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[Keats]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/17/barry-strang-motorcycle-dies-three-miles_n_3610465.html?1374072506&icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl22|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D345029


an absolute terrible story

[05Train]

There's too many stories like this. 


Damn shame.

[Twolanerider]

That's a devastating story.  Of course from our perspective can't help but wonder what happened.  Suppose it's possible or even likely the gent had been wanting a bike that long but never actually ridden?  Then finally scored a bike and with little or no familiarity hit the highway?

[Cvostu]

that is so sad...what more can anyone say?

[Buy early]

Truly tragic!

[Ironhorse]

Sad,....very sad.

Just the other day I got an email from a guy who wanted lessons ASAP, this weekend. He said he took the classroom and need range instruction. My first thought is that he wants to rent a bike and ride to Sturgis with his buddies. I'm thinking he failed the riding portion of the MSF, cant get in a follow up class soon enough, and wants me to teach him. I think he was going about it all wrong, as if he expects to learn how to safely fly a plane in one lesson.

I told him I was out of town.

[D-N-D]

Yes Very Sad.

[mjb765]

Terrible story...very sad....

[TinSpinner]

Tragic end for that fellow. I lost a buddy several years ago who had just picked up a new bike and met a similar fate a few miles from the dealership. He was an experienced rider but on a new and unfamiliar bike. We suppose he was fiddling with the controls and took his eyes off the road too long. I imagine something like this happened to the guy in the story. Sounds like he looked at the tractor trailer and drove right into it, damn shame.

[charles05663]

This reminds me of what happened to me when I got my first motorcycle and I was not familiar with counter-streering. 

I was negotiating a sweeping left hand turn and was not making the turn.  I jammed the handlebars to the left and went into the guardrail on the right.  I got caught between the where the asphalt ended and the guardrail doing 50 mph with a 100' drop-off on the other side of the guardrail.  I prayed and the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ was with me and next thing I know I was in the center of the lane.  I had scrapes on my Heritage saddlebag to remind me that it really happened.

The first thing when I got home was to call and get into a training course to learn to ride.  I was pretty excited to get into the course because they fill up quick.  When I told my wife, her response was "great, I guess I am spending our first wedding anniversary alone!"  About 5 years latter I told her what happened.

 

[SG Racer]

Very sad.

[2k]

I told him I was out of town.
[/quote]
Very sad story
How many would put concern for others in front of their pocketbook? Your gut feeling could be wrong 4 out of 5 times, but the 1 time it was right you very well saved someones life, or maybe an entire family in a Minivan. You de man Ironhorse!!!!!

[GregKhougaz]

Ironhorse is out of town.      

[North Georgia Hawg]

Sad,....very sad.

Just the other day I got an email from a guy who wanted lessons ASAP, this weekend. He said he took the classroom and need range instruction. My first thought is that he wants to rent a bike and ride to Sturgis with his buddies. I'm thinking he failed the riding portion of the MSF, cant get in a follow up class soon enough, and wants me to teach him. I think he was going about it all wrong, as if he expects to learn how to safely fly a plane in one lesson.

I told him I was out of town.

I told him I was out of town.

Very sad story
How many would put concern for others in front of their pocketbook? Your gut feeling could be wrong 4 out of 5 times, but the 1 time it was right you very well saved someones life, or maybe an entire family in a Minivan. You de man Ironhorse!!!!!

I was thinking the same thing, 2K. What Ironhorse did may indeed have saved that guy's life, and the lives of others. No one should be on a bike - much less take a long, tiring ride to Sturgis in the heat of August - without having the appropriate riding experience.

Kudos to you, Ironhorse!  

[woode]

I was thinking the same thing, 2K. What Ironhorse did may indeed have saved that guy's life, and the lives of others. No one should be on a bike - much less take a long, tiring ride to Sturgis in the heat of August - without having the appropriate riding experience.

Of course, an alternate scenario is that he goes anyway - without any expert guidance - and fares much worse.  All things equal, some training is better than none.

[110tHunDer]

Of course, an alternate scenario is that he goes anyway - without any expert guidance - and fares much worse.  All things equal, some training is better than none.

That's what I was thinking.  Ironhorse being out of town might not have been much of a deterrent.

[2k]

That's what I was thinking.  Ironhorse being out of town might not have been much of a deterrent.

There are always 2 sides and this one makes sense. If he wants/feels pressure to go, inexperience is not going to stop him.

[dlaws01]

There are always 2 sides and this one makes sense. If he wants/feels pressure to go, inexperience is not going to stop him.

Hey, you gotta start somewhere. Not everyone is going to seek formal training.  If he can get miles behind him without killing himself or someone else, more power to him. 

[Ironhorse]

I'm just going to throw this out there and ask,.....

If you really, Really, REALLY, wanted to fly a plane, you read all the books, manuals, and worked the flight simulators, would you jump into the cockpit, having never taken a formal hands on lesson, fire it up and take off for Alaska?

If your son or daughter really, Really, REALLY wanted to drive, they read all the DMV pamphlets, watched "Fast Car, Dead Driver" and other drivers ed videos, sat in on a Court Appointed DMV class for violators, but never ever got behind the wheel for a driving lesson, would you toss them the keys to your Covette and say, "Have fun at Spring Break?"

