K11 Owners Group

Shoganai · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 3:24 pm Post subject: Introduction

Hi, I’d like to introduce myself to this forum. My name is Gwen.

I’ve been riding since an early spring day in 1999 when I was filling up my 1985 Dodge
Caravan with fuel. I kinda threw a fit at the pump. See, I thought it cost a lot of money
to fill up. I said out loud, “I’m going to buy a motorcycle!”

I drove straight to the Honda shop, walked in and when the salesman asked, “Can I help
you?” I said “I want to buy a motorcycle”. Even as the words fell out of my mouth, I
couldn’t believe I was the one speaking them.

The look on his face when I answered his questions was priceless, “No, I’ve never even
sat on one. No, I have no idea what kind of bike I want. No, I’ve not taken any
motorcycle classes. Yes, I’m sure I want to buy a motorcycle”

To his credit he did the right thing in my opinion. He sold me a used Honda Rebel and
helped me pick out my first riding gear, a helmet, Joe Rocket jacket and gloves. Of
course I had to wait for them to deliver the bike the following week, so I went to the
DMV for my endorsement. A week later it arrived. The delivery guy took an hour showing
and explaining to me where the gas goes, all the controls, how to adjust the chain and
some general safety tips like don’t break in turns and what to do if I get a flat tire.

Then it hit me! Holy shit! I bought a motorcycle!!!

I walked past it for a week to drive my van to work, still thinking ‘What the hell were
you thinking Gwen’. I was scared shitless to tell my parents. How silly is that, I was 37
years old. But I knew they are NOT going to like it and have never had issues with
expressing their thoughts. Don’t get me wrong, they love me and only want what’s best for
me.

Well, the weekend had arrived and it was time to go to work. In the mid afternoon, I
walked around the bike like I was dancing with a cobra, afraid to touch it yet fascinated
by it. So beautiful, so deadly. Like the old folks used to say, ‘you need to poop or get
off the pot’. So I donned my riding gear for the first time, and all the while feeling
like an astronaut suiting up to head into the unknown. The metaphor was not wasted on me.

I sat on the bike for the first time and studied the controls as I ran my fingers over
them and softly spoke their names under my breath, “throttle”, “clutch”, “front break”
“lights”.
My right hand grasped the key and turned it to ‘on’ and ………….. I pushed the start button.

Oh my God! That was so cool! I thought. The bike purred and something sleeping in my soul
stirred. I felt it move, and a broad smile broke like the morning sun across my face. The
thing inside me blinked and looked around.

At the time, I lived on 60 acres with a mile to the first pavement and that concerned me,
but there was nothing I could do about it, so I gently rolled on the throttle and eased
out on the clutch and the bike rolled forward.

I made it to the pavement without dropping it and felt damn lucky though it never behaved
like I was going to. I then rode up and down the blacktop until I was sure I could make
it go, stop and turn. I figured that’s all I needed to know. (Boy, was I naive, but
that’s for another time) I rode back home, found an old backpack, and stuffed my nursing
uniform, shoes, comb and lunch in it.

Upon closing the door to leave for work that night, I knew my life had changed, though to
what degree I was oblivious. I rode 60+ miles to work on 55mph roads doing 45mph and
waving all the traffic behind around me because I was too frightened to go faster. (I got
over that to within one point of losing my license)

By the time I arrived at work and parked the bike, the once sleeping entity was fully
awakened. It was excited, impassioned and most of all joyful. It was ebullient! And I
reflected that feeling in my smile and my pounding heart.

That was 1999 and since that day I never looked back. I rode over 20,000 miles that year.
Learned how to deal with the weather, the road and traffic. I have since been through the
Honda Rebel, a Honda Shadow 600, a Honda 1300 VTXc, (2) 2005 BMW R1200ST’s and now only
have my 1993 K1100RS (which I’ve had for years) Every year after 1999 I rode 30,000 to
40,000 miles and in 2006 I rode 60,300 miles. My total now is a little over 200,000. In
time, I eventually took the MSF courses. I rode 100% alone until 2004. I have had several
crashes and walked away from them all by the grace of God and wearing all the gear didn’t
hurt. All totaled I broke both collar bones in two separate crashes, broke my
sternal-clavical joint with cardiac contusion, 3 ribs, ACL and MCL right knee,
concussion, burst fracture T6, fracture T7, and fractures of T5 through T10 left lateral
spinus processes.

