[NcChopper]

Stan Hughes, 41, of Oklahoma, jumped off his 2004 Kannon V8-Chopper on Riverside Drive after the throttle jammed while he was on Sickler Drive, police said.


Happened yesterday in Holly Hill, Florida adjacent to Daytona. Full article at

http://www.n-jcenter.com/NewsJournalOnl ... 030404.htm

Chris

 

[Adrian]

WOW What a story. Makes you wonder if people know what the shut off is for on the throttle side.
I had a module inside the distributor go bad because the fan would keep running, feeding the engine after I turned the key off. The low voltage will damage the module. I was so instructed to use the engine shut off switch on the bars, so I now use it every time I shut down. It is a good idea so if you get in a bind like this guy did you will be already prepared on a quick shut down plus you can save a problem later (that was almost impossible to find).

Adrian

 

[fasteddie]

If anybody doesn't have the two (inner and outter race type) throttle safety spring set up they better get one. If the spring breaks this could happen to you. At least if one breaks you still have a good return spring there to pull the throttle shut. My bike is a 2000 and it came with a flimsy single throttle spring from the factory. If you want to do that WOT stuff it's a must have!!!

 

[NcChopper]

Fasteddie,

Do you have a part number for that spring set? I'm pretty sure I have the single spring. Had never given it much thought. I did see a guy at the rally last year on a 502 get in a pickle quick. He was pulling up to park and when he turned the bars sharp it pulled the throttle cable and he was not expecting that. He lurched right for a tractor trailer on the side of the street but he got on the front brake hard and shut it off. He had his wife on back, too. I've always thought since if that happens, a quick response to hit the shutoff switch is a must like Adrian said.

Chris

 

[hossbuilder]

More Information

In no way do I want to dilute the excellent advice given by Fast Eddie and Adrian but we all have one more safeguard. If you are still running the factory Edelbrock carburetor, it will return to idle if the throttle cable breaks or comes off completely. The accelerator pump is spring loaded and connects directly to the throttle linkage. It forces the throttle plate closed if nothing is blocking it. Now, if the throttle itself is jammed or the throttle cable is stuck either stronger springs or Adrian's kill swithch are excellent backup safety procedures.

 

[fasteddie]

Chris - I bought the throttle spring at a local pep boys auto parts. Summit and jegs also have them in their catalog. It is a fairly common HiPo item you can get locally. Neil, you are correct about the return built in but I like the extra strong spring pulling things closed and not taking a chance for a stuck open throttle. I figure if I only had one spring and it broke then I would rely on just the built in return which is not that strong of a return. I like the idea of having the extra pull power to close it down. Heck it's a requirement at the drag strip for the cars to run got to be a good reason there.

FastEddie

 

[V-MAN]

That story is unbelievable AND sad because it could have been avoided simply by shutting the bike down. A group of us had just seen the bike the day of the crash or the day before the crash. We talked to the guy that built it (guessing it was the same guy that bailed) and he appeared to know his bike and it seemed he was an experienced rider for what it's worth.

Neil you are right on regarding the carb on our bikes (stock Edelbrock), the Kannon Choppers both had Demon carbs installed so he lost the built in safty feature.

I hope in the end her leg is able to be saved without too much permanent injury being done.

 

[Boss Man]

I also stopped at the Kannon dealer to check out the bikes. I was there when the guy who would have the accident left to go up to Ormond Beach. This pic is of a bike similar to the one that "got away." There's a shadow of the handlebars of the bike that crashed, just in back of the rear tire.
I didn't notice any kill switch on the handlebars. That doesn't mean it wasn't there, but I didn't see one.
I also heard that later on that night, another guy riding a Kannon, (not a chopper) hit the gas and lost his wife off the back seat. She got banged up pretty bad too, from what I heard. I'll bet a lot of their R&D money will be going towards litigation!

 

[fasteddie]

What an awesome chop. Far out does the Stamford pro street chop.

It all boils down to one thing, if you want to go WOT you better know where you are, meaning not in the city or in traffic. You really do need space. It could happen to any of us regardless of the carb you are running or riding ability given the same circumstance. All carbs have a return built it and the little return spring could snap or linkage could bind. Unfortunately I put the blame on cockpit error!! but in todays environment with little or no accountability somehow the lawyers will say it wasn't his fault and an poor innocent person might loose a leg.

