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I live in the SF Bay Area, just north of San Jose, and riding the bike makes it easy to get around. (although what with all the traffic I'm starting to think about moving). Parking is a breeze, but trailers are another thing though, they require more parking space and they're not allowed in the commute (HOV) lanes. I also ride a bicycle and it takes about as long to pedal to work as it does to take the freeway. My commute is 8 miles on the wing and just under 6 miles on the bicycle.
| I used to work at creating and changing technical drawings on an NT workstation using EDS (SDRC) software.I then switched to Solidworks and found that to be nicer and way easier. In '07 the company decided to shut down my division so now ('08) I'm enjoying a bit of an extended vacation while I think about a career change. | 
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Now I didn't actually make and design pinecars but it was fun making this image using the software. The engineers I worked with made me crazy because they could never make up their minds on how they wanted a change made. :-) | |
| I got interested in computers about 15 years ago and I now have a laptop that goes everywhere I do. I learned the drafting part of the software and I got into the solid modeling part of it and it was fun. | 
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I thought that by the time I actually started using it to modify parts I would be ready to retire. The company was so slow to accept upgrading and improving how we do things that even with the continual training I doubted I would ever get to do much with solid modeling. But I did for a few years. It really made working with drawings and modifing parts easier. |
I started riding motorcycles back when mopeds were around. I went looking for the Goldwing but didn't realize just how big they were so I ended up with a KAW 400LTD. Then I had the chance to ride a Goldwing and as I was ready to get one when Honda came out with a Silverwing. (CX500 full dress) I put about 27K on the 400 and 34K on the Silverwing. I found the Silverwing to be very top heavy and hard to handle. My first Gold Wing, which was an '83 Aspencade (at right) showing all I could find to put in or on it. The tall trophy, in front, is from a HOG Easter Bike Blessing and it's title is "Best Bike Alien" Go Figure!
The Silverwing was sooo top heavy that when I got the Goldwing I couldn't believe how much easier it was to handle. I was even surprised to find how easy it was to put the Goldwing up on the center stand. It was much easier than the Silverwing. I've found the 1500's even easier and even more well balanced. Below is my '83 with my "83 Bushtec "Ultimate" Trailer. A nice trailer if you're starting to think about pulling one. (Bit pricy though)
Below is my '95 20th Anniversary Edition GoldWing with my Royce Union Aluminum Mountain Bike on the back. I carry it using a "Graber" Bike rack. As you can see it's carried vertically instead of horizontally. Bike Rack PageThis way carrying a bicycle works great and only adds about 40lbs to the back of the bike. I also have my "Hippo Hands" on the handlebars because of the winter's cool temps.
I was able to enjoy 102,246 miles until I ran into a slippery wet patch of I-15 going through Vegas in April of 2002. One minute I'm passing a car spraying silty water all over and the next I'm sliding on the cement freeway watching the rain grooves slide by under my soaking wet gloves. Luckily the bike caught on something and I and the bike were seperated and it didn't run into me as I was sliding.
| My '89 got a slightly unusual paint job one year when I had this strange idea of painting all the lower pieces hot pink. Unfortunately the painter that garranteed me the paint would be able to withstand the high heat from the mufflers was wrong and the muffler covers started to turn pale and I was lucky to be able to buy a set of chromed covers. |  |
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I've been to go to a few GWRRA Wing Ding's over the years. The first one was in '82 and I went all the way to Steamboat Springs, CO on the Silverwing. It just made me want a Goldwing more and more. I won the logo contest for the Wing Ding in Madison, WI. with this logo on the right. It was rather nice to get the 5 nights at the Radisson Hotel paid for and that meant I had extra cash to spend at the vendors. Like for my first wood dash which I had installed while I was there. It really makes a diference in how the bike looks. You can see it plus the New Dash on my Main Page. |
As some of us were on the way home from a rally, we were going through Las Vegas and it was raining, and I understand it Vegas was pretty much getting it's year's worth of rain all on this particular morning. I was one of 5 bikes and we were passing a car to get in front of the water it was spraying up when the 2nd bike started losing control of his rear tire but he stayed up because he either got lucky and/or his front tire still had traction. The 3rd bike went out of control and I saw it turn 90 degrees to the left and then he went down on his right side. The 4th bike changed lanes to avoid the third bike and rider and then I felt both tires lose traction and it turned to the right and I went down on the left side and then I think the saddlebag guard must have hooked on something because I separated from the bike and continued to slide. I was wearing my leather jacket, rain coat and jeans. I was fine except for my jeans which got soaked, and the left rear pocket got ripped. It was 48 degrees and I was cold. We waited for police but I was getting colder, so, since the bikes were ride-able and both of us were OK to ride, we got going and as we continued on we saw another 4 car accident about a mile further on and then we found a gas station to get out from the rain. We tried to rent a truck because the two of us that went down were both nervous about riding and it was raining good. By the time we got to a trunk rental place the rain had let up and both of us felt OK to ride home so we did, all 500+ miles yet to go. It took all day, and I mean ALL DAY. I got home at about 9pm and as far as I'm concerned the ride home was far more hard on me than the accident itself. I spent about an hour soaking in a nice hot bath. Below are some pictures of the damage. The estimate was a good one, $14K+ and since the frame was a bit bent the bike was totaled. It took the insurance company 4 weeks to get their act together and I got almost enough from them to buy another used Goldwing that was a bit newer and it's giving me a chance to trick it out a little differently, which is a lot of fun. So, in the end, it all worked out OK. The other rider's bike too a little longer to get repaired as his wasn't as damaged as mine (I guess) and he was able to keep it.
The picture above you see the left handlebars were bent and one grip & clutch lever got broken. The fairing is cracked and as you can see, below, the engine guard got scraped good as well as it damaged the valve cover. The custom radiator exhaust vent got really broken and the bars under the saddlebag took a bit of a hit. This is where the frame got tweaked enough to make it a total. Surprisingly enough my laptop, which was in this saddlebag, did fine and I only remembered it when I got home and though to check it. I'm lucky I had it packed good.
Above you can see I lost the mirror frame and if you look closely, just under the blinker, you can see the fairing is cracked. When a fairing is damaged in anyway the whole thing has to be replaced and because it was hit hard on one side the sub frame almost always gets damaged too. The labor to replace can sometimes be more than the cost of the parts.
On the way to the Rally in the Valley in Mesquite:
After getting to Jackson Wednesday evening I left Thursday morning and went over Hwy 88, which still has quite a lot of snow all over. I figured on getting to Hwy 95 by way of 208. I was following my GPS V and when it said to take a right and go down 338 I did. What I found out was it then wanted me to take a dirt road to 95. Unfortunately, I needed gas and decided to go the 16 miles into Bridgeport. From there I found I could get to 95 by way of 167. The pictures below are on 167 looking back at the snow covered mountains.As you can see there was still a lot of snow on the mountains.
I got to Tonopah and met up with some friends that were staying at the same motel I was. On Friday we found ourselves on the "Extraterrestrial Highway" AKA 375. Rachel is the only community out there and they even have an Inn (no kidding). It's called the Lil A' le Inn. (Little Alien). Check out the space ship in their parking lot. Those mobile homes are the Inn's rooms. They are about 20 miles from the "Mail Box". Supposedly where people meet to watch for flying things. I guess there are still a lot of people that believe in UFO's and want to find proof. The Inn had quite a variety of alien goodies to buy from humorous T-shirts to coffee mugs and even glow in the dark toys.It is believed that aliens will, one day, visit the inn.
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