Posted on 07/19/2004 9:01:53 AM PDT by BluegrassScholar
Town of Waukesha - Motorcyclist Daniel Buckel was within 10 feet when he saw the potential disaster stretched across a dark and foggy rural road just ahead.
Disbelief turned to fear, then anger, as Buckel's 2-year-old motorcycle hit a barrier of kitchen-variety plastic wrap that was wound thickly from traffic pole to traffic pole on opposite sides of Guthrie Road, south of Highway I.
The clear plastic trap, which was 3 to 4 feet above the two-lane road south of Waukesha, sent both Buckel and his passenger, girlfriend Theresa Brzykcy, into a bloody slide across the asphalt.
"It's appalling, and it's really frightening," Brzykcy said. "What was their intention? This should make people more aware that pranks like that are not as harmless as they seem.
"They had done a pretty thorough job. It was wrapped around pretty thickly," she recalled.
The malicious prank has Waukesha County sheriff's investigators concerned because other capers involving plastic wrap occurred in the town last year, although none was as serious as the motorcycle crash early Tuesday, Sheriff's Detective Steve Pederson said Friday.
Investigators were planning to canvass homes near the crash site this weekend, looking for information that will lead to a break in the case.
"When something like this happens someone always brags about it," Pederson said. "If anyone has heard anything about this or any other incident involving (plastic) wrap, contact us.
"Maybe someone had seen this happen or removed (plastic) wrap from other areas," he said. "We'd like to know about it."
Last year, a number of parked cars were found bound in plastic wrap to prevent drivers from getting inside the vehicles, Pederson said. Plastic wrap bonds together, giving it strength and making it difficult to remove.
Pederson said investigators were unaware of other incidents of wrap being stretched across a road.
The couple's injuries sent both to Waukesha Memorial Hospital. Buckel, 22, of the Town of Waukesha, required 15 stitches to close a deep gash above his right eye and also broke a finger. Brzykcy, 19, of Brookfield, got a deep cut and bruise to her right cheek along with other scrapes and bruises. The motorcycle was a total loss, Buckel said.
The 1 a.m. ride was supposed to be a short one meant to relax the couple, who have known each other for more than a year. He had just left his bartending job, and she was waiting for him at his family home. Earlier she had taken his mother to a medical appointment.
Buckel said he was driving 5 mph under the 45 mph speed limit because the motorcycle headlight had shone on deer along the road and there was a slight haze from ground fog in the low-lying area.
"I didn't see it," Brzykcy said of the barrier. "He braked so hard I figured it was a deer. My first hit was on him, which totally saved me. Then, I landed on my head (on the road). Everything went white and yellow and red, and I blacked out for a while. I woke up on my back, laying in a driveway."
Buckel, fueled by anger and concern for Brzykcy, fought off his own pain and called 911 on his cell phone, he said. Among the first emergency personnel to arrive was Beckel's best friend, Scott Sommers, a member of the Town of Waukesha Fire Department.
"I ran over to my girlfriend and looked around to see if the pranksters were still around," Buckel said. "I didn't see anyone. When my friend arrived, it made things a lot easier to cope with."
NO, the intake from under the boat was a lousy design, and they used iron manifolds wiich caused massive corrosion.
Chirs Craft made very poor salt water boats back then.
We didn't run them long, but they sure were fun at a party.
For an old fogie, what is the Meatloaf paraphrase?
So it would appear. ;0)
Thanks for the heads-up. I wonder if Ape Hangers would be a good defense against the Neck Wire?
Looks like he was wearing a helmet. Good for him. Probably saved his life.
I'd say yes. And as a bonus they'd keep your pits aired out....
I dunno. That nerf mark above his left eye tells me he either wasn't wearing one, or it slid waaaaay up during the accident.
This entire thread is out of control!!
No comment.
<|:-)~~
Yea. Definitely yea.
Not only that, put performance pipes with baffles with outperform straight pipes. You need some reversion, even if it's just a set of power cones on the end.
I don't believe it for a moment. Even without looking, I'll tell you those are dirt bikes, not Harley's.
Looks like the helmet did ride up a bit. Note the largely symetrical bruises above the eyes, as if this is where the pads of the open-faced helmet were pushed into the flesh. The strange marks across the cheek is probably from the creases in the plastic where he hit it, but his scalp is largely clear. But the real clue is the bruising on the chin, as the plastic wrap tried to pull the helmet off his head, the chin cup was forced up, leaving a characteristic mark. On the left side of his jawline you can even see the outline of the strap.
I would have responded with 50 pounds of sugar beet seeds in his nicely manicured lawn.
After a particularly nasty "prank" that cost several hundred dollars to repair, I once responded with writing nasty things in the culprit's lawn with about 10 pounds of well oiled sodium, shortly before it rained.
Thank goodness the statute of limitations expired on that one many years ago.
Mark
Actually, that's what we did at the stadium. We poured the seeds in the shape of our school initials. Those poor souls didn't realize it until the following fall.
One other particularly nasty trick is (just before a moderate rainfall) pour a few bags of cement on a lawn in the shape you want. Let the rain do the rest of the work.
100% on the money!! (and I found something to talk about!!)
V-twins valve geometry have a minimal % of overlap where both valves are open. Straight pipes and over baffled pipes fail the basic designs by not allowing the exhaust gases room to create a vacuum from that overlap which pulls more air into the chamber thus making a bigger boom in the chamber giving you more HP.
That extended valve opening works with the same principal as an automatic pistol chambering a round works, thru spent gases.
A 2into1 or even a false 2into1 creates that suction.
Me - I have a set of hooker exhaust on stock pipes with adjustable baffles. Left side closed all the way, right side open - false 2into1. Give me that throaty low rumble, except when I nail it and blue flame shoots out, front wheel jumps off the ground and everybody takes pictures while I ride a full dress wheelie through 2nd gear!!!
(gotta rejet and retime, oh did I mention the 110 octane race fuel available at the local Sunoco??)
<|:-)~~
Next time perhaps he'll wear a full-face helmet. Looks like he used to have a pretty good-looking face.
I expect he will again. Doesn't look like he broke anything, nose, jaw, cheek bones, etc., no bad lacerations, any scars he gets will probably just add character to his face.
Sometimes it's GOOD to be a guy...
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