2006 Yamaha VStar 1100 Custom Memorial

On Friday, December 8th 2006 my motorcycle was rear ended by a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban. I was riding on International Blvd. (aka Highway 99, Pacific Highway South) in Tukwila Washington. I had turned around just south of Christian Life Church and was heading back to the "Church By The Side Of The Road" to stage for a Patriot Guard mission to honor a fallen hero. I came up on of those crosswalks that had flashing lights embedded into the roadway. The idea is that when a pedestrian wishes to cross the road they press a button which activates the flashing lights. Drivers stop for the flashing lights so the people can cross safely. Seeing the flashing lights and two people standing at the edge of the crossing I brought my bike to a stop. I just got my left foot down when I heard a crash. It was almost surreal. I heard the crash, felt everything jolt forward then realized I was flying. I remembered my BRC instructor saying if you ever go down go limp. So I did. I hit the pavement on my back and just went limp letting my body skidder across the road. I closed my eyes and prayed that no one would run over me. I had heard of other incidents were a biker goes down only to get killed by another motorist running over them. I saw the faces of my wife, daughters and 2 month old grandson. Then all kinds of voices.

At some point a police officer told me that my bike was being impounded by Skyway Towing. Eventually, it was transported to Adventure Motorsports in Monroe where I had originally bought it from. The whole crew at Adventure Motorsports is great. They have been outstanding from the day I bought the bike from them. These are some great people that run a dealership the way it should be run. The customer comes first and foremost. They even have a little cafe inside that has good french fries. If Molly is working ask her to make you one of her special mochas. Yeah yeah.. I know a real biker does not drink foo foo designer coffee. All I can say is try it.
I saw my bike for the first time on 12/9 after it was delivered by Skyway Towing to Adventure Motorsports in Monroe. Many thanks to Skyway Towing for taking care of my bike and getting it up to Adventure. It was really hard seeing her like this. We rode just about anywhere in all kinds of weather except snow and ice. I really liked my motorcycle. So far I had installed a Lindby Linbar, Hard Krome 2.75 inch Big Straight pipes, a ME ORK, saddle bags, passenger backrest (aka sissybar), a West Marine chrome rod holder that I used for carrying the United States flag, and the luggage rack. I had replaced the stock seats with a Mustang seat and the stock grips with chrome ribbed grips.

Pleasant memories

I really liked my bike. These are some of the more pleasent memories with my bike. My wife and kids loved to ride on the back with me. The kids really took to riding quickly. The wife was getting better with each ride. They all are very much fair weather riders.

We had some really fun adventures in the Steeple Chase 2006.

This was taken in front of Custer United Methodist Church on Veteran's Day. I got to meet the Pastor and a couple of riders from CMA Canada here.
In front of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Granite Falls. Met a gentleman and his grand daughter here. I let his the young lady sit on my bike. She thought it was really cool and started going on about it with her grand father. Then her grand father pulled a key out of his pocket and handed it to her. She looked at him kind of odd then he said that it was the key to his Gold Wing. The expression on her face was priceless.

Grace Community Church
This was my birthday present from my wife and kids. The wife loaded the kids up in the van and I rode the bike. We caught the ferry out of Anacortes over to Lopez Island. After a small adventure and getting lost we eventually found Grace Church. Actually, my wife found it first but then followed me around until I decided to stop and look at a map. Met a couple of really nice people there. A young lady in her teens gave us a tip on a place called "The Soda Fountain" for good food. We stopped there for lunch then went geocaching. My daughter rode 2up with me on the island. Even if this is not a DH, it is still a fun ride. Humptulips Valley Church
Another family adventure. I rode solo with the wife and kids trailing along in the van. We visited this church after the Pacific Beach Toy Run. We had a lot of fun on the Toy Run and by the time we found this church we were pretty exhausted.

My older daughter's first ride My older daughter's first ride. She was so excited to just go around the block that she did not get all of the plastic off her helmet. She had got her Vega helmet at the 2006 Oyster Run. She eventually became a pretty good passenger.

