Something to think about

[RaffyK]

Couple of guys lost their lives over the weekend while riding. I read about it on the k-bikes.com forum. In one of the responses to the thread about their death, this gem was written by memeber Mark:

"Perfect weather, perfect roads, high performance bikes and a passion to ride hard is a combination for some of us that can't be beat. It's also a combination that can impair good judgement. If you ride at the upper limits of your ability on a public road, you greatly increase your chances of leaving this world sooner than you had expected."

You all take it easy.

[motorhead]

Nice Info Raffy .... And from someone who just purchased a new K1200R :p

Yup a wife and kids who love you are him humbling :think:

Ride safe my freind.
Scott

[mikerd400]

Excellent information Raffy.

I have investigated and been to numerous motorcycle collisions, with about 95% at Lake Berryessa. Motorcyclists just love those twisty roads.

Here is some info on what I have seen. In the last three and a half years, I have only seen one BMW rider crash. I have seen several Harley riders go down, with one been a fatality (he was DUI and hit a tree). The majority of the Harley riders that have gone down were new riders and the bikes were too heavy for them. The large majority of the motorcycle collisions are sportbikes. The sportbike crashes include both experienced and inexperienced riders. Sportbike riders tend to go way too fast for the types of road. Most of the fatals (there have been several) have been head-ons, with the motorcyclist at fault.

Racers, on a track, have the entire track width to work with. The average lane width is 12 feet. If a rider is going way too fast, that is not a whole lot of room to work with. So, my advise is know YOUR limits and your bike's limits, for the type of terrain you are riding. Being a motorcyclist, I hate responding to motrcycle crashes.

[RaffyK]

Thanks Mike:

I have too much to live for to push the envelope to both my and the bike's limits. I had a wake up call a few months ago on the LT that set me straight.

[amarider]

We all like to live on The Edge a little, that's maybe why we own and ride these "dangerous" two wheel vehicles. Many of us have gone over the wrong side of that Edge a little but continue to ride, which shows the strong pull of stretching our limits.
Sometimes it takes a near miss or tragic event for us to tune our skills and really think about our limits. This seems to come naturally with age but it's not a smooth curve so to speak. Our skills and reactions sometimes slip faster than our experience can keep up with.
The other things to factors are the bike and the road. You can learn the limitations of both but both can have problems. Usually it's the road, it has an edge we all like to ride but thats not always the trouble. It's the evil gravel, Bambi the forest rat, the infamous wet spot and of course the dreaded 4 wheel double yellow line crossing killer. There all there just around the corner but we never know when???

Raffy, Thanks for the reminder even though it came from tragedy it might do some good. You wrote " You all take it easy" well my formula for that is....
[(Bike limits x Road Limits) + Rider Limits] x 75% = Taking it easy - That 25% can save your ass.

[S2DOG]

Scott, Can't you find a smiley using an RC transmitter? :D

[Steve_R]

Hey Stew, Do you think this one might work?? http://www.gifs.net/animate/spacedog.gif

[humplatch]

Thanks for the post Raffy. Death can be such an awakening of reality.
I stopped riding on the highway entirely for almost 30 years after watching my best friend put his 30 inch wide Kawasaki into a 18 inch gap between a telepone pole and a tree. A really good rider at the edge of his abilities, and probably the bikes too. The comforting and scary thing about these BMW's is that they are capable of far more than my skillsets...and knowing that somehow keeps me riding sanely.
The other day while riding up highway 1 above Bodega Bay, four riders blew by me on newer sport bikes. The last two riders were really struggling to keep up, and almost missed a couple turns. I pulled over and decided to turn around rather than follow them up to Jenner. I hope they all made it safely, but I wasn't going to be a witness again.
If you ride within yourself, you are still at risk...I guess that's enough thrill for some of us.

[jfredriksson]

Here's the downside of riding over your head and just having "minor" encounters with the pavement. I've been riding for almost 49 years, and as a young man, I took to many chances. I've had my share of "get-offs" both as a civilian and as a peace officers riding dirts bikes and street motors.

Only once in all these years have my injuries kept me off of work, but I'm here to tell you that all my "minor" injuries all feel "major" now that I'm approaching 60 years old. I'm a virtual weatherman and can quite accurately predict rain and changes in the weather.

Every morning I feel like the 100 year old man as I climb out of bed, and it's hard for me to predict how many years of riding I have left in me--I guess when the pain overbears my ability to cope with it will spell the end of my riding days.

Riding fast as a kid was what we all know as the "pay later plan". The foolishness of youth has finally caught up with me. Ride safe and enjoy your golden years!

[mike2243]

Raffy,

We have talked a lot about this in the past... and yes... the phrase... "dont write checks your ass cant cover" does come to mind...

I have seen a number of crashes involving motorcycles... and a number of the riders needing to be put back together like Humpy Dumpy....

Riding is rough enough with all those that dont see us on the road... putting ourselves in a no win position is just, deadly...

Ride Safe.... I hate funerals.........