| Author | Message | ||
     Grlryder |
I noticed many of you talking about wheelies and sharing pictures of such. Its great stuff, I admit, but if you must get crazy...keep it off the main road, and especially off superhighways. So many times around here (Connecticut) you see the riders cruising down the road with 4 lanes of traffic at cruising speed of about 80, and up comes their front wheel. Well, yesterday one of those guys rode his last! I believe the driver of the van is ok...thank God!! Its so sad to see any rider pass away. Nothing more to be said other than that I know we all take risks the moment we hit the throttle, but if you think you have total control of a motorcycle when its up on 1 wheel ...think again. http://www.wfsb.com/news/10009435/detail.html | ||
| Swordsman |
I agree wholeheartedly. Stunts are fine AWAY from everyone else. Not only is the stunter risking his own life, but that of EVERYONE around him. Not cool at all. ~SM | ||
| Greenlantern |
That is truly a sad story. Whenever common sense has tried to take leave of my body I recite the following to myself,"There is only 1 cool way to die and that's in your sleep!" It does keep me grounded. My prayers for the rider and his family and the Van driver who will probably have that horrific moment haunt him/her for the rest of his/her life. | ||
| Ragnagwar |
So sad, and stupid. Just think of how many lives this will affect. | ||
| Jaimec |
I disagree. The only good way to die is to go out like former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller... having sex with the much younger mistress. Don't know how the mortician got that smile off his face... | ||
| Swordsman |
Heh, I think you may be on to something there, Jaimec! =D | ||
| Greenlantern |
Jaimec Yeah but how many of us get to be a Governor ,a Rockefeller or a young mistress for that matter?  | ||
| Docktor |
imagelink2{http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/happy.gif,: )}. As much as it hurts to see another rider go down,it happens, watched the video and it seems it wasnt the riders fault... If that WAS the case then I hope the van driver does live with the image the rest of his days.If it was me he killed I would haunt him forever.Yeah I know he should not have been hangin a stand (here is OZ if a cop catches us doing it we are charged with not having full control of the vehicle..) i can tell you when my front comes up i have TOTAL control over the vehicle. People die everyday on bikes, whether it be their fault or a car drivers fault. Same result, rider dead usually. IT HAPPENS PEOPLE !!!. live with it or get off the •••••• things. i wanna die on a bike or bangin Lucy Lawless. Either way I'm gunna be smiling. Doc (Message edited by Docktor on October 06, 2006) | ||
| Jaimec |
Rumor has it Rockefeller's last words were "Oh God! I'm coming!" and then he went...  | ||
| Jaimec |
I can still remember when my friend got a ticket for pulling a wheelie past a Dunkin' Donuts. I told him he might as well just pull one past the Police Station! And I must disagree... if you're pulling a wheelie you are NOT in complete control. If you are doing 60 mph, you are covering 90 feet a second. It takes an average human being 1.8 seconds to recognize a hazard and then react to it. For the sake of simple mathematics, we'll round that up to two seconds. That means you have 180 feet to react to hazard after you first saw it, recognized it AS a hazard, and then started to do something about it. The first thing you have to do is get the front wheel back down. That'll take ANOTHER second or another 90 feet. So far, we've gone 370 feet. Are you getting the drift yet? Public roads are NO place to be pulling stunts like that. Leave it for empty parking lots. | ||
| Greenlantern |
"I can still remember when my friend got a ticket for pulling a wheelie past a Dunkin' Donuts. I told him he might as well just pull one past the Police Station!" I live around the corner from that "station" and their command center (firehouse lounge). a walk down the block is quicker than 911 for me when there is trouble, But I never leave or arrive at the block in a hurry on a bike!  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Docktor, Riding is completely about margin of error. Each time you make a decision you either increase or decrease your margin of error. Make enough decisions and you can completely remove all margin of error. You decide to ride at a particular time of day, you reduce your margin of error. You decide to ride during higher traffic times, you reduce your margin of error. You decide to ride in the rain, you reduce your margin of error. You decide not to ride ATGATT, you reduce your margin of error. You decide to run on tires that are past good, you reduce your margin of error. You decide to run at two times the speed limit, you reduce your margin of error. You decide to stunt or do wheelies in traffic, you reduce your margin of error. The odds are impartial. They don't love you or hate you. They are what they are. Eventually, the odd always win. Attitude is everything. Boldness is rarely rewarded by the odds. Please remember this while completely in control at 100 mph on one wheel on the interstate. Your skill is undeniable. The odds aren't. | ||
| Glitch |
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| Bob_thompson |
This reminds me of an old saying about other things and fits here "There are old stunters and there are bold stunters but there are no old/bold stunters. Stay safe. | ||
| Skyguy |
If someone dies stunting on a public road I will not only not shed a tear but I will call him a stupid squid and shall fart in his general direction. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
We all do dumb things. Most of the time we don't think that we are in over our heads until it's too late. I'm sure that this guy didn't think "I'm gonna run down this list of activities and end up blowing through a mini-van.". I don't celebrate the death of another rider, but I do seek to determine what the contributing factors were to the crash and attempt to minimize those impacts in my own riding. There are simply circumstances that can not be helped. A drunk driver that crosses over the center line and hits you head on with no warning is something you simply can't plan for. In that case you are dead whether you are on a bike or in your car. | ||
| Buelluk |
Docktor, You don't have TOTAL control if the front wheel is in the air, for instance what will you do if the rear tyre blows out while you are on the back wheel. Before you start blaming the minivan driver ,just think if it was a mother bringing her kids back from school and this doofus is suddenly launched through the back window. | ||
| Docktor |
everything stated is correct . It is the margin of error, and if we all lived by WHAT IFS, we wouldnt get out of bed in the morning, I agree, stunting is for closed circuit or other controlled places, As for blowing a back tyre,that will happen if the front is hunting sky or not. Margin of error is tops fellas, We can all wear flouro safety vests and ride neon bikes, the fact remains we are still a minority n roads and car drivers are NOT trained to look out for us, and it doesnt stop the driver fumbling for that favourite cd or putting on makeup at whatever your speed limit is over there.If you listen to the video , the witness says, "as he went thru the green light". Agreed he would have had a better chance of survival if both wheels were touching ground for many reasons including increased vision,braking,stability but he had right of way. But it dont matter end result is he is dead. Ft_bstrd , you are correct, its all about margin of error,we do what we can to stay safe but it doesnt always keep us safe.I have about 20 years riding time under my belt and I am hoping for a lot more,I am about to get dressed now and go gassin.If I make it home thats tops, if i dont thats life/death.We all ride here, well I assume most of us do, and they are the facts,if you cant handle them get off your ride and buy a mini van.100% concentration is required for riding, in a car you have protection,on a bike you have skill and luck,if you run out of skill and luck at the same time you are dead, in a car you get to ring your insurance company and say my cars broke and I have a bruise. Skyguy, I thank you for your words of wisdom and shall endeavour to remember them next time I have the honour of scraping a motorcyclist up off the road I will ask if he was being silly or not before i decide to shed a tear.... or fart in his general direction. As Brian said, Lifes a laugh and deaths a joke. All that said I DO NOT condone the rider hanging stands in a public area and I apologise if it sounded as if i did.I am pleased to see none of you have ever removed the front wheel from the ground on a public street. I have and probably will again today. Sue me. LOL Doc | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Docktor, We all understand the risks. It was your use of "TOTAL control" that set everyone off. Total control is a construct of the mind. There is no such thing. Pull a stand on public roads enough and you will die. Period. You have 20 years under your belt. That's great. You may have another 20 or you might not be back to read this. Conditions are always conspiring against us. In the end, this incident was the RIDER'S fault. Pretty difficult to blow through a van like that at 45, wheelie or not! "Ride like a knob and you'll die!" | ||
| Earwig |
Docktor, you need the front wheel of the bike to steer... if the front wheel is in the air you do not have complete control... don't be a moron. | ||
