From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Fri Jun 6 21:04:31 1997 Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 17:43:27 -0700 To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com From: Michael Fletcher Subject: BMW: Bike vs. 4X4 Reply-To: Michael Fletcher I just came back from directing traffic around a fatal traffic accident in Chandler, AZ., involving a cruiser and a 4X4 Ford Ranger. The rider was not wearing a helmet and it looks to me as if he was stopped or slowed to make a turn into a strip mall when he was struck from the side. There were no skid marks from the bike and the body was next to the bike. The rider took the impact on the back of his head and everything from ears back was flat. The 4X4 was upside down a few yards away from the bike. The driver of the truck ran. This happened on a city street where the speed limit is 45 mph. It was a scene that perhaps riders who elect to ride without protective gear should have seen. What it did for me is to get rid of the temptation to leave my aerostitch at home because of the hot weather and to be thankful that I wear a quality helmet when I ride. Michael Chandler, AZ R 100 Mystic "Memsahib" From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Sun Jun 22 19:08:44 1997 From: "Shamieh, Greg" To: The Internet BMW Riders Subject: BMW: Crashing, Squiddley Boys, and Suckage Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 18:55:34 -0400 X-Priority: 3 Reply-To: "Shamieh, Greg" fellow presidents: no, the crashing wasn't me, thank ye gods, but it sucks all the same, thank you very much. it sucks even more when the sparks, bending metal and bouncing boys happen in full view of your wife and children. those of you who went to the square route rally will know the road --- MD 77 --- up and over the cactoctin mountains. the more treacherous side of the road is the one most of you never take though --- leading west out of camp west mar out into washington county and towards I-70 west. the road twists and bucks like the proper snake of a mountain road that it is --- decreasing radius, off camber stuff, switchbacks and blind drops coming off the tops of grades. good s**t, if you are sane and in possession of good skills and judgement. not everybody is, though. was coming back with the family in the pickup from a day of fun, and decided to take the twisty route home, even if the ram is less agile than the r90s. as we get into the best stuff, i come up on an older couple out in their fathers oldsmobile ;-), just cruisin'. we're in no hurry so i drop back a few yards and settle in for a slow run down the mtn. seconds later, two red streaks come up fast from behind --- a ducati 900 cr in front, and a new suzuki 1000tl out behind. the ducati closes on me in nothing flat, never slows down, flicks out over the double yellow, does me and grandpa out in front in one go, and flicks back in going into a blind, decreasing radius right and gasses it and is gone. "asshole", i mutter, wondering why there are no body parts flying back in my direction. his buddy with the new TL, though --- these bikes have only been out for what -- three weeks? --- doesn't have the same breed of beeg stones coupled with no brains. he feels me out for a while, looking for a safer blind corner to make this pass on ;-) he finds the one he wants in short order, reproduces his buddy's stupidity, and goes to flick in to another, sharper blind downhill right and gets in too hot, around 65 for a corner i would never enter going more than 45. (in the truck its a 25-30 mph turn) he's waaaay out on the left edge of the oncoming lane when he starts his move back over to the proper side of the road. i am dead sure at this point he will get splattered by an oncoming vehicle that none of us has any angle to see coming. amazingly, that car isn't there THIS time. he gets on the brakes as he comes back across the road, and promptly finds the strip of gravel that was just as likely to be there as the oncoming car was. you never beat two sure things in a row. front wheel goes out in a nanosecond, the bike slams down hard, showering sparks and shedding parts like there's no tomorrow. the bike and rider straightline back across the oncoming lane and, amazingly, the guaranteed bad luck car is still running a bit behind schedule. also amazingly, granma and grandpa miss him as he slides back across in front of them. bike and rider go into the guardrail, which is sitting in a run off of large, coarse gravel -- bike goes under the rail and sticks. rider slams into the saddle knees first and stops. i get the truck stopped and angle it across the road so as to minimize the chances of bucko geting run over from my direction, anyway. he's up pretty quickly, helmet comes off and the stream of expletives tells me he will think he's alright until tomorrow morning, anyway. i swallow my judgement, jump down and try to help by confirming his opinion that all limbs are present, undamaged and accounted for and to get what's left of the TL swept up and out of the road. the back luck oncoming car shows up about 10 seconds too late, and slides to a stop about ten feet shy of our boy. fortunately, he was properly dressed (jacket with armor, shoei rf-700, good gloves and jeans) and didn't seem too much the worse for wear. except for some jean shreddage and a shot to the helmet that had it headed for the trash can, he did appear to be whole. bulk of the impact was to his right shoulder, elbow, and right side of head. if i ever buy another riding jacket, vanson WILL get my money. the TL, though, looked to be a write off. both mufflers had bent in under the fender and were keeping the rear tire from turning --- the resonator cans were toast, and the headpipes were bent shut when they attempted to stay in touch with what the cans were doing. everything plastic above the radiators was in bits --- fairing, windshield, cockpit, mirrors, turnsignals --- shattered. 3k repair bill minimum. if i do buy a japanese ducati clone, remind me not to crash it ;-) after getting the former bike into a neighbor's driveway, i advised our man to take a more careful inventory of his personal bits once the adrenaline started to wear off to make sure he didn't need medical attention. his ducati riding pal also showed back up, at which point i elected to split rather than share my opinion of his riding talent and judgement. very few of us ride at 11/10ths on public roads, so there is probably no personal lesson to be taken. i can't help but think though, that when friends, neighbors and co-workers treat all motorcyclists like petite criminals, these two a**h*les were the guys they had in mind. g. ***** > greg shamieh boof # 93 > gregsNoSpam@NoSpamparadigms.com > jefferson, md > 75r90s --- der essssssssss > 73r90/5 --- der toastmeister (verrrrry light toast only) > From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Wed Jun 18 01:49:12 1997 Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 23:12:19 -0600 To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com From: Dan Dunphy Subject: BMW: Poudre claims a biker ... Reply-To: Dan Dunphy Fowarded with Victor's permission >From: "Victor L. Johnson" >Subject: Poudre claims a biker ... >To: dodNoSpam@NoSpameclipse.cs.Colorado.EDU >Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 9:40:01 MDT >Cc: vljNoSpam@NoSpamcris.com >Sender: owner-dodNoSpam@NoSpammroe.cs.colorado.edu > > > ... and is never the kind of news you like to hear. > > A rider from Laramie, WY (in mid 30's riding a presumed 73 BMW?) made > a pass on a cage in the section called The Narrows, overcooked a tight > blind right-hander, lowsided, bounced off a another cage coming the > other way and both machine and rider slid into the drink. The motorists > involved had no luck in spotting either in the water. The rider was > found by SnR coming up the canyon snagged on some bushes (~4.5 miles > downstream from where he went in) across from the Mishawaka Inn. > > Bike is under the water somewhere and won't be found until the runoff > period is over. His helmet was picked up at the crash site. I hope > the hit on the car put his lights out before he hit the water. :-/ > > I think I know just the corner and it will certainly take out the > unaware. I always take a conservative line through there cuz that > turn is a blind decreasing radius and is usually is bespeckled with > debris from the rocks above until the rains quit. That may be what > put him down. > > Spooky thing is that while riding that very section with Flash a few > days back, I had my eye on the river and had the thought that a low-side > in the wrong place would spit you right into way heavy water. The deceased > rider didn't have time to think about it. > > I don't know if he is known to any of us, but my condolences go out to > his friends and family. Ride early, ride often and ride careful out > there ... > > Cheers, NoSpam@NoSpam > Victor "Dances with Hawks" Johnson ... #%\ > ________________________________________O^_O________________________________ > Engineering Technology Lab Hewlett Packard > MS 55 3404 East Harmony Road > (970/T)-229-6759 Fort Collins, CO 80525 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > All, > I don't know if he is known to any of us, but my condolences go out to > his friends and family. Ride early, ride often and ride careful out > there ... I omitted the rider's name, Mark Price. Cheers, NoSpam@NoSpam Victor Johnson ... #%\ **************************************************************** Dan in Colorado Springs, CO, USA dan_dunphyNoSpam@NoSpampcisys.net dunphyNoSpam@NoSpamspt.com at work DoD #281, Pikes Peak BMW Road Riders, Pikes Peak Whitewater club My advice is probably worth what you paid for it. **************************************************************** From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Thu Jul 10 19:24:40 1997 Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 16:10:23 -0700 (PDT) From: David Brick To: ibmwr Subject: BMW: Accident Report (no injury) Reply-To: David Brick In brief: In stop-and-go traffic on N/B 17 today, I was hit from behind while stopped. No injury; minor bike damage. Several ironies. All of a suddent, the grips were out of my hands, and I was scrambling to stay on my feet. I might have fallen to one knee. I remember standing in the middle of the lane, watching my bike move forward and fall over to the right. I looked behind me, saw traffic wasn't moving, and reached down to switch the bike off. Walked around to the right side, crouched down with my butt on the saddle, and pushed with my legs. Bike came up. I mounted (from the right), started it, and moved it off the road. The car followed. Driver was very upset at what shed done, almost hysteric. She said her foot slipped on the brake. When the car moved forward, the sloped right front of the car nosed into and under my left saddlebag, lifting the bike and pushing it forward and right. She admitted responsibility continually. Damage: right valve cover, saddlebag lid, and fairing (at widest part) abraded, smaller scratches on right mirror, front brake lever, rear brake lever, right footpeg, rear fender, and left saddlebag lid and back (from the impact). When we shared license and insurance info, my hands were shaking so much I could hardly write. The left footpeg bruised my left thigh as the bike went out from under me. Saddlebag deformed (temporarily) enough to allow it to come up out of the lower mount. It went back OK. Lesson: I wasn't watching behind me. Watching behind one in stop-and-go is tough, especially after several miles of Move-a-car-length-and-stop-repeat. But if I had been doing so, I might have been able to scoot up between the lanes. But it wasn't as if I saw her coming from a long ways away (like Rooz did a few weeks ago); this was very slow stop-and-go, with small distances. Im a rider who believes firmly in the rider's responsibility for what happens...but this makes me wonder. Irony #1: Car driver works for an insurance company. Shell want to keep it quiet, so I think I'll have no trouble getting the bike fixed. Irony #2: I was on my way to my dealer anyway, so a repair estimate was no problem to obtain. Irony #3: I had just installed Hyperlights last night. Believing fully in post hog ergo propter hoc, I'll leave them on the bike. Oh my. I want a beer. __________________________________________________________________________ David Brick Santa Cruz CA dbrickNoSpam@NoSpamarmory.com 96 BMW R11RSL RA MOA BOOF etc From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Mon Jul 21 17:00:56 1997 From: Eric VanDenHoek To: Internet BMW Riders Subject: BMW: top of rockies close call! Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 14:26:29 -0600 X-Priority: 3 Reply-To: Eric VanDenHoek Forgot-I had a close call on I70 returning from Paonia. Eastbound just before Veil pass I was approaching a full size Ford w/ horse trailer going downhill at speed+5 when I got just past the rear of the trailer I noticed the truck swerve, then smoke. I moved over thinking it blew a hose when the whole rig swerved toward me. I dove right into the little bit of road I had left, then I felt it. The fender of the trailer caught my left side case, took a 1x2" chunk out and broke the aluminum clasps. I thought I was going to eat some bunker pavement, when he move over enough and the bunker disappeared so I dropped it down one and throttled out of there. I pulled over on the side as soon as I could. The truck ended up in the center, just past the bunker, in the median. I centered my bike, pulled my helmet off, then ran back to grab my clothes and try to get the lid of my case. As I was running back, I noticed a skid mark going all the way back. I grabbed my clothes(slightly tumbled but still in the military bag) and saved my lid from destruction by darting across the lane. Ran back down to the truck, somehow, the stabilizing sway arm fell onto the runaway cable for trailer brakes and locked one up. The other malfunctioned. Questions, can I get just the cover(it's OK-just cosmetic) and can I get new latches? This kept me awake on my trip home...Wide awake!!!!! Be aware!!! Eric VanDenHoek '85 BMW K100RS President - Black Hills BMW Riders Club #203 IBMWR President / BMWMOA # 74038 / MSF Certified Instructor cpthoekNoSpam@NoSpamgeocities.com http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/5029/ From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Mon Jul 21 20:36:53 1997 From: "Jeffrey Harth" To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 17:54:38 -0400 Subject: BMW: Accident Report (I'm out for the season) Reply-To: "Jeffrey Harth" This is a report that I wish I didn't have to send. Took the bike to CLASS at Mid-Ohio last week. Had a great weekend on the way out. Did some sightseeing and camping through West Virginia. Got to CLASS Monday morning for check-in. Met Reg Pridmore - very personable and all-around great guy. Took some warm-up laps in the morning, get the feel for the track and dial in. Towards noon was running the track having a great time, got the bike doing things I never thought it could do. Coming down the front straight-away caught sight of some debris on the track (turns out it was a plastic bag), held my attention for about three seconds (two seconds too long), hence was late for the set-up for turn one. I rolled the bike and down-shifted from 3rd to 2nd and let the clutch out - no down shift! I glance at my indicator and its blank. Damn. Fumbled trying to get back into 3rd. Meanwhile, outside of my head, life is moving really fast! Can't get on the brakes with the bike leaned over and now I'm WAY past the apex of this curve. This aint looking too good. Off the track, into the grass in the infield. I don't ever remember going this fast on grass before. OK, all you have to do is make the sand pit in the middle of the course and dump the bike. Just get to the sand pit. That's when my right foot started to think for itself and got on the rear brake. Bad deal. Back end comes around and now I am riding the bike sideways. Gee, this is a new move. Hey, I've actually got this thing balanced. I think I'm going to make it. NO, NO, don't let off of the rear brake! WHAM! 8-( You know, a high-side happens REALLY fast! So, the result is a broken radial ulna (the big bone in the forearm), a nice set of bruises down my left side, a bike with a shattered upper fairing, and an ego that's seen better days. Insurance company is talking about totaling the bike. I guess in the big book of motorcycle accidents this isn't a bad one. I am glad it didn't happen on the street. I just wonder what the lesson is. I've been riding fast for 17 years and now have two accidents within 3 months apart and now am sporting my first ever motorcycle injury. The question floating in my head is "Are my reflexes getting slow, or is this just bad luck." I do know one thing. At MSF they teach slow-look-lean-roll, in that order. It doesn't help to lean then slow. That's a bad combination. I will have this cast and pins in my arm for eight weeks and then probably another six to eight weeks for rehab. That's the worst part. Not being able to ride. Jeff Harth 1985 K100RS - Red (On life support) Presently in Columbus, OH 1985 K100RS - Blue (For Sale) Munich, Germany From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Mon Jul 21 21:32:32 1997 Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 