cruses on weekends with the wife when i was not providing first aid at motorcycle raced (Mx and enduros and scrambles.) I have been down many times during raced and in 20 years of racing only broke a collor bone and a wrist....I thought i could give it up but it is not possable...as gun owners say "I WILL ONLY GIVE IT UP WHEN THEY PRY IT OUT OF MY COLD DEAD HAND" I have 3 dirt bikes and 3 wings....Only the 80 interstate is running now and one of the 82s is almost ready, the other has become a parts bike at this time....all this said....I want to tell you to set back and wait .... because i knoe there is another wing out there waiting for you ....have faith and God will see to it....Bob

 

[paddy.shadow]

:beg: Don't give up yet! 40 stitches? :heat: ouch! Glad it wasn't worse. About failure, Edison was asked how he ever invented the light bulb, He replied, "I figured out a thousand ways it wouldn't work first". Personally, I don't refer to my failures as such, rather "learning experiences" and "prototypes" :builder: Give it a little time.

 

[oldhack62]

I don't really remember how, but recently I learned that the Kawasaki Vulcan 500 -- which was discontinued after the 2009 model year -- is a parallel, or in-line, twin (i.e., NOT a V-twin!), and reputedly has the fasted 0-60 mph time amongst all contemporary production-model bikes under 1100cc. It uses the same base engine as the Kaw 500 Ninja sport jobber, cammed and geared to boulevard use. I LOVE me some in-line engines!
So, with nothing much else to do, I started looking for one. I just missed buying a local machine listed on eBay, offering $1,275 to a winning bid of $1,300 (it was a '96 model, and I got to test-ride it while the sale was in progress. It was worth the sale price.).
Consecutively, I braced an area dealer about its last such, new (2009) model, reduced to under $3,500, and was rejected for financing (seems nobody really wants to service motorcycles these days), unless I could offer 10% down, at least. What with credit rejections and mid-range credit scores, I'd about decided to buy some $350 fixer-upper 250cc something-or-other for cash at my next payday, just to piddle with.
Lo and behold, today I get a call from said area dealership indicating it HAD secured alternative financing for the NEW Kaw 500 LTD Vulcan! They need to hear from me and see my down payment!
Will call them tomorrow, and double-check with my 'angel', willing to advance me the money until my next payday, now under two weeks away.
I'm excited (knowingly subject to too-often disappointment -- like a too-high interest rate, or too-short term!). I'm REALLY itching to ride again, and I think this is a serviceable bike at a stellar price. A lot of 'beginners' have ridden this model for years before parting with it.
What it isn't is the best of all worlds, but I won't begrudge it that, since I've never known such. And, if I can finance it instead of paying cash, it may not even interfere with my current hopes of rebuilding another local BIG bike that needs some engine work -- and little else.
So, wish me luck, and good riding...

 

[oldhack62]

...reputedly has the fasted 0-60 mph time amongst all contemporary production-model bikes under 1100cc...

Pretty sure I should say "cruiser" there -- though I don't really know if it's true, only that I've read it in multiple places.

 

[joedrum]

thats great hack .....i have your love for the inlines fours i use to have an 82 honda 750f it was in mint condition and would still have it if it hadnt got rip off while i was out of state working ....im sure glad i took the wing when i left or i would have lost it to ......im sure it was taken for the motor .....here where i live it was very bad in the gravel and you had to careful but it always ran great .....good luck on the purchase of the new bike

 

[dan filipi]

Good luck Tim. Let us know how you come out.

 

[oldhack62]

Well, never mind.
I learned the particulars today of the "approval" the sale rep had gotten for the new Vulcan 500: 24% interest with a finance company, not a bank (which probably meant a 'Rule of 78' loan rather than simple interest), and a $241 payment over 37 months. I'm embarrassed I couldn't do better, and the dealership ought to be that it coundn't, too! The loan terms would have doubled the c. $4,450 out-the-door price for the bike. Needless to say, I rejected it.
To add insult to injury, I stopped by the local 'cycle barn' which had the Kawasaki Vulcan fixer-upper, and it had sold yesterday, though it still sat there taunting me. Thus, I'm probably reduced to waiting out a couple or three paychecks, then paying cash for a $1,000-$2,000 bike. I know I can get good value for that money around here --especially as the off-season approaches -- but I just hate to be a non-rider for another 6-8 weeks. I'm itchy right now!
Nothing to do but to suck it up! I'll be back in the saddle eventually, and I'll be glad I didn't pay any usurious rate to do it.

 

[thewhiterhino]

Tim
I'm proud of you for not succumbing to run away desires. What ever you get you will enjoy it twice as much without payments.... :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

[dan filipi]

24% interest, that's nuts!
My brother got suckered into a deal like that once. Something like $550 a month for 4 years on a $8500 loan. Meant he would have paid over 24k for the truck!
Criminals.

 

[oldhack62]

I probably should have eschewed trying to finance anyway right now. Until about 18 months ago, I had absolutely no debt (or assets, for that matter) and no credit/trade lines. I had a hard time qualifying for my mortgage because the lack of current credit left my FICO scores in the doldrums, and I had to come up with alternatives, like rent, utility payments, etc., in order to prove "credit-worthy". It was a hassle, though worth it in the end.
So, I decided not to get caught in that situation again, financing a car, too, and taking on a couple of credit cards over the last year+. Thus, a Catch-22 of my own making: having taken on several credit lines in relatively short order leaves subsequent, prospective creditors hesitant. With something like motorcycles -- hard to finance anyway except with dedicated powersports lenders -- adding a couple of rejections just leads the next company which looks at my credit report to think I'm piling up debt, when all I'm really piling up is non-performing applications.
Odd thing is, all along (but for my just-past, non-income summer months, when I lived on a 'fixed income' of savings for that purpose), I've been living quite well on about 2/3s of my net income, so will be able to pay cash for the equivalent of half, within 45 days or so, of any new bike I've considered. I won't, though, to any of the folks who decided, during my tight months, they don't care to do business with me.
I'll likely wind up with something the sort of an '80s metric, inline-4 that I can buy and ride for $1,200, then save some cash till this winter, when somebody who decided s/he isn't a biker, after all, despite having purchased a new motorcycle, practically gives away a machine with under 500 miles on it. Happens all the time around here -- I just have to prepare myself to be in the right place at the right time!

 

[oldhack62]

It's with mixed emotions that I report I am officially bikeless tonight. Joe arrived earlier this evening to take on and take home my wrecked '83 Interstate, and I'm glad to report he appeared to think it a worthy base for restoration. I expect to see him post he's riding it within weeks.
Fixing it was really beyond my ken, or I'd gladly have done so. It was turning into a fine machine when I damaged it. And everything behind the handlebars still is fine as is. But, I'm more of an engine 'guy' than a frame-and-wiring 'guy' -- and this bike needs attention to the front fork/frame and fairing/wiring. Joe reports he thinks he has everything he needs to put it back into service. To me -- and all of us, I think -- that's a much better result than seeing it dismantled for parts, however necessary such activity is for the rest of us to keep riding the older 'Wings.
Additionally, I'm also gratified to find and relay that Joe is a solid, down-to-earth American mid-lander, for and with whom a sincere handshake and spoken promise is as binding (probably MORE so!) as a written contract. That way of life soon will pass with those of us who grew up to it, but participating in its still-continuing existence is joy and reward enough to repay any value I lost in the bike through personal lapse of judgment and riding skill.
I wish nothing but the best for Joe and my-now-his bike.

 

[scdmarx]

Somehow I picture Joe having that effect on people where ever he goes. :clapping: