5 minutes of "it's time to park for a moment..."

[Kreylyn]

Back story...

Installed stage 1 jet kit last night, but didn't have time to finish tuning it. Rode it home, realized I needed to adjust the clips down one.

So today I pop the tank off to move the clips on all the needles. In the process, realize one of the caps ended up with a broken vacuum nipple, with nothing for the rubber cap to plug on. No prob, actually had another, so... move the tank to the side, and reset all the needles, replace the cap.

Button the bike back up, put on the helmet and go for a short ride.

1. First light, run out of gas.... quick back thought... oh yeah, forgot to plug the vacuum line at the T back up, it was in the way when I did carb #2... turn it to prime, give it a moment, and off we go.

2. 400 yards later, right hand free flowing turn for the on ramp to the parkway.... hit it around 25 (slow for the angle, most cars go faster) and a 30lb ground hog decides to make it's way accross the lane infront of me... hard break, still end up rolling the ground hob with the belly pan... stop, almost off balance.. recover and don't drop the bike.. Car zips up behind me with the horn blarring...

3. Take off, cross the overpass, and off ramp back onto the road I just left to head back home. This off ramp has a road that cuts off of it to access a higher class sub division... and as I'm coming around this very open, easy to see all the way around curve of the off ramp at about 20... a BMW pulls right out in front of me...

4. Get back on the road, 400 yards down left turn across 2 lanes from the turning lane into my complex, white accura in front of me with turn signals on. Traffic clears, accura starts pulling forward to make left turn, I start to follow... when they cut hard to do a U turn right infront of me...

5. Get pass the accura and ease into the complex, pull into parking spot... get off the bike, and.... that I never had another ride like that.

Pulled the tank, fixed the line issue, and went inside.

I'll come back to ride again another day...

Krey

[CenCalKat]

Wow...now you know what it's like to ride all the time out here in CA! LOL

[Psycho1]

Wow...now you know what it's like to ride all the time out here in CA! LOL

After moving away from So Cal 15 years ago, going back last March and riding with all those idiots on the road was driving me nuts.

[yngveny]

Goes to show, always expect the unexpected.
Good thing you came through it all ok.

[Zepp]

So Cal Interstates are terrible

[Kreylyn]

Thanks for confirming I do NOT want to visit CA... not that I really had any desire to.

Krey

[DOCTORNITRO]

A groundhog?????!!!!!!

[HexKrak]

Awe. I'm sure you'd have a blasty blast. Riding there (and surviving) really sharpens your reaction times and awareness skills.

[Kreylyn]

A groundhog?????!!!!!!

Yep, a ground hog...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog

They live all over the place around here, most often see them standing right next to the roads anywhere there is a grassy area. Don't ussually see them in the roads though, more often that is opposums crossing.

There is one that lives in field right at the drive entrance to my cousin "the welder who did my swingarm welds) that I can almost stop and pet before it runs off to it's burrow.

Awe. I'm sure you'd have a blasty blast. Riding there (and surviving) really sharpens your reaction times and awareness skills.

You know, I can think of a few better ways of going about that....

Krey

[A_Lady]

Wow. That's all I can say.

[t.c.mitchell]

man, that really sounds like it sucked. sometimes, i hate cagers. i will say that riding my bike has made me a much more aware driver than i was before.

[tdrcomm]

Wow...now you know what it's like to ride all the time out here in CA! LOL

I was just about to say the same thing.