I’ve hit a car, a dog and deer, a guardrail and the road. I’ve known the exquisite pain
of frozen hands and exalted in beat-to-death exhaustion from a 1500-mile day. I’ve known
the love of strangers that helped this wayward traveler with a tank of gas, directions, a
warm, safe bed to rest my road-weary bones and helping hands with open hearts that helped
me do a trannyectony / clutchectomy on my K1100RS while broke down in High Level,
Alberta. I’ve known the joy of shared stories of the road with other riders that “get it”
and feel the acceptance of my fellow riders around a crackling fire. I’ve slept on the
road by or on my bike and felt she was watching over me. I’ve posed her with signs and
flowers and mountains and at time when she was naked on the lift getting some maintenance
or a new toy.

I love my K1100RS like no bike I’ve even known. Her official name is Ichimokusan, which
means “as fast as I can go” but her nickname is The Shop Whore. Within 2 years from the
date of purchase, she cost me over $10,000, (long story) but I loved her like an S&M
mistress. No matter how she hurt my wallet, I kept going back for more. Love is a strange
thing indeed.

Thank you for reading my introduction and I look forward to reading this forum and maybe
I can add to it in some positive way.

Ride with joy,
Gwen

Poems I've written in my head from the saddle.

Walking with my Thoughts

together in the dark woods

in busy malls, in lonely halls

some holding my hands, pulling me deeper into my day

some riding my shoulders, weighing me down into my past

some thoughts follow me wailing and prostrating themselves

some proceed me as I walk, clearing my path for the trials to come

some not fully formed, kick in the womb of new learning, stretching and growing

The cadre yells, sings, laments, whispers, sighs, mutters, screams,
whimpers and hums

cacophonous congregation clamors for my attention, my peace, my very soul

I stop walking and my thoughts pause.

Be still.

Be now.

Be alone.

Just be.

River of Light

A cool, pastel blue river of light flows above me
Held in it's bed by black, green pines and naked oaks
It floods the cloudy plains over olive green pastures
Tumbling, twisting and pooling overhead as I trace my course
Along narrow, lonely mountain roads.

The liquefied light darkens to heavier blues as I ride
Rippling over pale gray, stony clouds
Glimmers of distant suns scintillate in it's icy depths
Silhouetted bats flicker and dive through it's deep waters
And on I ride into the night, washing my soul in the river of light.

Holes

in my gloves and jeans
holes in the wall instead of her face

holes
in my checkbook and cupboard
holes in the fence made holes in the flesh

holes
in my teeth and eyes
holes in my past full of atrophed friendships

holes
in the ground and sky
holes full of bodies blindly gazing at dead stars

too many holes

too deep

I need a new shovel
Time to dig.

The long ride, my SS1000 quest
The long ride

From the salty, green marshes in Virginia Beach, thru the Lipton tea
waters of the South Carolina low country and home to the sparkling,
verbose, energetic rivers of the Delphian mountains of Virginia.

On I rode.

Through the oily, fecal stench of bacon farms and dairy barns. Rolling
through great waves of freshly mowed, onion rich lawns with telltale
undertones of dandilions.

Choking on the black effluence of 18 wheeled diesel piston pots
attacking the mountain and then tasting the metalic, rapidly glazing
brakes on the other side.

On I rode.

Kids waving from the back of the minivans, truckers flashing "thank
you" to each other, and me acknowledging my fellow two-wheeled cadre.

Sculling through the cleansing, undulating flow of fragrant spring
flowers and salivating to the whiffs for evening dinners cooking in
the homes I pass.

On and on I rode.

I shift restlessly in the saddle, stand on the pegs, shake the
tingling from my hands and try to find a position where my back feels
better. Fighting yawns with mints, and dueling fatigue with songs in
my helmet. And on I rode into the blackness.

Then I see a light splashed softly on the driveway and behold my love
awaiting my home coming. Engine off. Kickstand down. Helmet shed. Hugs
and kisses.

My Ride Reports
1. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87859
Rolling with the Stones thru N.C.
(Solo from the mountains to the sea and back)

2. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181722
If you're going to be foolish, you better be hardy
(The name says it all)

3. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105181
Ride to work with Shoganai
(30,000 miles over a year, stories from rural South Carolina, my
animals, friends, beloved strangers, my family and exposes both the
joys and tragities of that time)

4. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163812
Hunting Island trip with my Son
(Two up camping and fishing trip to the beach)

5. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209218
Trippin' with Shoganai
(A collections of short shories of rides and crashes)

6. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142933
Where in the world is Shoganai?
(20,000 miles, 2.5 months solo ride to Alaska, including a roadside trannyectomy)

K1100RS Projects…
1. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121059
1993 K1100RS speedo change out

2. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124154
Shop Whore gets a new multi-switch

3. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130097
Soft Panniers for K1100RS

4. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130679
Hardcase inner bungee home made upgrade

5. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220358
The Shop Whore Gets Naked (thread covering many wrenching stories)

6. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213198
Get a Grip ST Grip improvement

7. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132240
Melted Pannier Repair

Thoughts on riding, life and death…

1. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113143
Riding with your S.O.

2. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124493
I couldn't talk about it a couple of days ago

3. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100976
Mercy killing

4. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106866
The hardest question ever

5. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119371
The Hardest Question Answered

6. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118375
I'm only one of thousands

7. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119986
Human Houses

8. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160336
Things you own, own you, but sometimes.........

9. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93034
I'm feeling Dark today

10. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92746
Just thinking out loud tonight

11. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172847
A night in the life......

12. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175436
How many "If's" amount to fate or 112 miles to apples

13. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166776
Surely a mistake has been made

14. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82397
Sex and Motorcycles

15. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168563
I'm betting $500 that I'll NOT get a speeding ticket in 365 days from
today - pay up!

16. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93768
14 years ago tonight

17. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245494
Shoganai's 100CCC for the Special Wish Foundation

18. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126278
Have you seen Shoganai?

Two of my major crashes

The crash at West Fest
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252745
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5033774&postcount=80
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5038306&postcount=151

Attempted 50cc
I was doing this
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245494

Here's some details about what happened from that thread.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245494&page=72

Post 1070 The crash...page 72
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245494&page=142
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5317481&postcount=2258
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245494&page=153

And a side story brings it all home
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262433

My CT pics
http://shoganai.smugmug.com/gallery/3524746#P-9-15
Pages 9 and 10
_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT

Nana korobi ya oki

Moondog · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 4:13 pm Post subject:

_________________
"Badges? We don't need no stinking badges"!

I like the social aspect of riding. Rally's, socializing, drinking beer, fartin' and carrying on. Smile

2004 R1150RS
1996 K1100RS (moved on to new home)

rydor · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 5:07 pm Post subject:

Welcome, Shoganai! Very Happy

BlackHoof · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 5:59 pm Post subject:

Welcome, indeed.

I smiled to myself as I read your intro thinking about all the male ego's
cringing as they read about your annual milgage totals. Embarassed

Stick around & enjoy the group. Smile

_________________
Kent

'93 K1100LT- Blurple Colored
Lucky # 887
'27 Bugatti Replica/Kit Car-Dark Purple
'05 Suzuki Brugman/Russell Seat...

owrstrich · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:47 pm Post subject:

welcome shoganai...

some of us followed you to the top of the world at www.advrider.com ...

owrstrich
_________________
yeeeeeehaaaaaaa...

Shoganai · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 7:39 pm Post subject:

Thank you for the welcome everyone Very Happy

owrstrich, thank you for reading my Alaska Ride Report *bow*

Since I'm new here but have some RR posted on ADV I'll link them here if anybody is interrested.

If you're going to be foolish, you better be hardy
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181722

Hunting Island trip with my Son
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163812

My solo 20K, 2.5 month ride to Alaska
Where in the world is Shoganai?
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142933

Pics from this RR...

_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT

Nana korobi ya oki

Off the grid · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject:

Couple things Gwen:

1. I am an RN as well for the better/worse part of 10 years. (CSICU)

2. We were the same age when we discovered riding. (or in my case, re-discovered)

3. Based on what you wrote, we share a similar sardonic sense of humor.

4. As Blackhoof said, my ego took a nosedive reading your mileage totals.

Flying Duck · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:56 pm Post subject:

Welcome, sounds like you've earned that ADV sticker. Beemered

You rode all of those miles on a stock seat? YIKES! Shocked

_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

Shoganai · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:05 pm Post subject:

Geoff · Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 3:09 pm Post subject:

Welcome, Gwen!

I'd like to hear how you spent over $10,000 on your bike within two years. The only people I know who do this are Harley riders who buy chrome bits and engine mods.
_________________
2000 R1100RT
2008 H-D Electra Glide Ultra Classic

Shoganai · Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 7:17 pm Post subject:

Off the grid · Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 7:21 pm Post subject:

Klinker · Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject: Re: Introduction

Steverino · Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 2:24 am Post subject:

:wave Hiya Gwen!

I'm stalking you!

Hope you have a quiet night at work.

Steve
The Shop Whore Mechanic

btw, the black K1200R in Gwen's pic is mine and is for sale! Wink

Shoganai · Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:38 am Post subject:

Shoganai · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject:

Helmet time is my Zen time.

These were written in my head while riding.

I know it's real girly, but here they are FWIW.

Holes

in my gloves and jeans
holes in the wall instead of her face

holes
in my checkbook and cupboard
holes in the fence made holes in the flesh

holes
in my teeth and eyes
holes in my past full of atrophed friendships

holes
in the ground and sky
holes full of bodies blindly gazing at dead stars

too many holes

too deep

I need a new shovel
Time to dig.

