Save on the cost of a premature funeral !

[vedgar]

Clarkston, MI. 55 year old man killed on motorcycle. The details tell an agonizing story that we ALL see happen too often. Did not one of our own members run wide on a turn into a tree a while ago ? He was with others riding , but the details are similar. This is a quote from the 55 year old mans wife. " He wanted to go riding with his son, and he hadn't been on a motorcycle in years. He borrowed a bike from a friend. The 55 year old"s son was leading as they entered a series of curves (one mile from my house) his father went wide on a curve and crossed the centerline. A mother and daughter in a GM Acadia hit the motorcycle head on .

Take the MSF course ! Practice Practice Practice. You think you are a rider ? Watch some videos of precision riding and then agree you have room for improvement. I will try to save the cost of a premature funeral. Been riding since I was 15 and learn that I may be slower and more cautious than when I was young, but I am still riding FOR FUN .

[IanDMacDonald]

It happened right in-front of me on Clarkston Rd. as we were sitting at the light. He was dead on the spot. R.I.P.

[kboehringer]

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/p...o-see-m/nrFhS/

Local kid killed yesterday in my area. He was on a road I drive frequently.

22 years old and pronounced dead at the scene.

Hits home...My son Karl is 21 and wants me to cut him lose on an XS11. Not till I provide some much needed training above and far beyond the class he took.

[dbmb0416]

I just took MSF course this past weekend and just got my license today. Was on a smaller bike and thinking it was gonna be so easy riding smaller bike. Gonna be a breeze taking corners and swerving. WRONG. First thing I'm going to do is find a empty parking lot and practice on my own on what I was lacking with skill. Prayers to all their families.

[vedgar]

Tragic coincidence added to story !

Turns out the man killed on the motorcycle was a past acquaintance of mine.
He remodeled a bathroom for me back in 1994. I saw his picture and a lightbulb went on.

[MindWebs]

war and peace in the mind....

Those are sobering reminders that it a risk we take every time we swing a leg over our machines...

there is allways the chance we may not come back.

you can be the most cautious rider and still get rearended.

you can be the best cornering rider and have a deer jump in front of you.

you can take the straightest road and have a car pull out in front of you.

IT IS the risk we take.

there are people who live they're entire lives and never truely live...
(quote, not sure from who)

we see and smell and feel the world we live in as we travel, the cages just watch through a "TV" screen.

i love this time of year, the lilac's are just starting to bloom and are so strong as you ride past, it's amazing...

but, it comes at a price.. are you willing to pay?
it's a gamble, a risk, the more training you have the the better your odds, the more "gear" you have on the better your odds.

but it still comes down to 10,000 cars for every bike on the road.
and with smartphones, i've seen more distracted drivers... 1 out of 6 is looking at they're smartphone WHILE driving.

those odds are not as friendly..

i'm at odds with riding at the moment...
i haven't been out yet.
bike could have been ready 2 months ago, but i've been dragging my feet and i'm not sure why. is it the odds i listed..? is it fear? I'm not sure..

but the fact remains i haven't even had the "itch" to ride.. (none at all)

normally i'm 1 of the first riders in the parking lot at work.

hmm.

it's up to each one of us to decide the Pro's Vs Con's.

this is a game that can end your life.

or it can help you live..

it may be time to pull out my first bike and have a ride down nostalgia lane.....

[HalfCentury]

My first bike was a Yamaha XS400 Special II that I rode to college rain or shine, all 4 seasons.

I was hit from behind at a red light by a distracted driver failing to acknowledge that I existed. It knocked me into the intersection. I was lucky that the cross traffic had not yet launched into the intersection. This was a busy intersection in Columbus Ohio.

It laid me up for a few weeks with a bad case of whiplash and plenty of road rash. It required months for my neck to be able to swivel a normal side-to-side amount.

That halted my riding career for 20+ years until I bough the XJ650 in 2008 and then the XJ1100 in 2012. I try to be more aware when waiting at traffic lights of what is approaching from behind. I pump the hand brake lever to strobe the brake light.

[Jerry]

A couple weeks ago (March 29) an off-duty police officer was killed near Grand Junction while riding his bike. He slowed to make a left-hand turn and was hit from behind by a 78 year old cage driver. The 78 year old was charged with "careless driving" and assessed a fine. The officer was 51.

