Thinking about buying this R80 Beemer

I was perusing craigslist and saw a 1977 R75 Beemer for sale at $2900. It was a pretty good looking motorcycle so I gave the owner a call and we talked for a bit. I asked him who did his "rebuild" that he claimed on the ad and it turns out to have been Pete Homan of Bavarian Motorworks West!

This got me to thinking, I called up Pete Homan and asked him if he recalled working on the R75 and sure enough he did. He called it a fair price for such a motorcycle and that it could probably roll to 100,000 miles with no major issues.

I asked Pete if he had any similar motorcycles for sale half-jokingly and damn but he did. He had a 1987 R80, fully serviced, ready to go. Long story short, I left work a little early and drove over there in the cage to take a test ride on this motorcycle.

She's a beauty, isn't she?

She felt light as a feather when compared to my R1150RT and is a bare bones motorcycle compared to all the fancy gadgets/fairings and such that come with a 2004 R2250RT. No ABS, no fuel injections, heck, no gear indicator!

I took her for a brief ride in the neighborhood streets near Pete Homan's shop. She accelerates good, brakes very well, very nimble and light in my hands. U-turns are pretty easy as well and my feet reach the ground easily when stopped with a bend in the knee still present!

So, I left her with Pete, and resolving to think it over tonight. My loving wife has given the go ahead since I've got my Army annuity coming in next month. That and she knows the funk I get into when I don't ride enough.

The plan right now is she becomes the spare/commuting motorcycle...specially in the summer. Her lack of fairings will allow the air to hit my mesh kevlar better and hopefully keep me cooler while riding to/from work. Maria remains my long distance steed, I hope to have her back perhaps by the end of the month. The estimate is $4335 including labor! Presently waiting for the insurance company to approve the repairs.

Tomorrow could be the day I become a two motorcycle owner....stay tuned.

Cleared to Ride

Saw my "regular" doctor today, he looked at the xrays, confirmed the separated shoulder diagnosis given by the ER. After conferring with the ortho guys, he said that surgery for this type of injury usually is ineffective and same for physical therapy.

I just have to let things heal on their own and do exercises that build up the muscles around the shoulder area.

The important question was: When can I ride a motorcycle again? He said, up to you, anytime you feel ready to do so! This was, of course, the answer I sought and hoped for.

Hopefully the insurance guy gets around to looking at Maria soon, I'm being told there were several claims this weekend and they're quite busy apparently. Wednesday looks like the earliest they can get to my motorcycle. Hopefully I'll hear from the beemer dealer soon after with an estimate on how long it'll take to fix her up.

Since my cage gets 11mpg, and I commute 44 miles round trip to work every day, I even got the green light from my loving wife to explore the purchase of a "spare" motorcycle for such occasions when Maria is down for repairs or maintenance or the weather is just crappy for large street motorcycles.

I am thinking a URAL sidecar rig perhaps. Perhaps the 2WD model which can handle snow/mud/gravel with no problems. Whether I seriously pursue one now or do more research will depend on how long before Maria is repaired of course.

Any suggestions from the peanut gallery on what to get as a spare motorcycle? A 650GS perhaps, or a KTM? Not another big motorcycle like Maria, a small commuter type motorcycle.

The Nokia N800 Tablet comes through the crash just fine

My Nokia N800 Internet Tablet which I use for GPS, Music Player and Internet access was on the motorcycle when I had my crash two days ago.

It was mounted using the Proclip holder and Ram mount accessories as mentioned previously on this blog: LINK

Since it's only friction and gravity that hold the N800 in place with the Proclip holder, it naturally came loose during the crash and subsequent sliding on I-70.

When I got to my motorcycle to try and pick it up, I noticed it lying on the ground beside Maria and figured it was toast; though the display was still lit up. I threw it in my tankbag along with all the other contents that had come out (I had it only half zipped up) and went to try and pick up my motorcycle.

I was perusing all the gear I got from my motorcycle yesterday and set aside the N800 since it was all crusted over with dried up mud and pretty scratched up, gave it a day to "dry" since last I'd seen it on the highway, it had ice particles all over it.

I turned it on yesterday and she works just fine! Wheeew! As you can see below, the faceplate is pretty scratched up but the LCD screen is undamaged. Not too bad eh?

N800 while using rdesktop to remote into my laptop at home

yep, pretty scratched up

While I surely don't recommend trying this out with electronics such as the N800, its gratifying to know that the events leading to its getting scratched up did not lead to its destruction. Once I get my motorcycle back, will have to figure out a way to keep the N800 in its holder, no matter what until I want it out.

Here's what an AC separation looks like

AC Separation: Acromioclavicular Separation

In addition to quick and efficient treatment from the St. Anthony's Summit Health Center ER, they sent me home with a CD containing the x-ray shots they'd taken of my shoulder. I am supposed to give them to my regular physician on Monday for his examination I guess.

Here's a graphic of the shoulder area from steadman-hawkins.com: LINK





Following are the x-rays I was provided, the first one makes the separation look really bad, but I think its the angle it was shot at. The second one seems more reasonable?


I am thinking that the ligament that binds the end of the clavicle to the acromion is invisible to X-rays, so it looks like there's a complete separation between the bones when there's actually still something holding them together. Looks kind of freaky though, doesn't it?

I am hoping its a Type 1 separation as shown above. I'll find out tomorrow I guess.

I've been able to dispense with using the arm sling since yesterday afternoon. I've got perhaps 80-90% range of motion back in my shoulder and can lift light objects like helmets above my head now. I am, like the ER nurse told me, using "pain as my guide". If I sit for a while without moving the right shoulder, it's a little sore when I move it again but gets better for a while.