THE corner in the Rainbow

[cooneyr]

On the 6th of April 2007 I was riding north through the Rainbow when I crashed into a ditch on the outside of a corner. Long story short I had to be extracted by a chopper as I had a broken neck. At the time I heard a bit of anecdotal evidence that the corner catches out a lot of people whether they are on two wheels or four. There was talk at the time of somehow marking/signing/altering the corner to try and stop the crashes but I thought there was a fair bit of stupidity on my behalf hence nothing was done.

On the 2nd of Jan this year a friend was riding to NN to participate in the Dusty Butt and crashed at the corner breaking his shoulder and doing other damage to himself. During the Dusty Butt another rider fell off and broke two ribs. This is despite a description of the corner during the Dusty Butt rider briefing.

It became clear from discussions during the Dusty Butt briefing and the gathering for the 1 day riders on the 4th, that there is a number of riders and drivers come to grief at this corner. Clearly I'm either not the only stupid rider out there or there are some serious issues with the corner.

As my wife and I were travelling south through the Rainbow on the 5th I decided to stop and talk to the Rainbow Station Manager about the corner and the potential for somehow making the corner more obvious with either signs, modifying the corner or the surrounding terrain. I also stopped to take a number of photos and dazzled 7 large stones and placed them on the outside of the corner as a warning for the Yamaha Safari Riders.

The Station Manager is not keen on installing a sign as it creates an expectation and raises issues around why other "dangerous" corners aren't sign posted. I've suggested some manipulation of the bushes at the corner and he is going to investigate it later this week.

The issues with the corner can be summarised as (in no particular order)

• the corner has a significantly slower negotiating speed than those around it
• the bush line goes straightish ahead giving the impression the corner is no where near as tight as it is
• you cannot see the road downstream from the corner due to bushes
• it is significantly off camber
• there is a ditch about 1m deep immediately on the outside where people end up

So in summary it is hard to find the corner, it gives a false impression of the negotiating speed and it is very unforgiving.

I've attached 6 images of the corner including 5 photos that show the southern approach, i.e. heading north, to the corner.

1. The first image is from Google Earth and shows that the corner is significantly tighter than the preceding corners
2. The first photo shows that the corner appears to be reasonably open i.e. as open as the visible approach
3. The second photo is a little closer to the corner - you still cannot see where the road goes after the corner and it still appears to be reasonably open
4. The third is closer again and as above still appears to be reasonably open though there is an indicator off to the left starting to appear - just not very a very strong indicator. Also it appears at this point that the corner has heaps of camber.
5. The fourth photo is basically on the corner itself and it sill appears to have good camber, though it is possible to see that the camber is disappearing. It is becoming pretty clear that it is tighter than it previously appeared. Still cannot see the ditch on the outside either, not that this should be a defining point about the speed to negotiate the corner.
6. The fifth photo is the same as the second photo with my suggested modifications to the bushes.

Unfortunately I didn't take the very last photo in the sequence that shows how off camber the corner is. There is a good bit of video prepared by Transalper after my crash that shows the corner from a riders perspective. I'll ask TA to put it on youtube and provide a link.

If the Rainbow Station Manager is agreeable to modifying the bushes and is happy for us to do it, I'm keen to stick some tools in the Vitara and go for a drive in the near future. I'll keep all posted on the outcome using this thread.

Cheers R

[cooneyr]

Opps should have added the corner is located at S42 02.099 E172 54.062. This is an average of 100 recordings with a 5.2m accuracy.

Cheers R

[cynna]

thanks for the info. i will keep an eye out when im in there in the next couple of days

[NordieBoy]

Once you've gone over the brow with any sort of speed the bike is a bit unweighted and stopping is something to be done in the swamp...

[marks]

excuse my ignorance - I'm having trouble getting myself orientated

is this corner only a problem if you are going north from Hamner?

[clint640]

excuse my ignorance - I'm having trouble getting myself orientated

is this corner only a problem if you are going north from Hamner?

Yep, absolutely.

Good luck getting something done Ryan. From my exposure to OSH stuff I would suggest that any 'issues' from not having other random corners signposted would pale into insignificance compared with the issue of doing nothing about a known hazard that has caused serious harm on several occasions.

If something like that was happening on the 4x4/Enduro track on our family block at Reporoa for instance I'd be tacking up a sign quick smart. It's cheap & easy enough to be a total no-brainer.

...& even if all us motorcyclists start riding sensibly at all times through the Rainbow, what about the yobbo in the 4x4 coming the other way too hot & too wide when you're southbound?

