Tragedy after Ian's birthday bash at X-Centre

Jun 10, 2006
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Posted - 15 Nov 2007 : 15:25:47

Fantastic Night had by everyone till after the event ended which resulted in One Seriously Damaged Honda CRV only 150 metres after leaving the X-Centre.
And One Immaculate Ducati Monster being Seriously damaged a week after a Total Rebuild and only 150 Metres from his House My Thoughts are with Both these Guys who i feel really Bad for. Hope all can be repaired OK and Sorry it happened.
Cheers
Ian


Actually it was not 150 metres but 15 metres from his driveway. Way past midnight, it was pitch dark where Desmomonstro crashed, and I was quite a bit behind as I couldn't keep up with him, since Desmomonstro of course knows this narrow winding road through the country side very well.

So I didn't really see what happened, just saw sparks in the darkness and lights going in all directions, and I instantly knew trouble was around the corner... literally!

I entered the corner cautiously with my heart in my throat, and when my headlight lit up the scene, I felt very relieved that I saw Desmomonstro already crawling around! At least he was alive and moving!

I pulled over, and immediately asked Fabrice if he was alright. He said he was, although in the glow of my headlight the shoulder and elbow of his mesh jacket looked like Fabrice had just fended off a chainsaw attack!

Together we started to lift up his Monster. If we both had not been 'shell shocked' by the unexpected crash seconds before, the following event would have been quite hilarious.

Perhaps Fabrice was still dazed from the crash, and I don't know whether he kept lifting/pushing the bike past the point where it was vertical again, or if he just lost his balance, but the Monster fell over to the other side, down the shoulder of the road.

Being the caring Ducatisti that he is, Fabrice held on to the falling Monster in a desperate but futile attempt to prevent any damage to the side of the bike that presumably came unscathed out of the crash.

Alas, for a second time in less than a minute, Fabrice had to admit defeat and lost control of his beloved Monster, which, with the skilled move of a well-trained wrestler, threw him over flying into the ditch.

At that point, I looked around to see if there was a hidden camera crew filming this rather ridiculous scene, as it was worthy of a sketch in Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Crawling to his feet for a second time, Fabrice expressed quite a few words of disbelief in his native French. Together we proceeded to lift the bike up again and push it back up on to the road, this time making sure it didn't tilt over to the other side.

Fabrice started fiddling with his cell phone. I thought he was trying to call his wife, which I found rather strange as it would have been faster to just walk over to the house or even shout, as we were not more than 30 meters away from his front door.

As I noticed that Fabrice was pushing far more phone buttons than required to retrieve his wife's phone number from the mobile's memory, I started to wonder if he was sending an SMS to David Lek (a.k.a. Snail on GT-R) in New Zealand asking him to return urgently to CNX to start rebuilding the Monster all over again. Or maybe he was SMS-ing a request for Ducati parts to fellow GT-R JohnnyE who is currently on a business trip in California?

Given the time of night and the situation we were in after the 'experience' we had just lived, I found it a bit bizarre or at least inappropriate to start playing with a cell phone. Maybe Fabrice had fallen on his head?

So I asked Fabrice WTF he was doing. He mumbled something about trying to switch on the light.
"What light?", I asked.
"The light on my cell phone" he replied.

Next thing I know, Fabrice walks down the road's shoulder and into the bushes surrounding his property, bending over and waving a small beam of LED light from his trick mobile phone across the grass and undergrowth.

"What are you doing, Fabrice?", I asked, becoming increasingly concerned that he had indeed hit his head in the crash.

As we both still had our helmets on, and I was wearing ear plugs, I didn't understand his answer. I had to repeat my question twice before I understood that he was looking for the Monster's seat cowl that had been ripped off in the crash.

The LED light of his phone wasn't strong enough so I moved my bike around and lit up the area with my head light, finally enabling us to find the missing part.

I opened the gate and pushed the Monster down the driveway and into the light at the back of the house, so that we could assess the damage. The Monster, which had just been meticulously rebuilt by David Lek, and which sported a better-than-new paint job, now was a sore sight to see. It looked like a real mess.

One glance was enough to realize that Desmomonstro had done a terrific job in a botched attempt at 'reverse engineering' David Lek's immaculate restoration job.

A quick assessment showed that a lot of parts were up for repair or replacement: front mudguard, headlight fairing, forks, tank, seat cowl & brackets, handlebars, brake levers (front and rear), foot peg, indicators, mirrors, possibly the clutch.

A closer inspection might well reveal more damage, but we first had to tend to Fabrice's wounds. Asking where he kept his 'house pharmacy', Fabrice replied he didn't have any. I just couldn't believe this. There should even be a first aid kit in his car.

So I decided to phone Fabrice's wife to wake her up, as I was sure she would know where to find some disinfectant and first aid materials in their house. My phone call apparently woke her up from a deep sleep because she first didn't grasp what I was on about.

But she also failed to come up with the first aid kit. Meanwhile, upon my orders, Fabrice had begun scrubbing the tar flakes out of his wounds with a rough sponge and dishwashing liquid.

I insisted that we should get some disinfectant to treat the wounds with. Next thing, he asked his wife to handle him the bottle of gin and started pouring gin over his bleeding wounds!

Just seeing his grimaces was enough to make me squirm... I felt like screaming in his place, as I realized this was ferociously painful. But let me tell you, Fabrice is one tough nut! After pouring half a bottle of gin over his knee, he handed me the bottle to pour the rest on his elbow...

It was past 1 a.m. when his wife drove Fabrice to the nearest hospital for further treatment, while I rode back to Hang Dong. The 42 kms back to my place took me a lot longer than expected, as I stupidly ran out of petrol and all the petrol stations on Hang Dong Rd were closed. Running out of gas has only happened to me a few times in 35 years of motorcycling, but this time the timing was very, very wrong...

