1st distance ride

well friday I rode 150mi to concan tx and then back on saturday with scattered showers and on the way back I got stuck in a MASSIVE storm where I couldnt see 10 ft... and there was not a stoping place for 10+mi so I just kept truckin and ended up out running the storm. The rain felt like bullits past 70mph lol... IT WAS A BLAST!!! the bike ran awsome only one complaint... the seat blows. just ordered me a sergent seat. I still cant sit right and im not even gay. lol. cant wait for the next ride.:strong:

 

Congrats, Speedstreetz! It is a great feeling after you weather a storm like that and come out the other side. You do have to watch for lightnening and be careful, but the bike can handle a lot. You will appreciate the new seat, no butts about it.

 

only 300 miles over 2 days and you couldn't take the stock seat?

wuss! lol.

Mike

 

Just keep on rid'n Bud. You will become a hardass just like the rest of us. Oh. And the lightning. You bet. It hurts....I know!

 

Yea, typical hard seat from honda. Every other bike Ive owned had a softer seat, ZX10, R6, GSXR 750. Crotch rockets with more comfort for your butt than a Sport Tourer, go figure!

 

All right, Randy, there has to be a good story here. How do you know it hurts?

 

To make a long story short it was nearing end of July 2006. Wife and I were camping in Winthrop Washington. A storm was brewing and I was tethering down the canopy on my 5th wheel and a tree about 30 feet away took the hit, and I got a good sampling of that. I had a bare knee to the ground so had no protections what so ever. It hit so hard and so fast I did not hear the thunder crash. :kaboom: All I saw was a blue-white flash up my arms and that is it. Next thing I knew I was lying on the ground just a few feet from where I was. Felt like I got hit from all sides at once with a sledge hammer. I try not to use profanity people but wholly fook man that hurt.

I don't know if I screamed or what but my wife poked her head out and asked what's wrong. I told her I think I got struck by lightning and she proceeded to tear a strip off me telling me to get in the trailer. :rant:

I have had a brush with 220v 30amps before. Fortunately just a glancing blow with that one. But this was about 20 fold worse.

Paramedics came and hooked me up to some fangled thing that they say was giving them some funky readings. Blood pressure went through the roof but after about one hour of observation, everything went back to normal and they packed up and went away.

And you know what was the most frightening part of all this was? I had just bought my brand new 06 one week before and had not yet ridden it other than up and down my 30 yard front street. Now wouldn't that just frost your corm flakes if that bike went un ridden?

Yup, my life has not been uneventful. I have a piece of that tree in may garage still. :treehugger:And you know what? The next day I came close (a couple inches at most) to riding a mountain bike off a very steep embankment up the mountains there. It was about a 50 foot tumble down rocks.

I wouldn't say I live on the edge but I do take a peek once in a while. I think para gliding is the next thing to try. Don't think I am going to tell Viennese that one.

So...there you have it.

Now....you all be safe now. And this is one reason I stand by ATGATT

 

Wow, thanks for sharing that, Randy. I definitely think you should try paragliding. What could go wrong? :smile:

 

I got caught in a similar storm as Speedstreetz last Monday or Tuesday morning on my way to work at 02:30. I don't mind telling you I was you might say a bit concerned. Just about turned around and came home for the truck! Lightning was constant and all around me going through Fort Langley and Surrey.

 

I don't know how often motorcyclists get hit by lightening, but I believe we are at risk.

 

That is worth some research and reporting back. I am gong to see what I can find out.

 

yea the storm was pretty bad I wasnt really worried about crashing or lightining my biggest concern was my new cellphone and zune in my backpack lol since I was laying unter the windscreen so I could see but it seemed the front of my shirt and pants got soaked and the backpack wasnt tooooo tooo bad lol

 

Hey Guys... Found this site:

NSSL Frequently Asked Questions

I guess we definitely are not safe on a bike in a storm. And given what they said about cardio something or other, with my blood pressure shooting up the way it did, I guess I was close to being a statistic. Sorta makes you think. Not going to show the wife this one either.

 

damm bro how tall are you. that musta been a small 5th wheel... :treehugger:

quote...

Does lightning always strike the tallest object?

Never say always! Lightning USUALLY strikes the tallest object. It makes sense that the tallest object is most attractive, because it is the easiest path for the lightning to take.

 

A nearby tree was struck. And from what I am told, webs of lightning also spreads out form what was struck. As near as I can figure, I got one or for that matter maybe a few of those.

I was 6' tall at one time but my belly seems to be pulling me down to 5'10 and a bit.

 

LOL...so true - except I just sold my CBR1KRR and it had the WORST seat you can imagine...hard as a plank and slightly tilted forward (go figure) so the boys were always being smashed into the tank...won't miss that one bit and compared to the CBR seat my VFR seat is like riding on a couch:smile:

 

I hear everyone praise these Sergent seats. I don't doubt they are a great seat as I have heard nothing negative about them. But another tp consider is a custom made seat, built specifically for your butt. I know there is a shop in Seattle that reportedly does just a great job of this. It is called Rick's or Richard's or something like that. I could find out for sure if someone was interested. He molds the seat for you. Even has you drive it for a while before putting the cover on it to ensure it is the right fit. I don't know what the cost is but it does have me thinking that there may be a road trip to Seattle coming up for me.