Dodged a bullet - My 80 year old Dad wipes out his MC

[Bob Kontak]

Not really a full "wipe out" but dropped his Kawasaki Vulcan when putting home in his hood. Shattered ankle, cracked his scapula and suffered a concussion. Thank the higher power for the helmet.

Bummer is he is not sure if he passed out or just screwed up. Concussion blotted out recollection. He's been riding almost daily for ten years so doubt a screw up.

He is 80 and has just bought a brand new Indian Scout.

As much as I am afraid of him passing out at speed, I am kinda thinking take the months necessary to knit and get back out there if a relapse does not occur.

On the other hand, there is risk to others if he is hindered.

Thoughts?

[nynor]

life is not without risk. have him get a full physical and so on, i guess. in the end, it is about his safety, the safety of others, and his choices. i think that riding a motorcycle might be better than a car, being that the same would happen with a car that weighs five or six times as much and is much larger.

strong work for your dad still riding at 80.

d.

edit: i've been riding much longer than 10 years and screwups still happen.... like dropping the bike at low speed and so on. i haven't done that for a bit, but there was this time in the home depot parking lot.... i have no idea how i did it, but dropped my old triumph. only my pride and a bar end mirror were damaged.

[Gogar]

Sorry to hear!

Give him the time to heal and see what he thinks about it. Maybe he will make some decisions on his own that you agree with and you won't have to have a tough talk.

[Noah930]

Glad your dad didn't suffer worse injury.

I think it's a personal choice, when to hang up the helmet. As you get older, you may have the physical abilities and mental faculties to ride, but your body certainly loses its constitutional ability to bounce back from injury. It's not the riding--it's the crashing that you can no longer handle. At least that's what I've concluded from my time in the ER. (Those new Indians are beautiful, BTW.)

Considerate that you think of others' safety on the road, but for better or worse, I don't think motorcycles put much of the rest of the motoring public at risk. Some risk, sure. But not nearly the same level of risk were he in a cage.

[Seahawk]

My father rode until he died of cancer at 84.

He was sick for a relatively short period of time but I was able to spend a lot of time with him. He wanted me to take his sports car off his hands but wouldn't think of moving his motorcycle out of his garage.

He loved to ride...having his Harley near kept that dream alive.

Tough call. If he can't ride any more, that conversation is going to be aweful.

[1990C4S]

No. More. Bikes.

Either scenario you suggest as the root cause leads to the same decision.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Tough call. If he can't ride any more, that conversation is going to be aweful.

He's sharp enough right now to make that call, I believe. Plus I have tried a few tough conversations with him. Bwa ha ha ha. He handed me my ass. He's his own man.

My brother and I were just talking about keeping the Indian in his garage if he decides to not take chances. I have yet to see it but he has taken me to the Gastonia, NC Indian dealership a time or two over the last five years. He has had his eye on one, long time.

How do you crack a shoulder blade?

[cstreit]

You know, if he's 80 and can still make it happen, I'd let him ride. Sure ask him the question though...

Glad he made it out without anything too bad....

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

No. More. Bikes.

Either scenario you suggest as the root cause leads to the same decision.

Please don't confuse me with common sense.

He spends hours every day on MC forums between trips to the rest home to visit Mom who is "with it" but not ambulatory (stroke).

MC's are his big fun as well as mentoring folks across the globe with eating disorders. He is truly a good man. Sings in a choir, church, etc but will watch Goodfellas with me and love it.

The next few months will tell the tale.

Thank you for the input.

[1990C4S]

The good thing about a bike is he is only likely to hurt himself, cars are more dangerous,

Perhaps he would rather take the risks than live without the excitement, in that case it's his choice.

[nynor]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

snip

How do you crack a shoulder blade?

it happens. especially with older folks with brittle bones.

[HardDrive]

Let the man ride.

[yetibone]

Bob, I hope I'm as young as your Dad when I'm 80.

I believe that he should decide when to park the motorsickle, but still, he ought to hear about your concerns for his safety too.

[Dixie]

Life is short. My father is 95. He gave up tracking his Porsche at 91. He replaced it with a Cam Am Spyder. He's 95 and loves riding it. He's survived flying combat in WWII, Korea, and 'Nam, so I figure WTH, let him ride!

[tevake]

Your dad looks great there on his machine Capt.

Good on ya, Papa Carrera !

Here's hoping your Dad heals well and can get bact to what he loves, Bob.

Cheers Richard

[Hard-Deck]

Bob and Capt Carrera, I really want to meet your dads; they are giants!

[Seabear]

Bob, as HardDrive said "Let the man ride".
Bob and Capt, your Dads are giants!!

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Please don't confuse me with common sense.

He spends hours every day on MC forums between trips to the rest home to visit Mom who is "with it" but not ambulatory (stroke).

MC's are his big fun as well as mentoring folks across the globe with eating disorders. He is truly a good man. Sings in a choir, church, etc but will watch Goodfellas with me and love it.

The next few months will tell the tale.

Thank you for the input.

I think he is going to find a new home at the gym, and I think he could easily make a transition from a motorcycle to a new or used Miata, which a lot of people do. The new ND is a really fun and good looking car, and the previous generation NC is really affordable now.

Often an ending can become a new beginning. Here's wishing your Dad a full recovery.

FWIW, my FIL totalled his airplane and was able to walk away. It ended his flying days, but he managed the transition and is still active years later.

[jhynesrockmtn]

My buddy's Dad got back in a race car wheel to wheel in a vintage FV at 79. He raced in the 60's and 70's and has stayed active with DE instructing etc. over the years. At his last race I mentioned to my friend that Dad had passed under yellow, missed the starter signal for his lane assignment and had run me into the wall on the straight at full song. I had white concrete marks embedded in those tires I could not clean out :-)

Late in the day he was in a hard accident, rolled and suffered a bad concussion. The wreck was primarily caused by another 70+ year old racer but I think his Dad shared some responsibility. The biggest issue for the last 2 years has been recovering from that concussion. He became depressed, irritable, etc. I would watch him closely and get a neuro eval is that hasn't happened yet. If severe, concussion recovery requires a lot of rest, limiting stimulation, etc. Also, the scapula is a tough recovery, I've been through that in my 40's.

Best of luck to him, sounds like a great guy!

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Not really a full "wipe out" but dropped his Kawasaki Vulcan when putting home in his hood. Shattered ankle, cracked his scapula and suffered a concussion. Thank the higher power for the helmet.

Bummer is he is not sure if he passed out or just screwed up. Concussion blotted out recollection. He's been riding almost daily for ten years so doubt a screw up.

He is 80 and has just bought a brand new Indian Scout.

As much as I am afraid of him passing out at speed, I am kinda thinking take the months necessary to knit and get back out there if a relapse does not occur.

On the other hand, there is risk to others if he is hindered.

Thoughts?

Glad it wasn't worse.

I say let him do what he wants until it presents a danger to others. Sounds like your Dad would know when that time comes but as his son, you of course should stay tuned in to the situation.

I was watching a TV show last night where two teams competed in customizing a motorcycle and the one that was featured last night was an Indian Scout - brand new. Looked like an incredible machine. Your Dad has great taste!