Comments on: Things That Go Through Your Head When Your Throttle Freezes

By: irondad

irondad — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:50:16 +0000

I have been in Dan's situation on an 80's vintage Honda standard bike. A CB900 to be exact. Perhaps it is the curse of being named Dan.

If one's mind has enough time to think of a hundred things then there is enough time to act. Especially if one is spared the required ritual of having to translate all thoughts into German.

My incident happened coming off the freeway onto an offramp. The bike did not want to slow down when I rolled off the throttle. The critical thing was that the offramp ended at a "T" intersection. Otherwise I would simply have continued on, waving at all those I zoomed by.

Because I am not addled by Teutonic trances I immediately sprang into action. In a seemingly contradictory move I applied WAY MORE throttle then violently rolled off. Three tries and I successfully knocked the ice off the throttle linkage. The Japanese Rice Burner Gods smiled upon me and blessed me with a green light at the bottom. I made a WIDE turn ( sort of like Jack's normal cornering style ) and made the corner.

I do admit to my rear end getting very light just in case I needed to bail. For the record, jumping off a bike to avoid crashing with it is not the same as "I had to lay it down".

As a side note, and meant to reassure you, Steve, I am living proof that you do not need to own a BMW to become a Legend.

By: SonjaM

SonjaM — Sat, 07 May 2011 03:44:08 +0000

Steve, you know, having a Vespa AND a Beemer in the stable isn’t a bad thing per say ;-).
The Teutonic voices whispering in your head will eventually take over. You might not know it, but you are already drawn into the inner circle.

By: Dan Leri

Dan Leri — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:11:13 +0000

Dom,
Would love to ride. Come to Happy Valley, we'll invite the executive committee of the MAC PAC to ride from Philly to State College for an over nighter and ride the twisties of Central PA. In fact, I believe jack R. is on the list of potential Commencement speakers for the next graduating class at Penn State. He can write off the mileage!

Are you coming to the International in Bloomsburg in July? We're close.

I may be in the Denver area shortly on business.....need to check a Fat Tire at New Belgium in Fort Collins.

By: Dan Leri

Dan Leri — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:00:03 +0000

Steve, Don’t limit the use of the Anonymous Book to “Breakdowns”. On cold, snowy nights simply pick random numbers and call – guys are happy to chat 🙂 Leave the Vespa out of the conversation until after you model drop your way through the stable of BMW’s you’ve ridden at Kissell Motorsports. You can close with a few stories of one-legged parking lot donuts on the Vespa!

Distribution box fixed? Eh, it hasn’t frozen since! I hate down time. Ride, Baby, Ride!

By: Conchscooter

Conchscooter — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:07:48 +0000

Freezing throttles. Why would anyone put a cable in the freezer?
Is high visibility still visible if the rider is shrouded in plastic fairings and top boxes? I wear black as I feel it will be appropriate dress when they finally get me, and until then it doesn’t much show the dirt.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 05 May 2011 01:07:49 +0000

This was an entertaining read Steve. Of course it's funny now but not then. Glad it turned out okay!

It's also a good reminder to play "what if" on a regular basis.

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 05 May 2011 01:07:25 +0000

Charlie6 (Dom): Dan is laying low, lulling me into a false sense of security. One day when I don’t expect it he’ll notify me of some BMW available that I need to buy. Or send a link to a story about a man whose life was saved by a BMW. Or something.

You two don’t need to meet. I’m not sure I can resist the power of you both…

By: Charlie6

Charlie6 — Wed, 04 May 2011 03:31:21 +0000

Steve, your friend Dan is a true rider, I hope someday to meet him in and together we'll continue the Teutonic brainwashing. Sooner or later, we will convert you.

Nice read. I also love his ride, she's Maria's twin.

Dom

Redleg's Rides

Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:02:57 +0000

Mr. Riepe: Thanks for the kind words about my losing ABCD entry. It was a lot of fun. I commented in the last post about why I didn't get run over by a milk truck. Since you live on the bleeding edge you probably stay up on the current posts. So I will paste my response to your inquiry about the circumstances surrounding the picture below:

I was traveling at a high rate of speed, around 90mph in pursuit of an exotic young woman with a mane of auburn hair flowing from beneath her helmet and flogging the wind above her 1995 BMW K75/3A, paint hot red like her hair. As my Vespa closed on her in a tight turn a Carolina Wren sitting in a lovely birch tree caught my eye, momentarily distracting me from the severe turn and causing the front wheel of the scooter to slide out and throw me into a low side slide along the road. She slowed, turned around, and rode back towards me and stopped next to me to make sure I was ok. "Are you Jack Riepe?" she asked. Now you can imagine what was going through my mind. I wished I had on my Twisted Road t-shirt. Looking up into her mirrored visor I had the presence of mind to attempt what I thought the battered baby seal look would be. A long pause and she reached up and raised her visor to reveal both a beautiful visage.

"Yes." I muttered.

Another long pause and she spoke again.

"Well, at least you finally have a more appropriate ride." And she kicked her BMW and was off, disappearing around a bend.

I got up, parked the Vespa and stumbled up the road looking for my camera which seemed to have fallen out of my pocket. I fell to the pavement when I saw it, thankful that it still worked, and made the picture.

No truer words have been written here.

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Dan Leri: First comment from you. How's it feel?

Got my copy of the BMW Anonymous Book. Now whenever my Vespa breaks down I have some numbers to call:

"Hello? I have one of those Italian scooters. They're like a mini version of the BMW R1200 GS Adventure...."

You've got the distribution box fixed now right? And not by the weather I mean.