Motobob back in the saddle

[motobob]

For those that don’t know of me, I was involved in a nasty bike crash 7 years ago that left me paralysed from the chest down to my toes.

On Sunday I was lucky that the Auckland Motorcycle club let me enter my R6 in their ART day. After my initial test ride of 10 X 4.2 second laps around the turning circle of my driveway on Saturday arvo, it was off to Hampton Downs on Sunday.

Entered the Novice group since I had no idea how the day would unfold and also cos I would be riding with a group with no pretentions on their riding abilility.

Before continuing, a brief description on the mod’s to the bike to allow me to get around the track. Mix in one 2006 Yamaha R6 track bike, drizzled with a Translogic Powershifter to enable gear changing on the left handlebar. Toss in a set of new road tyres and then cover in Velcro to stop the rider from falling off.

Kept the mods to a minimum in case the whole project ended in tears. Other disabled riders use retractable training wheels to start off and stop but those are for pussies. Of course my catch and release crew think otherwise.

So the day starts off with a sighting lap to see If I can follow my plan. First thing is that my back protector pushes my helmet over my eyes as I slow at the first turn. On the small straight the wind pushed the open visor upwards but slowing caused the helmet to drop leaving me with 3 metres of vision. Great start! I can’t adjust anything cos I can’t stop. Eventually wobbled my way back to the pit road only to nearly crash into the wall that slows vehicles before entry to the pits. Pulled over to my crew who caught me before the bike topples.

Luckily Neil Martin finds me a replacement BP and we are off at the back of the Novice group. Wow what a buzz to finally be able to ride. The R6 is awesome, the throttle and clutch are nice and smooth making things nice and easy. The bike turns for me like it’s on auto. Catch up to one of the instructors and learn the lines round the circuit. Looks a lot wider when you can see where to go. Hairpin is the only dodgy corner for me. Keep the R6 to a max of 10,000 rpm to keep out of trouble and the session seems to end way to early.

Back to the pits for some adjustments on the powershifter. Stay on the bike till the next session as getting off and back on is hard work even with assistance. Out again and the fun begins, start taking the turns faster, play with one of the instructors as he speeds up. Start passing the others in the group which is not easy since you have to give them a wide berth and also instructor and the bike(s) in front of him is like passing a truck. Can’t believe my change in attitude, I am actually being considerate when overtaking others rather than carving them up. My gloves are proving to be a handicap as they are making shifting akward and worse the transition from off throttle to trail braking is getting dodgy. Benefit though is a rethink in my approach to the turns. Just keep to a single gear from turn 2 thru the exit of the hairpin. Still have to look at shifter to ensure I select the correct button. End the session a lot more confident.
Session 3 more improvement even manage to feather the right side of the tyre to the edge. That brings a smile, leaning the bike over is the reason for riding and why trikes and sidecars do not hold much interest. Try leaning the shoulders off the bike but now find this pushes the bike wide in the turns. Countersteering is harder now and shows up the lack of torso muscles needed to balance and brace myself. Gassing it up down (up) the straight shows my knees are positioned to far forward, I cannot use my elbows to grip the tank to improve stability a speed. One of the things I think is needed once my co-ordination is established. Tired now but feel that I have really achieved something. The feeling is that once I can sort through the different challenges I can regain a fair portion of my previous speed but more importantly able to ride safely.

The real reason for the post is to thank the following people for getting me to the track.
Scott and his GF Abby, for setting up the bike and hiding it from the missus.
Jessica, Dan, Kenneth and Scott for helping me out at the track
Gerhard for helping out on the driveway.
Margaret and Steph for support at the track.
AMCC for allowing me to ride and the support on the day.
Qkkid (Steve) for offering to pick up and assist with learning to ride at their facility in Swanson.
Race Supplies for supplying the Powershifter.
Mental Trousers for keeping me updated with his exploits on my old CBR and sending me some video’s of other disabled riders and their achievments.
Velcro for inventing a product to attach me on the bike.

I hope you guys gained a lot of satisfaction for helping an old bugger achieve his dream to ride again.

Thanks Heaps.

[caseye]

Saw your under wraps at the time R6 at Scots Birthday/ Abby's proposal day, great day it was too.
Looked good and was nearly ready for you.
Good to see it's all ,working and that you got out and most importantly enjoyed it.
Those who did the work and who helped will never think twice about doing it all over again to see your face when you ride back.
On ya man, well bloody done and to your support crew too.

[Ocean1]

Great stuff, dude, really good to read that post.

Give it heaps eh?

[Mental Trousers]

I saw the pictures this morning on FB and had a wee moment. It's good to actually see you're out there on a bike again, way to go.

[Ribit]

I have never met you but hats off to ya.
Its great to hear of someone that can find a way to do what they love rather than give up and be miserable cos life doesnt treat anyone equally.

Nice one bruva! Might see ya on campbell live soon eh?

[Laava]

Great story Bob! Inspirational!

[Devil]

Paul that was an incredible surprise to see the pictures on FB today. Like Shane said, I found it a little emotional too as the end of 2006 was such an notable period in my life not to mention yours! I had only been thinking about you the other day wondering what you were up to. Keep it up, let us know when you're heading out again - keen to lend a hand any time i'm free.

Cheers,

Matt

[Big Dog]

Holy cow! That is awesome dude! I was working the corner you came off at and I often wonder how you got.

Truly an inspiration to hear you are back in the saddle and still so positive.

I always said nothing would ever stop me wanting to ride, but you are living something I only talk about. Thank you for sharing with us and thank you to every one who helped you realise your dream.


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[R650R]

Cool story, well done stranger.
There's something to be said about doing a dry run in the shed with gear but even with the most planning their is always something untested.

[motobob]

Thanks for the replies girls and guys, much appreciated.

Always forget someone even though you run it all through your head.

So Big thanks to Gary the HD manager. Checked out if anything I needed. I asked for the four Monster pit girls from the Speedway GP but he counter offered with use of the track on days when it was not booked to practise. That was a pretty cool offer.

[Gremlin]

Excellent to see you back out there. The improvement in your pace through corners was remarkable from the tentative first lap to a very comfortable pace by the end of the day.

[jessica-margaret]

Was awesome to help you out dad, bring on the next time- heads up mum read this post you can blame skin for that she now knows you own that r6 (have fun with that)

[BigAl]

Great read, real easy to take things for granted.

Thanks.

[skippa1]

Was awesome to help you out dad, bring on the next time- heads up mum read this post you can blame skin for that she now knows you own that r6 (have fun with that)

Uh ohhhh.....