An Adventure

"Trevor Jones" <tjons.DeleteThis@noundies.input.co.nz> wrote in message
news:MPG.22197bbbe56bfa01989682@news.akl.ihugultra.co.nz...
> Back in 2006, I gave my boy a motorcycle for his birthday.
>
> It was a GSXR 750 with a custom body kit that made it look wild.
>
> Last year, he started riding it to work every day. Sure it used a
> whole bunch less gas than a 6 cylinder car, but as a one-off (I had the
> body kit imported from the Czech Republic, and as as far as I know,
> there are no others like it in the country) it doesn't make for a
> sensible commuter option.
>
> One small oopsie would destroy plastic and fibreglass parts that
> cannot easily be replaced.
>
> So for 2007, I bought my boy a Ducati 916 for his birthday. No, not a
> new one (I'm not made of money) but a very respectable example.
>
> Finally my boy started to agree with me that a big twin is so much
> easier and more fun to ride than a four cylinder.
>
> Then he crashed it.
>
> It was a freak low-speed accident involving the nozzle from a fire-
> hose from a fire-truck, but managed to put great big dents in both front
> and back wheels, and pretty much destroy the plastic bodywork.
>
> An hysterical phone call at 7am is not the sort of thing I like to
> hear from my boy, especially when there are lots of police cars and
> ambulances involved, and the local radio stations start reporting
> motorway on-ramps being closed due to a motorcycle accident.
>
> Fortunately, the worst injury my boy ended up with was a sore foot.
>
> Sure, his helmet was toast and his gloves were ribbons, but the rest
> of his leather gear survived with only a few "Marks Of Honour".
>
> Later, he told me that he was glad that he had worn undies that day,
> 'coz otherwise if he had needed to have the leather pants removed, it
> might have been very embarrassing.
>
> It is over 10 years since my boy last had any sort of problem on a
> motorbike. Back then, he also did it in style, destroying the bike, and
> using his testicles to remove the fuel tank in a manouevre that I prefer
> not to think much about.
>
> The amount of damage to the 916 was not great, but when it comes to
> having a bike fixed, the cost of the parts adds up pretty quickly, so
> the insurance company wrote it off as a waste of effort. A week later,
> the insurance company fronted with a cheque for the full amount that I
> had paid for the 916 (less a not very big excess).
>
> When my boy could walk again on both feet, he went shopping for a
> replacement for his birthday present. Initally he was looking at SPS-
> class bikes, but eventually toned his search down to something similar
> to the bike that he had just killed.
>
> He found one! A very nice example. Newer, with more carbon-fibre
> fruit, even lower mileage and available for the sort of cash that the
> insurance company had paid out.
>
> Only problem was, it was in another city, 400 miles away.
>
> Yesterday, my boy rang me at 4:30am to get me to take him to the
> airport. His partner and baby were asleep, so I also had to be very
> quiet. He's far too cheap to pay for the taxi ride (over an hour) to
> the airport, so Dad has to take up the slack. The rude hour is also a
> result of being cheap: the intercity flight that he had booked cost him
> just US$50.
>
> So I got him on the plane, and worried for the whole day about sending
> my boy into an unknown void where anything could happen.
>
> It is the first time that my boy has been on a plane by himself. I
> know that you are probably thinking that if he is grown up enough to
> have a kid, and to negotiate a long-distance motocycle purchase, then he
> should be OK. I guess I should think that too, but it is hard (as a
> parent) to not worry about all sorts of fantastic possibilities.
>
> What if the person he has bought the bike from is an axe murderer?
>
> What if he gets lost?
>
> What if the bike breaks down?
>
> To take my mind off thinking about these things, I took my own bike
> out for an extended ride with a mate. My boy had promised to call me
> from a really nice Cafe that I knew about, about 1/3 of the way home.
> He should be there by about lunch-time.
>
> I made it home by 2pm, checked my cell phone and my answering machine,
> but no news from the boy, so I called him and left a message "Please
> Call Dad".
>
> He did eventually, at about 4:30pm, and still about 2 hours away.
>
> "Yeah Dad, a slight problem, I missed the turn-off you told me about,
> but figured it couldn't be too bad. Unfortunately it took me about 100
> miles further west than I should have been, and the only way back was on
> the nastiest windy road I have ever ridden on. The gas reserve light
> came on when I saw a sign that said that the next town was 30 miles
> away"
>
> Thankfully, he didn't run out of gas, but only just.
>
> I think I'll need to have words with him about ignoring maps and
> directions.
>
> He made it home just before 7 pm, and I went to see him this morning.
>
> The bike he bought is a stunner. A beautiful Ducati 996 with
> Termignoni pipes, a Corbin seat, and in beautiful condition. It could
> do with an extra tooth on the front sprocket so that he can ride it at
> sensible speeds, but apart from that, a wonderful purchase.
>
> I am very proud of my boy for finding the bike, negotiating its
> purchase, and bringing it home. He told me that it was going to be an
> adventure, and I am very pleased that he survived it.
>
> When I was at his house, several of his mates turned up to see the new
> bike. All were impressed. He had woken up early this morning to clean
> all of the bugs off, so it was looking fine. The only sign that
> something physically demanding had gone down the day before was when he
> bent down to check the tire pressure and admitted to all assembled:
>
> "Just look away folks, I can't wear undies today 'coz my arse is so
> sore, and I don't want to frighten you with butt-crack".
>
> Scout
>

Hi there Scout

Good to hear about your boy. Children grow up very quickly!

What are you riding these days?

I've moved up to a R1.

Murray

In article <fp3fvl$e26$1@lust.ihug.co.nz>, murray.owen.DeleteThis@nobus.co.nz
says...
> Hi there Scout
>
> Good to hear about your boy. Children grow up very quickly!
>
> What are you riding these days?
>
> I've moved up to a R1.
>
> Murray
>
Murray,
cool to hear that you're still around, and I hope you are enjoying the
R1.

I'm riding a much slower and less powerful bike that I used to, but it
is plenty fast for me.

It is a Ducati Sport 1000 Classic. It looks like something from the
70s. An air-cooled 2-valve motor and no fairing make it very small and
light, and the Termi's fitted yesterday give it a wonderful rorty noise
that suits its styling.

Scout