After all,...they really, Really, REALLY, want to do it.

Just asking,....

[TinSpinner]

I'm just going to throw this out there and ask,.....

If you really, Really, REALLY, wanted to fly a plane, you read all the books, manuals, and worked the flight simulators, would you jump into the cockpit, having never taken a formal hands on lesson, fire it up and take off for Alaska?

If your son or daughter really, Really, REALLY wanted to drive, they read all the DMV pamphlets, watched "Fast Car, Dead Driver" and other drivers ed videos, sat in on a Court Appointed DMV class for violators, but never ever got behind the wheel for a driving lesson, would you toss them the keys to your Covette and say, "Have fun at Spring Break?"

After all,...they really, Really, REALLY, want to do it.

Just asking,....

Very valid points. Unfortunately a lot of people think a motorcycle is not much more than a bicycle with a motor.

[dlaws01]

I'm just going to throw this out there and ask,.....

If you really, Really, REALLY, wanted to fly a plane, you read all the books, manuals, and worked the flight simulators, would you jump into the cockpit, having never taken a formal hands on lesson, fire it up and take off for Alaska?

If your son or daughter really, Really, REALLY wanted to drive, they read all the DMV pamphlets, watched "Fast Car, Dead Driver" and other drivers ed videos, sat in on a Court Appointed DMV class for violators, but never ever got behind the wheel for a driving lesson, would you toss them the keys to your Covette and say, "Have fun at Spring Break?"

After all,...they really, Really, REALLY, want to do it.

Just asking,....

You can read all the book and pamphlets and watch as many videos as you want but there is no substitute for having your rear end in the saddle, be it on a motorcycle or in an airplane.  And just for general knowledge, Charles Lindbergh got into an airplane solo and taught himself to fly and we all know what he later accomplished.  I agree that education and training in any discipline is a wise and good thing to have but to suggest that someone learning to ride a motorcycle without a "professional Trainer" is akin to putting someone in an airplane without any flight lessons is not comparing apples to apples.

[woode]

I'm just going to throw this out there and ask,.....

If you really, Really, REALLY, wanted to fly a plane, you read all the books, manuals, and worked the flight simulators, would you jump into the cockpit, having never taken a formal hands on lesson, fire it up and take off for Alaska?

If your son or daughter really, Really, REALLY wanted to drive, they read all the DMV pamphlets, watched "Fast Car, Dead Driver" and other drivers ed videos, sat in on a Court Appointed DMV class for violators, but never ever got behind the wheel for a driving lesson, would you toss them the keys to your Covette and say, "Have fun at Spring Break?"

After all,...they really, Really, REALLY, want to do it.

Just asking,....
[/quote
IronHorse, you make a good point from your perspective.  No, I would not give a motorcycle to an untrained person, but a dealer would have no qualms about it.  Plus, whether or not he passed the course, I assume that he still had a permit which gives him the right to ride.  So, whether you helped him or not, he was still gonna do what he wanted to do.  Heck, that's how most of us learned to ride anyway.  That said, there's no substitute for quality rider training to go along with the experience.

[North Georgia Hawg]

I'm just going to throw this out there and ask,.....

If you really, Really, REALLY, wanted to fly a plane, you read all the books, manuals, and worked the flight simulators, would you jump into the cockpit, having never taken a formal hands on lesson, fire it up and take off for Alaska?

If your son or daughter really, Really, REALLY wanted to drive, they read all the DMV pamphlets, watched "Fast Car, Dead Driver" and other drivers ed videos, sat in on a Court Appointed DMV class for violators, but never ever got behind the wheel for a driving lesson, would you toss them the keys to your Covette and say, "Have fun at Spring Break?"

After all,...they really, Really, REALLY, want to do it.

Just asking,....

You are not allowed to just jump in any plane and fly it. You have to have a pilot's license from the FAA, you have to pass a biennial certification, you have to be rated for that type of aircraft, you have to have a certain number of flying hours, you have to hold an IFR rating if you are going to fly in IFR conditions, etc.

For an auto, you have to pass a written exam and a driving exam. Same to get a MC license. But we all know that simply passing an exam does not give one the riding ability nor experience to safely handle any motorcycle... Much less a H-D.

What happened to this gentleman was tragic. More riding experience and attending a formal riding course for training, plus more practice, might well have prevented this accident. In any case, it's too late for him, and it's awful for his surviving wife.

Ken

[kansaskim47]

I agree with Ironhorse.

If he was going to rent a bike, one of the requirements is a valid motorcycle endorsement so his lack of range experience is moot. 

Of course if he was going to buy a bike, he doesn't need an endorsement, just enough money to buy it.

I have often thought that graduated licences like are required in Europe or Japan might make some sense.

I know people that refuse to countersteer because they can lean much better. I tell them that if it is hard to steer, they are doing it wrong.

Kim

[Ironhorse]

I know people that refuse to countersteer because they can lean much better. I tell them that if it is hard to steer, they are doing it wrong.

Kim,

I get a lot of folks in class who see me or Roger or Josh ride the demo and then say "My bike won't do that". Then I get on their bike and ride the exercise.
The look on their face,..priceless.

Mark

[red ben59]

I'm thinking ; no experiance, new bike, non abs, object focus, locks up rear brake in a panic. Very tragic for this man and family.