Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

RIP George Bourroughs (the Koolaid Kid)

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    Condolences to the family and friends of George.
    My only contact was through this site but echoing the thoughts of others that he had a great GS Spirit.
    2@ \'78 GS1000

    Comment


      #17
      Very sorry to hear of George's passing. George and Brian were the first GSR members that I met in 2007. Attended a few rallies with George and always got a kick out of his humor and enjoyed the conversations. RIP George.
      Current:
      2008 BMW R1200RT
      Past History:1971 Honda CB350; 1972 Bonneville
      1979 Suzuki GS550E
      1979 Suzuki GS850G
      1980 Suzuki GS850G
      1983 Suzuki GS1100E
      2006 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
      2004 BMW R1150 RT
      2009 Triumph Bonneville SE

      Comment


        #18
        RIP sir. Didn't have any communications with him personally but sure have read many of his posts. If the measure of your success is how many you have helped along the way then seemingly George was a richly successful man

        Comment


          #19
          Oh wow sad news indeed! My condolences to his family and friends... never actually knew his name 'til this thread but George always had something helpful to say when offering advice in my threads etc. He will definitely be missed...
          1982 GS450E - The Wee Beastie
          1984 GSX750S Katana 7/11 - Kit Kat - BOTM May 2020

          sigpic

          450 Refresh thread: https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...-GS450-Refresh

          Katana 7/11 thread: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...84-Katana-7-11

          Comment


            #20
            Aw crap! I was just thinking of him last week, thinking I need to catch up with him at BC this year. He once lost a whole day of rally riding to stay with me and try to fix my charging system. We need another rally so he can have one named after him.
            Dogma
            --
            O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you! - David

            Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense. - Carl Sagan

            --
            '80 GS850 GLT
            '80 GS1000 GT
            '01 ZRX1200R

            How to get a "What's New" feed without the Vortex, and without permanently quitting the Vortex

            Comment


              #21




              These are the only pics of George I could find in my photobucket albums.
              sigpic2002 KLR650 Ugly but fun!
              2001 KLR650 too pretty to get dirty

              Life is a balancing act, enjoy every day, "later" will come sooner than you think. Denying yourself joy now betting you will have health and money to enjoy life later is a bad bet.

              Where I've been Riding


              Comment


                #22
                I found a few from a Fennimore trip in June of 2010. I may have more and will look later.

                George with Greg White:


                George on the right, same trip:


                Again, on the right:


                And sitting at the table, red jacket:

                Last edited by Baatfam; 01-03-2016, 06:23 PM.
                Bob T. ~~ Play the GSR weekly photo game: Pic of Week Game
                '83 GS1100E ~ '24 Triumph Speed 400 ~ '01 TRIUMPH TT600 ~ '67 HONDA CUB

                Comment


                  #23
                  I am incredibly saddened by this news as well. George was a good friend -- we spent a lot of time riding (although some rides didn't last as long as they should have... we'll go over some of those stories later), wrenching on motorcycles, fixing cars, doing home improvement, and even repairing computers, lawn mowers, weed whackers, and snowblowers.

                  Damn, now I just remembered I still have some parts for his snow blower in my garage.

                  We also spent a lot of time cooking, eating, and talking, even after George had to quit riding. Every few weeks we'd meet up for a frugal lunch at a little out of the way Mexican bistro called "Taco Bell".

                  Lots of folks here have been touched by his generosity. I think the following story illustrates George's immense heart pretty well -- it's a little long, but I think it's the kindest, most thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me.

                  Back in November 2011, I was hit by a car while riding home from work and broke my leg for the second time. I also suffered a broken wrist and ankle. The repairs were complicated by the hardware in my leg from the first time I broke it in 2007, and surgery dragged on for hours. Long story short, I was in pretty rough shape and spent 11 days in the hospital.

                  George visited regularly, and didn't mind when I nodded off after getting my pain medication. In return, I didn't complain when he wanted to change the channel and watch his absolute favorite show, "Big Bang Theory". He brought a spare laptop for me to use so I wouldn't go nuts from boredom. When I was finally released shortly before Thanksgiving, my wife was stuck at work and George kindly picked me up from the hospital, dropped by a restaurant so we could get my first real meal in 11 days, and generally helped get me settled at home.

