Hello everyone. It is old Chris Corbin again. For those who dont remember me, I am the guy who got blown up in feb this year, and lost both of my legs, below the knee. I was asking for information on jockey shifts.

Well, some offered some good advice as to who to contact, and one even suggested that i use the "heel/toe" shifter. Well, I wasn't agile enough, or, rather, I couldn't bend my leg far enough back to kick the heel shift down, without a significant amount of pain. So, i went with Labriola Machine. Their product line looked great. However, after waiting 9 weeks for delivery (2-3 weeks was promised) along with multiple phone calls that were never answered, and messages that were never returned, i canceled payment on my credit card. About two weeks later, I got a phone call, from them, asking for their parts back. They had just shipped last week (10 weeks after my order) and they noticed that i had stopped payment. So, being a good sport, I called my mechanic, to see if they had gotten a package from Labriola Machine. He had, it had just came in two days prior. So, i called them back, and sent payment, on the same credit card that i had originally ordered from. I had my bike back to the mechanics to have my new parts installed, and...... we opened the box, to find used parts, not what i had ordered, and no shift lever, no mounting plate, no clutch cable. So, i canceled the payment to them.... again.... WTF?

Next, I fell into a deal on a side car bike. A 1990 FLHTC, with a S&S 96, with a factory sidecar! All for $8,000.00!!!!! So I separated the two, sold the bike, and stripped down the side car to have it powder coated and painted to match my bike. It turned out great!

Shifting issue is still not resolved.... So i tried Pingel. I ordered their electronic shifter. 950 bones, and it shifted at the touch of a button! Too cool! However...... it quit working on my latest road trip, from NC to NY. So, i am shifting with my hands, which completely sucked azz. Then, all of the sudden, it started working again. It downshifted rapidly, frmo 6th gear, at 70 MPH, in a right hand curve in the mountains of Pennsylvania! It hit 5th, then 4th, then 3rd before i could pull the clutch in, and then it went to 2nd, and 1st, and repeatedly fired in "downshift mode" as i coasted to a stop. I sat on the side of I-81 South, and watched it try to downshift 15-20 more times before I killed the engine. I pulled out my trusty Benchmade knife, and cut the cable, thus ending it's frenzied downshifting...

I now have a "heel/toe" setup, on my sidecar bike, and it is doing fine. teh Pingel shifter is headed back to Pingel, as it almost killed me, I am not happy with it. It was right in the middle of a right hand turn, with me, my girlfriend, and my dog (dog in side car) and as it downshifted, the side car tire came off of the ground, and I had to run on the shoulder, almost hitting the guard rail, to get it settled back down. All this happened with my dad riding his bike behind me. Imagine his horror, as his son, a combat wounded, double amputated, Green Beret, almost got tossed off of a mountain while trying to enjoy his American made motorcycle, across American......

Also, as was commented on one of my posts by BADPIGGY, the Titan series amps from Biketronics..... yup, he was right, it quit on me, on a road trip from NC to MO last month. i hadn't had it on for more than two weeks yet! The right speakers went silent. So when i returned from that trip, i ripped off the amp, and now run without one. Stereo sounds great. Also on stereos.... Hells Foundry made speaker pods for my chopped tourpack..... One of them came apart from the sun, the other came apart from the rain..... So I wont be using them again either. Besides, my girlfriend said that when we were moving, she couldnt hear the rear speakers anyhow, so i am getting handlebar mounted speakers, and will be running them as the "rear" channel from my 4 channel radio. The Sony that i got, also from Biketronics site, is awesome! It stored the IPOD "inside" of it, and works as a media player with no plug ins! It still has AM/FM, SAT and all, but I rarely use them. I get some of my play lists together, and rock them the whole time.


So, now, I am looking into detaching the side car next year, and going back to riding a two wheeler. But on the highway, I still get "numb legs" and am afraid that if i sit for an hour on the super slab, and try to pull in for gas, that i wont be able to support my bike, and crash into a gas pump! lol! How embarrassing that would be! So, has anyone used, or know anyone that has used, LEGUP LANDING GEAR? It looks great, but I would like to hear form someone who has it installed on their ride.

thanks for listening.
corb

 

You Rock Dude.

A Hero in so many ways.

Thanks, Mike

 

You are my F****n Hero. Thanks for what you gave to this country!

 

Well it sure sounds like you have been to Hell and back...Chris you are an inspiration to so many..Hang in there and uh.. be careful..

 

THANKS Chris for the update , your are a true hero , God Bless , ride safe and enjoy

 

It's not enough, but all I can say is thank you, God bless you and congratulations on your bike. I hope you have lots of happy miles on it.

 

I can't help you with landing gear but I do recall your previous post. Sounds like you aren't giving up. Very inspirational... Once again, thank you for your selfless sacrifice.

 

Chris -

YOU ROCK! Thanks for putting things back into perspective for me. Kinda makes my posts about my noisy primary sound a little bit trivial. Your original post and this update remind me that our heroes are real people, and the picture of your dog in the sidecar made me smile. THANK YOU!

Mike
Wooster, OH

 

Badass looking bike, cool looking dog, and I finally realize what the hell is the point of Legup Landing Gear... I figured geriatrics would just get a geria-trike but I had failed to consider our otherwise able-bodied heroes needing a low-speed work-around.

I don't know about the Landing gear specifically but after your adventure with the Pingel, the obvious worry is what will happen in the event of a catastrophic failure. If they default to "down", well that would suck in a corner but if they fail in the up position, you are going down too... I would want double- or triple-redundant systems.

p.s. You probably get sick of hearing it so I will only say it once: Thank you for your service.

 

As the others said you are a true hero. Thank you for serving so w can all be safe and enjoy this beautiful country of ours. I'm sorry to hear about all the troubles you've been through but you are one determined young man. I love that pic of you and your dog.