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By SASV June 2004: Introduction:
I learned to ride when I was 14 and apart from the obvious things,
to ride a bike was my biggest yearning after the accident. I first
tried to compensate by buying a quad & making it road legal. Though
I still enjoy the quad & use it as an “outdoor” wheelchair at work,
I was missing the handling & exhilaration of a badass two-wheeler.
Riding either a trike or sidecar would have failed to satisfy the
urge for corners.
My quest to ride again took nearly 18 months. A lot of emotions had
to be worked through especially by my wife. My resolved seesawed as
I had very little information on riding with two wheels. I quit the
idea a dozen times but the urge to ride was too great and eventually
outweighed my fears. Taking off for the first time on the SV had me
shaking with adrenalin for what seemed hours afterwards. “Getting it
back” is what a lot of being in a chair is about & riding my SV
again attributed a great deal. The idea in sharing this is to create
more awareness for what’s possible and hopefully it will aid the
decision of the next disabled rider as the fear of the unknown
nearly made me back out.
I discovered this interesting concept (pics below) at
www.moebius.es/ccalleja (don't worry, in English) along the way.
It seemed very suitable for disabled riders. Unfortunately he had
only built a prototype and was trying to sell his idea off to the
major motorcycle manufacturers. It is something to keep in mind for
the future though.
Adaptation for disabled riders. My SV is
fitted with an “Automatic Kickstand” (AKS) developed by Erick J
Keays from California. See
www.adaptivemotorcycles.com . Eric is a paraplegic himself and
makes this system to order for the bike of your choice. Cruisers
cannot be adapted due to the problems with wheel clearance with the
frame design.
How it works:
You control the AKS via a thumb-operated toggle switch mounted on
the left handlebar. It activates the worm gear activator unit,
mounted above the left exhaust can, which raises and lowers the
kickstand arm. The kickstand arm stabilizes the bike when stopped.
The unit is “hot wired” into the electrical system so that it
operates without the ignition switched on. As you pull away & gain
speed you retract the arm into a vertical position next to the the
exhaust cans and you have normal rider control. As you decelerate to
stop the arm is lowered at ± 10mph. The suspension lifts slightly
and runs then on the rear wheel as well as the two in-line skate
wheels on each leg, very similar to training wheels on a bicycle.
The gears are operated by a solenoid device made by Klicktronic in
the UK
www.kliktronic.co.uk. The gear buttons for up & down shifting is
fitted also on the left handle bar & the normal switchgear is
slightly moved to accommodate this.
Installation:
Unless you are in the US you will receive the AKS in kit form. Since
it’s custom made for your bike it’s a matter of assembling the parts
and bolting it onto the sub frame underneath the seat. The activator
(made by Thomson) has limit switches that has to be set for stopping
the arm in the correct position when raised and lowered. My bike
dealer helped me with the installation. Kliktronic is also very
helpful if you have problems with the installation of the gear
switch. The installation will probably take 15 – 20 hours depending
on the help you have.
Further modifications I made:
1. I split the control of the activator to two switches as I found
it difficult to use my thumb in the rearward/opening motion while
modulating the clutch at the same time. The left switch is now used
only to raise the arm.
2. One of the limit switches burnt during the fiddling and I
replaced them with aircraft quality units.
3. I disconnected the rear brake pedal as your foot might rest on it
while riding.
4. I hacked off the gear knob to make my foot fit straight behind
the solenoid.
5. I fitted an idiot light that lights up when the arm is fully
raised as you can accidentally hit the switch with your glove while
riding and the arms may then not be fully retracted.
This is a simple magnetic “door switch” fitted to make circuit when
the arm is in position. It’s wired directly to the battery and an
LED unit fits nicely through one of the small holes existing on the
inside of the fairing.
6. A disabled sign fitted on the activator to make motorists stop
wondering “what the hell is this?”
7. To carry a wheelchair a custom bracket was made that bolts to the
frame over the pillion seat. (You won’t find many willing passengers
anyway) The bracket locks the chair into place so that no tie-downs
are needed that might get loose at speed. The wheels are clipped
onto each side of the engine with brackets where the frame sliders
would normally sit.
Mods to come:
Thumb brake to operate rear brake.
Arms to retract higher for more ground clearance on the track.
General:
For riders in the UK go to
www.nabd.co.uk.
They assist riders with any form of disability to go biking again
through a grant system.
Additional risk is limited to falling over with your bike at
standstill. The stabilizer arm doubles as good crash protection and
the bike will not pin you down.
I avoid driving in congested traffic. It’s too unpredictable and
carries increased risk of toppling over. Head for the open roadways
or the track.
For further info please contact me at marfer#mweb.co.za
(substitute the'#' for '@')
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