Walking with my Thoughts

together in the dark woods

in busy malls, in lonely halls

some holding my hands, pulling me deeper into my day

some riding my shoulders, weighing me down into my past

some thoughts follow me wailing and prostrating themselves

some proceed me as I walk, clearing my path for the trials to come

some not fully formed, kick in the womb of new learning, stretching and growing

The cadre yells, sings, laments, whispers, sighs, mutters, screams, whimpers and hums

cacophonous congregation clamors for my attention, my peace, my very soul

I stop walking and my thoughts pause.

Be still.

Be now.

Be alone.

Just be.

River of Light

A cool, pastel blue river of light flows above me
Held in it's bed by black, green pines and naked oaks
It floods the cloudy plains over olive green pastures
Tumbling, twisting and pooling overhead as I trace my course
Along narrow, lonely mountain roads.

The liquefied light darkens to heavier blues as I ride
Rippling over pale gray, stony clouds
Glimmers of distant suns scintillate in it’s icy depths
Silhouetted bats flicker and dive through it’s deep waters
And on I ride into the night, washing my soul in the river of light.

The long ride

From the salty, green marshes in Virginia Beach, thru the Lipton tea waters of
the South Carolina low country and home to the sparkling, verbose, energetic
rivers of the Delphian mountains of Virginia.

On I rode.

Through the oily, fecal stench of bacon farms and dairy barns. Rolling through
great waves of freshly mowed, onion rich lawns with telltale undertones of
dandilions.

Choking on the black effluence of 18 wheeled diesel piston pots attacking the
mountain and then tasting the metalic, rapidly glazing brakes on the other
side.

On I rode.

Kids waving from the back of the minivans, truckers flashing "thank you" to each
other, and me acknowledging my fellow two-wheeled cadre.

Sculling through the cleansing, undulating flow of fragrant spring flowers and
salivating to the whiffs for evening dinners cooking in the homes I pass.

On and on I rode.

I shift restlessly in the saddle, stand on the pegs, shake the tingling from my
hands and try to find a position where my back feels better. Fighting yawns
with mints, and dueling fatigue with songs in my helmet. And on I rode into the
blackness.

Then I see a light splashed softly on the driveway and behold my lover
awaiting my home coming. Engine off. Kickstand down. Helmet shed. Hugs and
kisses.
_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT

Nana korobi ya oki

Flying Duck · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:58 pm Post subject:

OK, here are some typical poems from a male brain:

"Man, riding a motorcycle sure is fun."

"Why is it that the cute five year old blondes always wave at me but the cute 25 year old blondes never do?"

"I wonder if the epsiode of the SImpson this Sunday wil be a repeat."

"Where's the cheapest gas?"

"I wonder if that place has good french fries."

"I wish I'd stoped there - they probably have good fries."

"Matching painted luggage is just gay."

"Man, riding a motorcycle sure is fun." Beemered

_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

Jim · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:31 am Post subject: Duck poetry

OK Drake - that was good for a laugh, but there's no rhyme, rhythm or scheme there! You'll have to try a little harder.
_________________
Jim
1997 K1100LTSE 94,000 - still has gremlins!
1995 R100RT Classic 16,650 crashed - repaired!
1992 K75RTP 46,000

"We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed."

will3hawks · Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:10 pm Post subject: Welcome aboard!!

Good to know that a neighbor (relatively speaking,-I live in Northeastern Pa.) is a part of this forum. I must also applaud your taste in bikes given the fact that I have a 94 black K1100RS. You're right, there's something about the KRS that separates it from others. In my humble opinion, it seems that BMW was the first company to understand the concept of a Grand Touring bike, which while providing weather protection and comfort was not a land yacht and more importantly, provided SPEED! I spent some hospital time myself in 2006 with a broken scapula, clavicle, ribs 2,3&4 as well as a punctured lung and lacerations of both knees. Thank God for a good helmet or I probably wouldn't have the faculties to write this. As for all this male-female shit, in my (not so humble) opinion, there are only 2 kinds of motorcyclists. Real Riders, like yourself and Scratch N' Sniff Riders who would rather pet their motorcycles and bullshit than ride.
All this having been said, I think you will find this forum to be one of the most active and rewarding, as well as accepting. When I first joined and asked the usual newbie questions I got courteous answers rather than being flamed by oldheads telling me to go to the archives without answering my questions; this being quite a new experience to me.

Ride Fast, Ride Safe and Ride Well

Godspeed,

Will
_________________
The truth is 100 miles east of Memphis
BMWMOA# 70125
94 K 1100RS (Speedwagon)
"Even if I should die on the road, this would be the will of heaven"
Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694

Geoff · Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:13 am Post subject: