Ninjaman12R
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posted July 07, 2002 03:08 PM
One of my buddies went down if front of me Friday.....
I'll make a long story as short as possible.
I went out with a couple of my riding buddies for a ride Friday which got ended far too quickly by one of them riding over his head. We have talked to this guy on more than one occassion about getting into a pissing contest when we're out riding and making bonehead moves that could take him, and possibly another rider out. He paid the price Friday and was very lucky in that he recieved very minor injuries. All he got was some minor road rash (no jacket), and is pretty sore from bouncing and rolling for several feet on the ground.
We had all talked about 15 minutes prior to his mishap when we stopped at a gas station to take a break from the heat, and to get something to drink. We had all talked about how the heat had our bikes feeling a little squirely when we were pushing them. The tires felt a little slick to us all. I commented that my worn out rear tire should've been in a dumpster instead of on my bike, it was making exits real "interesting" to say the least.
We left the gas station and headed towards our best section of twisties that we hit on our weekend rides. It is a nasty little road full of blind corners, off camber stuff, and a lot of decreasing radius turns. I was setting a pretty spirited pace and didn't want to go much hotter because I was roasting the 010 on exits as it was. Kevin was up on me pretty good and I didn't want to go down in front of him and take him out because of my stupidity. I also knew that he was pushing the edge of his abilities, and his bike's as well, to stay on me like he was. I came out of a tight left hander that is followed by a small straight, then I saw him go to the outside. I could hear he had the bike pinned so I maintained my speed and didn't force anything because we weren't racing, and I knew there was a hard right hander coming up FAST. He made the pass, but had to go way over the centerline to make the curve. We have gotten on his ass for stuff like this before. He wicked the pace up a little but had to cross the double yellow on the next 2 curves to make them. I told myself that if he made it to the other end of the road I was going to have a "Talk" with him. But something told me he wasn't gonna make it, just a gut feeling. Well the next curve, which is more of a dogleg right that will really fool you, is where I watched him pay the price. I was about 30 yds. back and watched him go in too hot, go off into the cemetery. Yes cemetery. Luckily the bike bucked him one way, and it went the other. It was flipping violently, kicing up grass and dirt before finally hitting a tombstone and coming to rest. It actually knocked the tombstone off its pedestal. All the while Kevin is flipping and rolling wildly, but luckily never hits anything any harder than the ground. As I said earlier, he got a little road rash, and soreness was sitting in before we even got his bike home.
Being that he crashed and was shook up I didn't say much to him. He admitted that he was way too hot going into the dogleg and that it was his fault. I told him I saw it coming and hated that it happened.
It's not a pretty sight to see one of your buds go down like that, but it sucks when you've tried your best to tell the guy on more than one occassion to use his head a little. If he'd hit one of those tombstones like the bike did it could have very well killed him. I'm still shocked that he didn't get seriously injured, but am very glad he didn't.
I just hope that he uses better judgement the next time he rides. He was lucky to escape that crash without any serious injury.
I'll post some pics of his bike in a few minutes.
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What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice of TEXAS
  
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Ninjaman12R
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posted July 07, 2002 03:12 PM
The bike....
Here is Kevin's XX
____________
What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice of TEXAS
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swft
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posted July 07, 2002 03:22 PM
Man... Glad he's ok! And maybe he'll think next time!
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Ninjaman12R
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posted July 07, 2002 03:35 PM
I hope so....
Yeah Swft, I hope he does. He'll have some time to think about it for sure. I hate it that it happened to him, but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.
Just before the dogleg where he crashed there is a straight that is just long enough to get you in trouble. You know one of those where you could just whack the gas real hard for a few seconds if you wanted to, then just punish the crap out of you brakes before you tip in. I just kinda let the 12 float through that section and maintain a steady speed. I think the linked brakes on the bird may have compounded his troubles. He was on them just before he hit the grass, but no skid marks on the pavement.
