Po, think of Secretariat as an organ donor.  Cams, controller, new rear tire, chrome fairing pieces, LED Polaris side markers, 2 new PIAA anti-vibration headlight bulbs, the 99 LED taillight with Posi-Taps.  (I also have the $800 leather seat on there.  Not heated and not at as cushy stock but would look good on a black Vision I know of.)  Knock yourself out.

Varyder, no "interim" bike for me.  It's Vision or nothing.  If I have to wait a while, that's fine.  I'm stashing all my riding gear in a big Tupperware tub and when it's time to get back in the saddle I'll dust it off and call Po for some parking lot lessons on the new ride. 

When you dodge a major bullet and get a chance to look at a bunch of different options your priorities seem to change a bit.  I'm not scared to get back in the saddle and my wife assures me she trusts my judgement out there but at this point it's all about how to most wisely spend the insurance check considering my pending pay cut.  It's really nice not being hurt and having options.

8-ball - 2012-08-28 10:00 PM Songfan, been holding my tongue, flat glad your OK. Remember everything happens for a reason and you found yours. I was a Rodeo Cowboy back in the day and each ride/wreck changed the way you look at your life. Most of the time it depended on how hard the wreck was or how good the ride was, but it was also based on what the dynamics were within that situation (my deal, horse or bull deal) or just a sign of the times as they say. My point being you flat ass made a split nano decisions from your descriptions of the situation that saved your life and/or limbs. You cannot be replaced but the Vision can and you will buck out another one out proudly I surly know. If you need me to sit you down just let me know (just a Cowboy thing, and a joke with motorcycles) I hope your ridin again real soon as I know how much my "Girls" mean to me! Just hard to pick when they both whine every time I enter the garage. I do know why they are "girls" in my world. Recover and get back on my Brother....

The way I've been riding lately I need someone to set me down.  I know that the "not if, but when" rule applies to us all.  I had a "when" nearly 30 years ago...I'm hoping that was it.  My near miss with a red light runner hopefully has taken care of it for the rest of my life.  I don't see Tom giving up, just shift priorities for a while. Everything happens for a reason.

Thanks for the encouragement guys. 

8-Ball - You are on my short list of guys I want to sit across the table from someday.  Rodeo cowboy - I honestly cannot imagine that life.  I would just sit there and let you tell stories all night.  When a guy has an incident on a motorcycle that spooks him and the ones close to him, "getting back on the horse" is only a figure of speech.  Bronco/bull rider?..........Man, you've lived it every day.  I honestly cannot imagine.

I guess in a way I was fortunate that my crash happened where it did.  I have driven that offramp five days a week for 25 years.  I have been riding it on a motorcycle for 14 of those.  As dangerous as it was, I knew how everyone was supposed to act.  I had learned to recognize aggressive drivers that were merging from the right lane and give them room.  I've even seen guys follow me off of I-240 and pass me on the right because I was slowing down and setting up on the left side of the lane for my line.  Part of what saved me was noticing that the truck came from that intersection (not off of I-240) and was accelerating like a man possessed.  I guess I was "profiling" because where he had come from was an extremely rough side of Memphis (an extremely dangerous city) and the vast majority of drivers there don't have insurance.  I learned a long time ago to not try and figure out crazy people.  I don't know what the pickup driver had on his mind, but I knew he was crazy.  It's amazing what can go through your head in about 3 seconds. 

As of this minute, I'm gonna wait until the summer of '14 to shop for a new Vision.  I was mowing the lawn today (some of my best introspection time) and it dawned on me that after May of '14, I will never have to drive to work again in one of the most dangerous cities in the country.  It's going to be a good feeling to leave that environment behind. 

