Out of respect to the rider's who have been down, I decided to create a new thread to discuss our recent rash of downed riders. (Say that 5 times fast)
First off, my argument is that it is not a freak accident to be going 120mph through a tight turn during rush hour traffic, and end up dead. Same goes for stunting.
Originally Posted by Supralover
I understand what you're saying Frank...but this seems to be happening in almost EVERY rider down thread.
If I wreck and die, is this what you're going to be saying in my thread?
It seems like in this case, target fixation was a huge factor. Who knows how fast he was going?? He kept going over the painted line and ended up hitting a street pole! From what I've read in the newspapers, a LOT of cruisers that go down are victims of their own target fixation.
Now, to address this. The good majority or rider down threads I've seen lately were attributed to
gross misjudgement on the part of the rider. That's why I chime in.
If you wreck and die doing something foolish, yes. I'd expect the same if I went down doing something retarded.
Negatory on target fixation. I can see it being target fixation had he veered into the phone pole on his own, but he was riding above and beyond his ability. Being unsure of your bike and/or abilities will definitely take your turns wide. He hit the pole because he was taking a turn too wide, went into oncoming traffic, and locked up his brakes. That's not target fixation, that's taking a turn too hard and then being overcome by panic.
Where are all of these cruiser crashes you've read about? They're pretty rare if you ask me. I've only seen two posted on here recently, and only one was at the fault of the rider.