The Last Sarris Suzuki & More

[Sarris]

I thought I'd post some photos of my last Suzuki. It was a slightly modified 1996 VS1400 Intruder. :lol:

http://www.postimage.org/Pq25sWOA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq25sWOA)

http://www.postimage.org/aV27wwW9.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27wwW9)

http://www.postimage.org/aV27ylFJ.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27ylFJ)

This was my last Yamaha. 2005 1700 Roadstar w/ about 120 hp.

http://www.postimage.org/Pq25vDqi.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq25vDqi)

Also had a 2005 Kawasaki Drifter 800.

http://www.postimage.org/aV27DMoi.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27DMoi)

http://www.postimage.org/aV27DYS0.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27DYS0)

http://www.postimage.org/aV27E7QA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27E7QA)

Also did a black & white. Cool, huh?

http://www.postimage.org/aV27EpiA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27EpiA)

[jonathan180iq]

Holy crap. I always thought that photo in your avatar was fake...

[warlock2008]

waw! nice "collection"!

[LilNinja77]

You actually RIDE that suzuki? How big of a turning radius does it require? Pretty bike, but looks like it would scrape hard parts if it even thought of taking a turn, definitely not for me....meh, to each his own. I really like the Kawasaki though, she's purdy :tup:
Ride safe

[Sarris]

Thanks guys. Those bikes are all long gone. I have two Harleys & my GZ now (see photos under "Member Pics"). Also, FYI, the Intruder chopper front end is a bolt on kit from Germany. All TUV (the German DOT) approved at autobahn speed and although it had a fairly large turning radius (you could do a u-turn in (2) 12'-0" wide lanes), it handled and rode amazingly well. I had it almost 10 years and won a herd of Best Import Trophies for it. They make a kit for the Savage 650 also. I plan to put the same kit on my Sportster about $2000 from now!

You can see the kit at: http://www.seegercycle.com/

The Kawi was a very dependable & good looking bike, but was not very inspiring to ride. Kinda slow & generic.

I totalled the Yamaha in early 2006 and spent 6 months in a wheelchair due to a brainless butthole in a cage. Another story for another time.......

:)

[Dupo]

Slightly modified .. lol. Great job you did on that Intruder.

I am getting a similar kit @ 6 degree rake for my shadow. I can get 9 or 14 degree at twice the cost of the 6 (yikes).

[Sarris]

Dupo;

Thanks for your kind compliments. The chopper kit for the 1400 Intruder was 13 degrees (total head rake of 50 degrees) with 10" over tubes and retailled for $1699. It was a labor of love (stupidity). I loved the bike, but as usuallly happens with used bikes, I lost my ass when I sold it. S**T Happens! Also, the guy who bought paid $1200 to have it crated and shipped from Tampa to Spokane, Washington.
Go figure.....
:rawk:

[Graydog]

Sarris, ok you hooked me. I'm ready for the wheelchair story. What happened? Have you already posted it?

[Sarris]

In April 2006, I was riding my 2005 Yamaha 1700 Roadstar (120 hp Barons modified) with another biker, enjoying the ride and just minding our own biz. We came around a blind corner onto a cage that had come to a full stop in an area where it is illegal to turn. She had no turnsignal on, but was turned slightly to the right. My buddy was on my right. He swerved between a power pole and a sign, and thought he was going to hit her. I swerved left to go around her (there was no oncoming traffic) and just as my front wheel got beside her left rear tire, she made a left, and I t-boned her at 35 mph. The momentum made made the bike snap sideways to the right, crushing my right foot and ankle (from about midcalf down) between the cage and the bike. After 4 hours of orthopaedic surgery and 7 days in the hospital, I was relegated to a wheelchair and was totally non-ambulatory for 6 months. I now have a 12" long scar on the outside of my right ankle where a titanium plate and 10 screws was inserted and there is a bunch of miscellaneous metal bits and pieces holding all my foot and toe bones together. Every bone in my ankle and foot was broken, as well as both leg bones that were broken off just above the ankle. The surgeon commented that had this happened 10 years ago, I would have lost my foot. I was wearing riding boots, a leather jacket, gloves, and a 3/4 helmet.

The woman driving the cage never saw me. She also had just enough insurance to get a tag in Florida, and no other assets. I got nothing. My $18k bike was totalled.

It was was only time in 35 years of riding that I got clanged, so I got it out of the way. I don't limp and I can still ride. Just another very valuable life lesson.

Shit happens. End of story.

:oops:

[patrick_777]

Sarris, you should post that story in the Lessons Learned forum.

Also, have Alan write it. :lol: :neener:

[alanmcorcoran]

...pretty bike. me likey the chopper. I, too, thought avatar was fake. Of little faith I guess.

The foot crushin' kind of puts the Comike admonishment in perspective.

