Not going to get into it BUT.....

Table 4
Motorcycle Rider Fatalities by Age Group, 1994 and 2004
Year
Age Group
Total <30 30-39 40+ Unknown
1994 1,170 608 541 1 2,320
2004 1,291 869 1,847 1 4,008

Frank, how many of those 40+ guys are riding sportbikes?

You get a LOT of mid-life-crisis guys out there buying cruisers to relive their youth or do something "they always wanted to do" who just jump on their bikes and go. Most of them don't have a clue what they are doing, get little if any experience under their belt, etc. Most of them probably wear little, if any gear at all. I would say that the majority of those guys are also more apt to go drinking and ride. You and your buds do that all of the time. The MAJORITY of sportbike guys I ride with would never even consider it.

It's just different cultures.

 

It's a known fact that you go where you look when on a motorcycle. Hell, they TEACH you that in MSF class! End of discussion.

 

Then how come I've never run into Forge who is next to me or my wife who is on the back? I've been known to turn around and talk to both of 'em while riding.

So your entire argument is that this guy was not speeding or riding above his abilities, but crashed soley on target fixation because he may or may not have been staring at a telephone pole? Now, I know you're a girl, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt when it comes to failing logic, but c'mon!

 

Neither of us were there so we really cannot assume. While riding fast it is possible to target fixate. Your claim that he was speeding and that's why he took the turn too wide....well then explain the guys at the track! They take tight turns all day long but they are looking THROUGH THE TURN (hence their heads angled in a cock-eyed position) and that is why they don't have a problem negotiating it! If they were looking at the ground rather than UP and through the turn, then they might be slowly drifting off the road!

It's OK, I'll forgive your logic because you ride a geezer glide which is meant for cruising rather than cornering

 

Chris, you're right. I saw a whole show on it the other day talking about guys who used to ride 30 years ago going out and buying brand new cruisers. They think they can ride like they did 30 years ago, but without freshly honed skills and with lessened phsysical reflexes, they usually bite the dust.

However, consider this. The majority of accidents occured in the 501-1000cc engine class. Harley-Davidson only makes one bike smaller than 1000cc's, so chances are they weren't riding Harleys. As far as I know, Indian and Victory motorcycles don't come any smaller than 1000cc's either, so we're gonna have to blame the Japanese market, which makes primarily sport bikes in that class. Even the good portion of Japanese cruisers are greater than 1000cc's.

 

I can't agree that someone could target fixate themselves into oncoming traffic, lock the brakes in front of a car, and then hit a pole. Well, I can agree, but I can't say it was the most probable reason. Didn't the post say that the guy recently acquired the bike? Chances are he was simply riding beyond his abilities.

The guys at the track are professionals and have undoubtedly hurt themselves countless times on the track while not televised. They're also riding specialized tires, on specially conditioned tracks. That's like saying, "Those NHRA guys hook up 8000HP cars, why the hell do the tires on my stock Camaro burn out when I hit the gas from a stop on Tampa Rd?"

 

ok. let me help you folks. i have experience in crashing... i do it once a month or so. there are a few major things that cause nasty wrecks, i dont have a problem admitting these issues. most people cant, cause they die... but for some reason im still alive. anyways...... going too fast!!! inexperience!!! being a retard!!! overreacting with the brakes!!! and yes... my last NASTY wreck was due to two major problems.... target fixation, i saw a car begin to edge out, while i was in a turn, so i took my eyes off of the curve ahead and put them on the car... next problem was i used the brakes more than i had business doing in a hard lean.

 

I think I don't see the issue with target fixation because I'm usually riding at a sane speed. When you're going the posted speed limit, you usually have TONS of time to react, since posted speed limits are realistically WAAAY into the green zone of safety. I'm almost certain I could talk on my cellphone while riding, but I can't try it out due to open exhaust pipes. Speed kills.

 

I'm soooo do not even want to reply to this if i can help it..

but please frank, at least try to keep from bashing the hell out of the people that just died in the rider down threads.... that's somebodys kid, friend or loved one. that just died and they may end up reading your shit... its just not needed. at that point to them it doesn't matter who's fault it was.


its not about the bike as much as the person that's riding it.... if no one ever invented a sport bike then all us guys would be crashing harleys by trying to build stunt bikes or corner carvers. there are just 2 different groups of bike guys. one likes to ride hard and fast, that's just what they enjoy and the other kind of bike is not even an option....(if it wasn't for bikes being fast i wouldn't ride one. to me that's the whole reason for owning one. i don't cruise ever, if i can help it. I'd rather watch tv) the other likes to just ride around and play badass. the ones riding harder crash from higher speeds and get hurt worse.




p.s. sorry kristal, but don't think the guy target fixed and crashed. i think he got scared, stood the bike up and ran wide.


hell after taking my bike around last night for a test ride after working on it. i was wondering to myself if I'd make it 6 months without my own rider down thread.... (sad to say but i may not, this bitch is fun)

 

Don't apologize to ME None of us were there so you still can't assume. Maybe he got scared and target fixated! It's all reasonable guesses....but we WEREN'T there!!!