14:40:48 -0400 From: Roger Traversa To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Subject: BMW: Call too close. Reply-To: Roger Traversa Close call. Saturday I took Elise (SWTSMBO) out for a couple hundred miles on my R100 GS (Mojo-cycle). We went out west from D.C., rode Skyline Drive for a bit and then headed back via routes 33 and 29. Well, it's late (6pm) after a long day of casual riding and I'm starting to feel tired and we're going along and I approach a familiar intersection at a nominal pace in moderate traffic. This particular intersection occurs immediately prior to a set of train tracks that cross the road at a precarious angle (read possible edge trap). The road surface has a heavy sheen of engine drippings and the lanes (two each direction) are quite narrow. I'm following some American ark type car in the left lane when it does an immediate lane shift right at the same time that I wiggle my but to avoid the edge trap of the train tracks (not a severe swerve, just a slight S). When the ark is out of the way I see that a car is stopped for a left hand turn (Left turns are illegal and quite impractical from this lane. The car is stopped mostly in my path of travel waiting for a break in the oncoming traffic (thinking back I don't remember seeing operational brake lights or a turn signal, but...). I alert to the hazard ASAP, but what I think is too late, as I am just ending the little S I did over the tracks. I come on the brakes (don't know how hard but the front pads are real new) and downshift simultaneously. The rear wheel locks and starts to slip (a real slippery surface) to the left. I see the rear end of the stopped car looming just too large and decide to aim 10 feet beyond it to the right (Note, at about this point Elise has dug her fingers into my arms so that blood flow was probably restricted, thank heavens she has no nails). Dropping the bike was not an option nor was a super duper stop on a dime stop as another car was too close on my tail. I'm not sure if the front tire locked or slipped, but something happened up there. I pointed the bike out of the collision and somehow got it traveling in a straight line and lifted completely off the rear brake. The rear tire bit just as I was parallel with the fender (and just as I was thinking the left cylinder head may make contact) and I was able to correct the remaining gyrations and accelerate out of there. I checked with Elise to see if she was OK (I knew I wasn't). (It is truly lucky for that driver that Elise was with me, which caused me to decide not to turn around and ....). I'm sure I got lucky, I was able to muscle the bike out of a situation. A situation that I should have been hyper alert for. Maybe I should have stopped riding before that point, or taken more breaks (we had taken plenty), left a bigger margin in the traffic (course then cars just take up that space), or used SIPDE more effectively. I don't know if I was up to my potential in handling the ride, but after the fact I just thank my stars that years of experience and whatever training I'd had, had made a close call just a `what could'a been' memory. A few things I'm sure helped me: 1) looking where I wanted the bike to go, 2) getting the bike straight in the direction of travel before I gave the rear wheel traction, 3) being able to muscle the bike into one unit (straighten it out). That's as close to an accident as I ever want to come. I expect to given a reasonable amount of time free from tickets, close calls, collisions, or road hits of any sort, by the powers that be (I'd ad in freedom from mechanical troubles, but it's a beemer and that'd be pushing the limits). Roger Traversa Watching in D.C. Thought for the day: Is one a felon simply by committing a felonious act or must one be convicted? From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Sun Jul 27 19:21:45 1997 From: "Greg" To: Subject: BMW: Re: Watch Those Rocks Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 09:04:01 +1000 X-Priority: 3 Reply-To: "Greg" On the Protection debate: I converted to fullface helmets after my brother had this experience. Astride his Spondon Laverda triple .......oncoming traffic on a 2 lane highway....whack.. almost lost consciousness...managed to pull over before falling down. On the perspex visor was the imprint of a wheel nut.....a perfect hex that almost penetrated. Keeps that visor as a momento of the day that some heap-of-shite cage spat a wheelnut and he wore it probably at a combined speed in excess of 200kph. right in line with his right eye. No visor and he wouldn't be riding today. Greg of Oz 84K100RS ---------- > From: Dana Priesing > To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com > Subject: BMW: Watch Those 18 Wheelers (Was Top O the Rockies report, long) > Date: Sunday, 27 July 1997 23:07 > > > Geoff Adams wrote: > > > >Although I was getting tired (and dirty), the high speed night run across > >northeastern NM was great. Not a peep from the radar detector since > >Dallas, light traffic, easing winds, dropping temperature, an eighteen > >wheeler 1/4 mile ahead running 90. > > Watch out for those big boys Geoff. I was behind one (closer than > 1/4 mile, though) last Spring and one of its back tires torqued a small rock > at me like a missile. Luckily I was in my Civic, as the rock surely had > enough action in it to shatter a face shield, and came at me at just the > wrong height, too fast to avoid. THUNK! It took a small bite out of the > Civic's windshield and left me shaken and wondering.... > > Now when I'm on Gunhead, I don't get anywhere those 18 wheelers. > > Dana Priesing > Arlington VA > 94 K11RS (Gunhead) > BANG #1 From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Thu Jul 31 19:52:49 1997 From: Todd McGuinness To: "'bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com'" Subject: BMW: BMW- New Bike, Rider experiences...long. Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 14:14:11 -0500 X-Priority: 3 Reply-To: Todd McGuinness Hello Fellow Prez's, Thanks to all regarding my previous posts, I bought it!!!!!! After picking up my Dolphin blue r850r bike July 1st, I was set on getting past that initial 600 mile checkup by the following Monday! Friday being the 4th, I set off from my downtown Chicago apartment in search of coffee and breakfast, stopped at a nearby Seattles Best/worst, downed a mocha mocha milkshake and croisant, then set off in full gear to experience my first 200+ mile day. I set off north on 90/94 to 94, then to 41, it started to rain pretty hard so I headed east to Sheridan to continue the journey to Milwaukee. Sheridan turns into 32 which travels all the way around lake Michigan supposedly, but that's a trip for another weekend. Although the road had a little traffic it was a damned enjoyable ride, I saw a couple of other riders and actually rode a long with a couple on a Buell for about 30 minutes. I travelled on 32 all the way into Milwaukee and started looking for a Micro brewery where I could find a decent sandwich and beer. I stopped at Lakefront Brewery and had an excellent brat. The Pilsner tasted a bit metallic though, so methinks they need better sanitation practices. After lunch I hopped onto my blue beaut and decided to go off in search of better microbrew, this time I hit 94 and headed west towards Madison. I should have gone a different route, the highway was filled with cages, although traffic was moving pretty good. I pulled into Madison a few hours later and rode around enjoying the beauty of the town. Very nice city. I ended up parking the bike off of state street and headed to the Irish Pub. Met a couple of locals that weren't that friendly, so I moved off to the Angelic Brewery where I met Dean & Rick. Dean is the Brewmaster and a hell of a nice guy, Rick was his assistant and equally nice. After drinking with them a while I decided to keep my bike parked for the rest of the evening, we drank, and drank, til the early hours... They make great beer!!! try the Amber! They let me stay on their couch for the evening and after a long night went out to breakfast... I thanked my new friends, and headed west out of town to 78 south and continued down to the Illinois border riding a few of the backroads to Beloit. Great ride!!! I met a nice couple on a red goldwing and followed them to a great old ice cream shop in a small town I can't remember the name of. ;) still suffring from brain damage from the night b4. I then followed the couple to 90 and made my way back into the city... Great ride. beginning mileage 87 ending mileage 590. This was only a 2 day trip. wow, I love my new R bike. After 3 weeks of ownership I put on 1100 glorious miles. Last week however, I was driving my blue beaut home from the bank after making a deposit, I looked ahead at the traffic judging the distance, looked down for a split second, back up, and realized I had mis-judged, (maybe I was tired?), started breaking with both brakes, put a little too much on the front and locked em up. From there it happened too fast for me to react, and I was thrown over the handle bars into the street, the bike sliding towards me. I jumped up and out of the way, noting that I couldn't move either hand, and that I felt awful dizzy. A group of friendly women had someone move my bike to the adjacent parking lot, had me lie down with my head on their purse and called an ambulance. I was wearing gloves, helmet, long pants, and a long shirt thankfully. I broke my left radial bone and the metacarpal of my right thumb. I miss my bike and the freedom that I felt while on it, but I heal quickly, and will be riding again soon! ABS brakes are in my very near future, and if any of my friends ever ride without a helmet, they won't be riding with me. This could have been the last ride of my life, and I am thankful that I have sense enough to wear protective gear. Lastly, this could have happened because it's my first bike, and I'm not used to riding it. But I honestly think after a 1000 miles, that I had a decent idea of how my bike worked. I think it could have happened to anyone. Anyway I want to thank you all(esp. Sam and Wanderlust) for giving me a behind the puter ride! The bike is in good shape and merely scratcheda bit! tm Todd M. McGuinness R850R '97 From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Fri Aug 1 09:25:44 1997 X-Priority: 3 To: "Todd McGuinness" , "'bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com'" From: "Mike Barnett" Subject: BMW: Bike v. Artic, round 1 (was BMW- New Bike, Rider experiences...long.) Date: Fri, 01 Aug 97 14:08:04 +0100 (BST) Reply-To: "Mike Barnett" ---------- Todd writes: > After 3 weeks of ownership I put on 1100 glorious miles. Last week > however, I was driving my blue beaut home from the bank after making = a > deposit, I looked ahead at the traffic judging the distance, looked dow= n > for a split second, back up, and realized I had mis-judged, (maybe I = was > tired?), started breaking with both brakes, put a little too much on > the front and locked em up. From there it happened too fast for me to > react, and I was thrown over the handle bars into the street, the bike > sliding towards me. I jumped up and out of the way, noting that I > couldn't move either hand, and that I felt awful dizzy. A group of > friendly women had someone move my bike to the adjacent parking lot, = had > me lie down with my head on their purse and called an ambulance. > > I was wearing gloves, helmet, long pants, and a long shirt thankfully. > I broke my left radial bone and the metacarpal of my right thumb. I > miss my bike and the freedom that I felt while on it, but I heal > quickly, and will be riding again soon! ABS brakes are in my very near > future, and if any of my friends ever ride without a helmet, they won't > be riding with me. This could have been the last ride of my life, and = I > am thankful that I have sense enough to wear protective gear. > > Lastly, this could have happened because it's my first bike, and I'm > not used to riding it. But I honestly think after a 1000 miles, that = I > had a decent idea of how my bike worked. I think it could have happened > to anyone. Anyway I want to thank you all(esp. Sam and Wanderlust) for > giving me a behind the puter ride! > > The bike is in good shape and merely scratcheda bit! > > tm > Todd M. McGuinness > R850R '97 > > Todd, First off, glad to hear you were (relatively) OK and that "The Blue Beut"= didn't suffer too much. I, too, had my one and only spill (in 9 years of on and off riding) becau= se of a momentary lapse of concentration. I came up on two artics parked= behind each other and facing me on my side of the road. I checked for = oncoming traffic then looked behind me, noticing that the top of my backp= ack had come undone. When I looked forward again, the second artic ( i.e= . the one farthest away) had started to pull out round the first one and = obviously hadn't seen me! It was a drizzly February morning in Southern = England. The road was used as the main access rout to the new housing = estate that I lived on and, consequently was covered in patches of wet = mud. I threw out the anchors like yourself but managed not to lock it = up. I was scrubbing speed like mad but it was obviously not going to be = enough. I tried steering around but started losing traction. There was = only one place that bike was going - straight under the front of the offe= nding artic. Fortunately, by now he had seen me and stopped. At the las= t moment I layed the bike over and JUMPED AS HARD AS I COULD. The last = thing the driver of the arctic saw was bike+1 heading straight between = his front wheels followed by a crunch. He did not see me roll to my feet= about 5 feet to the side of his cab. In some ways I think he was in a = worse condition than me! I was luckier than you and got away with mild = concussion and a hole in the knee of my leathers and the Rukka waterproof= s I had over them. Thinking it over during the next couple of days I came to the following = conclusions: 1. It was more my fault than the truckers! - he had not looked properly = to see that the road was clear, true. But, OTOH, I allowed myself to be = distracted by loose luggage at a critical point in the manouver. I have = attended a couple of Advanced Riding courses in the past and should have = been prepared to stop if the hazard increased. 2. The bike I was riding at the time was a Honda CG125 which I was used = to riding but did not have the ABS that I had on my previous bike (K100LT= ). In this instance ABS would not have helped a great deal because the = bike didn't have the weight to keep the wheels turning with anything like= the force I needed to stop in time (Note, many people think that ABS wil= l reduce your braking distance. This is NOT true. In some instances it = will even INCREASE your stopping distance! What it does do is to allow = you to steer the bike or cage while applying maximum braking effort). 3. I really do not like small bikes (see 2 above). 4. This was a VERY cheap lesson. The bike needed a new front end which = cost almost nothing, the helmet had never fitted anyway and I was glad = of the excuse to replace it (BTW even if it was not a legal requirement = to wear a helmet in Britain, I would do so. I came out of this with conc= ussion despite wearing a full-face. If I had not been wearing a helmet = at al ...) and finally I was reminded that a) the most innocuous manouver= can be a life decision and you had better treat it as such; b) It doesn'= t matter how fast the bike can go, you should never ride faster than you = can stop. I appologise for ranting on, I had not intended to but when I started typ= ing away it all came back very vividly. Once again, Todd, I am glad that yours was a "minor" tragedy. The aircr= aft industry sometimes say "Any landing you walk away from is a good one"= . I couldn't agree more. Live, lean and LEARN. Mike. From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Fri Aug 1 21:25:55 1997 Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 11:13:37 -0700 To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com From: Mike Furchert Subject: BMW: This is true Reply-To: Mike Furchert O.K, you guys and girls, bikes falling of the workshop hoists and Biker truckies with no sense of humour worry me so here is a story to lighten things up. This is true........... A long, long time ago when the earth was young, oh wrong story, I was young, I bought a brand spanking new R100s, all you BMW addicts might remember, a Candy-apple red, the first model to have disc brakes on the rear. This was a truelly beautiful bike and it was mine. We (all the riff raff I used to associate with) went for a ride to visit a mate. I parked the scoot on the grass part of the foot path, as I walked away I heard a strangled Mick, crash!. My month old R was leaning against a telegraph pole with a ding the size of a knee in the tank. The centre stand gave way in the dirt and the bike toppled. I was in shock! My mates being mates laughed. You bunch of ##&&*$##!!!)