Darkangel, my '83 Honda Shadow VT500C

11/15/01 - Photos of the New Bi-Colored Darkangel

6/22/02 - Photos of the Heart of Darkangel, dismantled - she and I both working on our broken hearts.

3/20/03 - Some photos from a stop at the Traveler's Inn and Tuba Museum in Okemos, MI, last autumn

Some early photos...

These were taken shortly after Steve (Deerslayer) and I brought her back from her previous home in Detroit. Her previous owner, Tracy, is the source of the name "Darkangel" - she rode with a group and was often the only woman, and was nicknamed "Dark Angel." I felt it suited the bike well enough (at least for an interim name - she hasn't told me what her name is yet), and was a nice way of remembering her previous owner.

I have a weird look on my face in the photo (I think I was shooting for a more-demure, less goofy-ass grin, and wound up with what looks more like a grimace), but I assure you, I was in ecstasy. The next few days were spent polishing her up, since I bought her on a Friday, and couldn't register her 'til Monday. It was the longest weekend of my life...

After the Crash

Here you can see the damage to the tank pretty well (bad dent on the right side, and buckling
in on top), but not the head pipes bent out from the bike, towards you, or the twisted right handlebar.

Now you can see where the head pipes took the
hit to the tree, and also the handlebar and headlight
damage. That's my finger in the way - I was too
excited about getting to the fixin' to pay attention
to the photography. A better photo showing the handlebar damage. Hard to believe my right hand wasn't hurt
more than it was!

Maps and Such of the Crash


An aerial photo of the general area.	On the road from Gregory to Stockbridge, on our way to Mason...

It was at the intersection of M-106 (paved) and Doyle (gravel).	My doctored drawing of how it happened. I was westbound on M-106 (labeled "Doyle" in the map) and ran off the road on the left as I tried to negotiate the 90 degree right turn.

The policeman's conception of the crash. I love his comments...

The New Fuel Tank and Pipes

Some Newer Photos - Darkangel, the Bi-colored Bike

These are some recent shots taken (again, thanks to Deerslayer) when I rode out to visit him in Coldwater. I'm hoping to get some good shots of the bike all by herself, so you can see her better, but, see, I was embarassed of the duct tape on the seat from where the seat's started to crack. (Deerslayer tactfully pointed out that you *can* get duct tape in black: note to self, buy black duct tape). I'd normally say I hate the photos of me (I'm bundled under about a thousand layers of clothing, which is why I look like the Sta-Puff Marshmallow Woman), but since I look so happy, I'm okay with having them up here for the world to see. They're right, I think, about how a smile makes anyone look more attractive. ;)

And here's another one, courtesy of Deerslayer, from our trip to the MSU Hidden Lakes Botanical Gardens near Tecumseh. I look like hell, but it's a decent picture of the bike.

The next two images are from a trip I took out to the Traveler's Inn and Tuba Museum, this cool and funky little cafe in Okemos, MI (near Lansing).

This one is actually courtesy of Deerslayer, from a short trip with Matt (also of RoadHouse) through the winding roads between Ann Arbor and Lansing. Er, I think. At any rate, it's here because it's one of the very, very few photos of me near the bike where I don't think I look awful. ;)

Top of the page
Photos of the brokenAngel
Maps of the Crash Location
The diagram, courtesy of the Brighton state trooper who was kind enough to not give me a ticket
The new fuel tank and pipes

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Published by Hope, shadowriderhope@gmail.com
and Flaming Paisley Productions, inc.
http://home.intranet.org/~hope


Now you can see where the head pipes took the hit to the tree, and also the handlebar and headlight damage. That's my finger in the way - I was too excited about getting to the fixin' to pay attention to the photography.	A better photo showing the handlebar damage. Hard to believe my right hand wasn't hurt more than it was!