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[muddypaws]

RIP Bruce.

[mnr60]

Bruce Rossmeyer was killed in a bike accident in Wyoming on the way to Sturgis.

For those not aware, Bruce owned the largest Harley dealership in the world in Daytona.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,4402645.story

[mr_magoo]

Sad to hear.

[rganz]

http://www.makli.com/bruce-rossmeyer-killed/

Sad news.

Rob

[rbaker]

http://www.inentertainment.co.uk/20090731/bruce-rossmeyer-harley-davidson-tycoon-killed-in-motorcycle-accident/

Harley Davidson tycoon Bruce Rossmeyer was sadly killed yesterday in a  motorcycle accident in Wyoming. According to rightpundits.com, he was apparently on his way to the Sturgis Bike Rally in South Dakota, when the accident happened.
Reports say that Rossmeyer, who had built his Harley Davidson empire up from nothing in 1994, was trying to pass an SUV with a trailer attached at the time and unfortunately the driver didn’t see him and he was subsequently killed.

His death has apparently sent shockwaves through the motorcycling community. Rossmeyer started off as a car dealer, but decided to start selling Harley motorcycles as a hobby.  Bruce’s “Destination Daytona store” opened in Florida in 2005.

Bruce died at the age of 66. Our prayers go out to his wife and five children.

[skreminegul07]

Bruce Rossmeyer was killed in a bike accident in Wyoming on the way to Sturgis.

For those not aware, Bruce owned the largest Harley dealership in the world in Daytona.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,4402645.story

Not to jack the thread or impune on Bruce's legacy, but there are at least ten HD dealerships claiming to be the worlds largest.
Is it volume of bikes sold?  total revenue?  Inventory? square feet?  I believe each of them takes one of those metrics and then can say World's
largest without the asterisk.

[Tbone]

Here's the Wyoming State Patrol report on the Rossmeyer accident.  Prayers go out to his family.  RIP, Bruce.

Bob

[Dan_Lockwood]

I'm very sorry to see anyone go in this manner, let alone go in any manner, but it boils down to safe riding skills.

I can't judge because I was not there, but after reading something similar to this accident report very early on in this thread, people keep saying that the RV swerved into Bruce's lane and hit him.

I can see it now.  A bunch of guys cruising up the two-laner and Bruce is next to the last one in the pack.  The first 4 guys fly by this guy that's not going very fast in this pickup truck pulling a trailer.  The guy in the truck sees them go by and puts on his turnsignal to turn off the road.  By now Bruce is fixated on being with his friends and doesn't notice the turn signals on and then all of a sudden, bammmmm, Bruce piles into the side of the truck probably going 40 to 50 mph faster than the truck when he hit it.

The guy that was behind Bruce swerved to miss the whole thing.

I've heard about this in group riding where everyone is fixated on following and one bad move takes the whole group down as a unit.  Each person is responsible for their own riding and HAS to stay alert to the changing conditions around them.

Again, I'm very sorry for the loss of Bruce and the grief his family is going through.

R.I.P. Bruce.

Slightly different with a better outcome, my buddy up in Michigan was riding not far from home on a two lane road when an older lady pulled out in front of him.  She was a quarter mile up the road but was not going very fast so he put on his turn signal and pulled out to go around her.  He told me he was committed to going around when she turned on her left turn signal to pull back into another driveway.  She hadn't travel a far down the road that that's why she didn't pick up speed down the road.  By the time he saw her starting to turn, he could only stomp on the brakes.  He went down and ended up missing the old lady, but wiped out the bike pretty bad and broke his leg in 9 places.  He was in the hospital for months and and then rehab for another 8 to 12 months.  He's back and riding again, but I think in his case ABS would have saved him.  He said that if he had not locked up the tires and could have kept it straight, he might have not hit her.

Chit happens to all of us no matter how vigilant we are in our riding.  Always expect the unexpected.  I try to never pass when there are any side roads on the opposite side of the road, just in case the person ahead of me might turn.  On my '08 SERK I went with the headlight modulator and boy did that thing get the attention.  I had people stop on the side streets that might have pulled out in front of me otherwise.  Now with the SERG, I'm not sure if it will handle both headlights or not, but I'll find out and do something to get more visibility.

