Hi there-

The short story is that I'm a former CCS club-level roadracer, and was forced off the track into the steel armco at Virginia International Raceway on 9/24/05. I have virtually no memory of the crash- I woke up about a month later in the hospital in Durham, NC, without my right arm- the stump is about 10" long; they were forced to amputate it right at the elbow. The punch line is that, when the red flag (stopping the round) came out, the guy I collided with calmly pulled off the track, pushed his bike into his van, and drove away! Never did find out who it was, and the race league was notably unhelpful.

Anywho, I'm here to find out how to ride again. Fortunately, my head injury caused no permanent ill effect, but obviously, there are issue staying on a bike safely. The default solution seems to be either a trike or a sidecar rig- anyone with experience- your opinion is welcome.

Dennis,

I know Harley Davidson has plans to develop a Trike in the near future, and there are great manufactures, modifiers for side cars too.

Try this link: http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/DISBresourcelistings.asp

It will give you some great choices, Dennis...

Continue your visits, Dennis, let us know how your choices develop..OK?

Dennis
I am a rider with a permanent back disability. My Dr. told me that the only way I could ride again was to put training wheels on my Harley. He was joking, I was not laughing. See www.mtcvoyager.com A few months later I had made my conversion. Actually my "trike" has four wheels. With the Voyager conversion kit you just bolt it on. Brakes/power/etc stay with the center rear wheel. Took a few hundred miles to get graceful with it, but now I would not trade it for the world. I can't see why you could not ride it with just one arm as I usually only use one except when making a real tight 90 degree plus turn, then I use one arm to push one side of handlebar and the other arm to pull the opposite handle bar. It could be done with one but I am lazy and use both. Get a bike tricked first so you don't have to use two hands to work throttle/clutch, then purchase the Voyager add on kit (just over 4 grand) to give you the stability you will need. Write with any questions or for pics.
God Bless and good luck
Rich

Dennis, here is info to Convert your existing Bike in to a Trike..just copy and past in your browser to take a look at it. or go to the link on " Bikers Accident Survivor Form ", and click on Motorcycle Conversions under Biker Stores.

http://www.kingmanaz.net/~kgbikers/index.html

Hope it helps in your decision..

Garry

On AMA's website there is a something about a Harley Davidson racer who lost his arm and he still drives a bike. Mert Lawwill a former racer and made an change so he could drive. hope this helps.
Cat

Thanks! I have seen those sites and talked with Mert about my situation. A key problem is that I have no right elbow, and a myoelectric prosthesis, which will not accept typical terminal devices like Mert's without expensive mods. The lack of elbow makes it challenging to safely attach my right side to the bike at all. I was hoping to find a rider who's overcome this sort of situation already.

Hi Blue. You should be able to ride a bike again. I'm a one arm rider (from broken neck and BPI). I only have use of my right arm. What I did was move the clutch to the right side, underneath my brake. I also added additional switches to tap into the stock left switch housing for blinkers and whatnot. It takes a bit to get use to the setup, but nothing some practice would take care of.

Below is my blog page from another website, but browse through, might give you some ideas. You can move things to the left side. The trickiest part is the throttle, but it has been done.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/BBS/viewtopic.php?t=17150

Every so often, something positive smacks you in the face...

Went to a bike show here in Baltimore last week to meet up with some trike builders, and found someone to trike my Triumph! If all goes according to plan (and hope) I'll be back on the road for the summer!

Yahoooo brother Blue !!!!!

My best wishes to you bro,,!! Keep us up to date and let us know who this builder is thats going to do this for ya.. ok!!

Concrats " Blue "...YES

It all depends on how much you are able to use the arm with a prosthesis. If you have a prosthesis that lets you match arm lengths and gives you the ability to grasp a handlebar then there are several options that I could suggest.

I have partial paralysis in my right arm that does not allow me to operate any controls with my right hand. I can only grasp and hang on. This is due to a birth injury. It has not kept me from 17 years of two and three wheel riding. It just takes a bit of ingenuity.

You will find most of what you need at the Disabled Riders of America website (see the link below)

http://disabledriders.com

I am the member called Don at that website.

Another recource you might want to look at is the AMA disabled riders resource page:

http://www.ama-cycle.org/roadride/DISBresourcelistings.asp

Recent developments such as automatic clutches and automatic transmission conversions are making it a lot easier and cheeper for disabled riders to ride.

Don Honeycutt (Suquamish WA)

Don,

Thank you for taking the time to vist "Bikers Accident Survivor Forum" and giving your support in the Riding with 1 arm? section.
Your welcome to visit any time, and we look forward to your company when your time will allow Don.

With greatest respect,

Garry Van Kirk
Bikers Accident Survivor Forum
www.bacsuv.com