Dichotomy

[Bo_]

Have you ever had a Harley dude look at your sportbike and say, "that thing is dangerous"  

Why are big bad burley Harley riders afraid of sport bikes?

I know some really bad Harley dudes, not posers, that are scared to death of my busa.

We have had 3 Harley riders killed in our town recently, 2 in the last couple months.

Here is dichotomy, I can't remember the last time someone was killed locally on a sportbike.

The local tattoo parlor owner "Jackhammer's" was killed last week doing 25 mph on his 08 glide.

A guy got killed on a Harley a couple months ago here doing 15 mph.

Here's the weird part, the sportbike riders are acting stupid, doing wheelies in front of wal-mart, doing stoppies, whipping thru the twisties, rapping it up to 150 mph on the straights, doing burn-outs, weaving in and out of traffic, and I can't remember the last time someone was killed here on a sportbike, we've had some pretty good crashes but they lived.

The guys that are putt putt putting around on their hogs at 30 mph are dying. Why.

BECAUSE THEY DON'T WEAR ANY GEAR, NOT EVEN A HELMET.

 

 

Start rant.  

Pardon the rant but it is aggravating to see guys, mostly in my age group (50's) getting killed because of a stupid mindset.

Pardon the personal reference but I was wearing a full face helmet on my 69 Harley police special in 1972 with a ponytail that hung out half way down my back. On the busa I wear a full leather suit, boots, gloves, helmet, earplugs every time I get on it, hot or cold weather.

Yes I know my number could come up the next time I ride, but I will do everything I can to minimize the calculated risk.

Rant over.  

 

[POSR]

Thanks for sharing?

 

[Strife]

Earplugs?

 

[Lamb busa]

The Harley owners will tell you that they are wearing a helmet when they are wearing those beanie things. They don't seem to care about the fact that moving forward and crashing usually causes the front part of the head to impact something. Even if one does get a chance to turn ones head, that only makes the impact on the side of the head, again not protected by the beanie style helmet. Lamb knows their is a saturday night live skit here somewhere. The "really" skit comes to mind.

 

[Bosshound]

Chances are if you Fall it's going to be Face First. If my Number Does Come up at Least I will be Recognized

PS: I Ride a Cruiser that way and Don't Give a SH.. what People Think !!!!

 

[au03z71]

Correct me if I'm wrong but sportbikes are built not only for speed but for handling, cornering, maneuverability, etc...  and for all intents and purposes, if a vehicle handles better than another vehicle, it is postulated to be safer.  

The counterparts of sportbikes, otherwise known as led sleds, Harleys, choppers, (insert annoying cruiser jargon here) are not based around handling as they have a higher center of gravity, but are still capable of 100+ mph. Therefore, I cannot see the Harley owners viewing their bikes as safer.

To the logical mind, the safest of the two would be the sportbike, however, "the sportbike riders are acting stupid, doing wheelies in front of wal-mart, doing stoppies, whipping thru the twisties, rapping it up to 150 mph on the straights, doing burn-outs, weaving in and out of traffic," which intrinsicly gives them a bad rap and is essentially why the Harley owners are quick to point the finger.

Just my $.02

 

[NCBusa2001]

 

[GA_boi]

Good point. Where I live if you dont drive aggressive you get run over. Its a retirement village for those 75 and older(seems that way). If your doing 25 they will never see you. If your doing 65 with loud pipes they pull over and let you by.

 

[au03z71]

<div class="iF-Passage"><div class="QUOTEHEAD">Quote:[/Quote]<div class="QUOTE clearfix"><span class="quoteBegin"> </span>
the sportbike riders are acting stupid, doing wheelies in front of wal-mart, doing stoppies, whipping thru the twisties, rapping it up to 150 mph on the straights, doing burn-outs, weaving in and out of traffic,[/quote]

Don't get me started on old people driving...

Actually I think I'll start a thread solely based on the elderly driving.

 

[heavyjeffd]

This is a completely unbiased statement:

In the area where I live, the vast majority of motorcycle accidents or fatalities you see on TV, the paper or the side of the road are all Harley/Cruiser riders.

End statement.

I stopped the other day when I was in my truck, there were 3 bikers standing around the side of the road, lots of cars stopped, I couldn't see what exactly happened but I figured someone went down. Being a biker myself, I figured I'd go help.

What did I find?

Three sportbike riders in full safety gear helping a guy on a Harley that went down with no gear (who was pretty rashed up) with his buddy that apparently rear-ended him also on a Harley with no safety gear.

Kind of ironic since they call us irresponsible.

 

[FastBusa]

This is a completely unbiased statement:

In the area where I live, the vast majority of motorcycle accidents or fatalities you see on TV, the paper or the side of the road are all Harley/Cruiser riders.

End statement.

I stopped the other day when I was in my truck, there were 3 bikers standing around the side of the road, lots of cars stopped, I couldn't see what exactly happened but I figured someone went down. Being a biker myself, I figured I'd go help.

What did I find?

Three sportbike riders in full safety gear helping a guy on a Harley that went down with no gear (who was pretty rashed up) with his buddy that apparently rear-ended him also on a Harley with no safety gear.

Kind of ironic since they call us irresponsible.

 

[tourbus]

I know where your coming from man, i had an ex-coworker get killed in a ridiculous low speed accident because of no helmet. he was the typical harley rider (no gear that is). he was following a high school girl down a brick street (maybe going 20mph), she turned on her right blinker but he misjudged her next move, she was making a u-turn and he t-boned her, cause of death was massive head injuries.

 

[roadthing]

Great post topic, very relevant to the state of affairs of the riding scene.

Two words: Gary Busey.

 

[Rayabusa0818]

Other cruiser riders laugh at me, but here is how I look when I'm on mine... This picture was taken in July

 

[BusaFan00]

Last summer we had a couple on a Harley hit a patch of gravel at low speeds, maybe 10mph.  Maybe.  Rear tire slid out, caught the pavement and dropped them both on their heads.  Basically a low speed highside.  Passenger had a helmet, as the law requires, her husband the driver didn't and died there in the street.  Couple was in their early 60s.  

Preventable?  I'd say so.  

My dad did the same thing on my old bike a couple years ago, I let him ride it around town some after I got the Busa, I was trying to sell it, so exposure was good.  He highsided it pulling into traffic, landed on his head. He ended with a major concussion. The doctor said the helmet saved his life.  Just pulling into traffic.  

At this point I can hardly stand to sit on a bike without a helmet.