Race Scooter: Cadwell Park Aftermath

As I was watching the rest of the race at Cadwell Park, I had a mixture of adrenalin and fear still pumping through my body. I could move my shoulder but my arm was quite floppy. I ended up holding it just assuming I had bruised it badly. Despite insisting that it was only a bruise, the track ambulance was called to take me for a check-up. We got there quite quickly and it wasn't long before I was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder.

My arms were stripped of the leathers and I was laid down on a bed to be seen to. After being cut out of my t-shirt, I was treated to some gas and air to make me relax. After a while I started smiling and was deemed ready but as soon as my arm was touched, the pain came back.  I breathed on the gas and air as it was pulled back and after a satisfying (for me at least) crack, it was re-located. However, the visit wasn't over there. I was to be sent to the local hospital for procedural x-rays, just to make sure I hadn't broken anything.

After sometime in the A+E department, I was given the all clear but told to have a follow up as soon as possible with a local hospital. My medication for the recovery consisted of paracetamol and ibruprofen. Despite being given an upgraded sling at the follow-up, my arm still ached for the next week and after yet more x-rays, I was told that rest for 2-3 weeks was the suggested rehabilitation. 2-3 weeks after that was for low impact sports. By my calculations, if everything went to plan, 4 weeks after the initial injury, I would be able to ride Snetterton.

My physical recovery went fairly well after the crash to be honest but after the off, I have to admit that mentally, I would require something to kick-start me back to the pace I had achieved at Cadwell. 

Having something to aim for, with very limited time being able to use my arm, I set about the repair of the bike. As the bike had flipped and landed on the headset top and rear seat, luckily that was where most of the damage was.

The panels were actually able to be polished and were fairly scratch free - I think there was more damage from where my boots were rubbing on them. The floorboards, left-hand-side legshields and exhaust took the largest hit and were bent back into shape accordingly. The rev-counter screen had also felt the full force of the crash and had to be written off.

After a lot of bending and hammering though, the Race Scooter was in much better shape than before and I had given all the nuts and bolts a full check. As per usual, the top end was stripped and inspected for wear - which was again encouragingly good. The chaincase side was also took off in order to inspect the clutch, which too was in pretty good condition.

Other than the addition of the carb "trumpet" and a slightly larger hole, nothing was changed for Snetterton.