| Fastfxrs |
Earwig, you don't need the front wheel to steer. I've drifted toward the shoulder more than once on my rear and have been able to correct. The front wheel obviously steers better though (the reason we can never have complete control with the front wheel in the air). I wheelie for my own amusement on straight stretches of usually empty road. A wheelie through an intersection is just asking for it. I ride through those with my levers covered by my hands/foot and assume someone is going to run a red or turn left in front of me. I definately need both wheels on the ground for that. My wife has a "Ride like a knob and you'll die!" shirt, but her Blast dosen't wheelie near as easy as my Uly. Tim | ||
| Blake |
I watched the video." What video? "total control" On any motorcycle, that is pure unmitigated fantasy, unless you are able to control everyone, everything, and every road surface everywhere, which I don't think you are. Tires blow, engines spew oil, animals run onto the roadway, cars leak coolant, objects clutter the roadway... the dangerous variables are near endless. "Total control" you say? Impossible! Wisdom is most often gained through experience. I wish more folks would learn from the death of the subject wheelie riding reckless rider. | ||
| Jaimec |
Yes, you DO need the front wheel to steer: http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/nobsbike.htm | ||
| Diablobrian |
We all make mistakes, but this rider was really pushing his luck to it's limit...and beyond. I HATE to hear that any rider has died in a multi-vehicle accident, especially since the statistics say that +90% of the time the other vehicle was at fault (as it was in this case) The only thing that could have saved him was application of common sense and a little self control. He obviously did not feel the need to ride defensively. Really bad idea, but he didn't deserve to die for it. Reprimanded maybe, but not killed. | ||
| Docktor |
LOL. I love this, I agree u need a wheel to steer, but you dont need a front wheel to change direction of the bike,. Blake the video is the little clicky thing at the bottom of the picture. It seems I made it back safely from another ride. Whoo Hoo. All in all same result fellas, another member of the mc fraternity dead. most uncool Doc | ||
| Kdan |
It's another fine example of natural selection. I'll be the first to admit, some of my brothers are stupid. | ||
| Bdabuell |
What video? There's a link on the page, tho not the most obvious...took me a minute to find it http://www.wfsb.com/video/10012006/index.html | ||
| Bdabuell |
I was at a Starbucks a while ago talking to a guy with a gsxr750...he seemed like a cool guy and we chatted about the pros and cons of both our bikes. We both left at the same time and headed out onto I84...we were doing about 65 and he suddenly stood it up and took off, weaving by cars on one wheel... Part of me was actually impressed at his ability to do this, but I was also frightened by the potential for what could go wrong...traffic is not the place for that (Message edited by BDABuell on October 07, 2006) | ||
| Fastfxrs |
Jaimec, does a unicycle need a front wheel to steer? Seriously, with both wheels on the ground a motorcycle does. I've watched that Kieth Code video many times and recommend it to anyone I hear talking about body steering. Its good info. But when your on the rear wheel, you have a much longer lever available and the bike can rotate on the long axis to change direction, though obviously not in "total control." Tim | ||
| Jaimec |
A unicycle is a completely different animal, carrying far less gyroscopic precession. It turns by the rider twisting his body and also travels at far less speeds. I can see your point that a motorcycle doing a wheelie can be considered a "unicycle." However, remember the physics I explained earlier regarding reaction time and ground covered at speed? You will swerve a motorcycle MUCH FASTER using the bars with both wheels on the ground than you will muscling the bike around on one wheel. Seconds are precious under these circumstances. By my estimate, the rider would've traveled 370 feet (assuming 60 mph... the news video implies he was going MUCH faster) before he would've gotten to the point where he could do anything. That's longer than a football field. About the length of a 37 story skyscraper if laid on its side. I'm betting that by the time he was even aware the van was running the red light, he was already far too close to do anything. The van is legally at fault for running a red light, but the rider shares in the responsibility of his own death for riding like a jackass on public roads. That's the way Darwinian theory works, and he's just strengthened the overall gene pool by taking himself out of it. For that we should be thankful. |