When I phoned my wife from the X-centre at around 10.30 p.m., I told her that I was about to leave the party and come home as the party was winding down. She reminded me to ride carefully, as we were going to get married the next morning.

(On a side note: this sudden marriage is probably a big surprise for those who know us, but to put this in perspective, some family members back in Belgium had suggested that it might not be a bad idea for us to finally tie the knot now that we have two young kids, even if it was only for the sake of avoiding inheritance issues if one of us would pass away unexpectedly.)

But that was before disaster struck! Before Mrs Long and Miss Gung required my presence on the dance floor at the X-centre when I was about to leave, and before Desmomonstro's crash, and before running out of petrol...

Instead of coming home at a decent hour (just past 11 p.m. I had told her on the phone), it was nearly 4 a.m. before my head met my pillow.

Can someone please call my hopefully-still-wife-to-be and confirm my story, and tell her that the party was indeed Ian's birthday bash, and not my stag party! And that I didn't end up sleeping with the katoey stripper my buddies had hired for the event...

And please tell her that I still really want to get married...
 
Sep 19, 2006
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www.chiangmai-xcentre.com
WOW!!! More stories coming out of the Wood work. Sorry to all involved in these disasters. I will post a Photo of the CRV Later but if you have one of the Monster maybe you can post that?
 
Oct 17, 2006
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Thats tragic about the bike but good that no one is Dead, but there seems to have been some comic moments too, i reckon that in a years time you fabrice will look back and chuckle.
 
Dec 26, 2006
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Yup funny story !!!
I m more than allright ,,seems to be less than nothing afterwards as i was walking without any problem the next day .
Mostly same for the monster ,,which just needs a bit of paint and a new rearset ...
cheers
fabrice
 
Mar 15, 2003
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www.daveearly.com
quote:

Originally posted by Ian Bungy

Glad to hear you are all right Mate, Really i can not explain how Sorry i am it happened but the Main thing is you are OK. All the Best and see you soon.








Same Fabrice. Glad you and the bike are basically OK.
 

DavidFL

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Jan 16, 2003
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Chiang Khong
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Good on you Fabrice - alive & "well" & still riding. Glad it was nothing more serious.
Perhaps we will have to appoint a GT Rider "Fabrice minder" whenever there is free beer on tap.
Lucky too for all the other Ducati riders going on that Duke tour of Nan before bike week, as they might have lost their leader.

Any chance of some photos your bike, jacket & wounds?
I'd really like to see the jacket - how good or bad it was protecting you at low speed. Email me the pics if you can't upload them.
 

Pikey

www.tbbtours.com
Like the others, glad you survived your spill Fabrice. However, if what I am told is true and you were full of beer, then I will call you "a complete twat". Fellow GT riders know that I like my beer very much, and also my bikes, but one thing - I keep them separate. If I have got it wrong and you were straight, sincere apologies. But if you were full of piss, then I hope it makes you think. This time it was only you - next time it could be someone else as well.

I'll get off my high horse now...... [;)]

Hope you get the bike back on the road quickly and without too much expense!

Cheers,
Pikey.
 
Oct 17, 2006
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A few years ago i had an idiot moment when riding a bike and scored an own goal due to riding an XS650 whilst stoned and drunk, i was cruising mellowly down a road in the UK , and decided I needed petrol , i saw a shell station about a mile ahead .. so far so good ... but my addled brain then told me to turn into the petrol station immediately (remember it is still 1 mile away) ... so I turned straight up onto the sidewalk into a brick wall. ''OUCH''...... luckily only my pride was injured seriously, the bike escaped nwith minor scuffs as did I.

Since then i ride sober ...... well almost.
 
Oct 12, 2005
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Oh Fabrice...the irony of trashing that poor Duc after it finally gets back on the road. Glad to hear you are in one piece minus the scrapes. David will shit him self laughing over this mishap I'm sure.
 

gus

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Mar 24, 2005
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Hey Fabrice, i don't know you, but glad you're okay- and the Monster survived as well!

Gus (another Duc owner in LOS)
 
Jun 10, 2006
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quote:

Originally posted by pikey

Like the others, glad you survived your spill Fabrice. However, if what I am told is true and you were full of beer, then I will call you "a complete twat". Fellow GT riders know that I like my beer very much, and also my bikes, but one thing - I keep them separate. If I have got it wrong and you were straight, sincere apologies. But if you were full of piss, then I hope it makes you think. ...
Cheers,
Pikey.







I saw Fabrice tonight and I can say that this spill has got him thinking alright. He's quite upset with himself and realizes that he should not have been riding his bike after drinking. This spill was especially painful since he had been looking forward for more than six months to ride his Monster again after a complete overhaul and restoration job. Anyway, he has made a resolution to never mix alcohol and bike riding again. Let's hope he keeps his promise, and remind him of the aftermath of Ian's birthday bash if we ever see him relapse.
 
Nov 11, 2006
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Hey Fabrice you BANANA!
Lucky I couldn't find those parts for you over here - you don't need them right now.
And you were keeping this crash a secret from me???
This sounds like exactly the same place you nearly lost it on the S4RS - you didn't learn.
Knee down on the track not on the road.

Jean-Marc - if your'e still getting married where's all the invites?
 
Dec 5, 2006
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Well it sort of wasnt to hard figure out that he had a skinfull.
We have all done it.....
There is nothing better than going to a party ..having a few beers and talking about bikes....
Biking is fun..so is drinking...but the two dont match
After a few narrow escapes .and scrapping a pissed mate off the road..
Aint no fun..
iam not condeming drinking at all...
just dont get on a high powered machine when you do it
just my 2 cents