I almost never rode the Vision on my days off.  My days off have been Tuesday/Wednesday for a long time and it is impossible to hookup for a relaxing weekend ride with anyone else.  I spent my two days off every week just trying to keep up with life and raising five kids.  On the positive side, riding to work everyday has really ramped up my desire to be the best rider possible, ride the best bike I could afford and wear the best gear I could find.  I rode in the most extreme conditions I could stand because I wanted to know where the weak spots were, whether it was in my gear, my bike or my skills/judgement.  Riding to work everyday was my controlled environment that taught me to be the rider that I am.  That experience really paid off when I'd get a rare opportunity to take a big road trip.  Lousy roads, crazy traffic, extreme weather, etc. was never a big deal on a road trip because I was ready for it.  (The only thing that gives me the willies is deer country.)  I was a better driver on the Vision than I am in my truck because I had to be.

I look forward to riding my future Vision purely for fun.  I won't take it any less seriously, but the change of scenery on my rides will feel like heaven.

8-Ball - I'm not looking back.  Went to my dealership yesterday and replayed the story for those guys.  I'm sure if I had really hurt myself I would be second guessing my decisions but I am 100% ok with the way everything turned out.  I'm pretty much done raising  the kids (youngest ones are in college) and am focused on finishing out my career on a high note.  I told my shop guys that I would be back in a year and a half.  They are genuinely looking forward to getting me a smokin deal on anything I want.

Thanks for checking in Jim!  I sent you an e-mail.  We have got to get together and catch up.

Here's a few thousand words:

^ Guardrail hit the right exhaust pipe.  Bike went down on it's right side.  Trunk is cracked, lower wind deflector torn off.  It then flopped over onto the left side.

Windshield is torn off of it's hinges.

The wreck was obvioulsy more violent than I remembered but I am 100% fine.  Funny how the brain works.  Only clue on my body is a slight rug burn on my right knee where I must have hit the fairing. 

I have a lot to be thankful for.  My friends and family are blown away by the response here.  I'll be back in the saddle when the timing is right. 

Ah, that makes sense Chris. 

At this point, my family is making a joke of it.  I got on my 12.5 hp Snapper riding mower the other day and my daughter pulled up in her car.  She hopped out and hollered "Hey!  Where's the helmet, jacket and boots!?"  I responded "Ha! Very funny!  But if I see an old, white, Ford F-150 coming down the street I'm bailing!"  She cracked up.

I'm going back to work this afternoon so I'll drive that cloverleaf for the first time since Sunday and I'm sure I'll play it all over again but that's part of the game. 

johnnyvision,

I know what you are saying but I never trusted anyone prior to the crash.  I don't think I'll change my riding style at all once I get back in the saddle.  It worked for me and possibly saved my life, it just cost me my bike.  Having said that, I feel extrememly lucky to get out of it totally unscathed.  The only thing I will change after I get back into the saddle is the type of riding I will do.  Up until now it has been 99% urban driving.  After I retire and start riding again it will be 99% rural and 1% urban.  I can't believe I have ridden through intersections for 14 years straight and never had a close call with someone turning left in front of me or running a red light.  Maybe it's because I've given intersections a measure of respect and cushion that I don't even think about when I'm in my truck.  I ride like I am invisible and do everything I can to minimize the risk but plan for the worse case. 

If my bike hadn't been totaled, I would ride it home from the dealership the day it was fixed and then ride it to work from then on.  But, now that it is totaled, is it worth buying a brand new bike just to ride to work for the next 18 months in that environment?  Nope.  In 18 months, I'll get back in the saddle with no reservations.  I know I will have lost a lot of my edge by then and will ride accordingly.  I'll watch the DVD's, read the books and spend a lot of time in parking lots working on panic stops and low speed maneuvers.  I can't wait to practice panic stops in a wet parking lot with ABS.  I'll upgrade my gear and as I get older, I'll adjust accordingly.  Being an Iron Butt rider sounded really cool and doable about 10 years ago but it holds absolutely zero appeal to me now. 

Motorcycling has made me better at a lot of things and I look forward to riding something really cool to the 2014 AVR.  The day it turns into a negative aspect of my life, I will walk away.

