Hey Bro, watch out for that curve

[GunMD]

I rolled up on this mess Friday on my way to Death Valley. Dude was pretty banged up and the bike was toast. There were HD parts all over the desert.





I have more photos but they all contain information (or faces) that would identify the participants. Not ready to post those yet.

 

[SPORT]

pics no worky...

...never mind

 

[twowheelnut]

What the hell did the front hit?

 

[GunMD]

It appeared that he left the roadway during the curve, fought with it a little bit (evident by the left to right tire marks in the sand) and then the bars locked to the left. At this point the front end dug into the soft stuff and launched the operator. One of his fellow "Hey Bros" who was riding behind him told me, "I just looked up and both he and his bike were doing cartwheels through the air as I went by...". I suppose that when the front end dug into the sand deep enough to being the end-over-end sequence it broke the wheel. According to one of his buddies the speed prior to leaving the road was 75-80mph. (This is a turn that doesn't have a recommended speed posted indicating that ANY vehicle should be able to navigate it at the posted speed limit (which I think is 60mph)).

My guess is that the FJR would have no issues with near triple digit speed on this particular corner...and that's comfortably with almost no pucker factor.

 

[twowheelnut]

... the speed prior to leaving the road was 75-80mph.

mg: And he lived? What level of ATGATT?

 

[GunMD]

... the speed prior to leaving the road was 75-80mph.

mg: And he lived? What level of ATGATT?

Half helmet (may have been DOT, not sure)

Helmet Condition: road-rashed.

Jeans (could have been "protective type" but I don't think so)

Jeans condition: Torn and shredded in places

Leather jacket (typical "biker" style)

Leather jacket condition: Minor damage

Boots (HD style motorcycle boots)

Boots condition: Minor damage

Rider condition:

Rib pain, shortness of breath, bleeding head (not severe), road-rashed left forearm and elbow (pretty nasty), VERY swollen right hand/wrist, lethargic, communicating with his buddies. He was limping the couple of times that he got up to walk around. He had the presence of mind to ask one of his buddies to remove his "club" sticker from his bike.

 

[FJRSTAR]

Half helmet (may have been DOT, not sure)Helmet Condition: road-rashed.

Jeans (could have been "protective type" but I don't think so)

Jeans condition: Torn and shredded in places

Leather jacket (typical "biker" style)

Leather jacket condition: Minor damage

Boots (HD style motorcycle boots)

Boots condition: Minor damage

Rider condition:

Rib pain, shortness of breath, bleeding head (not severe), road-rashed left forearm and elbow (pretty nasty), VERY swollen right hand/wrist, lethargic, communicating with his buddies. He was limping the couple of times that he got up to walk around. He had the presence of mind to ask one of his buddies to remove his "club" sticker from his bike.

Was alcohol a factor?

 

[FJRBluesman]

... the speed prior to leaving the road was 75-80mph.

mg: And he lived? What level of ATGATT?

**** Edit A little slow in posting most stuff answered.

Yeah what happened to this guy? How long did take to get help to him? Out there in the desert, it can be nasty if you need medical attention real fast.

Also wonder if anything impaired his riding, or just inattentiveness looking about the scenery?

 

[GunMD]

Was alcohol a factor?

I can't say for sure, but I didn't see any indications of this.

Yeah what happened to this guy? How long did take to get help to him? Out there in the desert, it can be nasty if you need medical attention real fast.

He was about 30 miles from any structure, intersection, person, phone, etc. I was there just moments after the crash and stayed for around 10 or 12 minutes. It took 5 of those 10 just for someone to get a cell phone signal. Help was "on the way" when I left. I think Baker CA has some ambulances but I'm not certain. (About 28-30 miles south of the incident).

 

[madmike2]

Its still sad news to see and hear something like that.

 

[Silver Penguin]

Its still sad news to see and hear something like that.

Agreed. No matter what the guy did (or didn't do) to contribute to his crash, it's still tough for fellow riders to see.

The actions of a squid shook me up this evening. It was one of those rare occasions when I was driving a car, just ambling along at something close to the 50mph limit, on a modestly busy road, with three lanes each side. The kid-squid comes screaming up behind me on what looked like a Gixxer. When he got way too close to my car, he swerved hard right to go around me, then hard left to cut back in the front. He is an incident waiting to happen. (You can hardly call it an accident, when he's trying so hard to mess up). It crossed my mind that I might be first on the scene and have to help this kid, or perhaps corral the pieces of him, but he turned off. I also thought, rather selfishly that it's idiots like him that jack up my insurance, and reinforce the stereotypes of motorcyclists as morons.

Jill

 

[beeroux]

Well this confirms I'm never riding with Gunny on Memorial Day.<G>

Bummer for this guy. His bike is totalled.

I wonder how much he wants for the sleeping bag?

OK, I'm being a ****. Again.

Lesson? Keep your eyes on the road folks. Simple as that.

GZ

 

[James Burleigh]

Lesson? Keep your eyes on the road folks. Simple as that.
GZ

Agreed. A cautious rider IMHO will draw his / her own conclusions about a turn and what the proper entry speed is.