                  Now, by way of background I should explain that in these same two weeks, my wife Marge was dealing with a death in her family plus the death of one of her close friends. A busted-up husband was just the icing on a very stressful cake. Plus, Thanksgiving was that week, she was very busy at work, and her birthday was the day after T-Day. Just a LOT for her to deal with in a very short time, and I was fairly helpless to do much for her.

                  Here's the good part: the day after Thanksgiving, George showed up at my house with armloads of groceries and a turkey, and proceeded to cook the absolute best Thanksgiving feast I've ever had. A spatchcocked turkey, dressing, veggies, the works. George made sure we didn't miss Thanksgiving, and that we had plenty of tasty leftovers. (Did I ever mention George was one of the best chefs I've ever known?).

                  As I've said, that Thanksgiving feast will always remain one of the best, kindest things anyone's ever done for me.


                  As mentioned above, George was also the main organizer of "Operation Laptop Lift". With my injuries, I couldn't sit at a desk, so George let me borrow one of his laptops for a while. Little did I know that George and the rest of my GS Resources family had organized a quick fund drive, and shortly after I got home, the FedEx man came knocking with a brand-new laptop! The laptop was immensely useful in helping me pass the time and enabled me to start working from home a lot sooner. It was amazing and humbling.


                  I have lots of George stories, as many of us do. I hope we can get together to tell them soon -- the "oil cooler money shot" story really requires a live audience...

                  Ride in peace, my friend. I'll miss you.
                  1983 GS850G, Cosmos Blue.
                  2005 KLR685, Aztec Pink - Turd II.3, the ReReReTurdening
                  2015 Yamaha FJ-09, Magma Red Power Corrupts...
                  Eat more venison.

                  Please provide details. The GSR Hive Mind is nearly omniscient, but not yet clairvoyant.

                  Celeriter equita, converteque saepe.

                  SUPPORT THIS SITE! DONATE TODAY!

                  Get "The Riding Obsession" sport-touring motorcycling podcast at https://tro.bike/podcast/ or wherever you listen to podcasts!

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Well spoken Brian, a good man has passed and you just provided a glimpse of his character to those who never had the privilege to meet him.
                    sigpic2002 KLR650 Ugly but fun!
                    2001 KLR650 too pretty to get dirty

                    Life is a balancing act, enjoy every day, "later" will come sooner than you think. Denying yourself joy now betting you will have health and money to enjoy life later is a bad bet.

                    Where I've been Riding


                    Comment


                      #25
                      He certainly was one of the good ones, I am one of the many to benefit from his generosity. I am deeply saddened at his passing, and sad that he had some tough things to deal with in life. George you are missed, you leave a large void yet in your generosity you have left a large part of yourself with us.
                      "Men will never be free until Mark learns to do The Twist."

                      -Denis D'shaker

                      79 GS750N

                      Comment


                        #26
                        I too am also saddened with the news. George and roomed together a number of times on rallys and he was a good friend. He and I would have the E vs. L and shaft vs. chain good natured b@ll busting arguement. As Brian mentioned the "money shot" story is one of the funniest I have ever been involved with and should be told live but since I was directly behind him when it happened I guess I will have to tell it for those here.

                        It was a Thursday ride before I think the second Moto GP and Joe and Cathy Nardy were going to meet us somewhere along the way but we had not seen them yet. We turned onto 58 from 135 going west towards Bedford on a straight stretch of road and Joe passed us like we were standing still. At that point George decided he was going to catch up to them. A couple seconds into it his oil cooler line came off and the oil was hitting the hot motor and the bike looked like it was on fire and my faceshield and jacket were getting pelted with droplets of oil and I was riding in a trail of white smoke. He did not see the oil trail or smoke behind him but I was able to catch up to him and wave him off the road. I went to get some oil for a re-fill and came back. We put the line back on as best we could and got back on the road but within a few miles the line came off again with the same results. At this point George was not happy and Joe ran to town to get more oil. We tried to tighten the line one more time and when George started the motor again for some reason he revved it way up and the oil line came off again and spewed oil approx 15 feet in the air and Mark W got the "money shot" right on his jacket. The third time was the charm and we were able to make it back.

