My last video with Klaus - Nov 1st 2007

Hello friends of Klaus,

This video was shot last November. It was in many ways very typical of any night spent at Klaus' place. We listened to him play music, had tremendous conversations from everything from Greek and Turkish culture, martial arts, and of course women. We showed each other Youtube videos, each trying to outdo the other with laughter. I think I won because I made Klaus laugh so hard with these two videos:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wffwg7pA0t8
This video made Klaus laugh pretty damn hard. But this one made Klaus laugh the hardest, probably because he loved Darth Vader so much:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5blbv4WFriM

I hope if you watch those videos you can hear his distinct laughter which was so heartfelt and full of joy

It's been more than two months and it still hurts so much. I can't believe I won't have another night at his place like this.




For those of you who don't speak German, Klaus says something in this video that strikes me as particularly poignant. When Kenan (my best friend and close friend of Klaus' from Berlin) says in German "So, we are all together once again"... Klaus strums his guitar and replies in German "It's just as it should be"... Yes Klaus, us all together is as it should be.

Then Klaus goes on to tell me that the WingTsun stance I taught him helped him when he was on stage, preventing him from bending forward due to his bad posture ;-)

I hope you all enjoy this video. It was filmed on a cell phone so the quality is not that great. Nevertheless, I have not been able to get through this video once without a tear in my eye.

I'm not religious or particularly spiritual, but I think I feel him watching over me. Some amazing things have happened. Du gibst mir die Kraft Klaus...

Ist aber immer noch sehr schwer... (it's still really difficult, nonetheless).

Klaus' photo now hangs in my office and right above the door to my school, the very same door that I first saw him come through when he first walked into my life.

Thanks again for the chance to post here,

Sifu (Alex Richter)

Collected Thoughts

So much time has passed... it almost seems more unreal now that Klaus is gone. In many ways perhaps even more so than before. I think what has made me more aware of it is the glorious spring weather that has finally arrived. Cousin Paul has already been out for a ride, and I am planning to join him soon. Perhaps one Sunday afternoon we can all gather up on top of Bear Mountain for a picnic lunch or some sort. For many of you, it would be a first visit, but I think it would be a great opportunity to see a slice of what Klaus enjoyed about riding, the roads, and the view from above. 

After Klaus sold the Princess Zephyria, he bought THE BANDIT. An interesting champagne color, it was the first generation Suzuki GSF 1200S Bandit, used with some light modifications and low miles. A bit lighter than the Princess, and more powerful also, with a better chassis that was more responsive, Klaus really enjoyed the Bandit. One little problem was the carburetors. For some reason, Suzuki had choked the Bandit with jetting that made it run strangely. No matter how smooth you were, the throttle response was always a bit temperamental. So, Klaus came to me with the idea to rejet the carburetors and make it run more smoothly. He purchased a jet kit, and dropped off the bike. Of course, things were busy, and I didn't start working on the bike immediately. I figured there was no big rush, since the weather was dreary like this past spring. Of course, a week later... the spring sun emerged, and Klaus was now urgently calling me every few hours to see when the bike would be ready. So, finally I invited him to come over and assist me with the process. I figured it might relax him to see how it all worked up close.

We began the procedure in the cozy confines of my garage (at my Mother's house). Simply accessing the carburetors was a bit difficult on the Bandit, as on my ZRX. Something about the design of a naked/standard that precludes easy carburetor access I suppose. After several hours and a few skinned knuckles, we had removed the carburetors. I am fairly sure they had never been removed from the bike. We drained the fuel from the float bowls (bottom of the carburetors), and then made our attempts to remove some of the vacuum hoses so we could remove the slide covers (top of the carburetors) and access the slides and needles. This is where we ran into an bit of a glitch... Since the covers were plastic, and the hoses rubber, they were fairly well stuck on each other. 

Three of the hoses came off easily, but the forth.... well, it broke it's mount. Now we needed to order a new cover, or else the bike would run like utter crap with a vacuum leak on the cover. Klaus was so so disappointed... you could see the sadness come over his face, and then his whole body. Well, there had to be another way for Klaus to ride. A bit of tinkering, and I managed to plug the vacuum port and seal the slide cover. As it dried we installed the various brass jets. Each of them were crusted over with mung from years of neglect (before Klaus took possession). We had to tap and prod and coax each jet to break it free and replace it with the new larger jet. Again, great care was taken to avoid damage to the carburetors. 

Klaus was fascinated with the entire process. The selection of tools and chemicals, the ports and passages inside the carburetors, the slide diaphragm and it's vacuum operation. None of it escaped his curiosity and wonder. As the Uncle, I had to explain each detail, each movement so he would understand why we were doing what, when.... And WHEN would it be DONE! For Klaus to sit still for so long (perhaps 5 hours that afternoon), while so close to his bike that he could not ride, was perhaps just torturous to him. 

When it was all done, I suggested that perhaps I should be the first to ride it... Just to see his reaction. At first, he was stunned, almost speechless. Then he realized I was sitting on the bike in shorts and sandals and a t shirt with no helmet, and he knew I would never ride without the gear. And he knew I was teasing him and he gave me the big smile as he pronounced himself the Test Pilot! When he returned from a brief ride, he was ecstatic. The bike was "totally transformed, it's AAAAMMMAAAZZIIING, so FANTASTIC!"

