Maybe this should be under "accidents". The title may also be inappropriate.

So I'm 39 years old. I have a daughter who's a college freshman and another in junior High. Ive been married for 19 years...to the same woman.

When my WIFE let me get a bike 2 1/2 yrs ago my MOM threw a shit fit. When I wrecked it 2 yrs ago she threw another shit fit. When I got back in the saddle a year and a half ago......fit. Sunday night her next door neighbor was killed...in a motorcycle accident.

I was 5 hrs away in southern MD visiting at my Aunt and Uncles bay front vacation home. Mom decided to stay an extra day and ride home with me. My step dad just HAD to call 1st thing Mon morning and break the news...So I got to hear the shit fit the whole way home. Thanks BUDDY I'll remember this the next time you need to borrow my truck.

He bought himself an 07 Electra-Glide last fall/winter when he stopped paying (his 1st wife) child support for his sons. Big old tank of a Harley.

I was talking bikes with him about 2 weeks ago. He was VERY interested in the performance and abilities of my 599. Half the weight, a bit more power, way more lean angle. He was telling me about how he scrapes the floorboards all the time. I assumed he meant in low speed corners and such.

Now I think he meant ALL the time. Piecing together info from the newspaper, the neighbor down the street and his cousin that my wife works with. I think he was hauling ass down a twisty (relatively) back road near here, realized he could not make the curve and decided to ride it out into a field. ("traveling North a 1/4 mile north of the turnpike on rt 897, Failed to negotiate a sharp right hand curve" [If he was northbound it was a sharp LEFT])

All went well until he hit a pothole, rut, whatever, that highsided ("caused the motorcycle to turn 90 degrees") him. He landed on his head (so said the paper) and broke his neck killing him, the 850+ lb HD then landed on top of him just in case he wasn't dead yet. His cousin told my wife there wasn't so much as a scratch on the bike.

Maybe he'd still be alive if he'd chosen a bike more appropriate to the way he liked to ride. Maybe he'd have ridden anything beyond it's abilities and ended up the same. Maybe.......


I feel deeply for the wife and children he left behind.

Wow. Sorry to hear of another casualty. Prayers to the family of course.
I also got and still get quite a bit of grief. My wife's uncle was killed on
his bike many years ago with his "other woman" on the back no less.
So my wife and her family have hated motorcycles since and i guess feel
they lead to a road of drinkin', druggin', and adultery and ultimately
a horrific death. Maybe. But i'm a good boy mostly...
So after years of trepidation and threats of divorce if i ever got a bike,
i finally had to tug on my balls(to make sure they were still there) and
say, "Dammit woman, i want a friggin motorcycle and i'm gettin' one!!"
This of course after we got the car she really wanted and countless other
sundry accessories for the home. :roll: :lol:
Even now i still hear about how much she dislikes the bike but she still tells
me i'm sexy and mean lookin' in all my gear when i pull up. I can live
with that. 8)

That sounds horrible, the bike landing on him and all. But yeah, my mom, dad, and even some of my friends always bring up the people that they've known that died on bikes. I pretty much just ignore them for those five seconds and make sure they know I'm ignoring them. I know why it makes them feel even more concerned, but I'm not going through life lusting after a bike and regretting selling mine when I had one...

Just starting talking about the people you know who have died in car crashes. That tends to end conversations quickly.

Those are the only comments I make... usually the same thing, "well, I know even more people that died in car accidents." Which usually gets the response "yeah, but your chances are so much worse on a motorcycle..." and I walk away.