This girl loves to ride Here she is after a longer ride to Lake Diablo and Diablo Dam. She is getting better at not fighting the lean during cornering. She is looking forward to riding with Dad again next year. She is very much a fair weather rider. Riding with my daughters has really helped form a tight bond with them despite her "friends" insistance that hanging with the parents is not cool. How many kids get to roar up to school on the back of a VStar cruiser with loud pipes? My girls loved my bike as well.

My youngest daughter's first ride This is my youngest daughter's first ride. I had the day off from work and figured that I would take her to school. Her school is only about 1 mile away. Really need to get my girls leathers. She is also looking forward to the next riding season to go on some longer rides with her old man.

This Biker Koala Bob our adventureous mascot. Bob is a Build a Bear that travels with us on our adventures. This pic has snapped at Humptulips Valley Church. Bob on a toy run
This is Bob strapped in his seat for the 15th annual Hombre's Pacific Bay Toy Run. The do-wrap and clothing are all stitched on so nothing flys off to present a hazard to other drivers or riders.

Damage Report

Now here is what is left of her. I am not sure what, if anything, can be salvaged and reused. Hover your mouse cursor over the image to see added comments.
View from the rear. Chrome rod holder is gone. It was mounted on the right side of the sissybar. Bright light is a reflector reflecting the camera flash. Right side rear tire. The bent part of the rim is the point of impact. You can also see where the Suburban hit the top pipe. Looking at the pillon area from the left side. This is where the PGR flag was mounted. Left controls. My left leg impacted on the the left side of the handlebar. Left side of the Linbar. Looks like the bike skidded on the left side after impact.. Looking down from the top. Mustang seat is crunched. The chrome rod holder is gone. I asked the police to give the US Flag to the PGR. I later found the rod holder still attached to the flag. Someone took great care removing hte flag as they removed the rod holder rather then just breaking the flag pole off. Right side of rear tire. Left side of rear tire.

Engine looks to be okay. The starter turns the engine over, but I could not get it to fire. The choke is frozen closed. It can be repaired for about $8500-$9000 depending on the condition of the final drive unit. MSRP on the VStar 1100 Custom is roughly $8500. Basically everything aft of the toolbox has to be replaced along with the grips, handlebar and switch box. The sub-frame is destroyed. There is some concern about stress fractures on the main frame from the collision. That could only be found by stripping the bike down to the frame and looking for cracks.

I do not have the skill, knowledge, or tools to do this type of a rebuild myself. I will admit that the possibility of rebuilding this bike is facinating. See it on TV and the stuff these builders create at shows like the IMS and the Pacific Northwest Skin 'n Steel Expo. The stuff that come of these custom bike builders come up with blows my mind. I could only dream of building bikes to that level. I have a good idea of what I would do but have no clue how to do it or the funds to get it done.

Changing the oils and sparks plugs was a major accomplishment for me. Changing the pipes to HK 2.75" big straights about drove me nuts. The bolts for fastening the pipes to the bracket were just a tad too short with the lock washers. I tried for over an hour before dropping the lock washers and getting it done. This winter I was going to do the Dragon's Breath air kit from Metric Magic , Stainless Steel lines, and 3 inch pullback handlebar risers. Then rejet and re-tune her.

	My older daughter's first ride. She was so excited to just go around the block that she did not get all of the plastic off her helmet. She had got her Vega helmet at the 2006 Oyster Run. She eventually became a pretty good passenger.
	Here she is after a longer ride to Lake Diablo and Diablo Dam. She is getting better at not fighting the lean during cornering. She is looking forward to riding with Dad again next year. She is very much a fair weather rider. Riding with my daughters has really helped form a tight bond with them despite her "friends" insistance that hanging with the parents is not cool. How many kids get to roar up to school on the back of a VStar cruiser with loud pipes? My girls loved my bike as well.
	This is my youngest daughter's first ride. I had the day off from work and figured that I would take her to school. Her school is only about 1 mile away. Really need to get my girls leathers. She is also looking forward to the next riding season to go on some longer rides with her old man.
This Biker Koala Bob our adventureous mascot. Bob is a Build a Bear that travels with us on our adventures. This pic has snapped at Humptulips Valley Church.	This is Bob strapped in his seat for the 15th annual Hombre's Pacific Bay Toy Run. The do-wrap and clothing are all stitched on so nothing flys off to present a hazard to other drivers or riders.