DersertJim - I'm thinking I had a guard(rail)ian angel.  My right ankle breaks out in a cold sweat every time I see the photo of that gash in the exhaust pipe.

Thanks again for all the well wishes and advice guys.

Glad you had a great weekend at Tomahawk, 8-Ball.  I would love to get together one of these days and swap stories.

bigwill - I'm totally convinced that the outcome would have been a whole lot different with a fork mounted fairing.  You can see in the pics that the front end was a huge crumple zone around me.  You look at that rear-3/4 view and think, "Huh, that doesn't look so bad.  Saddlebag isnt even scratched."  When, in fact. the right front tipover is jammed up under the floorboard and the floorboard is cocked up about an inch.  The frame is bent.  The right exhaust pipe is jammed against the plastic below the saddlebag so hard that I couldn't get the turbine exhaust tip off on that side.  The trunk hit so hard that it is cracked and jammed against the left side grab handle.  The view of the dash shows how hard it hit on both side to crack those speaker grills and pop the instrument bezel completely off.  It was a violent crash but the Vision totally sacrificed itself while I walked away unscathed.  I still can't believe that.

Taz - I agree about the amount of money spent on the bike vs nitpicking about gear.  To be honest, for the most part, we bikers are more concerned about image rather than safety.  If we wanted safety, we'd all be driving Volvos.  I try not to judge a biker by what he is wearing but if he doesn't take his gear and riding technique seriously I will never ride with him more than once.  That's just me.

Well, for those inquiring minds that want to know, I got $15,200 for my bike from the insurance company.  I was blown away.  5 years old (I bought it Fall of '07) and 57,000 miles.  I never realized it until I had to add up every little mod but I had over $6,000 in "upgrades" on that bike.  Chrome fairings, color-matched paint, Clearwater LEDs, Cams/controller/exhaust, tall windshield, leather seat, XM.  I didn't get dollar for dollar payback but was shocked at how much it added to the setttlement. (I was expecting to get between $10-12K.) 

My brother recently got re-married after being divorced for 7 years.  He bought a "bachelor car" Mustang GT in 2007 and has souped it up with a performance chip, cold air K&N intake system, underdrive pulley system, Eibach lowered suspension, 2011 GT wheels with very sticky Continental tires, Rousch cat-back exhaust and a $2000 stereo/Nav system.  When I crashed the Vision he asked if I was going to get another one.  I told him I was going to hold off until I retire.  He said he'd give me a killer deal on the 'Stang but I told him that it was way out of my league and I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a toy when I'm trying to get 100% debt free in the next year.  He said "I'll sell it to you for whatever you get from the insurance.  Won't cost you a penny out of your budget."  I said "It might only be 10 grand."  He said "I don't care, I want you to have it.  I never drive it anymore and I'm about to sell it anyway."  (I know he has around $28K in that car.) 

Long story short, my wife and I got married in 1980 and our car was a '67 Fastback.  It was her favorite car of all time but we had to sell it after kids started showing up and life got serious and practical.  My wife is the most low maintenance woman on the planet.  She never does anything for herself.  She has raised 5 awesome kids and is now a grandma.  We have been married 32 years (in Nov) and I have known since the very beginning of our relationship that she is "the one".  Over the last two weeks, my brother and I, along with my kids and our closest friends, concoted a huge story that resulted in a reveal that would rival anything you would have seen on "Overhaulin".  Yesterday, I gave her this car (that's not my house by the way):

Luke, you will never meet a guy more blessed than I am.  Not because of the "stuff" but because of the family and friends I have.  Surviving the Vision crash without a scratch has made me exceedingly grateful for my life and the fact that those closest to me aren't having to take care of me.  I could go through the exact same situation as someone else but my outcome always seems to come up roses while the other guy is left with a nightmare.  It happens to me all the time.  I can't explain it but I appreciate every day of what I have.

Part of my blessed life has come from the friends I have made on this forum.  I'm a huge fan of good karma.