( 's. Needless to say at the pub that night I was the centre of much mirth and merriment. A month later I went to pick up my SWMBO,(before it was made legal with the shotgun in the back) at work. The love of my life was a nursey at the local hospital. When I arrived, she came out and told me they had a difficult patient and she could not leave yet, I said I will park the bike and come in, "No leave the bike there it will be alright." Well as I came out of the building 10 mins later, here was the second love of my life, on the road fallen over "What the F***". I scratched my head over this one, there was no apparent damage, some hood is playing a joke on me. It was only next morning I realised that some Dip shit rear ended it in the dark! The rear tail lens was busted and the Duck tail was damaged. NoSpam@NoSpamNoSpam@NoSpam##%%%$$$&&&&^%%%%()**. Some 7 months of owning the bike, my beautiful Candy-apple red col our looked terribly faded. At a rally my rally mate who then was a lot older than me and knew everything about BMWs, informed me that the paint work was faulty and I could get it changed under warranty. Being a man of they world, my immediate thoughts and I said vocally "BULLSHIT". He spent all weekend looking me in the eye (with that trust me look) trying to convince me to ring BMW and confirm this. When I got home at the expense of having some pimply face young salesman laugh at me about this matter I rang the local dealer. "Yes this is certainly correct" he said in his all powerful BMW, I talk with god voice. So we arranged a date over the phone, I did not tell him about the sorry state of my bike. We will cross that bridge when we come to it! Meanwhile SWMBO and I were riding in the rain, we had just taken off from a set of traffic lights, reaching 60kph, when I hit a large patch of paint that was all over the road, well we all know what dried paint and rain causes, don't we boys and girls. So naturally I went straight through the middle of this, next second my bike was sideways on the ground (so were we) bouncing of the car beside us. Not once but 3 times, (the bike not us) though this stopped the bike from jumping over the median strip and going into the on comming traffic. Now the bike had a bikini-faring to match the rest of the bike. I just stood ther in the rain, looking at my poor bike 8 months old, tank dinged, duck tail half missing, paint all faded and now the bikini fairing hanging half on and half off. Lucky it was raining because real men don't cry! The bike was ride able no damage to the running gear. So I just cut the wires to the clock and volt meter, gave the fairing to the woman "here hold this till we get home" The day arrived I was to change the paint work! F***, I hockey strapped my broken fairing to the back of the bike. What do I say to Mr BMW Sir. I was terrified, maybe I will fall down at his feet and cry uncontrollably, I will stroll in and pretend that all my bikes look like this, I will just say fix it arsehole and don't back chat or I will up end you. SSSHHHIIITTT! what dooooo IIIII DOOOOO! Well I rode into the workshop told the guy at the counter what I was here for, he replied that the Service manager deals with these things, "I will just get him". Well till the day I die I will never ever forget the look on his face, as he walked around the partition from the office. The eyes looked the same as a kid on Christmas day, his mouth fell open to the Gold fish position, he just looked at the bike and me for a full minute. "I er, I er, I had a little er, er, uh trouble, I er " All he said when he recovered suitably was " You sure get you value out of warranty don't you!" epilogs I never treated another another of my bikes again like that, and the R100s had lots of happy wanderings after that, just the first year was a doozy! Cheers from Australia Mick 86 K100RS From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Sun Aug 3 14:17:25 1997 From: rwmundayNoSpam@NoSpamjuno.com To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Cc: sewcakesNoSpam@NoSpamjuno.com, 73303.3402NoSpam@NoSpamcompuserve.com, RElliottNoSpam@NoSpammindspring.com, BillyHopNoSpam@NoSpamtoad.net, 687156NoSpam@NoSpamican.net, SMundayNoSpam@NoSpammbpi.com, SBMundayNoSpam@NoSpamjuno.com, PhilYoungNoSpam@NoSpamMCI2000.com Subject: BMW: Trucks And Near Death Experience X-Juno-Line-Breaks: 0-1,16-19,21-22 Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 13:48:02 EDT Reply-To: rwmundayNoSpam@NoSpamjuno.com Pat, Brian and fellow Presidents, A truck does not have to shed its tires to be truly dangerous. On my way to Iowa and Gina's BMW in Coralville, I was run off of the Interstate by a tractor-trailer rig... as I was passing on the left and directly beside the trailer, it pulled into my lane. I moved to the left and applied maximum braking to allow the truck to pass, but as the road was curving to the right, I ran out of road and ran onto the shoulder and down into the median. I kept enough speed to run up the other side of the median, then back onto the Interstate in the other direction. I found a paved "authorized vechicles" roundabout (which I also missed hitting) and resumed my travels to Iowa. No damage to speak of... and I was extremely lucky that I encountered no guard rail, gutter, sewer pipe, reflectors on sticks or tractors in the median. The truck had kept going and I do not recall anyone slowing down to check my status. Maybe I will have to change my road tactics and blast by trucks regardless of what vehicle I am operating. And maybe I should find work a little closer to home. Robert NoSpam@NoSpam N 41 56.560 W 91 40.349 '89 K100LT(A on the fritz) LW #2 K-Whiner #47 Village Idiot Rolling Broccoli Rider On location in Cedar Rapids, Iowa From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Sun Aug 3 21:44:49 1997 Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 18:33:46 -0700 From: Mark Etheridge <2thermoNoSpam@NoSpamconcentric.net> To: vidiotNoSpam@NoSpamusaa.net Cc: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Subject: BMW: Almost Squished (longish) Reply-To: Mark Etheridge <2thermoNoSpam@NoSpamconcentric.net> Well, I guess I should not make Idiotic jokes about squish factors because I almost found out what mine was. Had a great time at the Cascade County Rendevous, my SWMBO broke her 500 mile mark on the way over from Seattle, via Sherman Pass and we are still together. Nice ride home, stopped and visited some club members in Yakima, headed over the pass and stopped at the tiny town of Greenwater for a burger. I pulled off the road, looped in front of my parking space, Jo dismounted and I started backing into the spot. Next thing i know, some elderly women in a cage is backing over the bike, Jo's kicking the crap out of the cage and screaming like an Irish Banshee (gotta love that) and I, like a good Idiot am using my leg to prevent my precious R from getting scraped while trying to pull the bike sideways out from under the maurading cage. All of this ten feet from an outdoor cafe which is full up with interested bystanders. After pulling the cage forward and excricating myself, my leg and the bike from the ground I heaved her up and on the center stand, asked the woman if she had a fucking eye in her head and walked down the road while Jo guarded the bike like the Celtic warrioress she is. After I cleansed the murderous rage from my mind if not my soul (Too many witnesses) I got the address and phone number, explained the damage (one valve cover) and after calmly promising that I would burn her house down if she didn't pay for it I let her go. Don't know if there is a moral to this story. Saw the people in the cage, was out of their straight back path, was standing full height with a motorcycle piled with gear and another human standing full height in front of the bike. The woman said "I did'nt see you, you were in my blind spot" I asked her what would have happened if it had been the Downs Syndrome child who was sitting at the first table in the cafe. I guess I'm lucky I've got the riding partner I do ;-) -- =================================================================== Mark Etheridge--Seattle, (we don't need no stinking summer) WA R850R Olympic - WSBMWR - Village Idiot - MOA - General Mayhem =================================================================== From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Fri Aug 8 12:11:56 1997 From: franzenNoSpam@NoSpamfnal.gov (Jim Franzen) Organization: Fermilab, US Dept. of Energy To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Date: Fri, 8 Aug 1997 10:48:38 -0600 Subject: BMW: Accident close to home. Reply-To: franzenNoSpam@NoSpamfnal.gov (Jim Franzen) X-No-Archive: yes Thanks to those of you who responded to my crash story and request for K-bike values. I was making a round trip to the local Amoco-literally 2 blocks away. It was Saturday, 3:00 p.m., and I had just washed the bike for a planned long Sunday ride with the boys. I was in shorts and a T-shirt, and figured I would just climb on and take the 60 second ride to the filling station and come back. The Shoei got left behind on the garage shelf. Thirty seconds into the return trip, and 400 feet from my driveway I got clobbered. I had slowed for a right-hand turn, was leaning the bike into it, watching the corner, when the idiot rammed into my tailpipe. The 4-into-1 buckled and the muffler bent way out to the left. The bike flipped onto the left side. The motorcycle did a two-point slide on it's nose and the tail-pipe-but since the tail-pipe was grossly pushed out, it created a zone at the center of the bike that kept my left leg from ever touching the pavement. I got a small rash on my left elbow. There's a lesson here-and I for one need no help in understanding it. Jim Franzen FranzenNoSpam@NoSpamfnal.gov From DSS38NoSpam@NoSpamaol.com Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 23:28:30 -0400 (EDT) From: DSS38NoSpam@NoSpamaol.com Subject: BMW: When the Head meets the road Recently took a spill on my bike, and I am still trying to understand what happened, and learn from the experience. First, some background: I am 59. First m/c was a Triumph 650 30 years + ago--bought it with two friends as part owners. Then got a Bultaco 250 enduro and this led to competition, Bultaco competition dirt bikes. Raced in scrambles, became an A rider and put a few first place trophies on the shelf. Owned a BSA 650 and Suzuki 500 two stroke street bike. Then became responsible for years, and gave up motorcycles, until 3 years ago I bought a R100 GS which I have ridden about 15,000 miles, including some long road trips. Began to yearn for a K bike, and when word got out on the new k1200, contemplated putting a deposit down. I got impatient waiting for the 1200 to come out, and given the sizeable investment, decided to try a less expensive sport bike to see if that is what I really wanted. If so I could sell it and go for the K1200. So back in April I bought a very slightly used Honda VFR 750. The VFR had a new set of Metzler MEZ tires which I had run about 100 miles, including some fairly agressive riding on some very crooked roads.. A week or so after buying the vfr, I was riding it out of the parking garage of my apartment, making a reverse camber turn going at most 10 or 15 mph, laid the bike over for the turn and gave it some power. The next awareness I have is of watching the red vfr slide away from me as I was being banged to the pavement. I was only going for a short ride, but had put on boots, thin leather gloves, leather jacket, jeans, and full cover helmet. The damage: the vfr- scratched plastic; the rider- badly skinned knee ( tore through the jeans) , twisted ankle, bruised hip, bleeding knuckles( ripped through the single layer gloves), and significant scratches on the raised face shield where my head hit the pavement. I have gone down many times in the dirt, but this was the first time on pavement. I have a fair amount of experience, have taken the MSF experienced rider course, and thought that I knew what I was doing. Obviously not. What I learned: 1)Jeans are not much protection. 2) This vfr is a very powerful machine which can very easily over power the traction of its tires. 3) Be very cautious on reverse camber turns. 4) Dirt and pavement are not the same-- the loss of traction was without any perceptible warning, unlike the dirt where a little slide is part of the fun, 5) I am very glad I had a helmet. Head hit the pavement very hard, and could have been an extremely serious head injury even at the very slow speed. 6)Be careful with cold tires. 7) Tires may still have had mold wax on the very edge of the tread, and this could have contributed to the spill--watch out for new tires..8) The Honda VFR is a fine machine, increadibly fast and stable, but I much prefer my BMW. I will not be trading for a K1200, but may, if I buy another, go for the R1100RT. I find the riding position of the sport bike much less comfortable. I prefer to sit up and look around rather than having to be constantlly holding my head up to see ahead. Lots of fun in the twisties, but too intense. I have become very cautious in slow turns, and don't yet trust the tires on the vfr. I am still puzzled by what hapened. It seems that the bike should have easily made the turn. I am seeking some wisdon and reassurance. Where did I go wrong? Am I just too old to be riding this high performance sport bike? My children have, joking, said that they are going to have the judge take my driver's license away. Dean Sanders Austin, TX R100GS From "Karl Juul" Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 21:09:24 -0400 From: "Karl Juul" Subject: BMW: Bambi, mea culpa, Dr Curve A couple of years ago, Dr. Curve reported an incident of "vaporizing" a deer, and I was one of many who ridiculed him....my sincerest apologies, Dr. Curve. I have followed in your footsteps today.... The impact was only NoSpam@NoSpam55mph or so, so I can't really claim membership in the "vapor" club, but nearly so. Once I knew the impact was inevitable, I actually accelerated into the 200# mass which lay directly in my path on NY RT214 in Dutchess county this morning...the deer had the courtesy to drench me and my VFR750 with body fluids as she was expiring...she really shoud have chewed that grass better before swallowing.... She is quite dead, and the VFR nearly so. The amazing thing though, is that the bike NEVER WENT DOWN...I pulled over to the shoulder and limped back to survey her corpse. Upon impact, the deer spun violently around (clockwise, Northern Hemisphere) and compressed my knee and leg between herself and that beautiful frame and tank of the VFR. I'm hoping the severe limp and limited range of motion are temporary...I'm ice-packing it until I see the ortho MD. Sorry, Dr. Curve, for ever doubting you. Your humble servant, - -Karl. ++++++++++++++++++++++ karlNoSpam@NoSpamwizvax.net ++++++++++++++++++++++ Karl Juul **someplace in upstate New York** KB2XG 1994 Honda VFR750F 1993 BMW K75S-Gone, but not forgotten... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From Ken Lefler Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 21:54:33 -0500 From: Ken Lefler Subject: Re: BMW: Bambi, mea culpa, Dr Curve The deer really are getting stupid. Two quick stories. A friend from Mt. Vernom Iowa Hit one going quite fast a couple of years ago with his 1100 Sport Motto Guzzy. Very hard on the motorcycle. A deer came out of a ditch near Iowa City and hit the front two guys on our local bicycle racing group ride. There were about twelve of us in a very fast rotation. The deer took all but the last two guys down. He just skamppered off to the woods when he got back up. - -- Ken Lefler Iowa City, Ia. From Stephen_KijakNoSpam@NoSpamBayNetworks.COM (Stephen Kijak) Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 15:57:19 -0400 From: Stephen_KijakNoSpam@NoSpamBayNetworks.COM (Stephen Kijak) Subject: BMW: Re: When the Head meets the road >From: DSS38NoSpam@NoSpamaol.com >Recently took a spill on my bike, and I am still trying to understand >Dean Sanders Dean, I was riding on fine summer Sunday and headed to a river front park. The road went over a railroad bridge and took a hard right towards the park. In the middle of the turn a couple of sport bikes had dumped. (no one was hurt) I slowed but noticed no reason for the mishap (no oil, anti freeze ect). I pulled up alongside and asked what happened. Slippery surface they said. Sure enough the sole of my boot was sliding back and forth real easy. I guess a lot of car tires taking the same line through the corner had worn the asphalt surface smooth over the years. Just another thing I watch for before committing to a line and speed in a sharp curve. If in doubt back it off a notch. Steve Kijak 95 K1100RS skijakNoSpam@NoSpambaynetworks.com Massachusetts, USA From Andrew Seagren Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 08:22:48 -0500 From: Andrew Seagren Subject: BMW: The Worst Thing to See on a Ride Went out on a stress-relieving ride last night. Cool out, very peaceful. But then, about 30 miles into it, as I was rounding a corner, I came across a bunch of cars stopped on both sides of the four lane road. In the left lane of the side coming towards me was a bike (of undeterminable make) on its side, twisted beyond most recognition, on fire. A small fire, granted, but still in flames. I couldn't see the rider, but I could make out a group of people huddled together on the shoulder of my side of the road, where I figured the rider was. I couldn't see another car or bike damaged anywhere, but there was oil and various parts strewn all over the road. So as I'm sitting there, I could see a car coming towards me from the opposite direction in the lane that the motorcycle was lying in. I kept thinking