OOps

Wednesday morning at about 5:00 I woke up and decided that it would be a perfect day for a ride. And it was, low 80's, overcast, no immediate rain going on, and a few free hours. After the usual ride to Carefree and the morning cup of coffee I decided to ride on out to Bartlett Lake, or at least the rest area. On the way there the sign marking the dirt road to Horseshoe Lake caught my eye and I decided to take it.

It didn't really concern me that it has rained all day yesterday until I saw that the "road" was mostly a sand wash strewn with boulders. I called Vicki to fill her in on my little adventure and then proceeded, after having negotiated the most difficult parts of the road, to crash. As I was sliding along I noted that the bike did indeed slide faster than my body. And I followed my advice to let go of it since it is not in one's interest to spend more time sliding than necessary. I only had a few scrapes (on my left knee - because of wearing levis not leathers) thanks to the protective jacket, helmet and boots.

After picking my self up I turned the key off, lifted the bike and assessed the damage. Everything looked ok except for that rather large piece of metal lying in the road. It was the rear brake lever. Ok, that's livable, I thought. Tires ok, no fluids leaking, handlebars slightly bent, other levers ok ...... hmmm the throttle sticks. I started it and found that the gears were all ok. It was rideable.

I tried to call Vicki to let her know of my plight but there was no service. I had water and a ride but not a lot of confidence that I could negotiate that road out. As it happened climbing out of the canyon was much easier than descending into it.

On the way home I rode it to the Kawasaki dealer (they were kind of amazed) and put a few parts on order. In 4 or 5 working days I can have the KLR ready again.