1973 was the Year of the 17-Year Locust in the Midwest (how many of you remember that?). I rode down to see my brother in central Missouri (from central IL in those days, when I had my shop), and along the way I kept dodging the giant bugs, glad to have the [new] Vetter taking many of them out. On the way home I was booking about 65 MPH on the very curvy Hiway 63 north of I-70, coming around a tight one all the way down to the right-side pegs when I saw 'the blackness' ahead, flowing right-to-left about 12" off the pavement and as far both ways as I could see. It was right in front of me, no time for brakes (didn't want to stop in the swarm, anyway), so I tucked in an rolled out of the turn, hoping for the best. I "went in" at 63 MPH with my face right next to the speedo (and too close to the open Pop Vents!) and despite holding the throttle, came out the other side, about 50 yards later, at 40 MPH, and totally blinded. The windshield was opaque with squiggling bodies as I flicked several handfuls of them out of the dashboard and Pop Vents, holding steady at 40 MPH for about a mile of this. Then the engine started sputtering and the power fell off: I leaned over to look down and saw the entire front of it clogged several inches deep with wings, legs, toasting body parts....just then, I saw a high-pressure car wash (these were brand new inventions in those days), so I whipped in the clutch and coasted in, as the engine overheated and died. I pushed in the last 50 feet or so, understanding how the ancients ate in the desert when they were REAL hungry (toasty and crunchy, mmm!) and spent the next hour cleaning them off the bike, my leathers, boots, the fairing, everywhere. There we 2 that went down my neck somehow (in the back), and I can still feel their crawling, grippy little feet...yuk...
As if that wasn't enough: I hit the road again, now about 3 PM and a little behind schedule, so I started booking it fast to beat dark home. About 100 miles later, having troubles seeing thru the not-to-clean-yet windshield, I saw a small fog that looked like another swarm, but couldn't figure how they could be so small (the first ones were 3"-5" long). I ducked behind the fairing while pulling the left Pop Vent shut and leaning that way, and hit it: it was a swarm of bumblebees! One came in the right-side Pop Vent and straight into my helmet, and he was stuck inside, mad as a ... well, bee.... and he stung me in the temple before I could get stopped and get my helmet off! I still have a little lump on my right temple, right where he stung me.
So, not wanting to repeat these events, I got a full-face helmet shield for the next weeks. Well, I'm here to tell ya....when a wasp gets inside the full-face shield, he has no trouble at all manuevering from one sting to another across your face, and they can sting you 4 times before you can get to 0 MPH in a panic stop and remove your helmet! I still have a crusty mark (fits my personality, says my wife) just above the left temple from this bug. And, I didn't even get to kill it!