It's time for JB's Latest Theory on Harley Single-Bike Accidents in a Curve:

Disclaimer: <<Gross generalizations about Harley riders follow; not true for all riders of Harleys; perhaps not true for any Harley riders.>>

Minor Premises:

• Harley riders are weekend riders.
• Harley riders prefer spending time on image rather than on skills development.
• Harley riders do not understand cornering dynamics (slow, look, lean, roll, late apex, look through the turn, constant throttle, traction control, suspension impacts, etc.)
• Harley riders like to cruise (i.e., ride slow), perhaps the better to look at them. So they are not accustomed to how their bikes perform at speed, and even less at when the direction or speed of the bike needs to change--dramatically!
• Harley motorcycles do not "flick" very well in curves when a tighter lean angle is required.

Major Premises:

• Riders with low skills are more likely to crash.
• Harley performance characteristics do not favor riders with low skills when faced with panic situations.

Conclusion:

If a Harley dude or dudette on a Harley cruiser enters a turn too hot, he/she's f**king toast. ("Too hot" under this scenario could be quite slow, say, from the perspective of an FJR and its rider.)

 

[FuzzyRider]

The first time my wife, as a new rider, was about to ride a moderately twisty road she was getting all kinds of advice from the people we were riding with - "smooth and slow" "if you need to turn more then don't be afraid to lean more" "don't brake while in a turn", etc. After they were done I pulled her aside and said "You probably won't remember any of that if you get into an uncomfortable situation and that's OK - the one thing I need you to remember, and it's very serious, life or death, is to look all the way through the turn to the exit before you even start the turn. If you can't see the exit of the turn then assume it's the worse case tightest it can be until you see it. You have enough experience that everything else will take care of itself."

 

[ngarider]

You guys CLEARLY don't know much about Harley riders. It's clear that, for whatever valid reason, he just had to lay it down. Sometimes, you just gotta do that. It's a valid maneuver.

Miss your late apex? Lay it down.

Car ahead is a total moron and brakes too quickly? Lay it down.

Something on the road, loss of traction? Lay it down.

Fingerless gloves, assless chaps, helmetless helmets, armless jackets -- NOTGNOTT.

 

[odot]

I feel a lot of love in the room..............

 

[Silver Penguin]

If a Harley dude or dudette on a Harley cruiser enters a turn too hot, he/she's f**king toast. ("Too hot" under this scenario could be quite slow, say, from the perspective of an FJR and its rider.)

I agree with JB's theory, with two exceptions.

1. HD's appear to make up the majority of this stereotype, but the attributes described are not exclusive to the mark.

2. Alcohol appears to make a significant impact in the scenarios described. Perhaps it's thought of as a numbing device, just in case the need to 'lay her down' arises.

Jill

 

[PapaUtah]

The bike made it through the crash surprisingly well. It can be repaired and I am sure it will as it appears to be a very rare and valuable 2003 Harley-Davidson® Limited Edition 100th Anniversary model that will only appreciate in the future.

As to the crash, it is sad but it is all too common amongst our cruiser brethren, those on Harley-Davidson's® even more, as that mark dominates that market space. Our clipping service runs all the news past us based on ticker symbols, and it is amazing the number of crash stories that we see involving Motor Company® products. Many of you have seen my satirical posts before, but the majority of Harley-Davidson® crash stories carry two very distinct themes, "alcohol was involved" and "failed to negotiate a curve in the road". The number of single vehicle Harley-Davidson® accidents is staggering.

Coupled with a rider demographic that has a median age of 49, "new" or returning to the sport in the past 5 years, a motorcycle with all the technical advancement man was able to muster up in 1955 and you have a recipe for some pretty awful crashes. Many an old fart would be better served by a more technologically advanced bike that will react to our dampened reaction times as we age. Being on a bike that reacts slowly to an already slow reaction time is not desirous in an emergency situation.

 

[Rondo777]

The bike made it through the crash surprisingly well. It can be repaired and I am sure it will as it appears to be a very rare and valuable 2003 Harley-Davidson® Limited Edition 100th Anniversary model that will only appreciate in the future.
As to the crash, it is sad but it is all too common amongst our cruiser brethren, those on Harley-Davidson's® even more, as that mark dominates that market space. Our clipping service runs all the news past us based on ticker symbols, and it is amazing the number of crash stories that we see involving Motor Company® products. Many of you have seen my satirical posts before, but the majority of Harley-Davidson® crash stories carry two very distinct themes, "alcohol was involved" and "failed to negotiate a curve in the road". The number of single vehicle Harley-Davidson® accidents is staggering.

Coupled with a rider demographic that has a median age of 49, "new" or returning to the sport in the past 5 years, a motorcycle with all the technical advancement man was able to muster up in 1955 and you have a recipe for some pretty awful crashes. Many an old fart would be better served by a more technologically advanced bike that will react to our dampened reaction times as we age. Being on a bike that reacts slowly to an already slow reaction time is not desirous in an emergency situation.

I bartended in a Biker Bar for years. At the time I was riding a Suzuki Intruder 1400. I loved pulling up to work on a bike that was a technical marvel compared to all the new Harleys parked around it. Anyway, It was in a very nice bar, not your typical crap hole biker joint. Lots of expensive bikes and lots of drunken ******* riding them. In the 6 years that I worked there 3 guys got killed on there Hogs. One rocket scientist lost his GF off the back and she got hit by a car and killed. I did one ride with a group from the bar and the whole ride was cruising from bar to bar. I'm really jaded to the whole Harley Sceen and find it hard to understand the attraction of overpaying for a bike that is just so common. Its like driving a VW bug in Germany in the 60's. I hate to see anyone go down and don't wish anybody any harm but every time I see a Harley down it just makes me ask myself, "What bar did he just come from"