Motorcycle Forum / General / Sportbikes / September 2005

From the Duc ST list:

I wanted to wait until there was something positive to tell you
all, and so with Gary's permission I'll pass this on....
Lord Hobatz is currently in the ER at Marlinton, WV. The
Readers Digest version is that he took a low speed fall when the
side stand on his 'Strada augered into the pavement.
This was immediately after we stopped to take in the wonderful
view of the Monongahela National Forest from hwy 150. It was
spectacular. I guess that's why he forgot to put the stand up. At
any rate, we did a right turn to get back on the highway and within
120 yards the stand started to drag but Gary did not hear or feel
the drag. His first inkling of a problem was when he corrected to
the left as he accelerated and the bike would only go to the
right...where there was a 10 foot embankment. By this time he was
doing about 35 mph but the bike highsided him and he hit the
pavement pretty hard.
The 'hospital' in Marlinton is a very basic 25 bed facility.
They did some xrays and a CAT scan. Based on those results they
have decided to move him by ground transport to Charleston, WV where
there is a state of the art trauma center. There is a possiblity
that his aeorta is damaged since his upper ribs are broken. He
might need surgery on his right elbow and/or wrist. Of course his
first thought was about how he would be able to drive to PA for his
next three Ducati events.
Gary has already drawn a line in the sand. He wants to go back
to the scene in the spring have a party. It'll be part of the east
coast Madness. More to follow.