SLOW DOWN YOU IDIOT but he didn't and ran right over the bike in the middle of the road. It launched one side of his car maybe 4 or 5 feet into the air (tilting the car a good 45 degrees) and then slammed down onto the pavement again. The car died (or at least the headlights went out) and rolled for about 200 yards. The guy was probably going around 50, didn't see the flaming mass of metal in his lane, didn't slow down when he saw 20 or so cars pulled over or just stopped in the middle of the road and came close to hurting a lot more people than just the original motorcyclist. I was amazed that he didn't lose control and slam into my lane of stopped traffic. I stuck around until the police, EMTs and fire department came and then couldn't take anymore. I rode straight home and didn't say much for a while. I have no idea what happened to the rider and the news this morning didn't say anything about it. But, man, that image of that asshole flying over a downed bike is ingrained in my memory. I've always considered myself a fairly safe rider and haven't had any significant mishaps. But this really woke me up. There are some true morons out there that don't belong on the roads and they can be lethal. It doesn't always matter how safe you are. My thoughts are with that rider, whoever it is. RIDE AWAKE Andy Seagren Downers Grove, IL '88 R100RS From Charles Sturtevant Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 14:25:28 -0400 From: Charles Sturtevant Subject: Re: BMW: The Worst Thing to See on a Ride At 08:22 AM 8/26/97 -0500, Andrew Seagren wrote: > >Went out on a stress-relieving ride last night. .....snip >In the left lane of the side coming towards me was a bike >(of undeterminable make) >on its side, twisted beyond most >recognition, on fire. .....snip >There are some true morons out there that don't belong >on the roads and they can be lethal. > >RIDE AWAKE > >Andy Seagren >Downers Grove, IL >'88 R100RS > > Andy, For the last eleven years I have worked as a pilot for a police helicopter unit that performs medical-evacuations from accident scenes. My skin still crawls when the dispatcher says "Accident with injury - motorcycle involved". At one such scene, I saw human tissue hanging from the guard rail for about forty feet. That sight flashes through my mind sometimes, when the situation ahead of my BMW starts looking a little "iffy". I wear leather when it is 100 degrees. I don't drink and ride. I do have a lot of fun on my R100, and maybe the danger is part of the fun, but I maintain a margin of safety to make up for myself *and* the other guy. ************************************** Charles Sturtevant 82R100CS BMW MOA IBMWR CFI Rotorcraft Springfield, Virginia ************************************** From D&J Date: Wed, 10 Sep 1997 14:43:42 -0700 (MST) Subject: BMW: Lightning death >From the Missoulian: "Livingston - The name of a man killed by lightning as he drove a motorcycle south of here was released Sunday. The Park County coroner identified him as Christian Bowers, 23, of Gardiner. An investigation into his death Saturday was complete, Coroner Al Jenkins said. 'The lightning strike was the cause of death, and the motorcycle accident that occurred after that was secondary,' Jenkins said. Bowers was driving the vehicle on U.S. 89 Saturday afternoon when lightning struck. He died about four hours later at the Livingston hospital. The Montana Highway Patrol said he received burns in several places and was injured when the motorcycle crashed. The patrol said the death would not be added to Montana's 1997 highway fatality toll." FWIW Dick Taylor - Classy Guy hetchinsNoSpam@NoSpammontana.com SoD #27 Live and lean. From "Terence R. Evans, M.D." Date: Wed, 10 Sep 1997 20:47:38 +0000 Subject: BMW: As it pertains to Ron Major: '97IBR-The Aftermath & Sciences... FOURTH and last.... needs provisos, disclaimers and an explanation: Please DO NOT interpret nor construe this as being Insensitive or Untimely, in Poor Taste or whatever. My reasons are purely Scientific as a Physician; Professional as an Insurance Person; and as a Biker, an LD one, who cares about and is impassioned with this type of riding - my reasons are twofold: Curious and maybe we'll all Learn Something to prevent it in the furure. 4. Ron Major - ------------ Despite all the conjecture and speculation that has occured here, I'm sure that I'm not the ONLY one who's concluded that: Ron fell asleep or SOMEHOW, fell off the bike, which _may_ have been throttle locked, and it did in all probable possibility, with steady decreasing speed continue to travel, perhaps slightly off course, to come to rest against a the guard rail (right side?) on the road merely knocking the mirror off a quarter or so miles away. This scenario while deemed unlikely, is the *most plausible* given what we know, based on the writings, articles etc recieved on the Internet. Please forgive me if there is any other, more proven story that you may know coming from Ron's daughter or another authority. I'm only basing this and the above on what I've read here and that's everything generated to several lists regarding the accident. There have been LESS plausible theories from conjecture that I won't get into. The FELL OFF The BIKE one, to me - is the MOST plausible. As it can happen to any of us given the 'similar' conditions. Those *Conditions* are what we may never know. In my line of work, well, a previous one, say a single vehicle accident resulting in a fatality comes across my desk, as a claim, to determine the FACTS surrounding the incident. Perhaps I'm representing a Party that feels or by virtue of a claim or law suit is EXPOSED to the possibility of making some sort of retribution, to The Estate of the deceased party. BEFORE I get into evaluating the case I would hope that the following is in the file (if not, I will order them, order them performed or conduct them myself): - - the Official Accident/Incident reports from the authorities (all police and medical) - - the independant investigative interview reports of the above. - - Autopsy report. IF DONE (if mandetory by state authorities) And subsequent independant interview report of the the pathologist or the County Coroner. - - The ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION EXPERT'S report. These are my favorite. These persons are like the FAA Investigators after an air tragedy. They can be motion phycisists and automotive engineers etc - their reports weigh heavily as to what MOST LIKELY HAPPENED. Then I go from there - missing any of the above makes my job more difficult. It's back to conjecture and who can talk the loudest and be the most convincing. I do not know the laws regarding a single vehicle accident in Arizona. I do not know if anything has been (OR will be) done regarding anything past the official accident reports. I do not pass judgement as to whether anything more than that SHOULD be done. It's just that so far, I and I'm sure all of you would like to know what *really* happened in hopes that the knowlesge can aide another person (or ourselves) in the future. The above are the only ways *I* can think off to secure that knowledge. Don't flame me if I *forgot* or didn't think of something else. I did this on the run. And as NOT part of my job. Again, I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone's sensitivities as this may be considered an inopportune time/place to bring this up. And I will ask forgivesness if despite my attempts to explain where I'm coming from, still offends anyone. TERRY-Miami From roozbehNoSpam@NoSpamwco.com (Roozbeh Chubak) Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 06:12:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: BMW: Lightning At 12:19 PM 9/11/97, Mark Luesse wrote: > >The father of a close freind of mine was struck and killed by lightning >on an exit ramp of a highway some years ago. when the bike (a wing I >think) struck the curb it threw his body to the ground. Miraculously, >the impact restarted his heart and he still rides today, although not >during thunder storms. The eggzact same thing happened to my uncle. In his case the he also ended up with a clean bike: The lightening loosened all the dirt on his bike and the impact knocked it all that shit off. He got back on a perfectly clean bike with a perfectly beating heart. Regards, Roozbeh From Thomas Domek Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 13:07:11 -0500 (CDT) Subject: BMW: Crashing in Wisconsin (long, core dump) Well folks, today my wife is on her way to Crockett's (the site of the Dells Rally) to retrieve her Honda. She crashed on Sept. 5 on our way to the Dells, overcooked a corner south of Lyndon Station on HH and blasted her windshield, saddle bag, headlight lens and scraped herself up pretty good. The locals called 911 and we had the largest gathering of emergency vehicles and personel I have seen in a long time. City, county, state police, rural fire and ambulance, even though we asked that the ambulance not make the trip. I and they checked her over and found nothing broken, no shock, no bleeding to speak of. The deputy gave her a ride to the rally site and that was that, or so we thought. The Wisconsin Club members were great, went out and gathered the bike up and brought it to the rally (even though it was rideable) made sure we could store it at the campground until this weekend. Laurie and I motel-ed it and she rode home on the back of my RT, a place she prefered to be until next riding season, but as soon as I get the Honda back together, she will be back out there. Today's mail brought the kicker: to ad insult to injury, the Juneau county sheriff sent her a ticket for "Failure to keep vehicle under control" to the tune of $153.80! I hope you cheese heads never drop your bikes around Juneau county, because you can expect to pay dearly for your mistake! The prick could have at least had the balls to site her there and then, not wait until Tuesday of the next week to write the ticket and mail it to her. OK, there, I have vented. I suppose I will go out and try to earn the bucks to pay her debt to society. PS, I can't say enough about the help and kindness of Mike Cohen and the rest of the members of the Wisconsin Club. They saved the rally for us. Thomas Domek BMWMOA #58621 Vice President Bahnsturmer M.C. BMWMOA Club #138 Ames, Iowa "Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing." Travis W. Redfish From Don Eilenberger Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 14:05:02 -0400 Subject: BMW: (Fwd) another downer (Fontana).. Found out on Northeast Moto.. be forewarned.. >Subject: (Fwd) another downer >Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 17:52:39 GMT > >No, not me! > >I did my usual 400mi or so run thru the Smokies yesterday, and went past a >downed rider on the Cherahalla Skyway (a brand new 70mi Blue Ridge Parkway >like road). A battered older F2 was propped up against the bridge, and a >young guy was on the bridge deck, being attended to by a whole busload of >Baptists. His kneecap was literally hanging by a thread, and that seemed to >be the extent of his injuries. His bluejeans didn't do to well against the >concrete bridge deck. Cops and ambulance arrrived shortly. > >A few weeks ago, I saw another downed rider on Georgia 180, near TWO >motorcycle campground. This guy launched himself off of a dropaway >decreasing radius left hander at the end of a long straight....probably at >a ver high rate of speed, judging by the tangled mess of bike several >hunderd yards into the woods. The paramedics were working on the guy, >i.v.'s, bag, etc., but judging by the large pool of blood beside the downed >guy, I really have to wonder if he made it. > >I've been noticing a lot more squids out on the roads near the Smokies, I >wonder whats bringing them out of the woodwork now??? > >Ride safe, >Mr Pou ================================== Don Eilenberger, Spring Lk Hts, NJ deilenbergerNoSpam@NoSpammonmouth.com ================================== From Rick LeVine Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 10:02:37 -0700 Subject: BMW: r1100gs crash story! I thought I'd share my story of yesterday's ride home from work in San Jose. I just got my 95 R100GS last week. After two years of riding a roadking, the gs feels like a nimble racer, and to me it feels feather light. I love it. I was riding in urban traffic at dusk. I was in the right lane and the guy to my left came into my lane at 30 mph. Admittedly I could have been more aggressive and should have blown past him BEFORE he made that move, but I was in a mellow mood. He entered my lane, had no clue I was next to him. Never looked. I cut right but he hit my left side bag with his door, moving me over a foot or so. I was braking and leaning at the time. ON any other bike it would have been a panic stop for sure, with tires locked up. The bike hopped on the rear wheel but never ever lost control. I remember thinking "hmm, am I going to lose it here and hit the parked cars?" but the bike just went where I pointed it. I pulled over, he pulled over. The R100 had no damage at all. The bag was not even scuffed. The bag mounting frame was fine. The car had a crunched mirror. The driver of the car was scared to death- I was really really pissed off and I treated him like a cop giving a guy a ticket for a bonehead move. We called it even and drove off. I love the bike more than ever and the bags are totally cool. They're not just bags; they're BUMPERS! If I'd been riding the roadking I would have lunched a $500 saddlebag and might have lost control; panic stops are not forgiven on the HD at all. Anyone want to buy a ROADKING?? ;^) Rick 95 R100 GS 95 Roadking 94 Dodge Dakota (to cart the Roadking to the shop with from tiem to time) From Jon Zurell Date: Sat, 20 Sep 1997 06:03:23 -0400 Subject: Re: BMW: This Morning's Crash At 10:10 PM 9/19/97 -0400, you wrote: > >Decided to that the R 80 to work this morning beautiful crisp and clear I was playing heads-up cycling, Alert, high beam, let them >pull out etc. >Got to a intersection behind a bronco that was 200 yards from his bed. I was stopped one and half cycle lengths from his bumper he >was stopped and this big truck wanted to make the turn being the average nice guy the bronco began to back -up. > >First I yelled then instantly hit the dual horn button and began to desperately to try back petal the motorcycle. The bronco trapped >my front wheel under his bumper I'm hitting the horn searching for any morse code to make the bronco stop. In the time-slowed minute >the bronco was like a shark eating the bike. > >Now I'm beginning to give up hope the bronco is not going to stop backing up and the horn is my last & only hope before I have to >abandon the bike and jump backward... > >Finally the bronco driver realizes maybe the horn is attached to something and stops. Ruined the front fender and my day; Cop came >down and investigated a traffic accident report. > >Average guy doing the average thing almost crushes me before 7 AM. Yikes!!!! > >Motorcycle in the shop for estimate. > WOW...so what was it like meeting OJ in person??? (Glad you're ok) Jon From csachs Date: Sun, 21 Sep 1997 14:26:29 -0400 Subject: BMW: Urban attention span I had to change my daily work venue from country to city knowing that my commute would be hazardous. Pittsburgh boulevards and expressways are war zones since lanes are not well defined and the roads are designed for pre-war traffic loads and speeds. Lane changes and exit maneuvers are quick and tight because of the hilly-billy terrain. However the close one that I had the other night had little to with traffic dodging. At a freeway onramp, following another home bound workmate, I looked back to check out the oncoming (2AM) traffic with 4 car lengths between me and Joe's 5.0. Since at this point I'm wound to 3500rpm in 2nd: 35 or 40 mph ready to merge quickly and safely, and the oncoming box van in the right freeway lane. Blast off. Joe didn't think so. I hesitated bringing my attention to the forward direction. When I did I saw bright mustang brake lights-much closer know. Without space to stop I steered to the left of Joe's car but not in the expressway right lane. In the mean time the truck driver saw the show and alertly moved left. I took off shaken and embarrassed. The lesson here is obvious: don't assume anything. I thought that, Joe, a young guy with a sporty car would surely accelerate into traffic with 100 yards of lead distance. In a few weeks I'll be back to commuting on mostly country roads where my S barred /7 is more at home. Chuck Does anyone know whre to find a suitable switch to install inline on an R bike battery ground cable? From joutlanNoSpam@NoSpamiag.net (John H. Outlan) Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 14:48:19 -0400 Subject: Re: BMW: Back From Fontana (Buford T. Justice) On Mon, 22 Sep 1997 14:17:26 -0400, lconleyNoSpam@NoSpamhns.com wrote: |: Was the only witness to an unnamed President deciding that |:<> he did *not* want to be pulled over by North Carolina's |:<> not-so-finest and was last seen accelerating away with the |:<> cruiser (lights and siren on) in persuit. |:< |: Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 15:42:48 -0400 Subject: BMW: Close Call-- Was Aggressive Drivers Yesterday (Sunday) was beautiful at the foot of the Blue Ridge in the Piedmont of Northern Virginia. I therefore invoked the perfect