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bci21984 wrote:there are only 2 types of motorcycle riders, those that have, and those that will crash, motorjocks train a hole heck of alot, and as such greatly diminish their propensity for crashing, but as most that ride know, its more than likely not gonna be the rider that causes the crash.

I respectfully disagree about that last part, based on both my own experience working in an ER, and the fact that I've been down 3 times on a motorcycle myself, all suffered on the street while I was also a licensed and relatively skilled motorcycle roadracer.

1. 60+ mph 3 turns down from the first fire station on the Angeles Crest Highway above La Cañada, California; on the return leg I hit sand in the apex, lowsided, slid into the rocks off the shoulder of the road, and watched my bike dismantle itself. I had seen the sand on my way up the road, and had forgotten that it was there on the way down. MY BAD.
2. Rose Bowl parking lot, not more than 10 mph, "forgot" that I wasn't on The Crest or at Willow Springs (my "home" track), shifted my butt over a tad and hung off a wee bit while executing a turn, hit dime-sized oil spot with front tire, front end washed out and I fell right off. MY BAD.
3. Feet down at the intersection of westbound New York Drive and southbound Hill Ave in Pasadena, waiting for the guy coming toward me to complete his right hand turn to go down Hill Ave; was rear ended by a 16 yr old kid reaching for a tape off the floor of his car at 30 mph. Sent my narrow behind to the hospital. OTHER GUY'S BAD.

I would say that your statement is largely true for motorcyclists riding in traffic, but not so much the rest of the time. It's not so much that car drivers have ill intent. They just don't see us. And so they do things like turn left in front of us when we have the right of way. When I was working in the ER, I think it is fair to say that this one scenario (car turns left in front of bike which has right of way) was the single most common cause of a rider visit to the ER involving another driver. Getting rear ended, like what happened to me, was actually fairly rare. But by far the most common overall cause of motorcyclist injuries/fatalities were caused by the riders themselves, who like me, were playing the fool in some way or other. Our hospital was the nearest level 1 trauma center to the above mentioned Angeles Crest Highway, so we saw most of the injuries which occurred there, and which happened with great regularity and frequency. Easily, 90% or more of patients airlifted by chopper to us were guys who biffed themselves on The Crest. For the uninitiated, ACH is where the majority of those pictures in the sport bike mags are taken. It is Nirvana for sport biking. It's about 100 miles of everything a sportbike rider could dream of, from tight decreasing radius turns, to double apex banked turns, to fast open top gear sweepers. It is also, far too often, Valhalla for squids whose capabilities are not up to those of their bikes; and I can't even remember how many times I interrupted my own ride to render first aid and/or life support to a motorcyclist involved in a single vehicle accident.

Back when a bike was my only transportation, as with most of my friends of the time, we all thought that our skill would keep us out of trouble because we were young, sharp, and in control. So it was easy for us to reach the conclusion that other drivers were the primary cause of motorcyclist injuries suffered in accidents. I was eventually disabused of that notion. Nothing could be further from the truth. All three of the above listed accidents I experienced happened during a time in which I held a valid racing license with the now defunct ARRA, a sanctioning body for which I ran the tech-inspection station as well as participated in the open class races. In other words, I was a skilled rider, accustomed to riding at a level that simply can't be attained on the street. And yet, in five and a half racing seasons (I "retired" from racing when my wife became pregnant with our son, but continued to manage tech inspections), I never once crashed on the racetrack while managing to go down three times on the street — two of which were my own fault.

The simple fact is that, outside the "sterilized" confines of a racetrack, the real world is an dangerous environment in which to ride. But that danger is not just from other motorists, although that is certainly a major contributor to motorcyclist injuries. Pavement accumulates oils, decreasing traction. There is sand. There are potholes and puddles. Wet paint stripes. Swarms of bees (don't ask me how I know about that one. ) There's black ice. Wind can cause you to make unintended lane changes. There are dogs and children that run out from between parked cars - not to mention the objects such as soccer balls which they are chasing. There are the things which fall off the back of someone's truck — which at best, have to be maneuvered around; and which, at worst, coming bounding toward you. Ask me some time about the mattress I hit square on on the freeway one time at about 65 mph. Etc., etc., etc. So anyone who fails to take into account all of those possibilities, plus the ones I haven't mentioned, when they ride is simply not being a realist. You can't blame "most" of your problems on other drivers if you're refusing to acknowledge the basic dangers of the environment in which you ride.

A friend and I were out for a ride one day on the Angeles Crest Highway with Fred Merkel, the 1984, 1985, 1986 AMA Superbike Champion and 1988 World Superbike Champion, and Fred was riding a borrowed VF500 Interceptor because he didn't even own a street bike. We were showing him "The Crest," and he was scared spitless — and we're talking about a rider with skills far beyond yours or mine or any other member of this board. And he was right to be that scared of the environment, because as a person who normally rode only within the context of the VERY controlled environment of an AMA or FIM event, he understood exactly how out of the rider's control the street environment is.

I'm not saying to not ride. If I could afford to buy another bike right now, I do it in a New York minute. As it is, I bum a ride once in a while from friends. I'm just saying that, in my experience, it's not supportable by the facts that most biker injuries which occur on the street are suffered at the hands of another driver.

Sorry... I didn't mean to turn this into a rant. But you know me... once I get going...