There have been many threads about accidents, gear, "when should I quit", and other safety issues. Bottom line: riders are at risk anytime we are on the road. We do what we can to mitigate risks but eventually our luck runs out. If we are lucky we survive. If not, well, many of our spouses will have a lonely old age.

At some point I will quit riding and take up more off-road excursions; this began to some extent back in 2011 when I bought my ATV and started spending more of my free time exploring Colorado's 4x4 trails rather than taking long bike rides. (Not that ATVs are inherently safer than bikes but you are less likely to be killed by another trail rider.) Until then I take all reasonable precautions and pay particular attention at intersections and feel lucky that in 40 years of riding I have had only one serious accident.

Be safe out there. With the riding season getting under way in full, many cage drivers have to get used to seeing bikes on the road again. Assume you are invisible to other drivers and act accordingly.

[TopCatGr58]

In '86 I had to commute on my 11 for 1.5 years, and it was a fairly long one at 35 miles one way, mixed local roads, highway, and steel grate draw bridge. Within the first month I had a car turn right in front of me just a 1mile from home, no room to swerve, jammed brakes, but plowed into her front right fender, flew over her hood, bounced off of the windshield, and just got a big bruise in my right thigh, had full gear otherwise. Then a few months after that, my own fault, inexperience with throttle lock cruise control, crested hill on highway home on busy Friday end of work day/weekend....traffic stopped, handful of brakes, but didn't shut down the cruise control....caused front wheel to cross up, threw me down at 55 mph, had been ridiculously hot/humid for VA ( 95+ degrees all week) and had gotten tired of sweating to death, SO....only had on dress pants, shirt, shoes, no gloves, but full face helmet. After slapping the ground flying off of the bike, started rolling, grabbed the helmet and just continued to roll for what seemed like 20 revolutions, shoes blew off, bits of road rash on toes, ankles, hands, elbows, forearms, but was able to WALK away. I actually road away once I fixed the broken spark plug and straightened the forks/handlebars/turn signals! Scared the Swmbo when she came home seeing all of the bloody clothes dropped along the floor/path to the bathroom where I was showering to clean my wounds.

But I was back at work the following Monday with FULL GEAR!!! Lesson learned! I don't ride/commute on my bike anymore for many of the previously stated reasons, just too dang dangerous, and these idiot cagers will run you down in a heartbeat. I save my riding for weekends and rallies.

Have noticed the DOT showing "MOTORCYCLE AWARENESS" Month messages on the traffic info signs on my route.

Be safe out there, but try to have fun, too!

T.C.

[madmax-im]

been riding legally 40 yrs...before that too but in all that time i have never had a safety course...i get one everyday i ride...as i have never stopped riding...those skills are still there...have i slowed down some...well yeah...we all do...like Jerry said the risks in our sport are inherent...you can mitigate the circumstances only so much...I feel my body telling me to stop after 40 yrs...its just less riding every year and instead of riding to rallies (when i make it) now i am trailering...YMMV...

[motoman]

been riding legally 40 yrs...before that too but in all that time i have never had a safety course...i get one everyday i ride...as i have never stopped riding...those skills are still there...have i slowed down some...well yeah...we all do...like Jerry said the risks in our sport are inherent...you can mitigate the circumstances only so much...I feel my body telling me to stop after 40 yrs...its just less riding every year and instead of riding to rallies (when i make it) now i am trailering...YMMV...

Can't say as I blame you Ben, since being involved in the T-bone accident at speed I was involved in last June when a cage driver made a left turn directly in front of me while I was traveling in opposite direction. The Honda ST was totaled and I with a two month hospital stay and lots of metal pieces internally. Haven't been on a bike since, even though I still have the have the Venturer bought new in '81. It's a keeper having ALOT of riding history! That accident definitely caught my attention after 50+yrs. of riding with half that racing semi-professional moto-x. Had lots of expected wrecks doing that, but never got hurt enough to keep me from continuing doing moto-x. At age 53, even was able to win the RMXA series here in Colo. racing the 50+class. Still definitely have the competitive spirit, but that wreck last June definitely took the fire outa' me. Ride vigilant and ATGATT!

[vedgar]

Glad you are still with us Motoman

The fire to ride is within us. Like the others have said, I was always the first to hit the streets. What has me frightened is the number of cell phone users who see NOTHING !