    

[Beach Bum]

Just picked this up on a different forum.  RIP Bruce

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-bruce-rossmeyer-obit-073109,0,4402645.story

[Wildrat]

legendary motorcycle dealer, Bruce Rossmeyer, had been killed riding his Harley-Davidson en route to Sturgis bike rally.

Lt. Shawn Dickerson of the Wyoming Highway Patrol has described the accident as follows:

"'The pickup slowed and activated his left signal. Four of the motorcycles passed to the left. When Mr. Rossmeyer attempted to pass, the truck made its left turn and he hit the driver's side door. The sixth motorcycle swerved to the right and avoided collision.'
Rossmeyer, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from his bike and came to rest under the camp trailer, Dickerson said. He was declared dead at the scene.
Dickerson described the road as 'straight, dry and flat.'

the accident report from the Wyoming Highway Patrol which details how the incident occurred:

    The roadway at the time of the crash was dry with clear weather conditions. Both vehicles were eastbound on WYO 28. Rossmeyer was traveling with a group of five other motorcycles. Rossmeyer was behind the VanValkenburg vehicle which was pulling a 2 axle camper style trailer. VanValkenburg braked and used his vehicles left turn signal to indicate he was going to make a turn from WYO 28 onto a small dirt road. VanValkenburg was in the process of making his left turn when Rossmeyer attempted to pass the VanValkenburg combination on the left. Rossmeyer collided into the drivers side door of the VanValkenburg pickup. The collision occurred near the westbound shoulder. After impact, Rossmeyer was ejected from the motorcycle and came to rest partially under the trailer near the passenger side tires. Troopers investigating this crash have determined that the turn signals and the brake lights were in working condition on the VanValkenburg combination. It is unknown why Rossmeyer did not see the turn signal/ brake lights.

Extracts obtained from: http://www.examiner.com

[hard10]

We passed by Destination Daytona today which was closed for the funeral.

[Cvostu]

Really sad to learn all this. I did have my incident with Bruce in 2003 when I purchased an aniversary bike in Ft. lauderdale.   I had everything all worked out on the phone with the sales manager, got him his cashiers check and on they way over he called to tell me that he sold my bike 15 minutes ago to another customer..  Though I wanted to give him a credit card deposit, he said it was ok to just come down with the check.  He then told me that he could get one for me in 60 days. I then told him that when i came in to shove it ups his a$$, that I wouldn't want it from you or the company you work for. About 3 months later I was buying a few parts there, was telling my story to another sales guy that felt pretty bad about the whole thing. He pointed to Bruce walking to his car and told me that he was the owner of Ft. lauderdale HD. I walked right up to him ( not really knowing who he really was) and told him what had happened with this sales manager Bob. He deeply apologized and tried to to his best to make it right with me and i did accept his hand shake and smile. Few months later a few of us found our way to Daytona to ride with him and the guys from OCC. Again I walked up to him, said hello, got a hand shake and a thank you for coming. I didn't always agree with his way of selling bikes, especially CVO bikes, but hey, he did build an empire and he will be greatly missed by many people in the MC community. I feel better now.    A little.

[Cvostu]

Really sad to learn all this. I did have my incident with Bruce in 2003 when I purchased an aniversary bike in Ft. lauderdale.   I had everything all worked out on the phone with the sales manager, got him his cashiers check and on they way over he called to tell me that he sold my bike 15 minutes ago to another customer..  Though I wanted to give him a credit card deposit, he said it was ok to just come down with the check.  He then told me that he could get one for me in 60 days. I then told him that when it came in to shove it up his a$$, that I wouldn't want it from you or the company you work for. About 3 months later I was buying a few parts there, was telling my story to another sales guy that felt pretty bad about the whole thing. He pointed to Bruce walking to his car and told me that he was the owner of Ft. lauderdale HD. I walked right up to him ( not really knowing who he really was) and told him what had happened with this sales manager Bob. He deeply apologized and tried to to his best to make it right with me and i did accept his hand shake and smile. Few months later a few of us found our way to Daytona to ride with him and the guys from OCC. Again I walked up to him, said hello, got a hand shake and a thank you for coming. I didn't always agree with his way of selling bikes, especially CVO bikes, but hey, he did build an empire and he will be greatly missed by many people in the MC community. I feel better now.    A little.

[hard10]

6 Motocops were injured in the funeral procession of Bruce Rossmeyer

[Screamin]

Good grief.