 

[V8GRUMPY]

Guys, Interesting side bar on this old story. I met Stan in Sturgis last week while looking at the new V8 choppers he is building. He apparently has purchased the Kannon rights (?) and is building a pretty cool looking bike.

According to him, the insurance investigators found that the problem was the Demon carb. It initially stuck going through the intersection at about 20mph, when he realized the throttle had stuck, he "blipped" it to get it to idle down.....it just got worse, there was no kill switch, and he was actually trying to reach for the ignition switch when the bike went down.

Unfortunately, as the bike went down it peeled him off and his right hand rolled off the throttle and opened it even farther.....Stan kept thinking this was a good thing that that the bike was down and at least it would stop.....but as fate would have it the bike slid along until it hit something and stood itself up and drove down the street until it hit the delivery truck.

A lady passerby came over to help him and asked him what happened, and he told her that he had been in a M/C accident...she looked at him like he was nuts and said 'no, there is no motorcycle here'.......

Stan also told me that there was no one else on the bike, just him....one note they have removed all of the Demons and have them on a shelf.

Tim

 

[Elsboss]

Tim,

A sidebar to the sidebar....

That chopper was Kannon Motorsports (vs. Kannon Motorcycles) first chopper. Gary has the #2 and I have the #3 version. Not all have had the Demon's removed because I still have mine and so does Gary. I like the Demon a bunch once setup right (which is a chore).

Ours were unfinished and didn't yet have a neutral safety switch, a kill switch, or an decent throttle return amongst other things. Again, our two weren't actually completed or ready for sale when we wanted them. I don't know about the accident bike. We fabricated and installed all on ours before riding them which was actually a condition of sale.

Since then, they sold another to a friend in Punta Gorda, Fl. (site of Hurricane Charlie) and two more in Sturgis. One went to the owner of Dixie Choppers, the badass riding mowers. That's the same guy who had a custom chopper done by Orange County Choppers on one of their shows. Damn thing had a lawnmower motor on it. Obviously, the guy has the good taste to want a V8. I understand Stan took 1st and 2nd place in class at the Rat Hole show in Sturgis.

I've got to say that we're (Gary, myself, and John) enjoying these bikes more than any we've ever had. The looks, performance and engineering are top drawer. They're also unique which we always enjoyed with the Bosses til there were 30+ of them in this neck of the woods. Stan Hughes and the other Kannon guys are top notch when it comes to knowledge and communication.

I have a pair of 2 lb bottles on mine and Gary has a single 2 1/2 lb on his both with a 100 h.p. nitrous shot. Until we change pistons, we don't want to go with more. We knock the snot out of the smallblock Bosses we street race with and the few local guys with bigblocks have avoided us. Mike Kelly, the new Boss dealer and bud in Marco with his 540 nitrous stroker wants a piece of us but his tranny is AGAIN crapped out. He will undoubtedly spank us if he can keep his tranny from puking every 200 miles.

I would encourage any of you guys who really like choppers, wouldn't give up a V8, and don't need a long range cruiser to look into one of these beasts. In spite of what one of the unknowledgeable guys on the Yahoo site have said about them, they're top drawer. I'm not of the type to have that little decal on the car that shows Chevy pissing on Ford or visa versa. All these V8 bikes are cool as can be but the choppers really add a nice piece of variety and uniqueness to the quotient. Best regards,

Elliot 8)

 

[V8GRUMPY]

Elliot,

You're right, I spent about 2 hours crawling all over the silver one and it was tits Really an incredible seat height and well laid out. It had a few things that would take a bit of getting used to, like no foot brakes, but after learning of his theory, it made sense.

Good engineering though and the prices were very good for what they were, he quoted me $55,000 for the silver bike.........and it was every bit as cool as any Mtn Boss Hoss scooter. But like you say, they are bar bikes and not designed for long trips.....I also met the guy with the pro-street version with the Ford SVO 5 liter in it.....very cool also.

Tim