(Here's more fuel for your fire Sarris: I got clipped by a '68 Mustang while crossing a two-lane in '74. Snapped my leg cleanly in half, and the traffic would have finished me had I not instinctively crawled out of the street. Over a week in the hospital, morphine, surgery, the whole bit. Point of my story? I still walk across the damn street by God! And, often, not even at the light! And I ain't afraid of no Mustangs either. [Well, maybe green ones, a little.])

Seriously, it sucks to be busted up like that, and the older you are when it happens the harder it is to get things back close to normal. I salute you and your balls for defying "sensibility."

[Sarris]

Thanks for your understanding. But it has less to do with sensibility than a love of biking. You and I are close in age, so you know what a challenge it is to come back, but you gotta keep the faith and have the fortitute to keep doing what you love to do. For me this has been a life long hobby/commitment, not a temporary program to save gas. I ride daily and use my bikes as my main form of transportation.

Peace.

:chop:

[Graydog]

Hmm. Maybe there ought to be a forum for such stories. You know....where we can compare scars like the scene in "Jaws" where they are outdoing each others scars one by one while the shark cruises outside. Wonder how many total broken bones, scars, days in hospitals, etc. are on the forum as a result of "big ones"? I've never had one that put me out for six months. Gotta give you a "brass monkey balls" award for still riding.

[Sarris]

You had to ask for the "story", didn't you?? Please read my post above yours, it's really a commitment and a life long passion for me.

LOL

Sarris

:) :lol: :) :lol:

[Graydog]

Were you a lot younger then? In the mid 60s a large dog (that chased me every day as I rode by) misjudged his speed and mine and ended up under my front tire. Lost control, crashed bike, broke bones, killed dog. (we put him out of his misery with a shot gun. He was messed up worse than me.) My best buddy helped me rip off mangled parts of the bike, replace handlebars, and the next day I was riding again with arm in cast.

But I was young (17) and knew everything. Now I am old, dumb, and would never survive the same crash.

[Sarris]

No, I was 49 in 2006 when the accident occured (I'm 51 now). It really hurt like hell. My age wasn't the reason it took so long to heal, it was the severity of the injury. The bones healed pretty fast and I had day surgery to remove wires that protruded out of the ends of my 4 small toes after the first 2 months, but the crushed blood vessels and crushed muscles took the longest to mend. I was riding my new HD within a week after I got out of the wheelchair, but walking with a cane and taking physical therapy for 3 months afterwards. My foot and ankle were technicolor for almost a year.

Believe me, it was one of the worst thing I've ever gone through. I will tell you that I was a bit paranoid for the first ride or two, but it felt great to get back into the saddle. No way I'll ever give up riding, I enjoy it way too much. I walk without a pain or a limp, so what more can I ask??

Sounds like you were pretty lucky when you wrecked too. Don't sell yourself short, you can survive a hell of a lot more damage than you think. Just always remember that prudent riders live longer than moron riders.

Ride safe brother.

:)

[bonehead]

I thought I'd post some photos of my last Suzuki. It was a slightly modified 1996 VS1400 Intruder. :lol:

http://www.postimage.org/Pq25sWOA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq25sWOA)

http://www.postimage.org/aV27wwW9.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27wwW9)

http://www.postimage.org/aV27ylFJ.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27ylFJ)

This was my last Yamaha. 2005 1700 Roadstar w/ about 120 hp.

http://www.postimage.org/Pq25vDqi.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq25vDqi)

Also had a 2005 Kawasaki Drifter 800.

http://www.postimage.org/aV27DMoi.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27DMoi)

http://www.postimage.org/aV27DYS0.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27DYS0)

http://www.postimage.org/aV27E7QA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27E7QA)

Also did a black & white. Cool, huh?

http://www.postimage.org/aV27EpiA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV27EpiA)
Sarris, how did you like the drifter? any problems with it?

[Sarris]

Wow.. old post.

In the past I have said it was rather slow and generic, but in hindsight, it was only an 800 cc. I probably should have kept it and sold my GeeZee. For me, it would have made a better second bike.

After having a 1400 Intruder and a 1700 Roadstar I guess everything seemed a little slow. My Drifter had some very cool farkles on it and every one seemed to like the look.

It would make an excellent step up from the GeeZee and is very comfortable to ride (solo only!) and inexpensive to maintain.

:)

[bonehead]

Well why I ask, Sarris , is I've got my eye on an '05 Nomad 1600 with 30,000 mi on it. Just was wondering about the reliability of Kawi now.

[Sarris]

My 2005 was great. Today? with the economy, who knows?

:cry: :??:

[burkbuilds]

I can't speak for any other Kawasaki's but my 09 Vulcan 500 now has over 14,000 miles on it. So far, the only problem I've had with it was the speedometer cable which snapped at 8,000 miles. Warranty replaced it at no charge. If that is any indication, I'll give Kawasaki :2tup: so far for quality.