Back in the day , bad luck on Commando

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Craig

Craig

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going to put up 3 photos of aftermath of event that took place many years ago in our small town , promised the holder of these clippings no names , did the best I could with my limited skills .... the holder was the passenger that fateful day , both survived but live with the damage done ....
Back in the day , bad luck on Commando
Back in the day , bad luck on Commando
Back in the day , bad luck on Commando
 
Youth, fast machines and bad timing. Could have been any brand of motorcycle.
 
So in the end: Berwick Bread Truck - 1
Norton Commando - 0
Those guys were most fortunate I think. I lost a large number of good friends in their youth because they were of the opinion they were complete masters of their machine.... All it took was a second of inattention and lights out. I still think of them and they never age.
 
illf8ed said:
Youth, fast machines and bad timing. Could have been any brand of motorcycle.
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Agreed.
Youth has both advantages and disadvantages.
I assume that during the more youthful years, most of us have taken an necessary risk or two? Probably a good thing selling my KZ-1000 at 22 years old after about 18 months of ownership--and it was only rated at 83 Bhp. Not keeping up with up with the new machines, but what kind of power to weight ratio can a 20 year-old buy today? I shudder to think.

About 10 years ago, I lost a nephew to his inexperience on a Suzuki 1200 Bandit. Sadly, there was not enough road for his speed.

Russ
~998cc
 
A young man in town last year had been making himself a big nuisance on his fastassumbichi and ran from the popo.... Well he ended up broadsiding one blocking him at an intersection. He was going so fast that both he and the bike disintegrated.... The town birds ate well on the little bits for a couple of days.
 
Personally, when you look at the risks the young take (we did too) and then at the modern world with how fast traffic flows, and the terrible distractions that drivers have, and the crowded road space, and the easy access to such incredibly fast motorcycles... I am staggered there is not far more carnage out there...!
 
Although a 20 year old CAN buy a 200+HP sport bike, unless he/she is somehow pretty well off or has a rich daddy/mommy, the insurance will be prohibitive.

I agree re current traffic/distractions. As has often been taught thorough the years, IMO the ONLY way to safely ride a motorcycle is to assume you are invisible at all times. There are plenty of examples of riders seeing a driver apparently looking directly at them and then pulling out in front of the bike.

Of course, sometimes we riders make it worse by abandoning control and "laying it down" as opposed to appropriate braking or maneuvering out of the situation. ;) FWIW, it is pretty common to tailgate a car, maybe getting ready to pass or whatever, thinking that if he slows down, you can easily brake. But in an emergency stop, the car can stop in a shorter distance than the bike can and you are too close to maneuver out of trouble...:mad:
 
Back inthe day in the uk , according to the police, accidents involving motorbikes were almost invariably down to our 4 or more wheeled friends. It may have changed. Oddly, I now feel more at risk when cycling than when on a bike proper.

Would have thought more young riders came to grief on so called mopeds than on 200bhp sports bikes
 
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MexicoMike said:
Although a 20 year old CAN buy a 200+HP sport bike, unless he/she is somehow pretty well off or has a rich daddy/mommy, the insurance will be prohibitive.
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Correct.

But who says you need 200+HP to go blindingly fast?

My point is that on the used market, you really do not need to spend much money at all to be riding a 170mph + motorcycle these days...
 
But the chances are if you are young you will die on a Speed fight or some such .
Actually the most accident prone group in the Uk are so called returners.. middle aged car drivers who decide they need two wheels in whats left of their life
 
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"But who says you need 200+HP to go blindingly fast?"

I totally agree - it's' not about NEEDING to go 170+ MPH, it's about being ABLE to! IOW, the bragging rights, not any useful capability on a public road anywhere in the world.

Sure, on much of the autobahn, you can legally ride at 200MPH if you want to and your machine can. But in order to do that, normal traffic pretty much dictates that you have to ride at 2AM so, for all practical purposes, it doesn't apply. Heck, last time I was in Germany, I couldn't average any higher speed on the autobahn than I can on the interstate or toll roads in Texas.

That being said, I ride with a friend who has a Ducati Panagali V4 and when the road straightens out he's GONE! It's like flipping a light switch...he was here, now he isn't! Gotta admit that's fun to watch! :) He's no slouch in the twisties either but when he lights that thing up...:eek:
 
Fast Eddie said:
Personally, when you look at the risks the young take (we did too) and then at the modern world with how fast traffic flows, and the terrible distractions that drivers have, and the crowded road space, and the easy access to such incredibly fast motorcycles... I am staggered there is not far more carnage out there...!
Click to expand...
I think, in the UK at least, the training regime and licence scheme for young riders is probably working at keeping the carnage in check. My first bike was a Yam RD250, I had never ridden a motorcycle before I picked it up at the showroom. Still here but a few close shaves along the way. Its got to the point where the most fun I have on a motorbike is on the track (dirt or tarmac), riding on the road is heavily weather dependant, but thoughts of a similar sort of accident to that in the cuttings above seem to be a preoccupation at every junction out on the road.
 
I would like to see and hear the Duc scorching the pavement.... Wouldn't want to be on it though because My old brain still considers my 850 a bit to fast sometimes.
 
I do love my Ducati , while it no road scorcher it really does pull hard , only 110 hp which is very pedestrian these days but all and more than enough for me .... plus it very comfortable for the long or short haul and it works very well around town on the rare occasion I go to coffee ....
 
oldmikew said:
Back inthe day in the uk , according to the police, accidents involving motorbikes were almost invariably down to our 4 or more wheeled friends.
Click to expand...

Most bike accidents may involve other vehicles and many of those are the car violating the bike’s right of way.

However, most of those are minor accidents.

Most fatal bike accidents are down to stupid cornering and stupid overtaking, by bike riders
 
I just ride the same as when I was young, I have survived over 45 years on my motorcycles doing what I do best, but your eyes need to be everywhere not just in front of you, seeing what is going on around you and have good refex, but it gets harder as we get older, plus the old days we didn't have the braking power we do now and in most places the roads are better.

Ashley
 
Triton Thrasher said:
Most bike accidents may involve other vehicles and many of those are the car violating the bike’s right of way.

However, most of those are minor accidents.

Most fatal bike accidents are down to stupid cornering and stupid overtaking, by bike riders
Click to expand...

statistically you are absolutely correct, and you can add 'ineffective threshold braking by the operator' to your list...
 
illf8ed said:
Youth, fast machines and bad timing. Could have been any brand of motorcycle.
Click to expand...
So True. At age 25 I crashed a honda 750F drag racing a pontiac GTO from a stoplight. I was broken up pretty badly. A witness to my stupidity saved my life by peeling my jacket off me and bandaging a large gash in my back which I recieved from landing on the stub of a cut off sign post. That gash took about 100 stitches to close. I broke my hip socket and collar bone as well. I got up from my crash and went to drag the bike off the road with my one good arm, and my femur dislocated from my hip socket and down I went again. I was young and stupid. I rode like a maniac. All my friends told me I rode like a maniac long before I proved them right on the day of my "accident".

After paying that price as a young man, I don't feel the urge to push any bike to it's limit. I can enjoy laying my commando into a sweeping corner without having to do it at a speeds that send thrills down my spine. It's enough to enjoy the nimble handling of my commando without pushing the limit so much that another accident is only a matter of time.
 
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