Had My First Motorcycle Accident Today

[Dmnordin]

I had Earl send me another plate spring & gasket - they arrived yesterday, so this is on my list of projects to do for tomorrow - thanks for your input!

 

Doug

[Dmnordin]

I went to the orthopedic guy a couple of days ago - I complained about the PT aggravating my wrist / increased pain - hasn't been too much fun. Yesterday morning I had a nerve conduction study done on my arms/wrists, and I see the doc again on Tuesday - he talked about scoping my wrist over doing an MRI - he can see better what's going on, take care of it then, and avoid the cost of the MRI on top of scoping.

 

So, it sounds like this riding season is probably over for me before it ever got started - I'm OK with that if I can come away from it with my wrists not bugging me any more.

 

Doug

[dingy]

One other thing I neglected to mention is that if you are going to use an MKII clutch setup, you will also need to use an MKII crankcase cover for the clutch.

 

The MKI cover is narrower than the MKII unit. The MKI will not bolt up due to the assembled clutch is thicker. This is because of the pressure plate.

 

I learned this when rebuilding the bike this winter. I have a very nicely polished MKI cover that is sitting in a box because it is about a 1/4" too narrow. I had to use the cover from my MKII parts bike that was beyond the point of polishing. Powder coated it black instead.

 

Gary

Edited September 10, 2010 by dingy

[Dmnordin]

Thanks for letting me know about that - it's not a problem since I'm dealing with the '86 1300 engine & I had kept the 1300 clutch cover on it.

 

Thanks,

Doug

[Dmnordin]

My wrist surgery (carpel tunnel release & ligament damage repair/debrieding was 2 weeks ago & went well - he found more ligament damage than what he expected and had to shorten some ligaments, so he casted my arm yesterday after stitches were removed so my wrist will be immobilized for another 4 weeks so the ligaments heal up shorter/tighter. I got pneumonia which was very painful - better now after antibiotics. I'm not supposed to lift, push, or pull anything heavier than a pencil with my right fingers, hand/wrist so it heals up properly.

I'm looking forward to having a good wrist/hand after all of this is over.

 

I guess I'll be working on my Venture rebuild in a couple of months when I can start wrenching again.

 

Doug

[Aussie Annie]

Glad to see the surgery was successful:thumbsup:

[Dmnordin]

I saw the Doc this morning - next week it will be 3 months since my hand/wrist surgery. The ligaments are supposed to be healed up at that point & I'll start strengthening that side. I've scheduled surgery for my other (Left) wrist (carpel tunnel release & scoped hand ligament area) for Dec. 20th. I'll be taking the week off of work.

 

I haven't been able to do anything on my bike rebuild with healing and all. Neighbors helped me fix my Subaru from the deer collision.

 

Doug Nordin

[Dmnordin]

the surgery on my left wrist/hand last week went well - better than the one on my right hand as far as pain and recovering goes.

 

The doc found similar stretched ligaments as he did in my right hand & shortened them (which requires 3 months for the ligaments to heal). next week the temporary bandaging comes off & I'll get a cast for a month - I need to decide on what color of cast to get - it's a tough decision. My wife thinks I should get a hot pink cast (I don't think so!).

 

Doug

[utadventure]

Runnin' Ute Red!!

[Pegasus1300]

Don't listen to him.Cougar Blue is the only way to go,or the hot pink or maybe safety yellow.

[Dmnordin]

I want camouflage, but I don't think they have any...

[Dmnordin]

I have over 3,000 miles on my bike this season now and I'm starting to feel pretty comfortable riding in most situations:). I've signed up paid for the advanced riders course at Timp Harley in Lindon/Orem at the end of the month.

 

Here's what I've done to the bike since it's been "done" this season;

 

1 - ordered a black sheepskin seat cover and used memory foam & a Wallyworld gel (not solid) seat pad to get me up higher & provide more cush for my tush. sitting too low was making it very painful for my legs while riding - leftovers from both of my legs being broken in 1990.

 

2 - chopped my windshield so I can see (over it) in moisture conditions. Got it a little too low, so I added a laminar lip (http://www.laminarlip.com/venture.php) which fixed that.

 

3 - Replaced my left side engine covers gaskets so I could get to where my stator wires exit the engine - I had an oil leak there. changed the oil/filter too. So far it hasn't leaked oil any more.

 

4 - My left rear (#1) carburetor kept on dumping fuel out of the overflow. I messed with it for a while draining the bowl, blowing compressed air back through the drain, which would fix it for a day or so at a time. I finally removed the right & lower fairings so I could remove the carburetor rack. Then I pulled the bowl cover, cleaned out some crud in the bowl and carb fuel coupler, and replaced the needle with a one from a spare carb. It looks like the needle that was in it was worn at the bottom. Hasn't had the problem since and it's running great now. Oh yeah, I also balanced the carbs after getting the bike back together.

When I did this, I realized that I had put my Vboost lever where the choke lever usually goes by the left hand grip, so I had been turning on my Vboost to start the bike sometimes instead of the choke! lol - silly me! I forgot about that in the year that I was healing from the accident.

Now I know where my choke lever really is too! (it's even labeled correctly)

 

5 - Tore my forks apart AGAIN so I could replace my fork seals. Apparently my right fork had a small ding & a couple of scratches that ruined that seal. I noticed my front tire wearing strange about 3 weeks ago, and this led to learning that my fork seal leaking was causing the odd wear.

 

6 - at the same time as the fork seal thing, I replaced my worn out Shenko tires with Metzeler ME880 Marathon tires at Rocky Mt. ATV in Payson. They put Dynabeads in & use Nitrogen to fill the tires.

WOW what a difference! The Shenko's (I only got 8200 miles out of them) were much better than the Dunlop D404's that were on the bike when I got it, but the Metzelers are Awesome! The bike feels like a SPORT touring bike now!!

 

7 - I added a couple of small rat-fink stickers, and an aluminum Autobot transformer insignia thing to the bike; it hasn't transformed yet, though. I REALLY want to know what it will transform into when it does, and how to initiate it! lol Do you think I'll look like one of Ed Roth's monsters when it does transform? wonder what that will be like...

 

Doug

[XV1100SE]

Glad to hear you are back in the saddle again. It will take time to get over the accident mentally but the advanced rider course should give you back your confidence.

[Galapagos]

Things happen. We are not machines. Good to hear you are OK.