National Association for Bikers with a Disability
Meet the NABD
Not Just a Ride, More Like a Romance!
Not so long ago the prescribed form of transport for any wheelchair user was the dreadful old blue 'Handicap Car' more commonly called a 'Spaz Chariot'. To most people with disabilities the vehicle was even more offensive than the names it was given. Not just the fact that it was a heap of crap but also the fact that disabled people were somehow unworthy of using adapted mainstream vehicles.
Thankfully that is now in the past and disabled drivers have access to a wide range of makes and models of mainstream cars with the necessary modifications. But what of Bikers with disabilities?
Prior to 1991 the only severely disabled people riding motorcycles or trikes were a few ingenious individuals who had managed (with varying degrees of engineering skill) to adapt motorcycles for themselves. Over the past 15 years since the inception of the NABD things have changed drastically. With the close relationship the NABD has built with some top quality engineers around the UK and Eire it is now more common for a disabled rider to ride 'what they prefer' rather than just 'what is available'. It has become part of the NABD's creed that as a disabled rider you should be riding the machine you want and it is our challenge to make the necessary adaptions available. Most bikers have something of a love-affair with their favourite machine and in this disabled bikers are no different.
Here's a tale that I think illustrates the point very nicely. Dale Lewis refused to let his paraplegia take away his independence and he enjoyed riding a quad around the mountains but there was still a certain yearning to be filled. But maybe it would be better for Dale to explain it in his own words...
"It all started for me in June of 2003 when my mate Tony started a new job. He gave me a ring one evening to say his job was crap, but he did pass a garage that had some very nice looking trikes outside it which looked worthy of a visit.
I already had a quad (a Yamaha Raptor 660) which I was very proud of. The only trouble with it was I had to leave go of one side of the handle bars to pull on a home made gear lever, which was alongside the tank. It worked well but it did prove itself to be a little 'hairy' in practice to say the least! So I thought a visit to Trike Design in Cardiff might throw some light on other gear changing possibilities.
Little did I know upon entering Trike Design my whole life was going to change!
Once inside I fell in love...She was a Yamaha V-Max trike and she was dressed in black and silver and she was gorgeous! Just one flash of those little chrome indicators and a sneaky look down her large bore race cans and I was blown away! But alas, a relationship between us was not to be.
Speaking with Hank (he's the boss at Trike Design) he told me that the trike was being built for a paraplegic rider like myself, and that more importantly it wasn't for sale. Gutted and heart broken, but yet enlightened and thrilled, I knew the only cure was to get one just like her.
It was then that Hank told me about the NABD. Where had I been? (Up the mountain playing on my quad?). Anyway a V-Max was found and she is all mine! Alas my faithful Yam' Raptor had to go to fund the new girl in my life! You've got to be cruel to be kind sometimes...
Of course these things don't happen overnight and I don't mind saying the last two weeks waiting for her (my Midnight Express) to be finished almost killed me, I just couldn't wait a second longer for her and me to be on our own!
The wait was worth every second, she is perfect! The push-button Kliktronic gear change works precisely, even when I try to find neutral it gives no problem and the thumb operated front brake with a little practice became second nature. (Both of which were included in the grant from the NABD).
I would like to thank (Hank and Rob and Ieuan) At Trike Design in Cardiff (they really do know their stuff) for a fit and finish that's second to none.
And thanks once again to the NABD, and to my long suffering wife of 20 years who I love as much as my V-Max (alias Midnight Express!). From one happy Triker."
Dale is one of over 8,000 disabled people over the past 15 years who have been helped by the NABD to reclaim their freedom and independence as bikers. That's a lot of love-affairs...
Rick Hulse
NABD Chairman
www.nabd.org.uk or write to NABD, Unit 20, The Bridgewater Centre, Robson Avenue, Manchester, M41 7TE. (The NABD is a registered charity)
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