Mike Duggan's Rides
A talk with Mike Duggan about his past bikes and his future bike.
Our “People To See” section has up until now focused on clubs and organizations within our coverage area. It was always our intention to high light certain individuals within the riding community that epitomize what being a true rider is all about.
This month we are going to high light an individual that is known to the vast majority of us in the area that ride and an individual that I am proud to be able to call a friend.
Mike Duggan lost his ability to walk in April 1990. From the moment that he discovered that he would be wheel chair bound he never gave up on the thought that he would someday ride again. His entourage of friends that included Sporty, Jim Quackenbush and Willy Morrisey set out to insure that he would indeed ride again. Sporty modified a side car to accept a wheel chair and would take Mike out on rides as often as possible.
The next step in the evolution of getting Mike back to riding came when the trio modified a motorcycle with a seat and backrest so that they could strap Mike onto the bike. The bike was equipped with a side shifter, a hand clutch and a sidecar. This enabled Mike to be able to ride but it required Mike to be dependent on others to get him on and off the bike. Anyone who has spent more than 1 minute with Mike knows that does not sit well with him.
The next evolution in Mikes ride is the rig that we have seen him with now. A Honda with an automatic transmission became available and Harry Deritz of Chatam Ontario, Canada offered to modify the Honda to accommodate Mikes’ chair. Sporty and Mike took the bike up to Harry and he commenced working on it. When the bike was returned it required some fine tuning, adjustments and modifications. One modification was the addition of the ramp on the side car portion of the ride. The addition of the ramp enabled Mike to wheel himself on and off the bike. This current rig is amazing. I have ridden behind Mike on rides this summer and it is as stable as one would want it to be and Mike never seems to have a problem keeping up.
As good as the current rig is, it still does not quite meet Mikes’ goal of riding in the saddle and not in the side car. Currently Go-Slo engineering is working on Mikes’ next ride and it is almost complete. It is a Road King with air ride suspension, an automatic clutch and electric shift. The air ride suspension lowers the bike to a level where Mike will be able to get onto the seat. Stowage for Mikes’ wheel chair is on the left hand side of the bike where the left hand saddle bag would be. For stability, the bike is equipped with a side car. I asked Mike if we could have the privilege of accompanying him on his first ride with this new rig and publishing an article highlighting the bike. We have always said that this magazine is not really about bikes and that we would not highlight bikes in the magazine but this is a very special bike for a very special friend and I am making an exception.
Mike is a very important friend. I first met him while on Whiskey Walkers’ Ride for the Downed Biker Fund. We had just started the magazine and had published the April issue. During a refreshment stop at Laura’s we began chatting and I introduced myself. He recognized my name and said “you are the guy with the magazine”. He then commenced to tell me how much he enjoyed it and that from his perspective it was being very well received. For someone that is just starting out, this kind of feedback is priceless. Ever since then, Mike has been a loyal subscriber and behind the scenes advocate.
I learned during this interview that Mike is working very hard on his next goal. To be able to walk with braces and a walker. To date the farthest that Mike has been able to walk is 52 feet. I am sure that whatever goal Mike has set for himself he will work hard at it and will achieve it.
Mike my friend, keep working at it and keep inspiring the rest of us to do a little better with our lives today than we did with them yesterday.
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Mike
Wednesday, September 01, 2010 Hairy