Harley Crash Sequence

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:00 pm

No Explanation Needed!

After dialing 911, Big John scrolled down until once again, he found his 'on call' dermatologist, and then wondered how the heck was he going to explain this to the bike's owner, patiently waiting in the service department.

Mike

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:09 pm

That's gonna leave a mark.... Rolling Eyes

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:38 pm

in the first picture you can see the front wheel is locked up.........i guess he panicked when it started to scrape.......... Cool

Hawk Joined: Apr 23, 2004 Posts: 359 Location: NYC

these are only tow frames of a much longer sequence. This happened at Deals Gap where it is really easy to drag hard parts on just about any bike. In the first missing frame, you see this guy one handed entering the turn and waivign to the camera. The second missing shot is where the bike has just touched hardparts down and he is still ok. The thrid shot is the frist one you see here where he is dragging too many parts and has begun to fall over. If i had to guess why the front brake is locked up it would be because 1 he is panacked and two he is trying to hold himself on the bike and the lever is in his right hand. I think these pictures were taken by Killboy and maybe you can find the whole sequence on his website, killboy.com.

Before you laught too hard at him remember this is just poor bike management in settingup for the turn and during the wreck. I have known plenty of cb750 owners who thought it was just as cool to drag hard parts around truns and had similar expirences.

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:56 pm

Besides the front brake being locked (sequence shot 1) there is almost no tire patch contact with the front tire(very limited) as the hard parts have already begun to lift the bike. At this point, the next shot is almost inevitable.

Too often...that's what happens when cameras are present. Someone has to over step their experience level and their own common sense for the sake of making an impression...

Spook Wink

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:57 pm

I found those shots here, there were only two:

Streetbike Rider Picture Website

Been there, done that, not laughing!

Mike

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:04 pm

Spook, I think you hit the nail on the head. I think he may be an experinced rider, trailbraking into a turn with a tire that can't do it....

Hopefully, he didn't just pick up his new bike from the dealer.........

I went to killboy.com and found this instead. It's gotta suck to destroy your bike and body trying to follow a couple of dirtbikes on asphalt.

Killboy.com

Mike

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:59 pm

You have to give the photographer credit though no waver at all in the photo sequence.

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:22 pm

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww, he has no cornering clearance.....
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww, he has very little riding protection.....
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww, maybe HE WILL BE A BETTER RIDER NEXT TIME.

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:11 pm

Like Geeto67 said, the sequence actually starts with him giving you the "Harley wave" - which really enhances the whole scenario from the interesting level up to absolutely priceless. I saw it somewhere else but the pics were way crappy. I'd love to have the whole sequence at the resolution of the two pics above.

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:30 pm

Typical Harley brains at work, in other words, "none"!

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:22 am

I must say I would really love having that bike in the garage, just not as my only bike. It has its place. But when youre riding Deal's Gap, keep your eye on the road, not the cameraman.

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:31 am

Ouch. Man keep that thing where it belongs. As a trophy trailer weight.
And take your sport bike down the gap. I am sorry, but what a typical dumbass. Probalby squid, even if he is older than me. Learn your bikes capabilities, and if your riding can exceed them in any wya, then know when not to cross them.
Damn.
I do feel sorry for him though. THat would really suck, not just the pain of the crash but the over expensive bike he was riding will cost some dough.

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:01 am

Ratfink you forgot - there's also the humiliation of it showing up on moto sites all over the web. Wink

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:50 am

831100F wrote:

No Explanation Needed!

After dialing 911, Big John scrolled down until once again, he found his 'on call' dermatologist, and then wondered how the heck was he going to explain this to the bike's owner, patiently waiting in the service department.

Mike

that's gotta hurt even a hardly ridable rider...

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 4:30 am

The bike has so much crap on it, that it couldn't go over any further........don't know why he bailed. Rolling Eyes

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 4:32 am

I guess 45MPH is too fast round that corner with a HD...

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:30 am

Got it! Took a little diggin', but here's the first image from the sequence. From Killboy's Aug 2005 archive.

here's links for the other two, if you want the originals without the other website's script on the bottom
http://photos1.blogger.com/img/55/3348/1024/IMG_1264.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/img/55/3348/1024/IMG_12662.jpg

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:48 am

Quote:

The bike has so much crap on it, that it couldn't go over any further........don't know why he bailed

....what really matters is you need to know the limits of your bike. This corner for this bike at this speed is just too fast. This guy just didnt know what his bike could do... and it sucks to see a biker go down, but hey, if you have to learn the hard way...

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:20 pm

i had a '69 electra glide. dragging bits was a little disconcerting at first, because it happens pretty quickly. once you get used to it it was no big deal and very spectacular at night. what every HD rider, shoot, any rider, has to know is to NEVER carry someone on the back bigger than themselves. they tend to panic and straighten up the bike when you least want it to. head on collisions will ruin your entire day.

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:24 pm

"There are only two kinds of bikers. Those that have been down,...and those that are going down!".

Tony"it's all by degree, but it will happen" Bagley

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:10 pm

To me, this picture says the guy doesn't even know which side of the bike to lean off of. It may be distorted perspective but, it looks like the guy is leaning toward the outside of the curve. This compounds the problem by forcing the bike further over to remain balanced.

When I see people do that, I just shake my head and wonder WTF.

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:07 pm

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:38 pm

C'mon now, it's not about the bike. I scanned through hundreds of pictures on the killboy website to find that precrash picture of the dude, and I saw MANY, MANY Harley dressers, both rider-only and 2-up, being ridden through the Gap, sans sparks. The operator caused this crash, not the equipment. It might be fair to say the equipment isn't is well designed for the particular task as some other machine, but that's the operator's responsibility. He let his attention be taken from the road, and started riding into the curve instead of around it.

In these pictures, I don't agree that "this corner for this bike at this speed is just too fast" - unless you add "with this rider."

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:18 pm

I agree, not a bike problem a rider problem. But I would not take a road like that on a Harley. Hell, I would jus tnot ride the Harley. I see no point in trying to say "Look at me!!!" with t chromed out trophy bike. Not my thing.

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:53 pm

Just because the guy is s jerk doesn't mean it's all his fault. I would think that those "training wheels", or crash bars/case guards if you insist, helped this guy do himself in. I also wonder if that lovely half helmet did anything to protect his head so that he could remember what a dolt he was going into that turn.

Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:13 am

Any road, any bike, you just need the skill and sensebility to know how to tackle it, definetly rider issue here.
(the dude was all like "hey a camera.. look cool, look cool, look cool....arghh stoped concentrating on the road)