Motorcyclist dies on "the Dragon"

[StevieG]

Originally Posted by JRinKY Another trite, but true, saying is "It's not if. It's when, and how bad." ('92 GSXR600)

I still ride dirtbikes, have one racing setup BADA$$ Yamaha Banshee, have race prepped Yamaha dirtbikes, and I ride a Harley on the street. Too bad, the crotch rocket crowd that I witness---definitely NOT all of them but a significant percentage at maybe 35-45% ride their bikes like the have an early date with the death. It ain't pretty and it ain't funny. Wheelstands in traffic at 80-90 mph. Rounding curves for 75 mph at 140 mph or more. Dashing in and out of traffic lanes in a kinda analogy to a skier in a slolom race just to prove their riding prowess to some tattooed girl/women whose derriere and thong is totally exposed on the back of the bike. Yeah, the wear a helmet, but what good is a DOT or SNELL approved helmet when you crash at 175 mph.

I know of several riders in the Duke city who lost their lives going way too fast on city and public streets when they never should have. I won't stereotype all crotch rocket riders, but I think the foolish one's I see tarnish the other lawful riders and make it easy for Mom and Pop in their minivan to think that these riders are incredibly stupid, foolish, reckless and irresponsible.
I'm sorry the motorcyclist in this case died, but it was his decision to ride a bike that had more performance than he could handle.

[JRinKY]

StevieG : I still ride dirtbikes, have one racing setup BADA$$ Yamaha Banshee, have race prepped Yamaha dirtbikes, and I ride a Harley on the street. Too bad, the crotch rocket crowd that I witness---definitely NOT all of them but a significant percentage at maybe 35-45% ride their bikes like the have an early date with the death. It ain't pretty and it ain't funny. Wheelstands in traffic at 80-90 mph. Rounding curves for 75 mph at 140 mph or more. Dashing in and out of traffic lanes in a kinda analogy to a skier in a slolom race just to prove their riding prowess to some tattooed girl/women whose derriere and thong is totally exposed on the back of the bike. Yeah, the wear a helmet, but what good is a DOT or SNELL approved helmet when you crash at 175 mph. I know of several riders in the Duke city who lost their lives going way too fast on city and public streets when they never should have. I won't stereotype all crotch rocket riders, but I think the foolish one's I see tarnish the other lawful riders and make it easy for Mom and Pop in their minivan to think that these riders are incredibly stupid, foolish, reckless and irresponsible. I'm sorry the motorcyclist in this case died, but it was his decision to ride a bike that had more performance than he could handle.

I was minding my own business, cruising under the speedlimit on a country road, when a 90 year old woman in a Taurus pulled out of a church parking lot right in front of me, got all the way into the road, saw me, and stopped. Stone wall on one side, line of trees on the other.

It's not if. It's when and how bad.

[SmokinSolstice]

Originally Posted by StevieG I still ride dirtbikes, have one racing setup BADA$$ Yamaha Banshee, have race prepped Yamaha dirtbikes, and I ride a Harley on the street. Too bad, the crotch rocket crowd that I witness---definitely NOT all of them but a significant percentage at maybe 35-45% ride their bikes like the have an early date with the death. It ain't pretty and it ain't funny. Wheelstands in traffic at 80-90 mph. Rounding curves for 75 mph at 140 mph or more. Dashing in and out of traffic lanes in a kinda analogy to a skier in a slolom race just to prove their riding prowess to some tattooed girl/women whose derriere and thong is totally exposed on the back of the bike. Yeah, the wear a helmet, but what good is a DOT or SNELL approved helmet when you crash at 175 mph. I know of several riders in the Duke city who lost their lives going way too fast on city and public streets when they never should have. I won't stereotype all crotch rocket riders, but I think the foolish one's I see tarnish the other lawful riders and make it easy for Mom and Pop in their minivan to think that these riders are incredibly stupid, foolish, reckless and irresponsible. I'm sorry the motorcyclist in this case died, but it was his decision to ride a bike that had more performance than he could handle.

