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[Unbalanced]

My prayers and best wishes go out to John and his family.  

[ccr]

John never tuned a bike of mine, but he got increases in perfomance for hundreds of my friends. I have watched this consummate expert at work and had the great pleasure to speak to him on many of an occasion.  A great gift to the motorcycle community and we pray for his speedy and full recovery.  Can't wait to shake you hand John at the next MC event you are tuning at.  Get Well Soon!

[jfh]

John is a gifted tuner who I have counted on to tweak my bikes when he would roll in for a nearby event.  My prayers go out for his speedy recovery and to bring Sandy strength during this trying time.

[ultrafxr]

The lastest from John.  

Hello friends of Rolling Thunder!

The following message is from the Dynoguy, who came through his surgery last
week without any major problems and is recovering at home.

.....
The Life, Death, and Life of John Golden

I don’t even know where to start this.. the last seven days of my life have
been.. in the words of my wife Sandy… the worst roller coaster ride of my life.
For those of you who don’t know the details,  here is a short synopsis.   On
Sunday morning, the 21st.  we went to eat breakfast, then for a  short ride in
the snow.   I felt a wave of pain start in my left shoulder, go across to my
right shoulder and then go UNDER my right arm. It built to an uncomfortable
level…. And then went away.. ten minutes later it came back…. And went away.
This cycle continued for about an hour and then I said… lets go find out why
this is happening.

The emergency room scan showed nothing was going on.  We talked of waiting
overnight for a stress test… but I told them I didn’t need to wait in the
hospital for a test I was confident I would probably fail… I have  known for I
while I would get winded easily..  I just thought my belly was too big …..
thanks Sandy…  The doctor came back and said he had a team in the hospital
currently working on another  patient. this was an angiogram team… I had heard
the angiogram was not fun… but I wanted to find out for sure what was wrong for
sure… so I said ok.   The doctor said he would be back in two hours with the
results and would probably have corrected any problem he found.        Wrong….
Thirty minutes later he came out and told Sandy that  ALL FIVE arteries feeding
my heart had about 85% blockage and that I needed  BY PASS surgery NOW.  Sandy
told him I would never go for that and he said that was fine… but  I would not
live to see my next birthday…… end  of story….so now you !
now  the  WHY of my trip to the hospital.  This was my life as I knew it….  Too
much food that tasted too good for me.

My death was quite scientific.  Shave my chest…   Cut a vein out of my arm.. cut
a vein out of my leg.. split my chest… stop my heart.  Just 2 hours…not bad..
move my blood supply.. ignore the offending clogged arteries… graft in the
pieces of vein previously removed and reconnect blood supply… restart the
heart.. sew me up…get me out. This was my death.
 
My life is different now….it is quite painful.  The seven days in the hospital
were the most painful days of my life I have ever gone through.   The ordeal of
removing my breathing tube..  the agony of coughing , the  pain of walking the
FIRST day of recovery.  Not being able to get in or out of bed without help .
THE HOSPITAL FOOD that I was too weak to eat.   It would seem that I would be
too old for stuffed animals, but I have a new teddy bear friend.   No.. it was
not a gift like a flower…. It is called Sir Koff a Lot.   It is the HARDEST bear
you will ever feel.   It is not soft and cuddly… it is hard and cuddly.  It is
actually a splint for when I cough and feel like my heart is coming through my
stitches.  That gift came from the cardio section of the hospital.   Another
gift came from a friend who figured correctly that I would not need a lot of
flowers… although many thanks to those who sent them….he brought me a ½ wrench.  
It was wonderful…. It is a great tool t!
o scratch those itches with.

For now.. I will rest a lot.  Take a few strong drugs… walk some to gain back
some strength, eat a lot wiser… and be thankful for the family and friends and
wonderful customers and complete strangers who prayed for my recovery.  It has
been a strange event.   My inlaws from my first marriage 35 years ago came by to
wish me a fast recovery.  Many people that I had not heard from for 25 or more
years came by.. I have soooooo many thank you cards to return…Sorry to those of
you who we did not get the message out to… sorry to those customers who I was
working with and never sent the power commanders or maps to…. I will get those
out SOON.  I have several doctors visits the next few days to go to and a myriad
of other things to attend to… I am not to drive for a month… I can’t lift over 8
lbs,   I will not attend some seminars and trade shows I have on my schedule…
and we will have to make some arrangements for someone to drive the RV to
Daytona,  take all the bikes up and down t!
he ramp, and work with Sandy on the dyno…. I will talk to more people.. sell
some  parts and we will get by……..
 
LIFE IS GOOD……..


- John

[RJ749]

Never met or worked with John but I can tell him he'll be good as new before he knows it.

Glad to see he is thinking ahead to Daytona and getting back at it.

My thoughts and prayers for a continued and full recovery.

