In the 30's my father rode an Indian ... then Harleys after the war. He stopped after getting married. I stopped one Sunday afternoon when I was goofing off ... passed a car going up a small hill ... met another car head on. Managed to shoot between both cars w/ no injuries. Later my parents and future wife were waiting for me in the driveway. The car I'd passed was my father driving. That was the end of that. Probably for the best. Sincerely. bruce.
Young People and Fast Motorcycles-Advice from an Old Cop.
- Thread starter VaTom
- Start date
terry_tr6
Member
for some reason they seem to think that when they are overtaking you at double your speed you will see them and make sure to not make any moves like changing lanes or braking for road debris. then they act pi$$ed at you for doing so. I just hope they try to dodge and go off the road and not come through my back window. Locally a number of years ago, a guy was killed when he was t-boned by a biker in a 45mph zone when he pulled into the intersection, not realizing that little dot down the street was doing probably 100+mph. biker's (dead) body came through the window of the suv and killed the driver. look it up. Rockledge florida.
I just sold my bike, and am bikeless for the 1st time in 25 years. After 40 years of riding, the combination of distracted drivers and 'seasoned citizen' drivers in our area have made it too dangerous to be enjoyable. It was a hard thing to do, having been border to border and coast to coast on two wheels over the years. I love riding and miss it... I might buy another bike if we move to greener pastures when we retire in a couple of years.
If you've never experienced the thrill of a high performance motorcycle, it's nearly beyond comprehension. If you've driven a car with 600+hp, you might have some idea. It's a hard thing to temper when you're young and invincible, and unfortunately most riders don't seek out the training and knowledge to develop the skills necessary. It's a lot like shooting in that respect...
Eventually, I got myself on the racetrack and drag raced and road raced bikes for a number of years. It allowed me to use my bikes to their potential in a way that was simply not possible on the street, and that greatly improved my street riding. It developed my skills, and it reduced the desire to be imprudent on the roads by allowing an outlet for the 'need for speed'.
With my patrol area encompassing several of the more popular 2-lane mountain roads for motorcyclists, I investigated plenty of crashes, and many fatalities. When I made stops for speed, I encouraged riders to seek out training, and get their thrills on the track... a track day was cheaper than a speeding ticket after all. And much less expensive than a trip to the ER, or worse.
If you've never experienced the thrill of a high performance motorcycle, it's nearly beyond comprehension. If you've driven a car with 600+hp, you might have some idea. It's a hard thing to temper when you're young and invincible, and unfortunately most riders don't seek out the training and knowledge to develop the skills necessary. It's a lot like shooting in that respect...
Eventually, I got myself on the racetrack and drag raced and road raced bikes for a number of years. It allowed me to use my bikes to their potential in a way that was simply not possible on the street, and that greatly improved my street riding. It developed my skills, and it reduced the desire to be imprudent on the roads by allowing an outlet for the 'need for speed'.
With my patrol area encompassing several of the more popular 2-lane mountain roads for motorcyclists, I investigated plenty of crashes, and many fatalities. When I made stops for speed, I encouraged riders to seek out training, and get their thrills on the track... a track day was cheaper than a speeding ticket after all. And much less expensive than a trip to the ER, or worse.
Old Arkansawyer
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I had 2 crotch rockets pass me on I-49 on their back wheels, looking
for an early death.
Quit riding when 2 good old boys in a pickup over in Oklahoma tried to
run me off the road. And I might add when I was young riding on the
back of my friends cycle at over 100mph, no helmets in those days or
any other protective gear. About 30 minutes after I got off a guy in
a pickup with running boards pulled out in front of my friend and the
running board cut his foot off above the ankle. I saw it happen and
ran down where he was in the bar ditch and found his foot in the cowboy
boot, sent with him to the hospital but it was to damaged to reattach.
for an early death.
Quit riding when 2 good old boys in a pickup over in Oklahoma tried to
run me off the road. And I might add when I was young riding on the
back of my friends cycle at over 100mph, no helmets in those days or
any other protective gear. About 30 minutes after I got off a guy in
a pickup with running boards pulled out in front of my friend and the
running board cut his foot off above the ankle. I saw it happen and
ran down where he was in the bar ditch and found his foot in the cowboy
boot, sent with him to the hospital but it was to damaged to reattach.
In the UK back in the 1950s one used to start riding on 2 wheels but the engine size was limited according to age. Not until over 21 could you have a 250 cc or above. So a 100 cc at 16, then a car at 17. Coming to the US in 1968 I ended up with a Honda CB 500T and a couple of scooters. Finally gave up two wheels when I turned 50 and relied on 4. Just too many "pseudo M/C riders" out there. Dave_n
I've seen the aftermath of a few high-speed motorcycle wrecks. Yet to see any beautiful corpses lying around. I have nothing against fast motorcycles. The current crop of insanely fast motorcycles is another matter. The last one I rode seemed nearly impossible to ride smoothly at normal speeds (35-80 mph). It barely started to settle down at 90. Between the young, inexperienced, immature kids riding these things on one hand and on the other hand all the old geezers riding double on their Harleys with no helmets and/or other protective gear, it's a wonder we don't have more fatalities than we do. I considered myself lucky that my son did not develop any interest in the crotch-rocket scene.
