Had a rider crash on our ride this weekend

[JSP]

Went on a long group ride yesterday. We rode for about 8 hours straight. Great roads.

There was about 8 of us total. First of all, he is ok. His bike is totalled though. Apparently this was his first street bike. It was a newer CBR 1000... I think this was also the first time this guy rode with this group. He was a friend of one of the other riders.

The people I ride with are track guys/girls. They hit these mountains hard. I know there are sections i just cant keep up with them on. I know my limits. I know not to ride outside of those limits. There are many sections where they stop to let others catch up. They are very clear before we ride to let everyone know to ride safe and ride your own ride within your limits. I have no probs with that.

This guy apparently wanted to do everything he could to keep up with these guys. I was 2 bikes behind him. He went way hot into this corner. I didnt see if he lowsided or just paniced and hit the brake and stood up then went straight off. I just came around the corner to see the bike flipping over and over through the air.

Like a dumbass I forgot my GoPro. So I just have a shitty cell pic. I was up farther on this corner to slow other riders down so they wouldnt target fixate on the other guys and end up crashing themselves. The other riders ahead didnt know what happend. They did come back down when they saw we werent behind them.

Bike was in all sorts of pieces all throughout the field. He is VERY lucky he crashed at this corner. Any other corner he would have been in the river, trees, 30 foot drop off, rock wall, etc. This was the softest grass field ever. There is almost no gaurd rails anywhere on these roads. He is very lucky.

They made him stay down for about 10 minutes to let some adrenaline wear off to see if he could feel anything hurting. He was ok though. Caught a ride back down the mountain with a car coming down so he could call a tow. Cell's didnt work up there.

Please ride within your limits.

On another note... My bike did great! My main problem now is myself. I need to work on my cornering a lot more. But the bike handled everything I threw at it with ease! I was actually sticking with them on a lot of these sections this time. Some sections not so good though haha, but that was me staying in my comfort zone and not trying to kill myself.

 

[DragonBlu]

[ Great Reminder! Don't let your ego get ahead of your ability guys.

Please ride within your limits.

On another note... My bike did great! My main problem now is myself. I need to work on my cornering a lot more. But the bike handled everything I threw at it with ease! I was actually sticking with them on a lot of these sections this time. Some sections not so good though haha, but that was me staying in my comfort zone and not trying to kill myself.[/QUOTE]

 

[dart1963]

glad to hear he's ok...

from that angle of your pic, that doesn't even look like that bad a turn, which is probably the last thing he thought before he opened up his new liter bike and lost it.

I also see you have the gravel sides, that's the stuff to watch out for, any car that touches that, or any rain that falls, will push it out on the road, all it takes is a few pieces of it to throw you out of balance.

 

[ry-mac75]

Makes me nuts

Why do people go out and buy the biggest bike they can afford as soon as they can afford it? ANYONE can rush out and slam $15k on a bike that'll beat a fighter jet off the line, there is no SKILL to that! Learn to ride on something you can handle first, then move up. In some insane quest for profit, motorcycle companies crank out new bikes every year - so if you don't get your dream bike right away, there is always next year or the year after that or... well, you get the idea.

I'm glad to hear that everyone came out of this alright, I just hope that he (and a few others) learned to hone his skills before going out and buying the fastest thing on 2 wheels.

 

[JSP]

glad to hear he's ok...

from that angle of your pic, that doesn't even look like that bad a turn, which is probably the last thing he thought before he opened up his new liter bike and lost it.

I also see you have the gravel sides, that's the stuff to watch out for, any car that touches that, or any rain that falls, will push it out on the road, all it takes is a few pieces of it to throw you out of balance.

Im not even sure how he ended up where he did actually. From where I am standing, the direction I am looking is the direction we were going. The corner is REALLY tight behind me and then opens up to what you see. So I figured he would have lost it sooner than he did... I think he made it most of the way through the corner but just mabey came out if it too wide and fixated on the field, so that is where he went.

And yes, there was a couple spots where gravel was a problem. I had my hip tweeked pretty bad on a patch. I came out of this corner right into a patch of gravel I didnt see. Bike whiped really bad to the right and when it hit clean pavement, kicked back to the left. Thankfully I didnt dump it. Dont know how I didnt, but it sure hurt my lower back and hip. I dont feel it today, so its all good now.

 

[DragonBlu]

Great to hear the guy came out ok. It looks like you guys gave him good care. Someone was not so lucky just down the road from my house this weekend on a bike. Went over an embankment and had to have LifeFlight to ER. Please start out easy and gain some experience new riders. I have been riding over forty years on the street and have lost friends and most of the time it was because they lost respect for the machine.

 

[JSP]

I dont see any skid marks or slide marks through the gravel, so i think he just went wide and fixated in to the field.

 

[JonKerr]

I'm glad he's OK and hopefully he learned a lesson. And I'm very glad you know to ride your own ride. That's the biggest thing we fight against in our group rides. People trying to keep up. Leave your ego at home when you're out riding a motorcycle. There's no room for it.

As for buying a liter bike, that's partially the dealerships fault. (Not completely, but you have to get a feel for your customer and find out details to help them make an educated decision that they'll be happy with and make them trust you.) I'm in the process of interviewing at a number of dealerships right now and one of the things I've told sales managers that seemed to impress them (that a lot of their sales guys don't do) was that I want to get the customer the RIGHT bike for THEM. Not the one that's going to get me the most commission that day. If that means talking them into a 250 or something like the FZ6R when he's over there looking at R1's, so be it.

 

[ry-mac75]

I'm glad he's OK and hopefully he learned a lesson. And I'm very glad you know to ride your own ride. That's the biggest thing we fight against in our group rides. People trying to keep up. Leave your ego at home when you're out riding a motorcycle. There's no room for it.