I like it when people tell me motorcycles are dangerous because it's like they're telling me... I'M dangerous. :headbang

it's not the motorcycle that's dangerous, it's the rider that makes mistakes, the other vehicles that don't care about the motorcycle on the road and the mass of other variables that are cotinously present while road riding

bottom line, there is no need to be riding at a high rate of speed on the road, absolutely none and if you do it you're going to end up hurt eventually, just a matter of sooner or later

the road is made for nothing more than nice smooth fun rides at speeds relative to the speed limit posted and nothing more

if you want to ride fast look up NESBA, TPM, Sport Bike Track Time, Cornerspeed or any other track organization, sign up for a day and learn how to really ride a motorcycle

road riding is for nothing more than pleasure cruising and if you do anything more on the road you're going to get hurt at some point or killed

I rarely even ride on the road anymore, it usually scares me when I first get back on it.

going 100+ on a track doesn't faze me, going down a two lane road with gravel laying in the road from a driveway, bad pavement to begin with, a car trying to pull out, some jackass in a big truck riding my tail and the bark of a dog I cannot see all while coming up to a blind curve does

I'm used to people telling me how dangerous it is, and I never deny it. I KNOW riding is dangerous! But I love it and can't imagine not being able to ride and having to be stuck in traffic pulling my hair out. I want to LIVE my life... my Honda makes me feel alive...

... think about it, nothing like proximity to death to make you feel alive. Nothing like the near loss of someone that makes you realize how much you love them.

I'm used to people telling me how dangerous it is, and I never deny it. I KNOW riding is dangerous!

My favorite is still the woman I worked with who stood in front of me with a burning cigarette in her hand and said "I can't believe you still ride that death trap!"

I said "I can't believe you're going to stand there with a cigarette in your hand and lecture me on self destructive habits."

it's not the motorcycle that's dangerous, it's the rider that makes mistakes, the other vehicles...

Motorcycles aren't dangerous, it's the falling off / getting run over part. :banghead

Riding is a risky proposition. So is skiing, mountain biking, playing soccer, etc. You can control your risk somewhat by understanding and addressing the problem areas. Expect the unexpected, ATGATT, etc..

Like Yelladog, I am beginning to find the risks of road riding less and less acceptable given the mediocre level of fun involved. I am seriously considering spending my registration and insurance money on trackdays next year.

...Maybe he'd still be alive if ...

Seetrout, first I'm gonna pass on the whole fact that your "Mom" still give you shit-fits...Always gonna be her little boy...but damn...

Second, "Maybe...if..." Stupid line of thought. Maybe he should have died 100 times already. Stupid is as Stupid does...and you can't fix stupid. Maybe every one of us should have been dead 100x but for some quirk of fate.

Third. Motorcycle are dangerous no matter who's on 'em.
DON"T ANY OF YOU FUCKING THINK OTHERWISE.

DEAD>> http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/11102007/58/season-2007-abe-dies-road-crash.html <<DEAD

You ride with the accumulation of hazzards...for sure sometimes, most of the time, you are your own worst enemy...especially if you start thinking you are a safe rider.

Repeated after me...

Motorcycles ARE dangerous...
Motorcycles ARE dangerous...
Motorcycles ARE dangerous...
Motorcycles ARE dangerous...
Motorcycles ARE dangerous...

The fact that other things are dangerous doesn't change the fact that...

Motorcycles ARE dangerous...
Motorcycles ARE dangerous...
Motorcycles ARE dangerous...
Motorcycles ARE dangerous...
Motorcycles ARE dangerous...

All you can do is mitigate some dangers, but for luck no one is that good. Motorcycles ARE dangerous. Ride like that every day - less the only difference between you and someone who HAS died on one, be time.

:yell :devil :rant :devil :yell

And just incase any of you are ENGLISH poor:

ac·ci·dent /ˈæksɪdənt/ [ak-si-duhnt]
–noun 1. an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss; casualty; mishap: automobile accidents.
2. Law. such a happening resulting in injury that is in no way the fault of the injured person for which compensation or indemnity is legally sought.
3. any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberate plan or cause.
4. chance; fortune; luck: I was there by accident.
5. a fortuitous circumstance, quality, or characteristic: an accident of birth.
6. Philosophy. any entity or event contingent upon the existence of something else.
7. Geology. a surface irregularity, usually on a small scale, the reason for which is not apparent.