I appreciate it when people send me Emails about the work that I've done for them, and how it's met their expectations. But I've never gotten an Email like this one. I'll let Wade take it from here:
Wade's Softail TC 88B that I hardtailed for him a couple riding seasons ago....
"Hey Rich:
I laid the TC down yesterday. Busy highway (Rt. 66 actually) out of
Claremore, OK. Heavily traveled four lane (particularly in the 5:00 hour)
with a grass median. Headed home from work, suddenly I see the headlights
of an elderly Continental (and, turns out to be an elderly driver) coming at us
splitting the yellow line in our inside lane. The girl that is the first to
meet her stops, in hopes of avoiding a head on as does the lady in the outside
lane. The girl that's stopped get's rearended by a 3/4 ton van that had been
punched by a Durango. The van loses a front wheel then careens across the
median, both lanes of oncoming traffic and ends up in the trees on the far side
of the highway."
Wade's bike in progress - hardtail done, sissy bar & fender finished, and the license plate frame started.....
"I am in the middle of
this chaos; for a fleeting moment I thought I might make it between the two
cars but instead (and in retrospect wisely) I laid the bike down and
thankfully, the slide stopped just before I reached the two cars in front of
me. As soon as I got stopped, I jumped up, as my greatest fear was getting run
over from behind as it was still a very active scene."
Wade's license plate frame after skidding on it at 65 MPH........
"But I didn't, and
once I figured out that everyone was shut down I picked the bike up and
remarkably the only damage was to the footpeg, handlegrip and the point of this
e-mail, your license plate bracket. As you can see from the picture, it ground
some steel off, but there was absolutely no bend or other damage to the bracket
(and I slid a good long way on it; we were running about 60-65 when the show
began). Nice work.
The bike fired up, and two hours later, I rode it home.
Wade
BTW, I am pretty scuffed up from butt cheek to shoulder, and my left arm above the elbow, but overall, considering the number of vehicles flying around, I'm pretty damn lucky."
Wade
BTW, I am pretty scuffed up from butt cheek to shoulder, and my left arm above the elbow, but overall, considering the number of vehicles flying around, I'm pretty damn lucky."
Fortunately for Wade, this whole sceneario could have been a lot worse, and I'm glad he's able to send me the above Email.. You know, I've always stressed on my blog about using sound fabrication practices, the importance of selecting quality raw materials that go into your work, and the importance of the (and my) never ending process of mastering and executing welding and the other skills involved in building motorcycles. As the above illustrates, you never know when your work might be put to the ultimate stress test.
That's testament to not only your rock solid fab skills but keeping a clear head and not freaking, good result all round considering, great read and a nice lookin scoot. Re the solids, you'll look cool sitting on a 45 degree angle in a fat crosswind . . . te he he.
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