A big thanks to everyone

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jocko87

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First of all, let me thank Michelle and Tony and others for their efforts in putting on a fantastic rally. I was very impressed with the turnout and accommodations. I met a ton of great people and had a great time...all things considered.

Most of you know I had a wee bit of trouble with a turn on Friday which leaves me without an FJR. The bike is going to be a total and I am already shopping for a replacement (another 05). I just got home from the chiro and am feeling much better, should be no ill-effects. I have a large number of people to thank and cannot begin to express my gratitude in writing. First, but in no particular order, the group of FZ1 riders (plus a Harley ;) ) that first stopped and pulled the bike out of the ditch and stayed until help was on the way ( I sent them away) then Michelle for coordinating rescue and bike recovery efforts and Tony for delivering the bike to Rogers. James(CBXRL), Paula and David and Mike(MAHZO6) stopped shortly after the FZ1 guys left and stayed with me until I made it back to the hotel. I see now that I was more out of it than I thought and these kind folks probably realized this and wouldn't leave, even though I think I told them to. They loaded and tied the bike and were very nice and supportive...thanks for the aspirin as well. Colin24 for the tie-downs and the group that unloaded the wreck and everybody that was concerned for my safety. I cannot thank you enough.

Now the part that I don't really understand but am still amazed by is the fact that Jed-the hotel manager volunteered his truck and time to come pick up the bike and return it to the hotel. Hopefully Michelle can better explain how this happened but from the info I have gathered once he heard of the accident he was more than willing to do whatever he could to help us out, even well past the end of his shift. I was blown away that he was willing to do this for a hotel guest. The rest of the staff was great as well, Amber or was it Amanda? hooked me up with a rental car and ride to the airport.

Sometimes I feel like the world is running out of good people, or good people are running out of time but an incident like this brings me back to center and helps remind me how great people can be when given a chance. It appears that alot of good people ride FJR's :D . I am already on the assistance list but if anybody needs ANYthing in Kansas I will do whatever I can to help. I also have quite a bit of extra space and tools if anyone needed a stopover in flyover country, believe me, you don't want to do Kansas all at once anyway.

As for the accident, flame away, lots of humorous pictures were taken and need to be shared. I could blame the fog or the rain or the tires or even the lack of sleep the night before but the bottom line mistake was rider error. I came in to the corner to hot and with the wet roads I didn't have the skill to save it. I'm pretty sure I understand what I did wrong and will learn from it, what I had already learned that day might have saved my ass. I know that having already slowed way down for the rain/fog and wearing the right gear helped a bunch. I have an interesting gouge on my visor in the temple area....

Anyway, thank you again to everybody-I'm sure I've forgotten somebody. I will post some pics as soon as I figure out how....

Kurt Knudson

 
No need for thanks here, I'll always help out however I can. Jed was in the office when your call came in. Fortunately I was in the lobby too. I assumed there would be some sort of towing or wrecker service in ES but he wasn't hearing of it. I think since he's on the fire department, rescue comes naturally to him. He had his trailer already hooked up to the truck and said since he knew the area best, he would go get you. He just needed the tie downs, which Colin had since they trailered down from Canada. I know I have said thank you to him over 10 times for doing this for you, but I stopped in this morning before I left and thanked him again. It really was outstanding of him to do this. And it worked out great since Tony wasn't back from riding yet to go get you.

ok, time for the pics!

really kurt, no need to throw your bike into the wet ditch just to win the dirtiest bike award! :lol:



poor broken FJR :dribble: he did a beauty of a job cracking the frame right there in the nose. someone else may have a pic that shows it.



since the bike wasn't loaded onto Tony's trailer until the next morning, we had some fun with it that night. kurt's last night with his baby....



we took turns practicing putting it on the center stand and picking it up off the ground. it was a rare opportunity to not have to worry about anything happening to it. it was kinda surreal, standing around this carcass and laying it down on the ground repeatedly. fortunately, kurt is pretty good at picking it up.



it was unfortunate but we are all very, very glad your ok. :)

 
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Kurt,

Man, you were freakin' awesome about it...the best thing was...you maintained your sense of humor about it. Says alot about what kind of person you are.

I concur with chik, we are all just glad that you are OK!

Sure enjoyed meeting you up there. May you get a replacement scoot soon and have many safe and enjoyable rides with it.

Take care bro.

Rex

 
Kurt,
Man, you were freakin' awesome about it...the best thing was...you maintained your sense of humor about it. Says alot about what kind of person you are.