dual-pretext for a day-long ride. I told my wife that I thought I should ride down to Charlottesville to check up on our son, who is just starting UVa as a freshperson. And I told my son (who, of course, does not want to be checked on) that I was taking a long ride down near Charlottesville and would stop by for a little while. It was a perfect day for riding, and the twisty secondary state roads of Loudoun, Fauquier, Rappahannock, Madison, Orange and Albemarle Counties are among the best in the country. My mistake was to get on a major route-- US 29-- a few miles north of Charlottesville in order to make my 10 AM appointment with my son. I slowed for a traffic light that turned red, coasting toward it in hopes that I would not have to stop. But, after shifting down through the gears, I stopped in the left-hand of three south-bound lanes. Looking in my mirror, I saw a white blur pull behind me, a small imported sports car that apparently had been in the right-most lane. I think he had been weaving in and out among the lanes at a much higher speed than the flow of traffic, playing racecar. I guess he just didn't see me (despite the blaze orange LL Bean hunding vest I routinely wear over my leathers), and I heard the urgent screech of his brakes as he came up behind me. It happened too fast for me to take any evasive action and I braced for an impact that, thank God, never came. He skidded to a stop on the left-turn lane and adjacent shoulder. I looked at him with disbelief and, when we made eye contact, he gave me the single-finger salute and accelerated in front of me as the light turned green. I was surprised that, despite the close call, I didn't have the weak-knees and descending stomach feeling that usually overtakes me in such situations. Instead, I was trying to piece together what had happened to understand the driver's conduct and reactions, and consider whether I should have handled the situation differently. That, and the aggressive driver thread on the list this weekend, made me think. We motorcyclists are both the most skilled and most vulnerable users of the highways. It is we who, in contrast to our general reputation, ought to be the most vocal advocates of safety and strict enforcement of the laws against aggressive driving (and riding). We could better protect ourselves by doing so, and also improve the public perception of motorcyclists. Is this a sensible theme for a campaign by the AMA or other organization? That is, to feature motorcyclists as increasingly skilled motorists due to MSF and similar courses, and place motorcycle groups behind safe-driving legislation. The rest of the ride was superb and the visit with my son was a pleasure. But I could not get to sleep last night as my mind replayed the sights and sounds of the white car skidding toward me. From "guzzi guy" Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 14:38:33 PDT Subject: BMW: Jose DeLa Cruz--friends of Hi all I know many of you know Jose DeLa Cruz (the famous/infamous painter/pinstripper) The BMW and MotoGuzzi Rally Rat and know of his MC accident on July 27th on his way home from the sidecar National in MA. Anyway a MessageBoard where you can leave a message for him has been set up at: http://www.deadhorse.com Click on the Leave message for Jose link on the main page (the one with the diamond plate background) to leave a message for him. Messages are private and will NOT be published only printed (from time to time as they buid up) and given to JOSE. He is progressing slowly and will be hospitalized for many months to come and will greatly enjoy hearing from you. The color in his face and power in his voice is returning. I truly believe "That down the road he will be going down the road" Thank you for your concern. Cards, letters, phonecalls, visits all mean alot to him in keeping his spirts up. TIA (_gg_)<---means wide load guzziguy guzziguy (guy roberts) "May the HORSE be with you" VISIT: http://www.deadhorse.commmmmmmmm Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 18:27:32 -0700 From: bmw_r850r Subject: BMW: My R850R is Crushed :( :( :( :( It is quite a bizarre experience to be sitting, fully stopped, on your motorcyle without a care in the world one second, and then the next to be airborn, hitting things, and landing face first, lenghtwise on the trunk of the car in front of you. Briefly: I was traveling north of Seattle on I5 into a construction area where traffic was stop-and-go. It got to a point where we were moving at a good pace again, but it quickly slowed to a stop again. The car in front of me was stopped, I stopped, put my left foot down, and waited for traffic to start moving again. Then my world was rocked. Thank God I spent money on good gear. The leather Kilimanjaro jacket worked like armour and the Shoei was fantastic. The bike was totaled. The driver broke the back tire off the bike, and it was wedged straight up and down under his car (told to me by a trooper later). The car I landed on didn't know I was there, and drove forward and off to the shoulder of the road. I was in too much shock to move, and I thought my arm might be broken, so I stayed put. Two hours later I walked out of the emergency room. I'm sore, but nothing is broken or missing. So, which bike to get now? I loved my Roadster, but I was thinking of getting an R1100RS, just for something different. Either way I'm bummed that all those miles I worked so hard to put on are gone now. I was proud that I had 26,000 miles in just 15 months, without ever leaving Washington. I was going to start going to rallies at 50,000 becase then I could have felt like a REAL BMW rider. I had an eight year, unlimited mileage warrenty that I was going to get full use out of. Now, I'll just be another young punk with a bike. Do you think I can get the dealership to crack open the instrument cluster and add 26,000 to my new bike? Anyhow, all's well that ends well. I look forward to my next BMW. To Mark in Seattle: I've already asked my insurance company about the seat pan, and they will sell it, or give it to me. If I go for the RS, it's all yours. Robin Phillips R850R (RIP) Seattle, WA From Ted Witting Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 20:10:01 -0700 Subject: BMW: My buddy's get-off Here's one we can all learn from (it may be obvious to many, but I'm a firm believer that we should learn from others' mistakes): My friend, Billy-Bob, was riding his Honda VFR250 down a piece of road. He had just pulled out of a parking lot and still had his face shield in the raised position. With his LEFT hand, he reached up to close the shield. While his left hand was off the bars, he hit a pothole (very rare in PA). He was travelling fairly slowly, so the handlebars jerked to the left...this caused his right hand to twist the grip. A series of speed-up...slow-down...speed-up...slow-down handlebar jerks resulted...followed by a go-down. He had no protective gear ('cept the helmet), so Billy-Bob was covered with many bruises and road rash...and the bike was totalled (expensive fairings on cheap motorcycles). So I was walking down the side-walk the other day...heard a really loud rice-rocket approaching from behind, so I turned to look. The rider was slowly cruising in the "right hand on bars, left hand on left thigh" position. What happens next?...you guessed it...he hit a pot hole and did the same speed-up...slow-down, etc. maneuver that Billy-Bob had done. This guy had a leather jacket, though...with the exception of a limp and a bruised ego, he was okay. The bike survived, too...only now it has scrapes all over the left side to match the ones that were already on the right side (hmmmm...). Now, back to Billy-Bob...the humorous part of his get-off (now that he's healed) was that instead of protective gear, he was wearing one of those t-shirts that has a seat-belt printed across the front. Billy-Bob has a sense of humor, so he and the paramedics must have come up with fifty "good thing ya' had the seat belt on" jokes. Just one to think about. Ted Witting '78 R100S "Just 'cause you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get 'ya" Date: Sun, 05 Oct 1997 20:00:45 -0400 From: Russ White Subject: BMW: Accident Witnessed (LONG) In describing what I saw today, I am hoping the information may help keep this from happening to you. The scene: Beautiful warm sunny day. The road was dry and free of any debris. The Place: Deals=92s Gap (Route 129 TN) Lots of tight turns. I had just finished a great weekend ride in the North Central and North Eastern Tennessee mountains on my K75RT. I love planning my trip the night before - clicking on the places I will have to change roads, and then never looking at a map again the next day. Love my GPS (but that=92s another story). I was back home and there was plenty of day left and I only live a short distance from 129 and I knew the bikes would be out. Mine was dirty, and I was tired, but my favorite 4 wheel transportation was sitting all shiny in the garage and the pull of Deal=92s Gap was as strong as ever. I tossed the Kermit Touring Chair, the camera, and the latest issue of the ON in the NSX and headed for the twisties. On these kind of outings I looked for a good place to park that affords me a view of several corners and doesn=92t put me right in the apex of any. Having found such a spot I set up the chair, focused the camera, and waited for the bikes to come through - and on a day like this I didn=92t have to wait long. The bike: A 650 or 750 sport bike - I=92m sorry I just haven=92t look at this type motorcycle enough to know the brands and models well. The rider: Mike - In his 30=92s I=92d guess - Full face helmet - - T-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, and fingerless gloves. How it happened: I was looking right at Mike and his bike when he crashed. This has given me a whole new appreciation for referees. I hope no one has a slow motion of this one because I could be wrong. It still amazes me how quickly is took place and how much I had to put together from looking at the bike and the road. It was a left hand turn. I was sitting on a pullout on Mike=92s right as he entered the turn. I had watched him already come through one turn and decided he was not going to be on my roll of film. I take my pictures of fast bikes and BMW=92s. Today there was one BMW that qualified on both counts (but I digress). Mike when down in the road - in my opinion not going very fast. On the outside of the turn there was a big tree, a guard rail, and a small space between them. Past the tree and the guard rail in was down hill big time. The skid mark starts very late into the turn, almost at the apex. I am pretty sure it was a mark from the rear tire and caused by braking. The bike hit the pavement on its right side and Mike was launched, passing neatly between the guard rail and the tree. The bike stopped very quickly and was still partly on the paved surface when it came to rest. I ran toward the accident wishing I hadn=92t left the cell phone on the BMW and wondering what I could possibly do to help since I am not trained in first aid. Mike was no where to be seen until I peered over the hill and saw a most wonderful sight. He was on his hands and feet climbing up the side of the hill. He said he wasn=92t going very fast and didn=92t know what happened. I had a good look at both tires - front good shape, rear worn but I=92ve seen lots worse. What can we learn from this? Russ White 92 K75RT Date: Sun, 5 Oct 1997 20:06:57 -0500 (CDT) From: "James B. Hair" Subject: BMW: ABS/T-Bones/Pucker factor Sat. Oct.4 , I was traveling east on Battlefield Rd. in Springfield Mo. as I approached an intersection I moved from the right lane to the left as several cars in the right lane were planning on turning right. I followed 2 cars through the intersection and was a little distance behind the last one- There was a mini van coming from the other direction that was setting at the light waiting to turn left. I saw the van but knew the driver was watching as she waited for the 2 cars to go through and then turned right in front of me. I stood on the ABS and managed to scrub on enought speed to miss the rear of the van as it charged through the intersection. One second slower for the van and I would have T-boned it. This is the second time this year I have had to use maximum braking to avoid an accident. (both times I was not speeding). I think the ABS kept me from crashing the bike as I literally used the brakes to the max. and think I would have locked the front wheel if I hadn't had ABS. Pucker factor of about 10. I sure like that K1100LT. jim hair. Date: Mon, 06 Oct 97 16:48:41 EDT From: douglas.millerNoSpam@NoSpamlmco.com Subject: BMW: Accident Witnessed (LONG) Subject: BMW: Accident Witnessed (LONG) You perfectly described the classic high-side. He went in over his head, panicked, locked his rear brake, felt it sliding out, let up on the rear brake, and launched as the now-free-to-rotate rear tire caught traction and proceeded to realign itself and track with the direction of the motorcycle. I think this about lesson four in the MSF. What a shame. Douglas A. Miller '75 R90/6 -- "The Venerable Stede" Gaithersburg, MD Date: Tue, 7 Oct 1997 09:21:10 -0400 (EDT) From: EbolanowNoSpam@NoSpamaol.com Subject: BMW: Re: BMW Thefts in NYC (carpe beemer & run) Amen to alerting motorcycle riders about theft in NYC. While I have never had a problem, I take severe precautions to insure that it will never happen (Kryptonite disk lock, Kryptonite chain to frame to something immovable). I guess I got this paranoia from living in Florida where theiving individuals have a tendency to want things that they have not worked for (my buddy's bike was stolen out of his garage recently in Tampa). Anyways, the reason I write is because of this pertinent story: I was waiting for my reservation at a restaurant on the lower west side, when I caught the sites of a BMW mtcy dealer out of the corner of my eye. My friend and I walked on over to view some fo the bikes (I wanted to show him what my new cruiser looked like) when I noticed that 3-4 bikes were just sitting around unattended (it was 9:30pm). I mentioned to my friend that people should really be smarter because someone could 'borrow' a bike by simply placing it in a van. Just as I mentioned this, some guys came over and asked if we had seen anyone because a bike had just been stolen (I guess there had been 4 bikes) and they were walking around to see if s/he was still nearby. To make matters worse, s/he had stolen a brand new cruiser. I guess I got there a little too late to be helpful, but it makes you think. Anyways, ride far and hard, at all times keeping the shiny side up. Edward Date: Tue, 07 Oct 1997 21:05:05 From: Dennis & Karen Withner Subject: Re: BMW: In the wind..... John Downey inquires about riding in the wind; > So here are some of my questions: > >1. When hit by a gust, do you accelerate, slow down, or remain at your >current speed? John, *I find that accelerating helped me to regain my lane positioning, just as accelerating helps U get around a corner. Seems to me that the force of the wind pushing on a bike from the side is applying a pressure that duplicates the G's affecting a bike going around a corner. Same actions used in cornering seem to work. CAUTION! These wind corners may be very short and U need to be ready to instantly correct back to the vertical. >2. Do you lean, or try to steer in any way? *Whatever it takes, as in cornering. >3. I've heard that you should put all of you weight on the pegs and steer >with you knees....does this work? *See #2, and several previous threads on cornering styles '> >4. How much is to much wind to be out in on a bike? *YMMV. Would depend on multiple factors, tires, traffic, road surface, huevos, who's after U, family responsibilities. Steel bridge decking is a real challenge! Heard a story the other day about a biker somewhere in AK who had a problem with a cross wind on his way home from his favorite bar one night. He was riding a road near the water that was well sheltered from a strong inshore breeze by trees. Coming around a corner, he came to a spot where there was a gap in the trees caused by a road down to the water. The surprise blast, combined w/ his less that top level reactions put him directly in the path of an oncoming car. U could say it was a Darwind. Too much comes right after "I can handle it". Take car?, Dennis Date: Sat, 11 Oct 1997 08:45:18 -0400 From: "Ted Hall" Subject: BMW: Death of a Friend Sammy Pierce, 59 , died of a motorcycle accident on Thursday evening at 7:15PM as a result of a 90 year old woman running a Stop Sign and being run over by another car coming in the opposite direction. The Springfield Police are searching for the second car. He was dragged 48 feet, and the occupants got out of their car, looked at the body, and then drove off. BAAAASTAAAARDS!. Vermont Police are on the lookout for a cream colored compact car. sssssssssssSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!! !!!!!!!! Ted hfrmystrNoSpam@NoSpamvermontel.com Date: Sat, 11 Oct 1997 13:37:36 -0400 (EDT) From: luringNoSpam@NoSpamsover.net (Bill and/or Louise Luring) Subject: BMW: Tragic Death Of Sam Pierce Sam Pierce, a BMW rider, father of three grown daughters, and husband of Rita, from Springfield, Vermont, died in a tragic accident Thursday evening. Around 7PM he hit the driver-side door of a car driven by a 90 year-old woman, then was hit and dragged by a compact car some distance- the several occupants of which got out, looked, then got back in the car and left the scene. Police are still pursuing information on the second car, and information about the details of the first car are inconsistent. Long time friend, Alan Pinders of Springfield reports that a service will be held Monday, October 13, at 2 PM, at the Church of Christ in Springfield, Route 11, towards Chester, Vermont. Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 16:52:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Mikegs11NoSpam@NoSpamaol.com Subject: BMW: Club Ride, Wife's Accident, The Other Guy Sat the 11th, to kind of wind up the Mileage contest, My wife and I were joining the BMW Of West MI fall color tour. We got 38 miles into the ride and priorities changed quickly. We had 16bikes on the ride, my brother was leading, my wife 2nd, myself and then the other guy. We were making a 90 degree right turn at the intersection. My brother made the turn, my wife started thru the turn and I was approaching the turn. The other guy passed me on the right, lost control, t-boned my wifes bike right in front of my eyes, and they were down, in the blink of an eye. A terrible sight. The fellow that hit her was older rider on a 72??BMW with over a 100K on the bike. Distracted? Riding over his or bikes limits? Really unsure at this time. He had just joined the club in July or August and nobody really knows too much about him. She is home and doing okay, thanks for that. The main reasons I write are #1 She was wearing full leathers, Jacket she's had, pants I got this summer, saved many a nasty rash. Recommend protective gear for all. #2 At all your club meetings next time, go over "Accident Awareness" traffic control, get the other ride bikes off to the side or safe area. (School parking lot on this corner.) People kind of stopped on all four corners. #3 Get to know riders in the club, or have a "Gut check" a few miles into the ride, right speed? Any mechanical problems? etc? Anyway, now that I have that off my chest, the good news is even though I got her into the bike program, she wants to get back on and holds no bitterness in her heart, I think I will keep this little lady around for another 31 years!!! Mike Hankinson Hudsonville Mi 95GS11 Black of Course Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 15:04:06 -0800 From: roozbehNoSpam@NoSpamwco.com (Roozbeh Chubak) Subject: Re: BMW: Randy Bradesku At 2:34 PM 10/14/97, Tom Childers wrote: > >I just heard that Randy Bradesku died in a motorcycle accident a >couple of days ago down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I have no >other details. This is terrible, terrible, terrible! I knew Randy. He was a hell of a rider and true gentleman. Always there to help. When my R100 bike broke down at this years 49er Rally it was Randy who came to my rescue by somehow unearthing a diode board for me. He will be missed. :-(( Regards, Roozbeh Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 12:04:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Tom Childers Subject: BMW: Randy Bradesku - update I just got off the phone with Lynn Bradesku, Randy's wife, and have more information about his accident. Randy died on Monday while participating in the Cabo 1000 road race. He was riding a Honda Blackbird, the weather was terrible, and he got blown off the road at 150 mph. Randy was in the lead at the time, with a group of about 25 other riders, and Lynn is very upset about the fact that the race continued, and she didn't even find out until the next day. This is a dangerous race, and he'd participated in it a number of times before. I hear from others that several other riders were seriously injured, and that this will apparently be the last time that the Cabo 1000 is run. Lynn also tells me that there will be memorial lap for Randy at the 750 Sports race at Daytona next weekend. Randy and Lynn had only been married for a year, and I can tell you that she meant the world to him. She and I talked about their relationship a bit, and they found something precious together...the kind of connection and affection that some of us never experience in our lives. She wants to hear from Randy's friends, and is thinking about putting together a party to celebrate Randy sometime next month. In the mean time, I will be going over to her house tonight, and I am authorized to invite all other San Francisco-area Presidents to come over too. Lynn says anytime after 5pm, and she will welcome phone calls, e-mail, stories about Randy, anything. Lynn Bradesku 112 San Rafael Ave. San Rafael, CA 94901-3645 (415) 454-4132 e-mail: lynnf50100NoSpam@NoSpamaol.com Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 05:57:52 -0600 From: "Bob Smith" Subject: BMW: THE PASSING OF A FRIEND Hello All, This weekend I lost my best friend and in the purest sense my brother. Although Howard and I were not blood relatives the things that he and shared were many. I have known Howard for over 20 years and could not ask for a better friend. He was always there with a smile and a handshake and eager to help whatever the problem. I have see him go out of his way to help others and always with a smile. Howard loved motorcycles and rode for many years. He had a love affair with Harley's and had just bought a new Springer several months ago. He rode my Beemers often and I his Harley. His comments were that why did I have to buy a Beemer I have yours to ride and in the same way I never needed a Hog because his was always there for me to use. Howard was on his way to work at his Trucking Co. Saturday morning and while rounding the curve just a block away from the office he met a pickup in the curve. No one know exactly what happened but for some reason he must have tried to avoid the truck and lost control of his bike and it ended up on top of him. The doctors said that it crushed his chest and he died instantly. Howard will truly be missed my many. He was a true friend and one the world should not have lost. I would like to ask that everyone make a point to give you best friend a hug or a hand shake and tell them what they mean to you. We loose them so fast and all we can do is think of what we should have said the last time we saw them. Gone but not forgotten, Howard Blackson Jr. 53 Tyler, Tx. Thanks for letting me ramble, Bob Smith ***Armadillo Rider*** Tyler, Tx. bomarNoSpam@NoSpamtyler.net 1973 R-75/5 1987 K-100LT Light Truck w/ trailer in tow ( Discription by Joe Denton ) ETBMW+MC IBMWR MOA RA AMA IAJS#6 BOOF # 106 (Dr. of Mechanics) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, for I am at angels eight-zero and climbing...." -- Anonymous SR-71 pilot Date: Fri, 31 Oct 97 08:46:29 UT From: "LARRY WILBERS" Subject: BMW: No BMW On this date, October 29, 1971 at 5:44 pm on a clear sunny afternoon, musician Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia. While riding down Hillcrest Ave, the shortcut to West Macon, a truck began a long, slow left turn in front of him. Duane edged to his left to go around on a Harley Sportster, at about 50 MPH (always in a hurry). Then the truck did the unexpected; It stopped dead in the middle of the road, blocking the entire lane. As he tried to drive around, he struck a cable hanging off the end of the truck and was pulled off the bike. His helmet flew off and the bike flew into the air in a semicircle, landing on top of him as he scraped down the pavement. The Harley went on down the road about 90 feet and Duane was unconscious but alive when the first observers arrived. There was little external evidence of injury and he was transported to the Medical Center of Central Georgia by ambulance. He was taken to the operating room immediately by then chief surgical resident Dr. Charles Burton. On laparotomy, he was found to have a lacertated aorta, cardiac laceration from broken ribs, liver and pancreatic lacerations. Three hours of heroics were to no avail and Duane died on the operating table from massive, uncontrollable bleeding. In earlier sagas, Duane suffered a drug overdose on the road somewhere and was taken unconscious to an emergency room somewhere. The ED Doc came out and told them he probably wouldn't survive. Bassist (Berry Oakley) then loudly raised his hands to the heavens and prayed that God would give Duane just one more year since their career as a band was just beginning to bloom. Shortly thereafter, Duane miraculously pulled out of it and went home the same day. That year the Allman Brothers become one of the top bands of the era with critically acclaimed albums and huge stadium venues culminating with the Byron Music Festival in Atlanta in which the Allmans headlined the show. This concert logged over 600,000 people, bigger than Woodstock. The accident culminating in his death occurred exactly one year TO THE DAY after that witnessed prayer took place. There's more. One year and two weeks after Duane was killed, Bassist Berry Oakley, his best friend, was killed on a motorcycle in an almost exact incident 1000 feet from the Duane site on the same road. After crashing, Berry was up and walking. He was inspecting the motorcycle, bleeding from the nose and mouth. Ambulance arrived but he refused and hitched a ride back to the Allman's house on the back of the bike of the buddy (a roadie) he was riding with at the time. Shortly thereafter, he was brought back in unresponsive and died in the operating room undergoing drainage of a subdural. He had the classic lucid interval. Both accidents involved large vehicles (Truck and a bus) turning in front of them. Drivers of both vehicles were same age. Neither was charged. In his personal life, Duane was pretty much a Neanderthal. Fairly big drug use, a hard core hippie freak. Not a terribly personable young man, except when he picked up a tobacco flamed Gibson Les Paul (enshrined at the Rock and Roll Museum in Cleveland, BTW). To date there have been precious few guitarists even remotely in his league. Warren Haynes comes to mind. There is only about 30 minutes of bootlegged video of him on stage. He stood still and quiet, eyes closed, a shock of blond hair covering most of his face, totally enraptured......another world where six strings plugged directly into his soul....and what issued forth mandated stunned silence from normally unruly hoardes. Most of the fun of pouring over the sheet music learning how he did it is not so much learning to play it like he did, some of which I can do passably, but learning how and why he did it. It takes weeks to get anywhere close to the subtlty of his string bending and voicing techniques. I marvel at his genius. Those with an interest should consider the four CD "Dreams" CD retrospective. If you only have time or interest to listen to a few songs, try: 1) "Dreams". Considered by many to be his virtuoso piece. Originally off the "No Exit" album, On most of the collections CDs. 2) "Not my cross to bear". Nature's most nearly perfect blues song. Originally from the "No Exit" album, redone on the "Beginnings" CD. 3) "You don't love me / Soul Serenade". off the Dreams set, Disc #3. A personal favorite. Recorded in Macon August 26, 1971 for a live radio broadcast, previously unrecorded. Larry in Columbus ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 19:18:28 +0000 From: "Bert Pharis" Subject: Re: BMW: High-Beam Follies Revisited On Sun, 2 Nov 1997 15:59:50, James Franz wrote: > A group of riders are more visible than just a solo rider. Visiblilty is > one of the key survival issues on bikes, so the high beam wouldn't be needed > with a group. > > Does anyone have any info on cage/bike crashes involving groups? My guess is > that there are significantly fewer wrecks with groups than soloists. James and list, I used to hold the safety-in-numbers view. However, the worst motorcycle accident with which I have personal experience taught me a different perspective. During a HOG charity run in which I participated a few years ago, the following occurred: 200 plus bikes running south on a fairly rural road. Pickup truck travelling north stopped with turnsignal on to turn left and wheels already turned, waiting for a break in traffic. Seemingly no problem here as the driver had "seen" the group. Unfortunately, the kid approaching the pickup from behind had also "seen" the bikes and was paying so much attention to them that he didn't see the stopped pickup. Hit the truck from the rear, the truck went left into the pack. Eighteen bikes down, five people hospitalized. Thankfully, none critical. The car almost got stopped, but the impact was sufficient to push the truck in the direction its wheels were pointed. Yes, everyone saw the bikes. In this case it contributed to the accident. I believe groups are more visible, but don't think this makes riding in them somehow safer. I also watch very closely where vehicles facing me have their wheels pointed. Even if they see me they can still be pushed in that direction. Conversely, I never point the wheels of any vehicle I'm driving in a direction I wouldn't want to be pushed if bumped from behind. Ride Safe, Bert Pharis, Canfield, Ohio 98 K1200RS Porsche SCCA GT2 914-6 Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 00:03:31 -0600 (CST) From: Mike Merrick Subject: BMW: My Wife is down To all on the list, particularly those with whom my wife and I have traded stories and passed the time at rallies etc: My wife, Cathy Merrick of Crocker, MO went down at approx. 5:00 pm on Wednesday, October 29. She was riding alone south of Crocker when she left the road at the beginning of a curve, kept the motorcycle under control and straight for 60-70 yards, missing several obstacles before she ran out of room at a 7 foot deep ditch and the bike went in nose first. She is still with us, but in the neurosurgical ICU at University of Missouri-Columbia. She is in serious condition, but the prognosis is good. Coma's are not good on people, particularly those who must wait to see what the outcome is, because there is nothing one can do. She has no injuries other than the head injury, and has shown positive signs of working her way back to consciousness, so I'm determined that she's going to pull through this, she's a very gutsy lady. For some of the questions I (and I'm sure everyone else) want the answers to: She was wearing full leathers and her helmet. The result being that she has no broken bones (including no skull fractures). A few scrapes and a hell of a lot of bruising, but no other injuries. Please wear the stuff. We don't know exactly what happened, but it is for sure that she didn't lose it in the corner. I theorize that she might have been dodging an animal or a car that came out of the corner wide. We will have to wait for any more answers to this one. She had help on the scene within seconds (a former police officer who held her head straight and summoned help) and an ambulance within 2 minutes. Cathy IS a motorcyclist with 20 plus years of riding experience and a motorcycle that is better maintained than anything I've ever owned. Anyone who knows her or her bike understands, and for those who don't, you've never seen anyone spend more time tightening, tuning, cleaning and just generally loving that bike. It didn't let her down. Cathy has completed both Beginners and Experience Rider Courses and practices what they preach. I'm an MSF instructor and have never seen a rider more in touch with her abilities or one more willing to ride within her abilities and her bikes capabilities. Many's the time I've felt like corner carving, but had to slow down because she refused to try to keep up with me. Many could benefit from that lesson. I've never known anyone with such a pure love for riding in my life. If you've met her, you'll remember that she could never stop talking about it. For many of the women she met, she was an instant role model, not just because she rode, but because of the independent spirit she represents. She's definitely responsible for increasing the size of our motorcycling community by quite a few riders who've listened to her explanation that you don't have to be six feet tall or have bulging muscles to ride a motorcycle (even her beloved Harley Sportster). She also loved our R69 and spent many miles tooling around with that sidecar, usually with a big grin on her face. We recently went to Louisiana and picked up a couple of R27's from Bud Amy, which are going to be the focus of our winter project list (she wants hers to be cream colored). And it shall be. I refuse to think anything but positive thoughts about the situation right now, since she's going to make it through this tough time, and my daughter and I will too. It might take a while, but she'll be with us again soon. I ask that everyone say a little thought about her, prayers are gratefully accepted, but just a positive thought for someone who loves this sport as much as any one of us is just as important. I will be by her side, and will be unsubscribing for the duration. I will be able to get E-mail and will share the messages with her (starting immediately since I believe she can hear everything going on around her). But please send any mail to my address, . If you'd like, you can call the hospital at (573) 882-4141 and they will page the Merrick family. Again, I hope that everyone will join in sending those positive thoughts on her behalf. And lets all be careful out there. Mike Merrick "Either ride the damn thing or sell it to someone who will!" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 03:16:04 -0500 From: Lee Freedman Subject: Re: BMW: DEER (No "asshole" content) At 3:20 AM -0000 4/11/97, Roozbeh Chubak wrote: >> >>November is one of the worst months for deer on the roads, so stay >>alert! > >A bunch of us went up Mt. Hamilton on saturday afternoon. The sun had just >set when i left the mountain top and it was quite dark by the time I got to >the Junction. On Mines Rd I had not one, but *TWO* deer near-hits! These >were miles apart, seperated by another incident when coming around the >curve i discoverd two huge bovines in the middle of the road! > >Yes, there is a reason why I rarely ride after dark. > > >Regards, >Roozbeh It is written in the sands of time: Any bovine you meet in the dark is destined to be huge! Best regards Lee Freedman Buffalo Bozo Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 12:51:51 -0000 From: Mike Barnett Subject: BMW: RE: Here I go again... - ------ =_NextPart_000_01BCEF69.C07440A0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Nancy, Sorry to hear about Syndee's little excursion. I hope that she recovers = soon and hasn't been put off bikes. I remember reading some of your posts earlier this year, both before, = during and after your recuperation. They all showed major amounts of = grit, determination and enthusiasm and I am sure that you will cope = equally well this time. I think Syndee is lucky to have you there to = help her at this time and you will be able to encourage each other = towards a (hopefully) speedy recovery. When your wrist allows, let us know how you are both getting on. Mike B. Rolling Broccoli Rider (UK) - -----Original Message----- From: Nancy Evelyn Gold [SMTP:nancygNoSpam@NoSpamsgi.com] Sent: Monday, November 10, 1997 4:05 PM To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Subject: BMW: Here I go again... As some of you know I had surgery on my left wrist last summer and went through hell waiting to get back on my bike. It was a week before that that my LT fragged her transmission. So... here I go again. Surgery in three hours or so or the right wrist. This time my transmission did frag. What kept me from a good ride this weekend was my partner. Syndee had her first MSF class on the bikes. She started at 12:00 on Saturday and I rode by at 2:00 to take a quick peek at her on a bike before heading to the office. At 3:30 I picked up my messages and one of them was from the Mountain View Police, "... was involved in a motorcycle accident and has been taken to El Camino hospital, it's not life threatening". Yikes! I flew to the hospital to find Syndee with one leg of her pants cut off, her boots bloddy and so on. She deeply cut her shin, almost to the bone and 6 inchs long. As far as I can put together she let go of the clutch in a panic, the bike went down. She's on crutches now, I've been taking care of her for the last two days. I got a short ride in last night after dark before I filled the tank for storage. I'll type at everyone when I get use of my right hand back. - --- Nancy Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 12:12:11 -0500 (EST) From: BMWBikeCrzNoSpam@NoSpamaol.com Subject: BMW: Breaking & Wrecking $$ THE GATOR RALLY EXPERIENCE left Zephyrhills around Noon on Thursday. Had a nice clean and fast run down I-75 to Naples "KOA". Settled in , pitched tent, Showered , prepared and ate dinner. Read for a little while and fell asleep. Visions of "rally" danced through my dreams. Awoke Friday morning started "tearing down". Placed tent on it's side to dry out the bottom while I ate my cold cereal for breakfast. Soon the "ballet" of packing the bike was over and I was on my way. Soon I was speeding my way across the "alley" riding just ahead of the storms just catching some stray drops from it's leading edge. Now traveling through Homestead stopped for lunch in the "agricultural zone" good B-B-Q at the "pighouse". Proceeded South on 27... Connected with highway 1. Approx. 50 miles of heavy traffic then into the "clear", or so I thought. Looked out over the water looked back to road ."traffic stopped", "OH SHIT"!!!! " Too Fast", " Too Close' . Grabbed a bunch of brake and steered towards right shoulder. Instantly bike started sliding and then did a right side dump over. Bike sliding left, I am on pavement sliding towards shoulder, parts flying everywhere. I thought "Cars please don't hit me"! Got up, staggered somehow over to bike shut it off . It was still running ! Oil all over the road now. Sat down on right shoulder, people asking me "Are you okay"? A Corvette lady holding pressure on my "spurting foot". I took it upon myself and had my helmet removed as there was no neck pain. Almost instantly Florida Highway Patrol were on the scene. They were "great to me". I asked the officer to take my "folding knife" ,"Gerber tool" and "Colt ACT" at about the same time "Stephen" a registered nurse and a fellow rider was there so I did the most logical thing and had these items turned over to him. I could not believe how fast the ambulance arrived! The EMT's were very professional but they did chop my clothes all up, but it had to be done. The ride to the hospital did not take very long. I was in ER at "Mariners" hospital. All this time my poor right arm is sticking out like a broken chicken wing. The nurse looked at my wounds and said "Let's wait for the Demeral to clean these. Sounded good to me! I signed the release and they hooked up the ECG and put the Demeral in the IV and it was off to La La Land... Shoulder set and wounds cleaned....much better...all bandaged up and ready to go. Stephen had been at the hospital to check on my progress then left to inform rally goers of "Rider Down Status". It is dark now and I am taking a $55.00 cab ride to rally. Arrived at rally and lined up "tent space". It turned out to be "Gator". Don't tell anybody but he is a good guy and very helpful....Another rider handed me a bottle of Advil out of the blue...What a lifesaver, Works great on pain for me! Got as much rest as could be expected. Just hung around and visited during the rally Saturday. Commented "Just happy to be here". Then I hobbled over to Joe Katz and company's camp, sat down to relax and a gentleman named "Bud" looked up and says "I am your ride home". Are BMW riders great or what! Bud also volunteered a spare bed...So I got better rest...Got to get cleaned up...A smooth comfortable ride home Sunday. It has been a week and my injuries are healing rather well. My bike is still at Stephen's in Miami...Should be back home in a week. Received follow up treatment here in Zephyrhills , Doctor says Mr. Comer You may need Deebreedment next week Oh Great More NoSpam@NoSpam!#$% Pain !! Special THANKS TO : GATOR , Stephen ( Dali Meow ) BUD , Mr. Ostermann , The EMT's , FHP ,The Dedicated Professional Staff At Mariner's Hospital Dave Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 14:48:20 -0600 From: "Herb Stark" Subject: BMW: Re: Vidiot: Re: Buy a Bullet for Bambi.... If your states are, as Texas is doing, starting to let the roadsides grow wild. You may have a legal recourse here also. Texas has stopped mowing in the Right-Of-Ways in many locations. They call this program "Roadsides for Wildlife". Good intentions but a bad idea. Write your representative to complain about this program. Herb NOT Herb Stark BOOF #2 herbstarNoSpam@NoSpamrapidramp.net http://www.rapidramp.com/outdoor Amateur Radio K5GAB 1995 R1100RT Big Red 1973 R75/5 Ole Blue Dog Avinger Texas - ---------- > From: Don Eilenberger > To: Brian Curry ; bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com > Cc: mac-pacNoSpam@NoSpamusaa.net; vidiotNoSpam@NoSpamusaa.net > Subject: Vidiot: Re: Buy a Bullet for Bambi.... > Date: Sunday, November 09, 1997 11:29 PM > > At 06:28 PM 11/9/97 -0500, Brian Curry wrote: > >As Don Eilenberger has reported Bambi has now collected one of his BMW's; > >fortunately the cage where he was well protected. Other Prezidents have had > >cageless contact. :(:( > > > >Deer have become RODENTS/VARMITS!!! Before someone says how they were here > >first, there are more deer in Pennsylvania than in the 1700's. In fact, I > >think they had to import some to start the herd after they were wiped out. > >And more are killed by vehicles than by hunters. GO HUNTERS GO!!!! > > Lots of good ideas from Brian Bobbitted.. > > >Rember, Bambi is a VARMIT/RODENT!!! So go out there and Buy some Bullets > >for Bambi. The BMW you protect, may be your own.... > > A FWIW - where I work there are about 35 people.. out of the 35, > 5 of us have hit deer in the past month. When I was talking to the cop > after bonking bambi in the bimmer, he said he's doing 5-6 of these a > day, and it's getting worse.. that's just the ones reported.. the other > 4 people in my office didn't bother reporting it 'cause they didn't > have insurance to cover it (the bambi is costing my insurance company > something over $2,000.. haven't gotten the full estimate yet). > > SO - aside from the bodily damage a bambi COULD do you - they ARE doing > you financial damage.. cost for this kinda accident (covered luckily > by comprehensive - $50/deductable) is spread over everyones insurance. > > Mebbe we would talk Geico into diverting some $$$ from laser guns to > shotguns? > > Best, > > > ======================================= > Don Eilenberger > Spring Lk Hts, NJ, USA > deilenbergerNoSpam@NoSpammonmouth.com > ======================================= Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 22:43:57 From: dbyker Subject: BMW: SECURE Your Helmet When You Leave Your Bike!! My Arai SZ open face helmet was stolen from atop my motorcycle seat in NJ this weekend while I was inside a grocery store for less than ten minutes. It's gone. I usually lock my helmet to my bike when I park, but I was only going inside for a few minutes, I parked right outside the store, and it was a crowded, well-lighted parking lot, so I just left it on my seat. When I returned, my helmet was gone. Now, I was four states away from home, on a Saturday night, and I had an anxious few minutes worrying about all the repurcussions. Luckily, I was only ten miles from my friends house, and he had a helmet I could borrow to get home. It takes a certain kind of person to steal a helmet off a motorcycle, but there's lots of the bastards out there. This is just a gentle reminder to secure your helmet, or take it with you, when you leave your bike. Nobody should have this happen to them. It Sucked!! Dave Meyer 94 K75RT Arlington VA Date: Tue, 2 Dec 97 00:45:50 UT From: "errol amy" Subject: BMW: Update on Cathy Merrick.... I received the following from Mike Merrick tonight and thought I would pass on the news of Cathy's condition. Mike wrote: As for the update, Cathy is moving today from the ICU to the step-down unit. She is off the respirator completely and is deemed stable enough to not need constant monitoring. This is good news, since once she's moved it'll be only a matter of a few days (maybe less) before she moves to the rehab center across town. This is a big move forward, because currently the only stimulation she gets is when we visit (15 minutes at a time, 5 times a day). Once she gets to rehab, the stimulation will be basically constant (during the day). They plan on doing visual, audio, aroma therapies, as well as movement (in a wheelchair at first) and physical therapy. They believe that the more stimulation a person gets, the faster they will respond in coming out of the coma. As for her current status vis a vis the coma, she's in a light coma now (?huh), but I found out there is a rating for how heavy the coma is. She now opens both eyes fully, can track objects/people with her eyes (even the nurses know they're being watched:-) She is moving her head from side to side to track visually and when someone talks to her. She also is moving hands, legs and fingers/toes when you ask her to. All this adds up to coming around. I know, she was doing some of this over a week ago, but the illius (SP?) that swelled her belly up caused a lot of pain and pressure that slowed down her responses and the removal of the respirator. However, the healing process in her head has continued unabated. I know that most people have the idea of someone just waking up from a coma, but that isn't the way it usually happens. According to the rehab folks (and they should know) it usually takes a long period of time to completely wake from coma. It starts as it has with Cathy, then progresses through longer periods of wakefulness, greater movement and function, speech, feeding and personal care, etc. But I've heard that many times the person will be able to function, but much like a robot, until at some time (unspecified of course) the light bulb goes on. Sounds strange, but then again, after the nightmare of the last month, what could be stranger? Casey (our daughter) and I have of course been there all the time, but a whole bunch of friends have visited as well. We brought a Walkman to her room when we noticed that she would calm down when we talked to her during the weaning from the respirator. She listens to it off and on through the day, and the nurses even put it on during the night if it looks as if she's getting frustrated or hyper. It does work. Of course, she's listening to biker music (Seger, Steppenwolf, etc) and the local classic rock station. I think some of the nurses would prefer I brought a bigger stereo so they could share! Anyway, everybody's hanging in there. Cathy's improving. If you forward this to the list, I just want to put one thing in here for everyone. Thank you for the cards, the thoughts , the prayers, the maple syrup (you know who you are). They've been a tremendous help to Casey and I, and will be to Cathy as well when she can see them. I've taken every message and thought you've expressed into the ICU and read them to Cathy, and I'm sure she'll have a bunch of questions about stuff like maple syrup:-) Keep the good thoughts flowing and we (plus the rehab staff) will take care of the rest. And Bud, I'm sure we're going to need a vacation after this is over. We'll talk. Mike Merrick "Either ride the damn thing or sell it to someone who will!" As most of you will remember, Cathy had a single bike accident in which she received a head injury. She was wearing a helmet at the time and was an experienced rider on her HD. Mike asked me to post his messages to me to the net. budamy Date: Wed, 3 Dec 97 13:05:38 UT From: "errol amy" Subject: BMW: Cathy's back! Just got this note from Mike Merrick....... Well Bud, we've all been waiting for this. Yesterday, (Dec. 1), Cathy woke up! Yup, had her eyes wide open, looking back and forth from Casey to me, reached across the bed and grabbed my hand and I thought I wouldn't get it back (as if I'd try!). I know she was awake because I told her to squeeze my hand if she understood what I was telling her, and boy did I get a GRIP! She was moving her head around, her left hand moving up and down her body, checking out her face, the tube going to the traech, the feeding tube, etc. As I leaned over the bed, she reached out to touch my face, and I'm just lost here. We explained what happened, where she was and that she'd been out a while (I'll get more specific later). The final blow to any doubts I had was when we got ready to leave (half an hour after the 15 minute visiting period was over), when I leaned down and gave her a kiss and she kissed me back. Need I say that I was floored:-) Afterward, we talked to her nurse who told us that while she was moving Cathy from the bed to her chair, she asked Cathy to help support her own weight, and she did it. This was one of the first instances of her listening to someone other than Casey and I. She also cooperated with the tooth brushing thing, opening her mouth and spitting after it was done. In other words, my observations are not just those of a hopeful family member, but the nurses and doctors are seeing it too. Now, there is a long way to go yet. I understand that. We still don't know what deficits (if any) she's going to have to overcome or adapt to. She still is not awake for long periods at a time, at others she's just snoozing. But I can deal with that. Cathy is still inside, and she gave us a peek yesterday. We're going to be talking to Rusk today, hopefully get her moved soon. More to come. Mike PS: YYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHOOOOOOOOOO! "Either ride the damn thing or sell it to someone who will!" I bet she will be out there on that R26 soon. Great Christmas news. If you want to send a note to Mike....he is at: mmerrickNoSpam@NoSpamservices.state.mo.com He will give any notes to Cathy. Sometimes the news we hear is good news and I am glad to report this good news! budamy Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 22:57:38 -0800 From: Mike Lehman Subject: BMW: Luck or skill (accident report) It has been said that when his advisors were singing the skills and knowledge of a candidate to be general over the troops; Napoleon asked "But is he lucky". This past Sunday I had the brazen insolence to ride the motorcycle from Burbank down to the Cycle World Motorcycle Show in Long Beach (about 45 miles or so) while the LA area was in an El Nino inspired set of heavy rainstorms. Mind you now, I had