Wow,
What a summer and it went by WAY to fast. Because of my amputation I had to retake the motorcycle ride test to show that I could still operate my bike safely. So becasue it had been YEARS (2005) since I had taken a motorcycle safety class I decided to take the basic safety class so that I could get a refresher and use one of their smaller bikes to do the ride test on. When I was getting ready to sign up for the class in May 2019 my daugher asked if she could also take the class with me and get her endorsement. Well I figured that would be some great father daughter time so I said sure. So on May 9-12 we took the class and 2 days shy of 1 year since my amputation I passed and got my endorsement back. My daughter also passed the class and got her motorcycle endorsement. So for her 17th birthday I took her shopping for her own 1st motorcycle. Of course while shopping for a bike for her I found one that I also wanted so I ended up trading in my old bike on this new one.

Why am I telling you all this story? Well because instead of working on my Jeep this summer I got a little distracted by my new toy. I spent all summer working on the new bike and going for a lot of rides since I hadn't been able to ride my bike for the past 4 years.
So here is my old bike that I had bought in 12/2011. This was my first time riding it since my amputation.



I happened to come across a 2015 CVO Road Glide Ultra with only 6,400 miles on it. I had always wanted to have a CVO but never wanted to pay the price of a new one. This one was priced at a reasonable amount so I couldn't pass it up.



Of course I can't leave anything I own that has a engine in it alone so I had to hop mine up..... Stock the CVO's came with a 110" engine and Harley offers a 117" big bore kit for this engine. So I had to get this kit installed along with a new exhaust and tuner.





With a little tweaking the bike is making 106 HP and 116 TQ. Of course I'm not done with it yet and plan on getting more out of the engine in the future.



Here's the Honda CB500X I bought my daugher for her birthday.



In Aug I took a trip to Deadwood, SD for a motorcycle event and had a blast. This was my first long trip in a lot of years on a bike and it was great to get out there and just enjoy myself. I put over 5,000 miles on my bike this summer and can't wait for next years riding season to get here.

Right before my trip in Aug I got a new socket and foot.







This foot is a Ossur Pro-Flex Pivot that has 27* of flex to it. It isn't as good as having a real ankle but it is a lot better than nothing at all.



As for my engine and plans for getting the Jeep back on the road I am now going to have to wait until next spring to get anything done. The weather here has turned cold already so I can't work in my garage until it warms back up again. My plan is to get the engine done this coming spring and then get the Jeep back on the road.

Once I get back to working on the engine I will be sure to post pictures and keep everyone updated.

Hope you all have a great holiday season ………..

 

Nice to see that your leg hasn't slowed you down at all. And since you are enjoying life so much, we won't hold it against you that you haven't been workin' on the Jeep.

Still and all, it IS nice to hear from ya again.

 

Glad to hear from you! Also glad you are enjoying your bike and got your endorsement back! If you are ever up my way we'll go riding!

Hopefully you'll still be around after I get back from my deployment

 

As far as I know I am not going anywhere any time soon. Even if I start to travel I'll still be coming back to WA during the summer.

 

Might be a little slower than I was before but I sure the neck ain't gunna let missing part of my leg stop me. Figured it was time I stopped in and said HOWDY. Winter is almost here right now but hope it is a short winter as I really want to get working on stuff.

 

Winter arrived here this morning. I woke up to snow on the ground. When I went to let my dogs out, they looked at me like I was nuts...... "You want us to go out THERE??????? How about opening the door to the WARM outside?"

 

Soon you'll be going everywhere. I'm glad you aren't letting this stop you life! Maybe see if the doctors can build some wrenches in the leg, it would be like a multi tool!

 

Both the Bike and the leg are looking good. Glad everything is going well. Good to see you're still kicking.

 

Thanks buddy. Been slowly gathering some more stuff for the Jeep and engine. As soon as I have the funds the block is going to the machine shop and get done. Then it's just waiting for it to warm up enough to work out in my garage again and I can get back at it.

 

I did something this summer I haven't been able to do now for over 6 years. I took a motorcycle trip to South Dakota the week after Sturgis. There was a Road Glide group get together so I went and rode my bike out there. It was an awesome trip and was GREAT for my soul.

Leaving my house on 9 Aug 19


Stopped in Cody, WY on the way home.


Top of Beartooth Pass in WY


Bike hit 10K miles just as I was headed to Glacier National Park, MT


It happened as I got to this sign


Going to the Sun Road thru the north end of Glacier Nation Park


When I got home from the trip on 20 Aug, 2019