a long while back I mentioned that I am always careful when cleaning my bike around the handguards because of spines, which I usually just side cutter them off. Some slagged me and raised the BS flag on me. Mr. Bajabound Tim Morton just posted this pic from a trip south they just took. speed + needle sharp spines=impaled hand guards. they also positively inflict pain in the forearms and hands as well.
Man! Even the little guys at the bottom punched through! What if you were to take some thin aluminum and try to shape it to fit behind the handguards?
had some in the BITD Laughlin Hare Scrambles that I had spines thru front fender, hand guards and radiator louvers.... its mazing how strong they are
Reason for good needle nose pliers in your fanny pak, twesers just don't work. Bad part is most have a barb on the end takes a good tug to get them out. Best part is having to use Jose Cuervo to rinse out your mouth after all the bad launguage used while pulling them out. Later George
George that is so true.... I also stuck a long handled comb in the top of my boot for Laughlin to get the cacti off yourself....
Do that also for the Jumping Cacti. East Coast riders break fingers smacking trees, out here worst is the jumping cacti you just get close to it and it on you, Looks like a pickel with thousands of long tiny barbed spines. Cannot try to pick it off with hands have to be knocked off w/long handle comb or a stick. They are tiny once hit they leave many many spines imbedded. Twesres work on these but to find them is difficult a so carry small piece of panti hose just lightly rub over the area it will snag, now have a target to go after. Sam Adams and Jose together really help as it takes a long time to get them out. Later George
went to the Wickenburg nat enduro, saw all these racers with afro pick necklaces.......thought it was a local moto cult fashion thing or something, until I entered a checkpoint and there was a cactus removal crew before the gate, they had needle nosed pliers and afro picks.....they worked on me along with all the others as we waited for our minute to come up. There were a few cactus' of various types out there in that dez....... those comb/picks are the perfect rake for cholla (jumping cactus) buds and needlenose to yank out the big stuff
The real fun cacti in So Kali is the pencil cholla. Those needles are about 2 inches long and when they go in they don't want to come out. George knows what I'm talking about.
First year I rode BITD Laughlin I missed a turn in the Cactus Patch and was covered in Cholla.... that sucked, by the time I got to the pit I couldnt feel my legs.... Knee pads nailed to my knee.... it was crazy
Thru the glove,thru 2 fingers,back thru the glove,thru the grip,off the throttle tube back thru grip,back thru glove then deeeeep into palm. Took 2 guys at the Husky pit to get my hand off the grip. Pored the blood out of glove but wouldn't go back on swollen up huge. 2 special Husky pit pills, gauze pads duct tape hand to throttle, with tire change and fuel was 2 min pit stop. (pre quick dumps ) just pored out of jeep cans. Was simple back in the day. Later George
Weve got lots of shit that tries to hurt you over here, but not much that nails your hand to the grips. Remind me to ride in a pair of these if I ever come over there.
If they can get through the hand guards, they can easily pierce a goggle? There's no way I'd risk an eyeball impalement. I'd be putting along at 5 MPH.
George has me beat..but I have some fun ones as well, big stout needles so deep into forearms that they sway when flexing hand from the muscle sheaths sliding over each other. pinned knuckles spines impaled right through the joint like a surgical pin. my daughter worked one that had been in and bugging me for a while near my pinky finger knuckle, she finally got it and it kept on coming, it was like 2 in, way into my hand running alongside the finger/hand bones. standing on the trail with a needle nose plier picking spines from the naked body of a riding buddy broke back mtn style who did a OTB at speed launch right into a cholla bush, he rode back to the trucks in his underpants and boots, his gear was completely filled with cholla spines. Another was our French guy that did what we call larrys leap (which I have done more than a few times as well--but stopped doing it now for safety sake) when he landed he did the rebound hop lost control and landed neck-upperchest first into a cholla---he had a beard of spines from chin to upper chest, I plucked for a long while and mentioned we are too old for Larrys leap.....but he said shit Larry is older than all of us