Rex
Yeah, I concur, too. Yer a moron. And ya fucked up. Welcome to the club. Otherwise, was nice hanging out with ya afterwards. You are impressive. You can drink more then I can...or later then I can. PM me yer addy.....there's a crash club shirt on the way.

 
Kurt

it was great to meet ya and i'm really glad that everything will turn out good for ya.

remember when you leave Kansas there is more than one Turn One ;)

chris

 
Kurt:

Glad you were such a good sport about the jokes made after the crash. I think we had some big fun at your expense because we were so glad you weren't hurt too badly...a little leg lashing.

Sorry it happened but if it has to happen, then this is the way you want it to turn out.

Looking forward to seeing what you get next.

Take care,

Reggie

 
Dang.. them SFO nuts ride hard.. glad you're ok, the broken steering head is pretty awesome. The one GOOD thing about group rides is nice peeps are around to help should you bail; seems like you had a group bunch taking care of you. Good on you for sharing back and offering assistance in the FJR directory. I'm there too.

 
Kurt,
Man, you were freakin' awesome about it...the best thing was...you maintained your sense of humor about it. Says alot about what kind of person you are.

Rex
Yeah, I concur, too. Yer a moron. And ya fucked up. Welcome to the club. Otherwise, was nice hanging out with ya afterwards. You are impressive. You can drink more then I can...or later then I can. PM me yer addy.....there's a crash club shirt on the way.
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Its amazing what good insurance and a lack of attachemt to a bike will do for a post crash attatude :) glad your ok man the bike looks like it too one for th team!

 
Kurt, it was very nice to meet you and a damn shame about the bike. What struck me most about the whole event was not necessarily all the people that stepped up to help, but rather you and how you dealt with it. Certainly, everybody involved was genuinely concerned for you and it did indeed show the capacity of others to be good to our fellow human beings. The coolest part however, was that night at the banquet room when you came around the corner, with a smile on your face. You took everything in stride and even led the way with all the humor. Well done man!

Take care and certainly post up some photos of your replacement bike.

Bryan

 
we nursed you ourselves and put on a neck brace! that's why your ok now. :lol:



 
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The biggest hurt is to the pride. Once you are over that the rest is easy and it seems like you are beyond that.

 
The biggest hurt is to the pride. Once you are over that the rest is easy and it seems like you are beyond that.

Dude you made a right mess of that nice windshield I sent you.....................

Glad to see you are in good spirits. Hope you like that nice Black color.

R

 
The biggest hurt is to the pride. Once you are over that the rest is easy and it seems like you are beyond that.

Dude you made a right mess of that nice windshield I sent you.....................

Glad to see you are in good spirits. Hope you like that nice Black color.

R
actually, the windscreen came out of it OK - the nylon screws did their job and gave way and the screen just popped off with no damage. I made a point of showing it to everyone when I picked the screen up off the trailer.

Now, as for the rest of the bike........yikes.

Glad you are OK though and are thinking about another faster blue '05 FJR.

We did make it a point to mention only the faster Gen I bikes had a problem with too much speed.

 
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First, great news that you're ok. Second, outdrinking odot should earn you a badge or something...oh wait, you're getting a t-shirt.

I know where there is a really nice '05 in Iowa, PM if you want details. I'm actually going there this weekend for my 8k service and new PR2s.

At least you missed the road sign (and by mere inches it appears) and the trees! :D

 
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I nursed you myself and put you on a neck brace! that's why your ok now....
Well no wonder you are okay...fjrchik said she nursed you herself! :clapping:

Now THAT'S taking one for the team. :lol:

(running and ducking for cover now...)

Glad you are essentially alright...and glad there are some standup FJR people around to take care when things don't end up as we plan. :clapping:

 
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First, great news that you're ok. Second, outdrinking odot should earn you a badge or something...oh wait, you're getting a t-shirt.
I know where there is a really nice '05 in Iowa, PM if you want details. I'm actually going there this weekend for my 8k service and new PR2s.

At least you missed the road sign (and by mere inches it appears) and the trees! :D
Yes, I want details on any nice blue 05...You are right o about the sign and trees, I took the better part of valor and aimed for the softest spot I could find and everything looked softer then that sign post

That's just too disturbing to me. Oh wait - maybe that's a cup full of whiskey!
I believe it was whiskey...hard to remember at that point

 
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