My bike is down for repairs this summer. I haven't ridden much over the last few years. I had a dig that lived truck rides and I loved that fog more than my bike. She went everywhere with me. So, maybe some rides in late fall. If not next year. And yes, everyone out there is trying to kill me.
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germansheperd
Member
I've always been more concerned about other innocent people vs riders acting like nuts.
Llew Taranau
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The reality is that for every dumbass squid on a crotch rocket flouting basic safety who gets himself killed, there are probably 10x as many safe riders who are killed by dumbass car drivers who "didn't see him" because they weren't paying attention. The Hurt Report (great name, btw) demonstrated that the majority of motorcycle fatalities are caused by someone in a car making a left turn in front of them.
Protocall_Design
Vendor
I used to race motocross in the early 70s for a few years. Loved every minute. Had a few bad crashes, but never really got hurt because of all the protective gear and being in the dirt with no cars around. Had to give it up, too expensive.
Later got a street bike and rode it to work because of the good gas mileage. Almost got killed on it twice because of idiot car drivers. Sold it to stay alive. I would dearly love to get a Polaris Slingshot, but never will, too dangerous. Not the bike, the other drivers. Three of my friends have been run over and killed when they were riding bicycles. If I ever get another MC, it will be for dirt riding only.
Later got a street bike and rode it to work because of the good gas mileage. Almost got killed on it twice because of idiot car drivers. Sold it to stay alive. I would dearly love to get a Polaris Slingshot, but never will, too dangerous. Not the bike, the other drivers. Three of my friends have been run over and killed when they were riding bicycles. If I ever get another MC, it will be for dirt riding only.
Many years ago as a young man I bought a new 1979 Kawasaki 750. On a ride home alone from Michigan on an early Sunday morning I decided to see how fast it would go. Traffic was light so I got into the left lane an opened it up. The speedo went to 140 and as the needle reached 140 I was passing other vehicle's like they were standing still. I passed a Michigan State Trooper that was parked in the median and expected him to come after me, he never did. I realized that if anybody changed into my lane there was no way I would be able to stop and I would probably be killed. I got off the throttle, switched into the right lane and never even thought about trying that again. At a young age you feel you are invincible and bad things only happen to other people. The majority of us make it through that phase, there will always be some that won't.
IIRC the left turning car (which is called the SMIDSY crash in some places - "Sorry Mate, I Didn't See Ya") represented the 98 percentile of m/c fatalites when multiple vehicles were involved. Single vehicle crashes are a little different, but alcohol was present in the majority of single vehicle m/c fatalities.
Also, the Hurt Report was published 40 years ago! I would love to see a modern version. Protective gear, ABS and vehicle stability electronics have made motorcycles safer, but the average driving public has definitely made things worse...
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We all call super fast motorcycle riders organ donors.
Saw something about 15 years ago that still sticks in my mind.....I was on I-24 south of Nashville and was going 80mph when a motorcycle went by me like I was sitting still (had to be going well over 100mp), but what was so unforgettable was the guy was on his rear-wheel only and stayed that way for a couple of miles. I tried to keep him in sight to see the crash, but he finally let down and just kept going. I still just shake my head when I think of that.
Don
Don
I always wore full gear when dirt riding - boots, pants helmet goggles, gloves. Bark busters on the handlebars etc. The pants had knee and hip pads, with high material in the crotch. It all cost money but when I would look at them later and see the scratches and tears along with nicks in the helmet they seemed cheap. Plenty of bruises but no broken bones or stitches.
sigp220.45
US Veteran
I rode bikes from 15 until my first son was born when I was 32. Sold the one I had then and never looked back. Childish things and all that……
I worked many horrific bike crashes over the years. I had one where a nice old Navajo lady pulled out in front of a guy at night. Never saw him. He hit her square on the passenger side and one of his legs went sailing down the road without him. He was dead on impact. I went for a look-see and laying exactly on the yellow stripe about 75 feet from the car was a 4 inch piece of shinbone. No blood on it at all - just a shiny white section of bone oriented perfectly with the yellow line, on this pitch black stretch of lonely reservation road. It was like something out of a David Lynch movie.
I found his boot with foot in it in the ditch. She got a ticket for failure to yield from the tribal cops.
I worked many horrific bike crashes over the years. I had one where a nice old Navajo lady pulled out in front of a guy at night. Never saw him. He hit her square on the passenger side and one of his legs went sailing down the road without him. He was dead on impact. I went for a look-see and laying exactly on the yellow stripe about 75 feet from the car was a 4 inch piece of shinbone. No blood on it at all - just a shiny white section of bone oriented perfectly with the yellow line, on this pitch black stretch of lonely reservation road. It was like something out of a David Lynch movie.
I found his boot with foot in it in the ditch. She got a ticket for failure to yield from the tribal cops.
Kid I used to work with came into wotk several mornings bragging about riding double down one of the major thoroughfares at 100 MPH plus. I told Him He was an idiot and would only get someone killed along with Him. He responded that He was a better rider than I was. My response was that no good rider would ride that stupid. Week later He was dead. Motorcycle ended up in the back seat of a car from the rear and He ended up head first into some abutment or other. When one of the young ladies working there asked Me how could I not be devastated by this, My response was that how could I be devastated by something I expected. I put 175K on a Valkyrie, 88K on a BMW R1150RT. Not to mention the Nortons and Hondas in between. Finally quit all together just before retiring. Everything is so laidback up here I'm thinking of a Harley for the first time.