He is a lucky mo fo, I still cannot believe he didn't smack one of those tombstones. He barely missed SEVERAL of them. The bike wasn't so lucky.
____________
What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice of TEXAS
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Zx12RNinja
Novice Class
Posts: 59
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posted July 07, 2002 03:37 PM
I'm glad your buddy's ok, But I have one question for you?
Why do you continue to ride with him? I've met rider's and decided after the frist ride that I would never ride with them again.
I know it's tough to do, But it's better and a more calming ride if you trust the rider's in your group.
I'm out there to enjoy my ride. I don't want to worry if the idiot behind me is going to run into me.
Just my .02 and like I said I'm glad your buddy's ok.
Maybe you all might tell him if he don't settle down he's going to be riding by himself.
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Ninjaman12R
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posted July 07, 2002 03:52 PM
Good question for sure. I at one time had said I wouldn't ride with him anymore. But after a few talks with him and another friend, I decided to give him another chance. Don't get me wrong the guy was improving, but still made a mistake every now and then, as we all do I'm sure.
Until he made the pass Friday he'd been doing great. We were all having a good time. But when his "brain fart" happened he paid the price. It's a shame too because the guy was actually starting to show some discipline. He really had made major improvements in the way he conducted himself on rides. If he hadn't I'd have definitely not been riding with him Friday. I always keep a watchful eye on him during rides because of things he has done in the past. I think that kept me from gettin tangled up in his mess the other day, and I'm am glad of that.
Mike and I took Kevin under our wing so to speak, and he had made progress. Maybe this deal right here will hammer home some of the things we couldn't.
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What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice of TEXAS
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harryzx-12
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posted July 07, 2002 04:48 PM
Crashing sucks
Glad he wasn't hurt too badly.His blackbird sure got fuckered up!
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways- Body thoroughly used up, totally worn out...Screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride !!!"
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Ninjaman12R
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posted July 07, 2002 08:15 PM
Yep.....
Yeah, it fucked it up pretty good Harry.
Do you remember me telling you about this guy back earlier this year???
____________
What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice of TEXAS
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redelk
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posted July 07, 2002 08:17 PM
 Edited By: redelk on 7 Jul 2002 21:20
Curse of the Blackbird?
Sorry about your fellow rider going down and I'm glad he'll be alright. It does make me wonder though, is there a curse on Blackbird riders who get over their heads?
The reason I ask is because I had the same thing happen to me, be we were a lot closer to each other. So close in fact, I was actually thinking on where would be the best place to run over his tumbling body that would do the least damage to him and still give me a remote chance of staying upright. Fortunately, it did not come to that (I chose to aim for his stomach, just below his ribcage).
Why would I choose to possibly run over him instead of laying down my own bike? It rather simple... his STUPIDITY! It's not like I was wanting to kill him. We were doing about 35 mph when he went down (and before I started braking). His bike lowsided off the road and he was rolling on his side, perpendicular to the road and my path.
How was he being stupid? Very similar to Ninjaman's friend. We were going through a series of 30-40 mph sweepers when he came blowing past me and right up on the tail of the rider in front of me. The next curve was a 20 mph (overposted, should be 10 or 15) sharp right hander with a decreasing radius. I though for sure he was going to take out the lead rider, but instead he started panic braking, almost highsided and the finally lowsided.
Here's why I wonder if Blackbird riders are cursed. I don't know what tires Ninjaman's buddy had, but the guy that went down in front of me had the OEM D205s. Not a super grippy tire or profile. What make me wonder even more is the Blackbird's linked braking system. I could have sworn that I saw his rear tire lock up for a brief second. He claimed it was his front that locked up, but I couldn't tell.
It just seems that the linked system might be a tad DANGEROUS in spirited riding conditions. The way I understand it, just when one would think they are hard on the front binders, the system starts "bleeding off" the front and starts applying some of the braking power to the rear. I also understand that at least on the older models, it can not be "turned off", the "front to rear bias" can't be altered and when it starts to "come on" can't be changed either.
