Hello Mates still alive

Owners Lounge
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Just checking in and saying hello mates. I’m still alive and the VF1000R still looking as good as it did when I first painted it 10 years ago now.

Just went through major back surgery 3 months ago. Was cut open about 12 inches and my bottom spine was rebuilt up to 4 levels from the bottom. Lot of parts went in to rebuild it.

Surgeon says I can’t ride for at least a year and the sport bike could be questionable once the year is up because of the way you sit on them.

Still struggling and really wanting to get back to riding my bikes. 28 years ago I had my 1st back surgery due to a motorcycle crash and the Doctors told me then I would not be able to ride again. Again I find myself wanting to prove the Doctors wrong, however this time around not sure I can prove them wrong.

Nevertheless, you can’t keep a good man down and I’m pushing hard to accelerate my recovery. It’s painful but it would be more painful not to be able to ride my VF1000R again.

So I’m looking to get back on her in March which will be the 7 month mark. Wish me luck and I’m hope all is well with you’all. I’ll try to stop in more often now that I’m officially retired.

Best wishes ED

6 Likes
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Hi ED
Know how you feel, I haven’t been able to ride for over 5 and a half years due to a motorcycle accident. It seems that you have a bigger problem than me though, with your back. I can’t bend my left knee anymore. Don’t overdo it and make it worse, take your time, let it heal and you will get there I’m sure. Best of luck for the future because you’re right “you can’t keep a good man down”. Great looking bike by the way.
Stay sane.
John

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Hi Ed, nice to hear from you, hope you have a speedy and successful recovery.

Pete.

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Hi Mate .
I can emphathise with your predicament,
I came off an RD 250 back in 1982, struggled with sciatica for a year before they removed a disc from lumbar spine, they had to take another out 10 years later.
I now have arthritis in my lower spine and sports bikes are a no no, even my ZZR1200 has a yoke conversion on it.
The vf1000 is manageable altho I may now convert it with some renthal bars, when I figure out how not to loose the air balancer thingy.
Good luck mate , I moan on to my wife about the day I might have to give up biking beacause of it , I just get the same answer, “youve been saying that for years now”

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Hi Pete,

Glad your still around.

Jovimill and intruder thanks for the encouragement. Healing the right way is the ticket and I’m coming along nicely.

Physical therapy is tough but it is helping me to get where I need to be rather than sitting around waiting for it.

As of now I have all the time in the world, not going back to work after this. I set my goal to get back on my bikes in 7 months. If and when I’m there and I’m not ready I will back off and push it out to 9 months, etc…

Thanks guys!

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Hi intruder,
There is a place in the UK called MOTO-CNC. https://moto-cnc.com These guys are very helpful if you want to talk to them. I bought a set of street fighter handle bar risers a while back. Just take the clip-ons off and replace them with the kit. If you need a flat top yoke you may need to get hold of a VF1000R top yoke, they change over pretty easy. You may also have to relocate the fuses. They now have top yoke replacement kits but for later models and I am not sure that they will fit. (you could ask them). When you get onto their website, make sure that you are looking at the 41mm forks model. Let them know when you order that you have 41mm forks. They sent me 50mm forks diameter at first but then replaced them with the 41mm no arguments or problems. Depending on what bars you get, you may have to extend cables and/or wire’s. they have more variety now than they did when I bought mine. I am not sure that the website link will work. I have tried it and it won’t work for me so you may have to type it in yourself. If you type in your make and model etc it should just bring up the things for that model. I am assuming that you are in the UK, if not, they do communicate pretty well with E-mail.
Good luck and hope you can get back on the road pretty soon.

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Hi mate,
thanks for the info I will surely look into it.
I am still on the road and riding but the distance I ride is reduced quite a bit, I loved touring around the cairngorms on various bikes in the past and have had many rides into france and switzerland.
I used to chuckle at the old guys getting off their sports bikes and hobbling to get a cup of tea but now see the error of my ways and wonder if the others are sniggering at me doing a 30 second stretch after a 30 minute ride!
I am determined to keep biking atleast until the day comes when I need to swap it for a 12volt
4 wheeled cart lol, I will make sure tho it has a set of fake pipes and a seat hump :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
Ride safe.

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Well my original plans was to start back riding back in March of this year. At the 7 month mark I realize something was not right. I still was having mobility issues on my right side. Went back to the surgeon to report the issues and was told that I should not be having mobility issues after 7 months. He recommended another surgery.

I opted not too and continue to prolong physical therapy for another 2 months. This time around I was more serious about getting everything I lost, back. I ended up retiring out over this ordeal.

Needless to say I was not giving up there. Now with new medical insurance I have a new Doctor. Discuss my back issues with him and was told the level of the surgery I had he seen people recover with no issues, still have issues after surgery or others get worst.

He recommended more physical therapy. I opted not to go that route and told him since I’m coming up to my year mark I will return back to my chiropractor that I have been seeing for almost 8 years prior.

So I took matters into my own hands and started seeing him. The consultation with my chiropractor, he advised me that he could not attempt side compression until I hit the 2 year mark however, he still could help me and still work on the upper shoulder, neck, massage chair and electrical shock therapy as well as working on stretching exercises.

It has been a long 6 months from March working hard to overcome my issues and the pain has been brutal.

Since my visits with my chiropractor I am starting to get back my right side mobility. Each visits is paying off much more than the physical therapy did. Not to say that the PT didn’t help. I also started to work out again pushing the iron. I’m limited on the weights I can push, but I increase every week.

I started riding my full dresser cruiser. The upright seating position is more forgiving. So I’m finally back on a bike for a little over a month now, only taking short rides due to the pain, but manageable.

Not quite ready to get on the VF1000R yet but as long as I keep up the workout and exercising I’m hoping maybe in a couple of months or sooner.

I attach a photo of what was done to my back.

IMG_1280

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Thats some enginerring, hope you get back on the R soon :+1:

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Hi Pete, kinda like our bikes when they were first made. LOL Yes sir working torward her…

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I tried to ride the R today and failed. I can’t get my right foot on the peg. Very disappointed with myself. I thought I was getting to a point to ride the R.

I should have known better since riding my Harley I still have some pain in my right leg after 30 minutes.

Not giving up and I’m going to keep working on getting fit. Unfortunately. I gain 50lbs with the back issue. The goal is to lose 50lbs. Already drop 15lbs.

I’ll wait till I do and then make the decision to sell her, which I’m going hate doing.

But if I can’t ride the R might as well pass the torch to someone who will enjoy her.

Still isn’t over yet. I won’t go down without a fight.

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