Did not make it home in one piece

Marty glad it was no worse than it is. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Kudos to you and your wife for having worked out the "I ride, she doesn't thing".
Hope you like gray hair, cause I'm sure you gave her some this time.
 
Congrats, Marty! Last time I had a Close Encounter of the Worst Kind with a truck there was no walking away from it. Glad you're OK, apart from residual hassles--while you're dealing with the bureaucracy, just remember the magic words: "My wife is a lawyer, don't piss me off."

Now somebody jump in here and offer Marty a lift for the Goose!
 
Hi Marty,
like the final scene in Seven Samurai where the survivors walk away and one says "once more, we survived"
Glad that you did too, even if as a person gets older it takes them longer to heal up.
Time was I used to bounce right up again when I fell off. These days I just lay there and wait for the EMTs to pick me up.
Mind you, that Guzzi looks to be salvageable.
Just needs a new front end and some cosmetic work. If the frame is too bent to ride solo you can hang a sidecar on it.
Sidecar rigs don't care about bent frames because they never go quite where they are pointed anyway.
And they are far safer than solos.
Paradoxically because they need so much concentration to operate that you dare not take your mind off the task for a single instant.
 
Thanks, Dick. Several on the Guzzi site have offered to get the bike as have some of my friends and a daughter. A friend and motorcyclist here in town has offered his services on Friday. If I leave the thing for 10 days, Tennessee gets involved and that means money and red tape. I'd like to avoid that.

Fred, it seems strange you should suggest a sidecar rig. :smoke: One problem with the sidecar rig is the space it takes up in the garage. I can get four motorcycles in that space. My lot is almost vertical, so alternate parking is not an option. When it rains a lot, I wonder if the house will slide off the hill.

I got nothing from the authorities, and I'm starting to wonder if I will. When I spotted the truck, it was crowding my lane, but his curve radius was decreasing. Since I have no memory, I can only speculate on my reaction, no better than any of you.
 
jetmechmarty said:
Fred, it seems strange you should suggest a sidecar rig. :smoke: One problem with the sidecar rig is the space it takes up in the garage. I can get four motorcycles in that space. My lot is almost vertical, so alternate parking is not an option. When it rains a lot, I wonder if the house will slide off the hill.
Click to expand...
Hi Marty,
four solos will only fit if they are no bigger than a BSA Bantam. Big bikes with luggage, no more than two.
Which means you only got one to winch up into the garage rafters.
But yeah, parking can be a problem.
My wife gave me a choice between leaving garage space for the car and going outside on winter mornings to start the car, sweep the snow off it and scrape the frost off it's windows.
I got into sidecars after a 40-year layoff partly because my wife refuses to ride pillion and partly because I got too chicken to ride my XS11 solo.
And that was when I was only in my 60s. When I got to be in my 70s I got too chicken to ride my XS650 solo.
I reckon switching to 3 wheels has kept me riding for the last decade.
 
Man I hate to hear things like this, I am very glad you're ok. Nice to hear that people are available to help with bike. Best wishes with everything.
 
1705206756900.png


My Guzzi is back in the garage. It needs a valve cover and a front end.
 
Last edited:
When I went to Tennessee for the bike, I opted not to bother the law. I called them with my contact info from the hospital. They never contacted me. I'll let that sleeping dog lie. I did notify my insurance provider.

I'll decide whether to part out or repair the bike in my own time.
 
Well Gee Marty,
that latest photo shows that although your Guzzi's entire front end is reduced to scrap the windshield seems to be unmarked.
With all respect to StarTrek it couldn't have been Scottie who introduced Transparent Aluminum to the 20th Century after all,
it must have been the guys who built your windshield.
 
Yikes!...............that was a bad experience for sure. Good to hear that you are not seriously hurt.
There must have been some rather large forces involved to snap the front fork tube like that.
 
They don't make fork tubes like they used to.
Good to see you came out of that unscathed, relatively. I'd not be surprised if the pickup driver was cutting the corner, but no proving that now.
 
Grimly said:
...I'd not be surprised if the pickup driver was cutting the corner, but no proving that now.
Click to expand...

That's whut I was thinking when I saw Marty's pics of the impact site, and the dark, wide truck tire scrub stripe crossing center. Post-mortem analysis of pictures like that is what LE detectives live for. I'd recommend submitting them for analysis...
 
TwoManyXS1Bs said:
That's whut I was thinking when I saw Marty's pics of the impact site, and the dark, wide truck tire scrub stripe crossing center. Post-mortem analysis of pictures like that is what LE detectives live for. I'd recommend submitting them for analysis...
Click to expand...

That's all well and good, but I have to consider the cost involved. The law did not cite me in the accident. My insurance carrier has elected to pay the damages to the truck. Lawyers and investigators can run up a bill matching my annual salary in a New York minute.

What bothers me a bit was that there was an Asian woman at the scene who seemed very concerned about my well being. I assumed that she had been operating the truck, when in fact, it was a 47 year old white guy. I have no recollection of speaking to him at the scene. Perhaps it's better that way. He left a message on my phone several days later asking for insurance info with no "hope you're OK." I did not call him back. I just made sure my insurance had the accident report. C'est la vie.
 
Grimly said:
They don't make fork tubes like they used to.
Good to see you came out of that unscathed, relatively. I'd not be surprised if the pickup driver was cutting the corner, but no proving that now.
Click to expand...

Hi Grimly,
years ago my then 14 year old nephew was visiting from England.
He asked me, "Is it the same over here, do all the pillocks drive Volvos?"
"No, over here they mostly drive pickups."
And why do pickup drivers all wear ball caps?
To hide the circumcision scar.
 
Thought of you Marty, when I saw a Classified ad for shortened front forks. Yours are already custom shortened. Also, thought I'd post this here for those who might not see it in the other thread. Reminded me of you, only in reverse.
BikeOK.jpg
 
That cheered me up, I've broken my leg a couple of hours ago, ladder snapped on my way down it, the next snap was the leg. No riding for me for a while anyway
 

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See what you started Marty.
Speedy recovery Mick, hope it was a clean break that mends well.
 

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