He laid the bike down

MarkB_MI · Aug 8, 2010

"Controlled crash" didn't turn out well for this biker and his unfortunate wife.

“Witnesses stated that the pickup truck turned right in front of the motorcycle. Mr. Cline braked in an attempt to stop. The motorcycle went down and slid into the right side of the truck.”

Is it possible that he could have avoided the collision if he hadn't lost control of his cycle? If he had kept it on two wheels, would his brakes have bought him the extra second or two he needed to miss the left-turning pickup?
Motorcyclist dies in crash Detroit Free Press

Keith Molden · Aug 8, 2010

So sad. I know people will say that the teen was probably preoccupied or something, but don't we all have a sort of mental block when it comes to bikes? We just don't seem to judge their rate of speed as well as we do cars. I feel sorry for the family that lost a loved one & feel sorry for the kid who will live with this for the rest of his life. Keith

cjk · Aug 8, 2010

Ive been told that tires can generate more friction with the road than the side of a bike and I agree. Laying down a bike is caused by poor riding skill or panic.

Other peoples driving is what keeps my bike in the garage most of the summer. I seem to be an idiot magnet and have had enough close calls caused by others to reconsider how much I enjoy riding.

Goose · Aug 8, 2010

I've had a lot of fun on motorcycles in my lifetime. Drag raced in Japan, scrambled a few in the desert in New Mexico, etc.

I found out there are definite stages you go through with a motorcyle. You begin by being scared of it. Then you gain confidence, but still have a healthy respect for the thing. Next you get overconfident and nonchalant, and wham! You're back to being scared of it again.

Also busted a helmet once in Japan. Was going around a curve on a blacktop road and some old Papa-san had thrown a bucket of slop water on the road. Bike simply went out from under me. To anyone who is anti-helmet, when you take a busted one off and look at it, it doesn't take long to put 2 and 2 together.

The bottom line was, about 20 years ago I decided I'd quit while I was ahead.

showcrop · Aug 8, 2010

I have had a couple of close calls with not seeing motorcycles, but I think that we all know that teens tend to get distracted more readily than adults by others in the vehicle. Some states have laws limiting passengers for new drivers, and many loving parents set this sort of limitation on their own children. This topic came up on this forum a few months back, something like five kids from the same family killed.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 8, 2010

Many years ago, 20 or so, I was a Dept Sheriff and felt lucky to get motorcycle duty. They sent me to the California Highway Patrol motorcycle school near Sacramento. They had these old retired Kawasaki police bikes, beat up bad. The one exercise we had to do with these old bikes was to "lay the bike on its side". The whole purpose of the exercise was to show you never wanted to "lay the bike on its side". The coefficent of friction between the tires and the pavement (the breaking system) is much higher than that of the roll bar and the pavement, not to mention your face and the pavement. Also, upon laying her down, the tires leave the pavement you have no directional control, this is not desirable.

JML755 · Aug 9, 2010

(quoted from post at 10:34:15 08/08/10) We just don't seem to judge their rate of speed as well as we do cars. I feel sorry for the family that lost a loved one & feel sorry for the kid who will live with this for the rest of his life. Keith

I agree with you. Teen drivers at 16 have a lot to learn about judging speeds, distances, etc. Especially true of bikes. Even after 40 yrs of driving, things can happen quick. Awhile back, I was turning right onto a 2 lane paved highway at dusk. Saw the bike headed the other way so I wasn't crossing his path on my turn but was amazed how fast he came up and went by me. If I had been turning left, I would probably have made the turn thinking I had a lot of space. Since then, I try and give bikes a little more space & time.

cadet trooper · Aug 10, 2010

I've been riding for over 30 yrs and had of my most serious accidents recently as posted earlier by getting rearended by an uattentative truck driver but what I've noticed all those years is no matter how fast a bike goes it just doesn't register on the car driver for example if I'm running down the highway at 70mph you're gonna get passed by a car only to run upon a car at 60 and they will stay behind them. I've always said riding a motorcycle is a 75-25 deal in other words it's 75% testosterone (b@lls) and 25% skill that's why I'll probably ride again. CT

He laid the bike down

MarkB_MI

Well-known Member

Keith Molden

Well-known Member

cjk

Member

Goose

Well-known Member

showcrop

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

JML755

Well-known Member

cadet trooper

Well-known Member

Similar threads