Hello! It’s me, your knee pad. Please forgive my strange voice, but my throat has been scratchy since our last trip. Shall we talk about the past years? Because I’ve noticed something strange ..
Before you read, please note: this post was translated with the help of Deepl.
If you find any errors – please have fun first and then give me a hint.
Do you remember what happend more than 25 years ago? When I was attached to your new Dainese suit, irremovably fixed to the white leather with the best velcro, in a curious lime-green? I did my job well, didn’t I, on this cold December morning? When your slim-hipped body of the gods and your Suzuki landed on me after an overbraking crash? The first proud marks – a bit expensive for you, but at least one knee was on the ground, and this in your first year as a motorcyclist!
Knee sliding
on a chopper?
But have you ever thought about how humiliating it was when you took me off the leather because of your lame Suzuki Savage? I mean, white-red-blue racing leather never cuts a funny figure on a shitty brown chopper anyway, so it wouldn’t have made no difference whether with or without knee pads ..
Were you ashamed? Without me in Liguria ..
At least you got back on track after this, fortunately brief, intermezzo – and on your mighty FZR 1000 Exup the colourful leather and I harmonised perfectly.
On
your knees!
Although you radically shortened the footrests of the Yamaha on the road to the Ritten, I never felt the extremely grippy asphalt there. My scars only came from slipping back and forth while greasing the chain ..
Committed attempts on the grippy Ritten tarmac
I give you credit for continuing to work on your attitude and my appropriate wear after parting with the FZR. Wrinkles briefly appeared on my forehead in view of the much thicker carbon(!) sliders on your new leather-Kevlar suit – but basically that was just an act of desperation, wasn’t it? I can’t imagine that you wanted to compensate the lower weight of the carbon colleagues with more material?
Weird times – on the beautiful Yamaha TRX 850
How long did it actually take until I – initially driven around somewhat embarrassed – finally got authentic scars? Probably about 10 years, eh? In view of the rough rubbing on your right leg, you briefly lost your posture on your KTM Supermoto – do you remember?
Rough scratching
on the leather
Although I do wonder how you got the idea of pressing your knee onto the tarmac on a high Supermoto? Admit it, THAT was an accident! Or even the consequence of your loss of posture? I think that would be more logical, but I don’t want to take away your pleasure now, after many years ..
You’ve done it on the Ducati Racer a few times
I was pleased that – after this experience in the serpentines of the Malser Haide – you were able to take me to the ground more often. But be honest – most of the time you managed to do that because of funny contortions on the motorcycle rather than because of adapted speeds, didn’t you? Purely from the lean angles you rode, I would rarely have found my way onto the tarmac ..
But it was cool, last time with the big Superduke on the race track. On that day I almost lost hope of tasting the Rheinring asphalt – and then you really gave it to me, together with the poor footrests, the gear and brake lever. That was a cool concert – my rasping over the curbs of the track, the screeching from the metal of the lever bars .. magnifique !
Immediately after that I touched the French tarmac ..
But the real reason why I’m contacting you today is another: a new colleague has recently been hanging next to my leather leg in the wardrobe. Without any knee pad, made of textile and GoreTex, and calls himself a “Held”!? Tell me, why do you do that? After only 26 years, have you had enough of dancing on the edge of the tyre, enough of the material shrinkage on your knee pad – do you just want to cruise? Speak!
Take it easy, my sliding friend! The story with the Held AeroSec suit on the wardrobe is a different one, and it will follow soon. Be patient and reassured – you will not lack for asphalt tastings in the future, too!
Perfectly matching