I could be wrong on all this, but it sound like to me that this is NOT a bike I'd want to be gettin' it on some backroad. Between having the D205 tires and the linked brakes, it seems like it's a disaster just waiting to happen. Not that it MAKES riders go down, it's just that I'd think that it could really catch someone off guard it they were trying to lean, while scrubing off a high amount of speed.
What do I know (not a whole lot)? I'm just wondering.
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There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
-Ernest Hemingway
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zx12rpilot
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posted July 07, 2002 08:21 PM
amen.
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Zhooligan
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posted July 07, 2002 09:59 PM
The linked brake system is not the issue. I have ran my Blackbird on the track for many hours at very high speeds, lots of corners, etc. I am also a very experienced rider known to tear up the highway track etc. While some have bitched about the linked brakes they are the same people that needed something to bitch about when they rode the blackbird.
The bird in it's natural state does not handle nearly as well as a 12. I know because I own a 12 also. What is likely the reason for this gentlemans crash is true for 99.9% of the crashes. He was probably riding over his head. And if he was following better riders he was destined to crash. The following rider position requires better skills than the lead rider.
I know several guys that crash a lot. And as a result we as a group have chosen to not ride with them.
I would suggest your friend take a close look at himself, take a riding school and evaluate himself from there. So folks are not destined to be a rider.
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To those who do not count their life in years, but in how life
has touched them in the past and how much it can hold in the
future; -- Youth is forever.
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Otis
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posted July 08, 2002 03:18 AM
I remember you telling me about him before Rick and you were wondering if you should keep riding with him or not. Guys like that just don't listen. I'm glad he's OK but I am more glad that you weren't someome he took with him.
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It's a free country brother
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Ninjaman12R
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posted July 08, 2002 04:41 AM
Edited By: Ninjaman12R on 8 Jul 2002 06:47
Hmmmm....
redelk,
I agree with you on the linked brakes. I know some will disagree and that's cool with me. Depending on your riding style, the linked brakes may be the shit. I know I don't care for them when it comes to riding the twisties at a hot pace. They may be the ticket for sport touring, which is where the Blackbird shines brightest IMHO, but for hardcore twisty riding I think it may not agree with some riders style. I've read comments on this more than once from magazine testers.
otis,
Yeah, I remember us talking about it. Kev had shaped up and was doing good for the most part. I hate it for him, but maybe he realizes a few things now. I am very glad that I had enough sense to stay off his ass and not get collected in his mishap.
____________
What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice of TEXAS
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swft
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posted July 08, 2002 05:29 AM
I think a good rule of thumb is this:
IF SUMTHIN DIDN'T BREAK, AND NOONE HIT YOU, THE CRASH WAS YOUR FAULT. (Climbs down off soapbox.)
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Ninjaman12R
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posted July 08, 2002 05:50 AM
Yep....
quote:
I think a good rule of thumb is this:
IF SUMTHIN DIDN'T BREAK, AND NOONE HIT YOU, THE CRASH WAS YOUR FAULT. (Climbs down off soapbox.)
Agreed. I wasn't blaming his crash on the brakes, just saying that they could've been a contributing factor. He knew how far he could comfortably push his machine. He made the choice to ride over his head and that ain't the bike's fault.
____________
What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice of TEXAS
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harryzx-12
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posted July 08, 2002 01:02 PM
Yea I do remember
You talking about that guy and that you hoped he would calm down his riding style some.
People make mistakes (myself included).I crashed myself last year.To those that might make fun of someones elses misfortune life has a way of correcting this kind of attitude.When your numbers up its your time and no matter how good a rider you are or think you are it jumps up and bites you right in the ass.
____________
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways- Body thoroughly used up, totally worn out...Screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride !!!"
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Ninjaman12R
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posted July 08, 2002 03:03 PM
So true....
Very true Harry.
____________
What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice of TEXAS
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