Originally Posted by
Times Roman
Before i tell you the story of me crossing the rockies in a blizzard in the middle of the night (long story), I'll tell you a short one...
I had my KZ1000 shipped to Europe, to a port in Bremen, Germany. I believe it was November, 1982. it was a nasty day, cloudy, and threatening rain. Previously, I had purchased some Italian Riding leathers, so I felt I was G2G in what ever weather. I even used some of the water repellent spray before hand, as an added precaution. I saddle up, and my destination is Stuttgart, Germany, about 741km away. It was fairly early in the morning, and I'm getting on the autobon, and just as I was getting ready to twist the throttle back and open her up, I felt some rain drops on my face. Again, full face helmet, no face shield. Using my left hand in front of my face, and peering through the cracks in my fingers, I'm able to see the road and keep most of the rain out of my eyes. But the rain starts to get heavier. Soon, cars are being trailed by water streams coming off the wheels. I have no windshield, and no face shield. But for awhile, I'm warm and more or less dry, except my face, but I'm dealing with that. After a few hours, my new leathers can no longer hold out the moisture, are fully soaked, and just like a swamp cooler, the fierce wind flowing through my wet leathers is like sitting in an ice box. I'm cold. And miserable! I can no longer stay at speed, since the faster i ride, the more wind, and the colder i get. Gradually, my speed comes down, and I can no longer even hold 70mph. The whole trip takes 12 hours, and there at the end, I'm barely doing 40mph. My whole body is a cramp from continous muscular tension. I finally arrive in Stuttgart, slowly climb out the saddle, and very slowly, go up to my buddies room. I strip off my leathers, my boots, everything, and climb into some warmer clothes. Everyone wants to go partying at the clubs. They look at me trying to figure out what is wrong with me. yeah, they get I rode in the rain. Yeah, they get it was non stop rain for 741km. Finally, I see a bottle of Jim Beam sitting there, disguised as a bowling pin (decorative decanter), twist the cap, and wish them an enjoyable evening. Me and Jim had a date that night, and then, after I killed the whole bottle, I was going to crash right there on the sofa.
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