I agree with that and I know not all crotch rocket riders are like that but I think the reason why you see a percentage of people like that is because they are younger and feel invicible. Most of these riders are 16-21 yearolds or so doing what they saw on tv.

[Tailhooker]

A couple of things come to mind: The overwhelming majorityof accidents between a car and a motorcycle are documented with the driver (of the car) saying , " I never even SAW the motorcycle" ! People who drive cars (who are NOT motorcycle people) , tend to not even see a motorcycle . Most of the car/cycle accidents occur at an intersection where the car turns left , into the path of the oncoming motorcycle.

And , a significant percentage of "young" students who took the Motorcycle Safety Course had the attitude of " I know all this already - I'm only here for the completion card , which will give me a discount on my insurance". It was funny to see them struggling in some of the harder parts of the curriculum. This was "back in the day" of mandatory helmet usage in Pennsylvania. As instructors we had to "set an example" of wearing proper protective gear - helmet , full fingered gloves , long sleeved jacket , long trousers , and "over the ankle" boots. I can only imagine the interest level of some young dude who is taking the course for the sole reason of getting maybe 10% off his insurance , and here he has to wear all that protective gear during the entire riding part of the course. After the Helmet Law was repealed , I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw students coming to the course on their cycles wearing flip-flops, cutoff jeans, and a wife beater (sorry) tee shirt and NO HELMET........only to put on full protective gear in order to ride on the course.
Thanks,
Todd

[StevieG]

Originally Posted by Tailhooker A couple of things come to mind: The overwhelming majorityof accidents between a car and a motorcycle are documented with the driver (of the car) saying , " I never even SAW the motorcycle" ! People who drive cars (who are NOT motorcycle people) , tend to not even see a motorcycle . Most of the car/cycle accidents occur at an intersection where the car turns left , into the path of the oncoming motorcycle. And , a significant percentage of "young" students who took the Motorcycle Safety Course had the attitude of " I know all this already - I'm only here for the completion card , which will give me a discount on my insurance". It was funny to see them struggling in some of the harder parts of the curriculum. This was "back in the day" of mandatory helmet usage in Pennsylvania. As instructors we had to "set an example" of wearing proper protective gear - helmet , full fingered gloves , long sleeved jacket , long trousers , and "over the ankle" boots. I can only imagine the interest level of some young dude who is taking the course for the sole reason of getting maybe 10% off his insurance , and here he has to wear all that protective gear during the entire riding part of the course. After the Helmet Law was repealed , I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw students coming to the course on their cycles wearing flip-flops, cutoff jeans, and a wife beater (sorry) tee shirt and NO HELMET........only to put on full protective gear in order to ride on the course. Thanks, Todd

Totally agree.
When I have taken the course, I have been pleasantly surprised to find something new to improve my DRIVING habits as a car driver, and my riding habits as a motorcyclist. That course has mandatory safety guidelines and I follow them always with my street riding. with dirtriding, it is even more important for me to wear accurate and approved safety gear---it is a near guarantee that I am dropping my dirtbike on a given day.
Live to ride....ride to live. Leave the showoff stuff and high speed racing for a proper venue---=the race track

[Tailhooker]

Oh, yeah ! I forgot about the "crossover" techniques. I can't tell you how many times I use the "two second rule" to establish minimum separation from the car in front. When I'm in my GXP , this is an almost constant occurrence ! ;-)

[Critterman]

Back in the 80's the Navy decided that if we wanted to ride on base we had to take a weeklong course. I don't remember what all was included beside classroom and handling. I do remember we had to ride a tight course one handed at an idle (left handed) and using only the throttle right handed and you couldn't put a foot down. There were also brake exersises using only one brake, front or rear their choice, obstacle avoidance and how to go over something A( they used mufflers and 4x4's that the tossed in front of you, everything was at low speed and involved bike control. It was a great class.

I quit riding when I came back to the DC area, to much traffic and they all seem to want to run you off the road.