A week or so later we replaced the broken cover with a new one (I had installed it on the left most carburetor body so we would be able to change it without completely disassembling the bike). By now Klaus had put some time into riding with the revised carburetor settings, and it was still not quite perfect. So we began scouring the internet for more information. We tried removing the inlet snorkle from the airbox. We tried fitting a full exhaust from Yoshimura. Nothing seemed to work. Finally, we brought the bike to Hudson Valley Motorcycles, and let them work on tuning the carburetors. We got close, but in the end, the Bandit was never quite perfectly sweet running. 

Some of you wonder why... why this obsession with making the bike run better. Well, for Klaus especially, the entire experience on the bike(s) transported him through many dimensions. Any small distraction (like the carburetors not working perfectly) were magnified, and became even greater during this ethereal shift of reality. Klaus was always searching for THE RIDE. Where he could exist in "the zone", experiencing the world around him in a manner only the bike(s) could provide. For many of us, this is what makes riding so special, and so important. For many, it is hard to understand just how deeply passionate Klaus was about riding. A good saying among motorcyclists is "It's not the risk that makes the motorcycling experience worthwhile. Its the experience that makes the risk worthwhile." - And for Klaus, life was meant to be experienced in big chunks, with deep passion, and tremendous excitement.

 

As I gaze upon the open road, ahead are stars to light the way and signs to choose between. And behind, in the shadows, follow memories of those who shared my travels for a time. Even now as I sleep, and the roar of the wind whispers in my ears, I can see you beckoning me forward, motor warmed, magical transport awaiting.

Uncle Steve

Vermisse dich so oft!!!

Und werd dich nie vergessen....

Merl

Ein Gedicht fuer Klaus

Animula, vagula, blandula
Hospes comesque corporis
Quae nunc abibis in loca
Pallidula, rigida, nudula,
Nec, ut soles, dabis iocos...

-P. Aelius Hadrianus Imp.

Kleine Seele, schweifende, zärtliche,
Gast und Gefährtin des Leibs,
Die du nun entschwinden wirst dahin,
Wo es bleich ist, starr und bloß,
Und nicht wie gewohnt mehr scherzen wirst...

The party the night before...

Michael also asked that I post these photos, which are from the night prior to the accident. Klaus had been out in SOHO with Michael and his wife, Oliver and perhaps Oliver's wife (? unsure ?) for dinner at Felix, and then some drinks, and finally a few hours of jazz, until about 2am. Michael was able to recover these photos from the memory card of Klaus' camera.
From Michael "As you can see, he was so happy that night and we had lot's of fun and making funny faces.... although the camera was destroyed during the accident, luckily the chip survived. My wife and I left right before midnight, and Klaus went on to a jazz club with our mutual good friend Oliver till around 2am..." - Much Love, Uncle Steve & Michael.

More Photos From Greece

Hello to all... Michael Monheim received these photos from Georg, one of Klaus' cousin's, and asked me to post them on the blog for all to see. I also have some other pictures I am sorting through currently, and will post more later. I hope you are all well, and slowly finding a path towards the sunshine and happiness. I know for myself, it has been very difficult to accept much of this. The photo of the flowers outside the stairs to the church shows an arrangement that I sent. It was supposed to read "From Uncle Steve and Cousin Paul, and everyone in NY - with love." A good friend of mine asked her aunt in Athens to send the flowers, and the note was cut short, I apologize... Much love to you all - Uncle Steve.

Remembering you

Thank you Alex for your post. As much as it hurts to read it, it helps to process the reality of something so hard to grasp. We learned about Klausn's passing three weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, after all was said and done. We share your pain and devastation. We had just seen him a month earlier when he stopped by in Death Valley on his way to L.A.

It had been the weirdest thing, looking back. The day before he came out, I had this strong feeling to give him a call and I'm so glad I did. I had no idea he was in Las Vegas, only 3 hours away from our home. I am so grateful for this little visit we got to have.

I had one of his one-on-one friendships with him, which turned into a one-on-two friendship after I met my husband Daren and Klaus met him, too. He had actually predicted that with a grand piano in my living room instead of a couch, I would never find a guy. I'm glad I proved him wrong, although he tried hard to convince me to move that huge piano into another room :) He also thought that my cat Silver (or Silva, as he called her, insisting that a female cat needed a name ending in an "A") didn't help matters. He had his thing with cats, as you may know...

As a matter of fact, he sent me this recording in March 06 with the comment "Wunderbar!":
http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/Wd6ZpQ6Q

One of my favorite Klaus stories is Halloween 2003. We had agreed to go watch the parade and wear some kind of costume. I went as a cat (surprise, surprise!), Klaus wore a tuxedo and... a cardboard box over his head. That's right, he couldn't see a thing. I led him through the Village and we laughed and laughed and laughed. He took the box off to see a little of the parade and put it right back on. KlausN at his best!


Klaus with our baby Catherine January 10, 2008 in Death Valley

February 2005, The Gates, NYC

We miss you, Klaus, more than we can say. We felt your presence very strongly that Sunday when we found out. It was as if you had come to say goodbye and let us know that where you are now is... well... fantastic! We'll see you there when our time has come.

Nathalie (Nataklein) & Daren & Catherine