As for buying a liter bike, that's partially the dealerships fault. (Not completely, but you have to get a feel for your customer and find out details to help them make an educated decision that they'll be happy with and make them trust you.) I'm in the process of interviewing at a number of dealerships right now and one of the things I've told sales managers that seemed to impress them (that a lot of their sales guys don't do) was that I want to get the customer the RIGHT bike for THEM. Not the one that's going to get me the most commission that day. If that means talking them into a 250 or something like the FZ6R when he's over there looking at R1's, so be it.

Too true... a customer who stays alive is more likely to be a repeat customer...

 

[Detrich]

am really sorry to hear about the spill. but its' good to know your friend is not badly hurt... the bike is replaceable, but he is not.

that said, a cbr 1000 for a beginner is way too much bike for a beginner, imo... but, anyone can spill anywhere if they're not careful. even the best of the best have accidents sometimes. just check out MotoGP | The Official MotoGP Website and look at some of those crashes. those guys are the best, top-notch track racers. and, even then, they still make mistakes. to err is to be human. we just have to manage our risk as best we can.

the California Highway Patrol and CA DMV have started running TV commercials warning auto drivers to look 3 TIMES for motorcycles- ie look left, then right, then left again. the tv spot is actually VERY realistic of illustrating how easy it is to hit a motorcyclist when turning and why it's SO important to look that 3rd time... i hope u guys get to catch it, because i was VERY happy to see them FINALLY running these. it's way long overdue...

every am i listen to NPR news. and, i'm always sad, because recently almost every other day i'm hearing of motorcycle fatality accidents in Southern Cali... don't always catch the details, but anytime i hear news like that it makes me sad.

everyone ride safely please

 

[Spunky99]

Great to hear the guy came out ok. It looks like you guys gave him good care. Someone was not so lucky just down the road from my house this weekend on a bike. Went over an embankment and had to have LifeFlight to ER. Please start out easy and gain some experience new riders. I have been riding over forty years on the street and have lost friends and most of the time it was because they lost respect for the machine.

As a pilot, I have to be able to recognize any tendency to do something that is dangerous. This stuff is on the private pilot test....It translates to a bike in a very important way.

stuff" can have an adverse effect on safety and can impose an
unrealistic assessment of piloting skills under stressful
conditions. These tendencies ultimately may lead to practices
that are dangerous and often illegal, and may lead to a mishap.
All experienced pilots have fallen prey to, or have been tempted
by, one or more of these tendencies in their flying careers.
These dangerous tendencies or behavior patterns, which must be
identified and eliminated, include:

a. Peer Pressure. Poor decision making based upon
emotional response to peers rather than evaluating a situation
objectively.

b. Mind Set. The inability to recognize and cope with
changes in the situation different from those anticipated or
planned.

c. Get-There-Itis. This tendency, common among pilots,
clouds the vision and impairs judgment by causing a fixation on
the original goal or destination combined with a total disregard
for any alternative course of action.

d. Duck-Under Syndrome. The tendency to sneak a peek by
descending below minimums during an approach. Based on a belief
that there is always a built-in "fudge" factor that can be used
or on an unwillingness to admit defeat and shoot a missed
approach.

e. Scud Running. Pushing the capabilities of the pilot and
the aircraft to the limits by trying to maintain visual contact
with the terrain while trying to avoid physical contact with it.
This attitude is characterized by the old pilot's joke: "If it's
too bad to go IFR, we'll go VFR."

f. Continuing visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument
conditions often leads to spatial disorientation or collision
with ground/obstacles. It is even more dangerous if the pilot is
not instrument qualified or current.

g. Getting Behind the Aircraft. Allowing events or the
situation to control your actions rather than the other way
around. Characterized by a constant state of surprise at what
happens next.

h. Loss of Positional or Situation Awareness. Another case
of getting behind the aircraft which results in not knowing where
you are, an inability to recognize deteriorating circumstances,
and/or the misjudgment of the rate of deterioration.

 

[KenS]

Glad he came out ok ... just another reminder, ride within your limits. Experience, lots of it, will get you to that "super rider" promise land ... don't be in such a hurry to get six feet under.

 

[Superfly]

I'm glad he's OK and hopefully he learned a lesson. And I'm very glad you know to ride your own ride. That's the biggest thing we fight against in our group rides. People trying to keep up. Leave your ego at home when you're out riding a motorcycle. There's no room for it.

Exactly. You have to fight through that feeling that you need to be a little quicker on the next corner to hang with your buddies...Everything is relative...you could be near the limit of your tires, bike, or ability and your friends might be just getting warmed up...

Reminds me of swearing and cursing on the golf course shooting a 96 instead of a 93...at the end of the day who gives a crap:thumbup: So you went 50mph around a corner instead of 60...Dont turn a fun ride into a nightmare for you or your riding buddies!!!

 

[TOMIK]

Im glad his ok, riding for 8 hrs. is too long for any skill of riders.

 

[JSP]

Im glad his ok, riding for 8 hrs. is too long for any skill of riders.

He crashed within the first hour.

We did have to stop for gas a few times and stretch and we ate lunch in the middle of that.

 

[Bigevildoer]

And yes, there was a couple spots where gravel was a problem. I had my hip tweeked pretty bad on a patch. I came out of this corner right into a patch of gravel I didnt see. Bike whiped really bad to the right and when it hit clean pavement, kicked back to the left. Thankfully I didnt dump it. Dont know how I didnt, but it sure hurt my lower back and hip. I dont feel it today, so its all good now.

EEPS! Sounds like you very narrowly avoided a high-side... they tend to happen pretty easy when a badly slipping tire suddenly gains full traction on the road.