caged it down Saturday, but I was not able to ride all the BMW demos I had wanted; plus I thought I might have missed something at the show. I managed to get down inbetween storms, and thought I might be able to do the same coming back. It was actually sunny for me for about half the trip. I managed to get a ride on the Cruiser on the last run before the rain started again. I ran into the show when the rain subsided for a second. I managed to see a few things I had missed the previous day. Around four I looked outside and decided now was the time to leave. By the time I got to the entrance and got into my aerostich it had started to rain again. After talking to a few people who stopped to ask me about my R1100R, I got on and headed north. It was still light, and found that riding in the rain was manageable, as long as I didn't push it. About 1/4 of the way home, the sunset; plus I found myself needing gas. I got off the freeway in Redondo Beach, an old stomping ground; and headed to my favorite Chevron. I took a shortcut on a side street alongside my former place of employment. There was a definite lack of streetlights on this street; and the rain on my helmet shield could be described as annoying. I was going to make a left hand turn, so I moved over to the left side of the left lane. Suddenly a traffic median appeared dead ahead. I had lost the line on my lane, and was headed straight for the median at 25-30mph. I may have had time to swerve, I cannot really recall precisely the time frame at that point. I remember reducing the throttle just before the impact. I don't know if it was skill or luck, but I stood on the pegs just as the front wheel hit. The seat came loose just as the rear wheel hit, and I sat down. I travelled straight down the median about a third of the way before I came to a stop on the median. Strangely, I wasn't to rattled - I had survived with no injury. I didn't even get an adrenaline rush. I was pissed, I knew I had just destroyed at least one cast wheel, maybe two. I looked down and noticed I had room to put the kickstand down. I got off the bike and looked around the bike. Definite prang on the front wheel, no damage to be seen to the tire. No observable damage to the rear wheel or tire. The front tire was still holding its pressure. I got back on the bike and fired it up. No problems. I drove down the middle of the median to the end and drove carefully off. I was fortunate that the median wasn't more than three inches high. I went off to get my gas. I didn't find any additional damage after gassing up, so I continued north on surface streets. After six miles or so, and not having any detectible wobble or air loss, I decided to get back on the freeway. I started out at 50, then after another ten miles went up to 60 for the rest of the trip to Burbank. I got off the freeway near my home, onto a fairly dark street I knew had medians. This time, when I had to move to the left lane, I stayed on the right side of the lane, so I could be sure I wouldn't drift over and challenge fate again. I got home ok. What I learned: If you don't have to, don't ride in the rain. If you are riding in the rain, finish before dusk. If you are riding in the rain at dusk, adjust for the reduced visibility; and staying on the right side of the left lane is a good bet to avoid medians and other obstacles in the middle of the road. Have Skill; but be LUCKY. I am now off to my dealer tomorrow (barring rain) to find out exactly how much I damaged. An expensive lesson; but far cheaper than what might have been. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Mike Lehman AMA 468751 1995 R1100R Topogigio, the little boxer_mikeNoSpam@NoSpambigfoot.com BMWOA 74729 grey mouse Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 18:19:11 -0800 From: "Barry P. Blank, Ph.D." Subject: BMW: Re: BMW - Hit again, and then Again!!!(TOTALLED) Prezzes, SHIT! Two weeks ago, while shopping at my BMW dealer with my K75S parked outside, I was hit by a careless mechanic from the shop next door. All cosmetic, the damage was $1400, and I have received the check. A complete PITA, but there it was. Last Thursday I brought the bike in to have the work done - with a promise that it would be ready by next Tuesday when the shop closes for the holiday, during which I have more free time than usual and was planning on some trips. While in the shop, I was going to have a 30,000 mile service and have Progressive springs, new oil, etc. installed up front to go with the Ohlins shock which was just added to the rear. Really looking forward to the changes and eager to get out there and ride. Some of you may recall that I was major hit from the rear at a stoplight in September, 1996 and struggled with your help to make the big decision - to rebuild the K75S or go for the R1100RS. Well...I spent all the rebuild money (to the tune of 8K) on the the K75S and it has been as good as new. Recently, I have made a mental committment to buy the as-yet-to-be-officially-announced R1100S and even told the dealer I want the first one in - told him in front of my wife and have estimates to enlarge my shed or build a real garage! Yup - I was going to keep the K75S. Which leads to the awful phone call I received from the BMW dealer 1/2 hour ago - SHIT! A guy in a rental car wiped out 3 bikes in front of the dealer, and mine was one! No one hurt, driver stopped, insurance covers it all, dealer will handle it all - but, SHIT! There_is_no_emoticon_for_tears! Stress, rage, aggravation, anger, agita, fury, depression, back to rage, disgust, back to more rage, etc., etc., etc. So, it's deja vu all over again :^(( I know that I can not think clearly now, maybe by tomorrow. Do I rebuild again? I'm glad I did the first time, tho I did really like that R1100RS, but should I rebuild a second time?; Is fate or ??? trying to tell me something? Is there a message in this? Then there's the other scenario - R1100RS or K1200RS. (I wish the R1100S scenario was there, I believe I would grab it! But...I cannot wait until whenever the hell it comes out. Then again, a used bike until it comes out? Hmm...) All thoughts and sympathy will be appreciated. - -- Regards, Barry ('95 K75S) Roslyn Heights, New York Ride hard and ride well. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 23:05:21 -0500 (EST) From: MRob46NoSpam@NoSpamaol.com Subject: BMW: Re: K-bike crash bars Chris Polk says: >>Had them on my K75 - until I hit a dog (not going that fast, either). Severely bent the affected bar. Ripped out some of the rubber mount (thanks!) or it would have trashed the lower mount at the oilpan and probably the oilpan itself. (snip) ...oilpan doesn't have alot of support and can get trashed in an accident (loss of oil = very bad) or worse, rip off and take out the crankcase half.<< On tour after the Fredericksburg rally, an acquaintance crashed her K75 standard (a spot of gravel on an exit ramp) at 50 mph. The bike low sided and slid quite far on its right side. The right side crash bar was ripped off but no critical damage was done to the bike. I'm not certain, but I think the crash bars are designed to absorb impact and come off--sort of like the styrofoam in your helmet compressing instead of your brain. But don't quote me on that. :-) She and her husband picked up the bike and rode another 150 miles to a dealer in Albuquerque where the bike was checked out and minor adjustments made. The bike was declared ugly and wounded but healthy. They continued on to California then back to St. Louis. This accident was also a good advertisement for full leathers even in the heat of the summer. The rider was uninjured. Marilyn Roberts St. Louis '94 K75 Gateway Riders BMWMOA AMA ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 08:38:43 -0500 From: "Terence R. Evans, M.D." Subject: BMW: Mary and Dennis Williams - they've been around... TO: The BMW Mailing List(s) Please excuse the x-posting of this - below will explain why... > "338K+ miles 78 R80/7, 44 states and 4 provinces..." This is what Dennis Williams wrote in an IBMWR post during some good natured boasting last March 3rd, 1997. Miles that he had under his ahem, butt. The majority of these travels were with his late wife, Mary who expired subsequent to an auto accident while she was driving the family pick-up last Thursday, 1/8/98. Let's just say a cool 350,000 miles on a BMW (AFAIK) by now, 10 months later - let's just say that Mary was in the 6 figures as well either as or principle rider or pillion ... - - I knew they rode Airheads (several bikes incl. a hack) - maybe a K-bike, maybe a GS. - - I knew they were loooong-time MOA members & volunteers. - - I know and witnessed Dennis and Mary being "Brocced" by The Keiser, Helmut himself in Fontana. - - I knew they were Major Gears in the BMW Poverty Riders International Club. - - I knew that the main theme of that club is to help another when in need - be it get their bike back on the road; give'em a place to sleep +/or a hot meal; give'em parts/technical assistance - give'em what you can. - - I knew they hosted, on their property, the Coonbottom Rally in Havana, Florida each November. The blowing of the conch shell is welcome. - - I knew that the Coonbotton Rally fee is... No fee really. Donation Only. Moreso "GIVE WHAT YOU CAN"... ...if you can't - no problem - you're as welcome to enjoy yourself, eat, socialize and party equal to anyone else. A Simple - But Unique Concept in this Beemer scene, IMO. - - I'm _assuming_ that in those 44 U.S. states and 4 Canadian Provinces Mary and Dennis met and touched many of you and/or many more that you know. I *know* that Mary's survivors are two boys, Brian 14, Bradley 9 and husband and father, Dennis. In addition, another loss is Mary's employment income. It's going to be tough for a while. In speaking with family and friends in the Tallahassee/Havana, FL area - I asked "what can *I* do until I arrive up there to pay my respects?" The response was to please get the word out to as many in the BMW Family as possible. As that big rally donation jar on the Coonbottom registration tables says: "GIVE WHAT YOU CAN...if you can..." Donations for the Williams family can be sent to the: Poverty Riders International POB 2403 Havana, Fla. 32333 Her service will be at The Temberlane Road Memorial Gardens The Address to send flowers to is The Temberlane Road Chapel, 700 Temberlane Road, Tallahassee, Fla. 33312 The service is being handled by Culleys Funeral Home of Tallahassee and their contact number is 850/893-4177 or 850/877-8191 The Service is on Monday at 4:30 in the afternoon. The Gardens are very near (just west a mile) the intersection of I-10 and 319N. This is a major Tallahassee exit.(Thomasville, Ga. exit) - -------------------------- Thank you, __________T_E_R_R_Y_____M_i_a_m_i____ Subject: BMW: Re: Bus hits motorcycle.. Date: Mon, 30 Mar 98 21:30:40 -0500 X-Sender: andersonNoSpam@NoSpammail.summit.net X-Mailer: Claris Emailer 2.0, March 15, 1997 From: Steve Anderson To: "Tom Keen" , Sender: ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Reply-To: Steve Anderson X-No-Archive: yes X-Bmw-List: Majordomo 1.94.3 X-Web-Page: http://www.ibmwr.org/ X-Copyright: (c) IBMWR and the original author(s). Tom Keen writes: > there is a god and a few good people in this world..... So glad to hear you're OK, Tom. This kinda reminds me (at least the Good Samaritan aspect) of my first bike/car accident. Almost 24 years ago, I was heading home from my job at ~1am. Cruising the same streets I always took, I had the lights timed perfectly. Approaching an intersection, I was in the right hand lane and there was a car stopped at the light in the next lane to the left. As I got to the intersection, the light changed to green -- as I knew it would. The car immediately pulled a right hand turn, no signal, no look, and rammed into my left leg. I bounced off the car, still upright and heading for the sidewalk. I jumped the curb and laid the bike down in the grass. My ankle was badly torn (I think it got caught on her bumper), and I was -- to say the least -- in a lot of pain. Nevertheless, I reached over and hit the kill switch -- first things first, right? I looked around and saw the woman start to drive away. I screamed bloody murder and she stopped. She said she was going over to the nearby hospital to summon an ambulance (this was pre-cell phone days). A few people walking along the street came to my aid and held an umbrella over me as the rain came down. Soon enough, police and medical crews arrived. I told my story; she called me a liar and said she was in the right hand lane and I was sneaking between her and the curb. A man walked up to the cop and told him almost exactly the same story I had. The woman jumps all over him, calling him a liar, etc., and demanding his name. He tells her, and then says, "And if you want to know where I work, it's right across the street in the U.S. Secret Service office." Turns out he was an agent and just happened to look out the window as the accident happened. That shut her up good. That settled the responsibility part, but of course she didn't have insurance... I will always remember the Secret Service guy who helped out a young kid on his first motorcycle. Since that day, I always stop if I see an accident and render assistance in any way I can. Steve Anderson Sales Manager Morton's BMW Spotsylvania, Virginia 540-891-9844 www.mortonsbmw.com ************************************* ** Open house / swap meet April 18 ** ************************************* X-Mailer: Prodigy Internet GW(v0.9beta) - ae01dm04sc03 From: LLUS87ANoSpam@NoSpamprodigy.com (MR RALPH F COUEY) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 19:39:43, -0500 To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamlists.ibmwr.org Subject: BMW: First Accident--Thanks, Bambi! Sender: ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Reply-To: LLUS87ANoSpam@NoSpamprodigy.com (MR RALPH F COUEY) X-No-Archive: yes X-Bmw-List: Majordomo 1.94.3 X-Web-Page: http://www.ibmwr.org/ X-Copyright: (c) IBMWR and the original author(s). I got up this morning to a glorious clear sky and a chilly, but bearable temperature. Naturally, it's a day to ride. I was riding along state route UU behind a cager doing a civilized 45mph when a deer leaped (or is it lept?) out of the treeline and in one bound landed in the road just in front of the cager. Naturally, he locks 'em up and begins to turn sideways. Fortunately, I was maintaining a 6 to 7 car length spacing between us. I went to the front brake and just as I applied the lever I rolled through a wet spot on the road from last night's rain. My bike snapped over to the left and I kicked off the bike. Unfortunately, I didn't get my foot clear and the bike slammed over on top of it. Then I was clear, sliding down the rough surface road on my back, thinking quite clearly and calmly about the benefits of good riding gear. I could hear my bike grinding down the road on the fairing. The cager stopped immediately and ran to my aid. On my suggestion, he went over to the bike and killed the engine (the radio was playing "Born to be Wild"--wouldn't you know it?). Several other vehicles stopped, the cell phones came out and help was on the way. I was sitting on the side of the road, feeling a little silly, and noticing that my left ankle was beginning to hurt. I kept looking over at my bike on it's side, bottom facing me, and feeling sad about this marvelous machine which I had waited so long and saved so hard for. I'm sure the Highway Patrolman didn't understand when I asked him to "look after my buddy." I rode in the ambulance to the hospital. They called my wife enroute ( she works in the O.R.) and she was waiting for me when I got there. The doc checked me out and took x-rays of my ankle and we got the first good news: No fracture. I have some ligament damage, some road rash under my left elbow, several bruises,and a pretty well chewed up riding suit. I called Progessive from the hospital and they justified my faith in them. The adjuster went to look at the bike this afternoon and reports that the upper and lower fairings are cracked, the mirrors are broken, the left footpegs and shift lever are gone,the left side engine cover is scratched, the hard cases chewed up and the bag mounts damaged. I had a brief conversation with Norman Jones at Engle and he guestimated that from what I told him that the damage would be around $3K. The adjuster wants to total the bike, but I know that a K75RT in this good a shape (pre-accident, that is) would be scarcer than hen's teeth. I hope the bike can be repaired. The nice thing is that SWMBO understands and supports that I am not going to stop riding. I know the next time I climb into the saddle I will be a little nervous. But riding has become my pursuit of happiness; my constitutional right. I won't give it up. In the mean time, I am happy to be alive and relatively functional. And by the way to those who were asking, I guess I only got 375 miles out of these Metzelers! ____ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Ralph & Cheryl Couey Robert (18) Nikomi (16) Crystal (14) Jamie (12) Crown Princess Samantha Siberian Misty Snow '90 BMW K75RT '80 Yamaha XS1100 Special Columbia, Missouri Crawling Cauliflower Rider +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= To be completely economical, the motorcycle tire must have equal wear across it's entire width.