                        You will be missed my friend, but not forgotten.
                        82 GS850L - The Original http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/d...ePics067-1.jpg
                        81 GS1000L - Brown County Hooligan http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/d...ivePics071.jpg
                        83 GS1100L - Super Slab Machine http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/d...t=DCP_1887.jpg
                        06 KLR650 - "The Clown Bike" http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/d...nt=SERally.jpg
                        AKA "Mr Awesome"

                        Comment


                          #27
                          I have heard this story before but it still makes me LOL.
                          sigpic2002 KLR650 Ugly but fun!
                          2001 KLR650 too pretty to get dirty

                          Life is a balancing act, enjoy every day, "later" will come sooner than you think. Denying yourself joy now betting you will have health and money to enjoy life later is a bad bet.

                          Where I've been Riding


                          Comment


                            #28
                            Been digging around for photos of GB. I'm lousy at taking photos anyway, but I'm starting to suspect GB was a bit camera-shy -- I have lots of photos where I know damn good and well he was there somewhere, but he's evaded the lens.


                            In 2007, a contingent of GS riders invaded a KZ rally in Ohio. I believe there were just as many or more of us filthy Suzuki swine as KZ riders, but overall it was a good day.

                            However, this is also the ride where we started to suspect George of having secret powers to attract rain -- George and I battled through a real toad-strangler on the way back to Indy. In later years, we became pretty sure that "Soggy George" must have had an Aztec or Inca rain deity in his family tree somewhere.

                            Here's George getting ready to depart aboard his cherry GS1100E with matching Rifle fairing. Note the ominous grey skies...


                            George drinking ice water. "Agua fria, por favor."


                            Diagnosing what turned out to be a roasted stator on Scott Marvin's GS850G.


                            Demonstrating to a couple of bareheaded KZ heathens how a proper rider should dress:




                            This is from a Galena/Fennimore rally, I think in 2007. Somehow, Al (blue glasses) led this contingent down miles of obscure gravel roads, and GB is dispensing a little razzing for the stellar navigation and leadership...


                            Somehow, GB's bike got some pretty sparklies that night...
                            Last edited by bwringer; 01-08-2016, 04:54 PM.
                            1983 GS850G, Cosmos Blue.
                            2005 KLR685, Aztec Pink - Turd II.3, the ReReReTurdening
                            2015 Yamaha FJ-09, Magma Red Power Corrupts...
                            Eat more venison.

                            Please provide details. The GSR Hive Mind is nearly omniscient, but not yet clairvoyant.

                            Celeriter equita, converteque saepe.

                            SUPPORT THIS SITE! DONATE TODAY!

                            Get "The Riding Obsession" sport-touring motorcycling podcast at https://tro.bike/podcast/ or wherever you listen to podcasts!

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Great story of a generous man Brian, it sounds like you had a real friend there. Another sad event in our little world here. Gods speed.
                              Rob
                              1983 1100ES, 98' ST1100, 02' DR-Z400E and a few other 'bits and pieces'
                              Are you on the GSR Google Earth Map yet? http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=170533

                              Comment


                                #30
                                I never had the privilege to meet George. He seems like my kind of guy. After seeing the picture with the iced down beers in the motel trashcan, that confirmed he was my kind of guy. I feel sorry for everyone that was close to him. I look forward to hearing the stories about George.
                                My Motorcycles:
                                22 Kawasaki Z900 RS (Candy Tone Blue)
                                22 BMW K1600GT (Probably been to a town near you)
                                82 1100e Drag Bike (needs race engine)
                                81 1100e Street Bike (with race engine)
                                79 1000e (all original)
                                82 850g (all original)
                                80 KZ 650F (needs restored)

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X