Cheers
Clint

[Pedrostt500]

Well for the cost of a couple of fence posts, and a half sheet of 20mm ply some white house paint and a small can of black, a sighn would be very cheap. for the cost of less than $100 this could save alot of injuries and a $1000 an hr helecopter call out, The Station Manager says there are other corners that need attention to, these could be addressed in time.
Is this a private road, or a local council road?.
The sighnage does not need to be exspensive, as some warning is better than non.

[426crasher]

Lots of varied discussion about this corner,both here and the DB1k thread. Having now been very up close and intimate with said corner i'm in total agreement that something should be done. Ryan has summed up all the negative points of the corner very well, it just has too many bad points stacked against it. I would prefer it if it could be altered in a natural way like TA suggested, changing planting etc, to give a different visual aspect when approaching. If a sign was to be made out wood then i suppose it could be in keeping with the natural surroundings. The major plus point with a sighn is that it benefits all who use the route. I'm happy to join Ryan etc in going up there sometime to do alterations.

Cheers Tony

[426crasher]

Once you've gone over the brow with any sort of speed the bike is a bit unweighted and stopping is something to be done in the swamp...

Very valid point there, just as you need bite from your tyres they are pretty much skipping the surface.
The swamp certainly doe's the stopping stuff very well....as did the bank on the shoulder!!

[cooneyr]

Once you've gone over the brow with any sort of speed the bike is a bit unweighted and stopping is something to be done in the swamp...

The photo in your post shows another interesting point. The ditch is barely visible with the colour and length of the long grass.

Lots of varied discussion about this corner,both here and the DB1k thread. Having now been very up close and intimate with said corner i'm in total agreement that something should be done. Ryan has summed up all the negative points of the corner very well, it just has too many bad points stacked against it. I would prefer it if it could be altered in a natural way like TA suggested, changing planting etc, to give a different visual aspect when approaching. If a sign was to be made out wood then i suppose it could be in keeping with the natural surroundings. The major plus point with a sighn is that it benefits all who use the route. I'm happy to join Ryan etc in going up there sometime to do alterations.

Cheers Tony

I'd hope I can do a reasonable job of outlining the issues given my profession and who I work for

For those who suggest a sign, I agree that the cost is minial and I'd happily put up the cash but I agree with he station manager that it will cause other issues and we dont really want to be poluting the back country with signs. The appeal of this type of road and terrain is the mimal human invasion.

If money was no issue and the damn RMA would go away a morning with an excavator (move the ditch away from the road) and some aggregate would do wonders. Problem is this is a private road so there is no financial assistance from the Government, and before anybody says what about the gate fees, I've been informed that the road runs at a loss. So the only realistic soultion option is vegitation removal/relocation. Fortunatly this is easily done.

Something will be done about this corner (it obviously needs it) but I want it to be done in such a way that the station manager doesnt get annoyed cause then we run the risk of loosing access all together. That to me would be the worst outcome of all.

Cheers R

[skidMark]

Or learn to ride? you dont ride roads above about 30-40% of your ability when you dont know them. Common sense isn't so common anymore is it.

Could happily take that corner at 80-90 once you know the road, first time if you hit it at say 30 if you get into strife its easy to save, that particular bend even at 60 you could point the front into it and give her a handful of throttle to get you round.

[skidMark]

The photo in your post shows another interesting point. The ditch is barely visible with the colour and length of the long grass.

Ahhh you are meant to be weatching the road not the ditch, why do you need a visable ditch? incentive to stay on the road?

[Daffyd]

Two suggestions.

1) In my youth, (way back then,) there used to be a sign that said "Deceptive Bend." These have largely been replaced with pictures of bends which sometimes bear little or no resemblance to the actual bend.
With the DB sign, peeps know to slow down to see what's going on, as there is no indication what it might be like.

2) Fill the ditch with coarse gravel. This would still allow water to flow, but would also give a safer 'escape route'. Similar to a sand trap on a racing circuit.

[FJRider]

Experienced motorcyclists that are familar with handling characteristic's on gravel roads, should expect problems. As you would on any unfamilar road. Start putting up signs on "dangerous" corners, and the whole country will be inundated with them. It is a known "adventure" road. Treat it with respect, or it will bite you. (As it did)

[buggsubique]

While I lean towards the argument of the rider bearing the risk, I'll gladly be a part of any collective remedial works or signage that may eventuate through negotiation with the station manager.

I am able to offer a tandem trailer and any building materials at trade rates (timber, quickcrete etc for signage if we go that way), otherwise labour for any digging and transplanting.

Cheers, B