nklr - accident stats

[PRBKLR@cs.com]

That is a sad state of affairs! All the more reason the MSF courses should be mandatory in order to get a MC license. That was the best thing I could have done. You learn a lot in 2 1/2 days! : In our neck of the woods we have had a number of 17 and 18 year olds get killed on their very first bike. Tragically, many of these kids are riding brand new crotch rockets purchased as first bikes by their parents (graduation presents for the rich I suppose). What a waste of youth, energy, and how tragic for those left behind. The other crowd that seems to be dying off are brand new riders between their mid 40s and mid 50s on brand new Harley Davidsons. Seems like every week I'm reading about some fool on a brand new Y2K Harley who decided to pass an 18 Wheeler on the rightin the middle of a twisty turny, or tried to pass on a blind curve, over the double yellow, with predictable results. Of course, many of these guys have their wives or kids on the back when they decide to behave in such a childish manner. What a shame. Ride Safe, Live Longer. Joe

[Weaver, Mark]

i'm 39, and i have a 4 years or so of m/c experience and 20 or so of bicycle racing. i have a pretty fair idea of how to ride on 2 wheels. i've also been fortunate enough to look death in the eye once or twice (not on a motorcycle), and walk away (or ride away) trembling, so i know i'm not immortal, and i have a healthy respect for death. yet for all my sensibleness and skill and care, i still think i could easily kill myself on a fast bike. i demo'd an aprilia falco and a triumph sprint st in the last few weeks, and that much power just invites you to do dumb stuff. i think it's insane to allow people to ride big bikes without doing their time on small bikes. we as cyclists know this, and i doubt many of us would buy a harley or a supersport bike as a first bike for someone we loved. i know i'm starting my son out on a 250 dualsport. at least when he does something stupid, he won't be going 130 mph. i would fully support a law similar to what many euro countries have, where you can only ride up to a certain horsepower for a period of time. mw

> -----Original Message----- > From: PRBKLR@... [mailto:PRBKLR@...] > Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 2:28 PM > To: djpercival@... > Cc: DSN_klr650@egroups.com > Subject: Re: RE: [DSN_klr650] Re: NKLR - age > > > That is a sad state of affairs! All the more reason the MSF > courses should be mandatory in order to get a MC license. > That was the best thing I could have done. You learn a lot > in 2 1/2 days! > > : > In our neck of the woods we have had a number of 17 and 18 > year olds get > killed on their very first bike. Tragically, many of these > kids are riding > brand new crotch rockets purchased as first bikes by their parents > (graduation presents for the rich I suppose). What a waste > of youth, > energy, and how tragic for those left behind. > > The other crowd that seems to be dying off are brand new > riders between > their mid 40s and mid 50s on brand new Harley Davidsons. > Seems like every > week I'm reading about some fool on a brand new Y2K Harley > who decided to > pass an 18 Wheeler on the rightin the middle of a twisty > turny, or tried to > pass on a blind curve, over the double yellow, with > predictable results. > Of course, many of these guys have their wives or kids on > the back when > they decide to behave in such a childish manner. What a shame. > > Ride Safe, Live Longer. > Joe > > > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... > Let's keep this list SPAM free! > > Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com > >

[bill e goat]

--- In DSN_klr650@egroups.com, PRBKLR@c... wrote:

> That is a sad state of affairs!

Yes, lack of exerience does kill Harley riders, especially ones who absolutely need to have a harley for a first bike, then after a minimum of solo riding, end up on a "run" riding with a group of other inexperienced people who also need a harley for the wrong reasons, when a situation arises which would require a highly skilled defensive rider, and someone gets killed. Happens all the time here, like at the Redwood Run in June. Two years ago, four of them died in one accident, where an oncoming SUV was waiting for a left turn across traffic with front wheels already turned, and got rear-ended. I don't know about you guys, but when I see that I allow lots of space....lots of space. It's the kind of thing that not everyone notices. BackRoad Bill who got that name from his experience

[BCSavWill@cs.com]

Hi all, Been riding for a loooong time too, since 16, now 54. I know in the UK you have to do a compulsory 5 day basic course, and then pass an acompanied road test. You are, I believe, restricted to 125 for the first year, then I think 400 for the next year. I am not sure about this, but it is along those lines. People still get killed on bikes for a lot of the same reasons, no matter the 70 mph speed limit. Just thought to throw this into the pot. Aloha, Brian A14 D17

[Tumu Rock]

I've often wondered what the accident stats for m/c riders who WEREN"T doing anything stupid at the time are. I think if we removed all the bonehead crotch-rocketeers (mind you I'm not saying all croth-rocketeers are boneheads, but just speaking of the ones who are), stoned/drunk riders, and wannabe stunt divers, then motorcycling wouldn't look quite as scary on the stat page. dat brooklyn bum _______________________________________________________ Say Bye to Slow Internet! http://www.home.com/xinbox/signup.html

[racing43rd@aol.com]

I agree Mark, I'm 57 and I still ride too fast when I'm on a sport bike, they just don't like to go slow. We let our son start on a Honda QA50 when he was 10, now at 37 he just passed 250,000 road miles and is a fine rider. I really think the smaller the better when you begin, and about a year dirt riding is probably a good idea as well. Ed Windsor Ohio