Another 490 story...graphic

[RCannon]

I had to drive through an area I rarely go through. I remembered one other adventure I had on the 490.

I was riding about 50 miles west of town. Parallel to the train tracks. It was somewhere around 1985. Most of the train tracks here have access roads to get crews or maintenance vehicles anywhere on the system.

I am going down one of the various roads when I see a sight that stopped me in my tracks. It was a body. The throat had been cut, the body dragged and deposited near a few large sections of sagebrush. How did I know it had been dragged since CSI was not on tv at the time? Easy. I saw TWO trails of blood out each side of the neck. Very alarming.

[babyarmholdingapple]

Had your coffee yet?

[RCannon]

Not really the bikes fault, I suppose, but what an awful thing to see.

[CAD EVO]

I saw a body hanging on the outside of a culvert when i was about 10 years old. To bad i wasnt on a yammie 490 when i saw it.

My coffee is greeeeaaaatt.

[babyarmholdingapple]

So I guy was playing, sleeping, suiciding, murdering, via train?

[USED YZ426F]

Holy Crap! Did you have a bad dream last night? What on earth would lead you to posting that story first thing in the morning?

Maybe you should stop eating spicy food right before bed.

My coffee is smooth and strong this morning. Just wish I had a cinnamon roll to go with it.

[RCannon]

As I recall the deal turned out to be a murder suicide pact that was only halfway carried out. That is when I learned one very important lesson. If ever involved in one of these pacts, never go first.

I went and got my dad. He worked for the Railroad and had a key to activate the "phone" a few miles away.

Why was this the 490's fault? Thats easy too. My hands were too numb ban beat up to do any sort of technical riding. Give me a smooth bike or rubber mounted triple clamp and I woudl have been 3 miles in the oposite direction.

[RCannon]

As I recall the deal turned out to be a murder suicide pact that was only halfway carried out. That is when I learned one very important lesson. If ever involved in one of these pacts, never go first.

I went and got my dad. He worked for the Railroad and had a key to activate the "phone" a few miles away.

Why was this the 490's fault? Thats easy too. My hands were too numb ban beat up to do any sort of technical riding. Give me a smooth bike or rubber mounted triple clamp and I would have been 3 miles in the opposite direction.

The crazy thing is, I did dream of it last night. Being one of the first, or maybe the first, to find such a horrible thing really leaves a scar.

[ThumperKid250F]

damn 490

[rsks]

well................GOOOOOOOOD MORNIN'

[shrubitup]

Any self respecting 490 rider would've pinned it and been in another state (perhaps euphoria?) by then.

I gotcha. The extreme vibrations kept you from high tailing it which is too bad especially since you got to dream about it last night.

[Pincushion]

[BriAnJG054]

that would definitely freak me right out. The strangest thing I have ever seen is a moose about 15 ft from me on the trail. Now that was scary. I turned around and hauled all the way home. When I got to my house I ghost rid the bike into my garage and ran inside. I still didnt feel very safe so I hid in the closet. Everything was all good in the morning though.

[USED YZ426F]

I almost hit a mule deer on the trail once. Came around the corner and there he was. Slammed on the brakes and just missed hitting him. He just looked at me and wandered into the brush.

I did see a semi-truck hit an elk on I-90. He was westbound and I was eastbound in the Cascade Mountains in Washington State.

The elk actually exploded when the truck hit it at probably 60-65 mph. Poor thing didn't stand a chance.

[scalejockey]

I read the book,it freaked me out,but i still can't think of the title.

Got it... stand by me.

[scalejockey]

I remember my 85 490.It WAS A nightmare!!

[Britincali]

It was the 490s fault, let me explain why....

If you had bee on ANY other bike you would'nt have found the body as you were riding the 490 really slow due to a massive ping that occured at anything over 1/8th throttle. The bike had been running fine all morning but the temperature outside changed by .05 of a degree and cause the sledgehammer ping thus allowing you to see a body you would have normally been doing 70+ MPH past.

( I love 490s really )

[SpDyKen]

Yes, R.C., I too had some trouble with my 490 graphics.

But it wasn't too bad......

[mks yz]

yeah seeing that kind of stuff stays with you and occasionally sneaks up on you... as for something scary on a dirt bike i was involve in a forced game of chicken on a narrow trail with a griz when i was living in alaska.. the griz won and me and the old dr350 invented a detour through the creek and over the mountain

[USED YZ426F]

yeah seeing that kind of stuff stays with you and occasionally sneaks up on you... as for something scary on a dirt bike i was involve in a forced game of chicken on a narrow trail with a griz when i was living in alaska.. the griz won and me and the old dr350 invented a detour through the creek and over the mountain

That actually made me think of Wyle E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons. I could just imagine you pulling out a paint brush and drawing a tunnel through the mountain. Was that an ACME DR350?