It's not just bikes crashing a lot this summer......we are dealing with a higher ppn of cars having prangs...think it is to do with the warm weather all round tbh......hardly a day goes by recently without me seeing some sort of RTA on my daily commute.....people tend to switch off more in cages
Thanks tyke, I tend to agree with you Ken, awesome as normal... Have a new screensaver now Although, that does look like a vast improvement to me... Least the roads will be quiet!!
Hate to sound like everyones Dad, but I have been saying this for years, my dead Gran could ride any litre bike fast in straight line, but its when she has to get it round a corner the problems start. How many times do any of us follow another biker and wince at the lines he/she takes through corners, in my eyes I see far more taking poor lines than decent ones, and I am not just talking about pressing on. Take that issue and add a bit of speed in and its the classic crash point fixation...ie they end up crashing where they finally froze and stopped looking where they should be going, same on track as it is on the road. Its all easy when we have had years of riding ever more powerful bikes, but with so many riders, and I agree with the middle aged bit above, jumping on these machines, dressed up like a Dianese catwalk model suddenly find that when it starts to go wrong, its so fast they do not have the experience and ability to ride their way out of the problem......the stats dont lie, most serious bike crashes only involve the bike and no other vehicle. I know it will penalise some riders, but I fully believe we need a graduated system, and stop the current system where you can pass a direct access test after 5 days or so and jump straight on a litre hyperbike.
I totally agree with your sentiments Kentblade for 95% of riders but there are the few naturally talented riders that can take this route and be ok (me) Obviously making that statement I need to back it up so for my proof I would say I went to my first track day in novice group and was told to go into fast group for the next one due to the lap times I was putting in, I then went back for a fast group session 3weeks ago and was faster than most on the track (not all) and even gave the NL instructor on the S1000rr a little race but was totally outbraked with my standard road bike against his track beast but still kept reasonably close. For me I have had very fast road cars for many years and the biggest principle of big power is that you get yourself into situations far quicker than most realise and get caught out, luckily I learnt this driving cars so had a little crossover of fundamental strategies to biking. I still had a lot of learning to do and respected my bike until I could properly handle it. I personally would have hated to have to graduate up to a litre, it's all I've ever been interested in riding
Despite only getting back on the road this March just gone after a lengthy lay off since my last Blade I'm already considering giving up weekend Road riding for Trackdays and only venture out on to the roads for Touring Hols. A Blades no fun when going slow so I'd rather be on a track than a road and avoid temptation!
I don't know if its coincidence or not but more bike accidents occur when farmers are busy in their fields. Tractors on the roads turning but swinging out before doing so, crap all along roads they have brought out of fields and also the trailers/farm equipment they tow. Don't know bout round you but a lot of farmers are on their mobile phones while driving these machines of death. I know of three people killed or injured on bikes involving tractors in the last year. This is just my opinion there are always gonna be the ones with numbers on their heads !
You're not wrong there Maz! Where I live it's 'Farm City' at the mo with em all heavy in with the Silageing! Having said that it's like any other 'threat' to us, you just have to be aware. Smell and looking in to fields is key here!
When I got into bikes you could ride a full power 125 or 250 Then you worked your way to a 400 600 then thou etc. Now you learn on a bike that underpowered my italijet 50 Could have kept up.then as there isnt any good bikes between 125-600 you just jump straight on a 600 or thou if you do the Direct access. Its restricted to what our learner 125's could do But tbh everyone I know rips the restrictor out.so there is no real Learning curve through the CC's which is why I think I see riding Skills getting worse year to year.
People...... It's rogue rant time !!! Started at 4 with a puch 50 rev and go..... 7 Kx 80 ... 10 cr125 ... 13 yz250 14 cr500 and a ninja 400 (private track) 16 ninja 600 then a 636 no difference 17 Crf 450 and a Gixer 750 19 r1 and new Crf 21 Crf Gixer thou 23 r1 again lol and now.............24 !!!!! Had my bike licence not even 3 months , yes I have the blade ..... Sorry for the s.a but I see a lot of " young riders" mentioned etc etc , fact is old goats getting dementia and forgetting the lines lol And no stamina , most of my pals 30s 40s even 50s with the dad inlaw Say I'm the safest rider they know . Experience can't be baught but age don't mean nothing when I'm cumming underneath you in or out of the corner ( track) and erm ........... I'm still 24 still alive not crashed ( massively ) but I've been caught out plenty of times please stop with the ageist lol it's like you get spanked down snake pass only to find she has tits at the other end .!! Wow well done Sorry if you guys dislike my post but it's quite personal as ALLWAYS getting winged at by coppers and "older" blokes insulting me saying about the bike , check my history sausage the proof is in the pudding " now keep up ;/) " After all it's banter so please don't take offence if there's any touchy fellas which there's ALLWAYS one lol
not here...well not usually lol. uk crash facts place the under 35's as the biggest crashers of all bikers so age and experience(or lack of it) do matter.I know plenty of guys that bought 1000cc bikes as there first bike with no off road experience, so far they are okay but I also have three friends wiped out within the first year passing their tests and buying their bigger bikes, two gixer 600's and a 636.they all done their tests then pulled the restrictions out and tried to push the bikes hard from the off.thats why I say there seems to be a lack of a learning curve and progression through the CC's these days.oh and dont mention old goats getting dementia around my father, he's 70 and is spanking fellas a third of his age around the coast on his R1.mind you his friends arent that far behind him age wise and you see some of them doing the traveling marshals on the road races and keeping up with there road spec bikes lol.
Time spent doing something doesn't necessarily equate to qualitly. Some people have been talking all their life's yet total bollox still comes out of their mouths.
Ricky I think you're admitting to something totally different there buddy and some thing's are not the best to be quickest at....