[TCinVA]

John tuned my '99 Ultra in Lynchburg, VA at the annual HOG rally a few years back.  Like everyone here has already said, he and Sandy are great people and he's a great tuner.  He's in my prayers.  I've been there - 13 years ago, heart attach followed by bypass surgery and I'm still kicking.  John will be back to normal in no time - probably feeling 100% better than before, with plenty of miles ahead of him.
John - all the best for a speedy recovery.
TC

[SPIDERMAN]

V-girl,
          Thanks for the e-mail on JG that Ultra reproduced above. Appreciate hearing direct from the source as to his progress. Does anyone know if he's a site member ? Twolane lives close by to John, he should set it up for him. We could all keep him entertained while he's recovering

B B

[pumkinownerswife]

John I Pray that God guides you through a speedy recovery.


Helen

[Twolanerider]

V-girl,
          Thanks for the e-mail on JG that Ultra reproduced above. Appreciate hearing direct from the source as to his progress. Does anyone know if he's a site member ? Twolane lives close by to John, he should set it up for him. We could all keep him entertained while he's recovering

B B

Brian, a couple years ago I mentioned this site to him, and again briefly last year at Hot Springs to Sandy.  The Internet doesn't seem to be their playground though.  Of course when they're gone so much during rally season it might be problematic.  When home I get the impression they're just home, with chores to do, projects to catch up on and time to just spend being home.  Funny thing that comes from this thread is that we learn once again that even strangers to us are known and felt as something akin to friends for the shared interests, travels and experiences.

[SPIDERMAN]

Brian, a couple years ago I mentioned this site to him, and again briefly last year at Hot Springs to Sandy.  The Internet doesn't seem to be their playground though.  Of course when they're gone so much during rally season it might be problematic.  When home I get the impression they're just home, with chores to do, projects to catch up on and time to just spend being home.  Funny thing that comes from this thread is that we learn once again that even strangers to us are known and felt as something akin to friends for the shared interests, travels and experiences.

Don,
      First time I met John, ( 1997 I believe) I had a bike that had too much power for the way the rear end was set up. It was literally twisting itself apart every time I got on it. He put the bike on the Dyno nonetheless and not only did a good tune on it but pointed out what I needed to do to be able to get all that power to the ground. He was also the person that explained the concept of the elapsed time factor of any dyno run. That's still something that gets passed over whenever anyone posts their dyno charts on this site. I ran into John here and there around the country after that initial meeting and always took a moment to watch what he was up to. Don't know as he'd recognize me if he fell over me, but it doesn't change the fact that I recognize him as one of the greats in our industry ( as it were) Can't help but hope that some young person finds thier way to John and learns what he (JG) knows, so it won't be lost someday

B B 

[HUBBARD]

John,
  All the Best from WV!  And Godspeed!  Later--HUBBARD

[HUBBARD]

Don,
      First time I met John, ( 1997 I believe) I had a bike that had too much power for the way the rear end was set up. It was literally twisting itself apart every time I got on it. [/glow][/glow] He put the bike on the Dyno nonetheless and not only did a good tune on it but pointed out what I needed to do to be able to get all that power to the ground. He was also the person that explained the concept of the elapsed time factor of any dyno run. That's still something that gets passed over whenever anyone posts their dyno charts on this site. I ran into John here and there around the country after that initial meeting and always took a moment to watch what he was up to. Don't know as he'd recognize me if he fell over me, but it doesn't change the fact that I recognize him as one of the greats in our industry ( as it were) Can't help but hope that some young person finds thier way to John and learns what he (JG) knows, so it won't be lost someday

B B 

Brian,
  How much power, and what type of set-up?  Please advise.  Later--HUBBARD

[SPIDERMAN]

Hubbard.
           Not that big a deal by today's standards, but this was 10-12 years ago. I was running a 96" Evo that pumped out over 100/100 which in those days was a big deal for a street bike. This was before you could buy complete motors when an S&S 96" Sidewinder kit was the balls.  I had an Arlen Ness swingarm on an 86 FXR that didn't lock in the rear wheel. The adjusters only pushed back on the axle. So everytime I got on it, the axle would pull hard against the forward adjuster on the belt side, but pull away on the opposite. It caused the belt to twist and bind up and everything just got out of whack. I ended up having a nut welded BEHIND the axle and added a bolt pushing forward each way. Interestingly enough, a few years later Chopper Guys started producing FXR swingarms set up this way. The point is, I couldn't figure out what was happening and John put the bike up on the dyno and showed me.

[ultrafxr]

Update on John.  Don't know if another topic on this was started.  If so I can delete this.  Saw John & Sandy at LA State HOG Rally this past weekend.  He is looking good and feeling great.  Last summer at TN State HOG Rally he was really dragging - looked and felt bad.  Finally determined electrical problem in his ticker.  Installed pacemaker and all is good.  Glad to see he's back at 100%. 

[Capo]

John thank goodness for those 100K overhauls! Hope your feeling better and getting back on two wheels soon.

Ride Safe!