The crash of "Nellie-Bel"

Among the many things that I have learned in my nearly 67 years is this adage told to me by a friend of mine 30 years ago; If you ride a motorcycle, "The question is not will I have an accident, it is when will I have it "

In April of this year we had invited some relatives from Michigan to come down and enjoy some time with us. Venita had made plans to rent two cabins near a lake and not only to enjoy their company but this was a great way for her and I to also "escape" for a week and have a good time with them.

Among the planned activities was for the three males in this group to ride two of my GL's into the mountains to get away and to wind through some curves on the way. I had planned the route and it was an easy ride for both machine and riders. Sweeping curves and long straights were included copiously. No hairpins or switchbacks or heavy traffic were included in the itinerary. On the morning of the ride, the three of us (2 adults and one young man) came back to our home to suit up, fuel up and have a great ride.

We left fairly early at around 10:00 A.M. and set out for a fun day. Our journey was to take us to Lenior City, Vonore, Tellico Plains, The Beach Drive-In (best chili dogs in the nation), Cherohala Skyway, Tennessee State line and return via Ten Mile, Kingston and the back way home.

We stopped at the Hardy's Restaurant in Vonore to get a cool drink and check out how we were doing thus far. Because I knew the roads, I was leading and my nephew was my passenger. Leon was riding Nellie Bel and up to this point he was having the time of his life.

Leon had previously owned and operated a GL1200 and I was OK with him driving my bike. He was so excited about the ride that day that you could see the enthusiasm as soon as he threw his leg over the saddle and we left the house.

We left Hardy's and headed for Tellico Plains on Hwy 360 with me once more in the lead. About 5 miles down the hi way we came to a left hand banked easy sweeping curve. I was traveling about 45 mph on Pennie Lee (see my trips to Bristol Motor Speedway and my eight state ride on the Bucket list)

I entered the curve and as I came out the other end, the image in my mirror was Leon and he was now traveling at a right angle to the roadway. I quickly turned the bike around and went back to find Nellie on her right side tangled in a barbed wire fence. Leon was standing near her shaken and bruised but OK. When I pulled up to him I asked if he was alright and he said "yes" but angry that he had gone down on my bike. Normally I would have had my camera with me but that day I had left it at home. Leon explained that the bike made a noise just before he entered the curve and he slowed down. His attention momentarily diverted he had somehow lost control and went off the road.

Struggling, the three of us were able to pull her out from under the barbed wire. Once upright we put her on the bent side stand while in gear to prevent her from rolling off it. If you look at the picture above closely you will see two puddles of oil on either side and beneath her valve covers, or at least what was left of them.

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Some how Nellie had gotten herself injured on both sides and primarily both valve covers. We later determined that when I had seen Leon at a right angle to the roadway, he in fact had already been down on the left side. The road branched off into a "Y" and when he left the main road and onto the dirt shoulder the bike was going down on her left. Then when she had gotten back onto the "Y" branch of the secondary road, the left lower portion of the engines left valve cover hit the pavement and she then began to roll to the right. When I had seen Leon he was on his way to impacting the right valve cover and the major damage.

Nellie Bel has 107000 miles on the clock and the last 50 feet were the roughest trip she had ever taken. I hoped that she had not sustained any cam or valve damage on either side but I was most worried about her right side injuries. She was a mess.

Leon and my nephew stayed with the bike while I went back the 50 miles or so to get the trailer. After she was loaded, we went home and due to my schedule she remained broken for two months in the back of my garage.

This last weekend (July 6th and 7th) my daughter Chris and I rolled her out into the bay and began the surgery to make her a whole bike again. Her damage was pretty well limited to the covers but the right mirror was destroyed, the handle bars were badly bent, along with the front brake lever, the tach cover was scraped, the right rear turn signal was damaged as was the right belt cover, side stand and the right back cover. My fear that internal damage had happened was eliminated when we checked the valve lash and to my pleasant surprise the lash was spot on. I was very pleased about that.

I painted the replacement valve covers black so as to illustrate or perhaps to commemorate that each had been broken. I also installed my spare Corbin Gunfighter seat to give her a sporty new look. I am pleased to let you know that she still runs very well and I am glad to have her back. I took her out for a 50 mile ride Tuesday and I had a big grin the whole time I was gone.

Nellie Bel lives once again.

If you have questions on this page please email me at petesgl@comcast.net and mention the crash of Nellie Bel

Pistol Pete