Black Sunday?

[Daffyd]

For a minute there I thought that post was from Cassina.

Now that really was a low blow!

[Daffyd]

They were saying all this back in the '70's. "69hp? just bloody ridiculous, where the hell can you use that kinda horsepower"?

Track days?

[Daffyd]

A bit off topic but I also see problems with our ability to go buy whatever rocket ship we want. Bloody risky freedom, that.

Exactly my point.

[tigertim20]

No, I'm not saying that as such. I'm saying, "Modern sportsbikes with 'gigawatts of horsepower' COULD be dangerous IN THE WRONG HANDS, ie the inexperienced."

Take my situation for example... At 73 I have the benefit of a considerable amount of experience, but I would never claim to be an expert rider. Because I am 73 I have a highly developed sense of self preservation. Maybe I am 73 because I have a highly developed sense of self preservation. After all, I have survived nearly four years of riding in the Philippines.This is an attribute that is developed over years of life experiences and does not automatically come to teenagers or even those in their 20's.

Therefore, when/if I buy a bike on my return to NZ, it will not be a super powerful sportsbike, but something 'more suited to my age and lifestyle.' (And, of course, my budget).

the inherent flaw in your perspective, is the idea that skill and experience are related. they are not.

a substantial portion of the people I see driving with complete disregard for, or lack of knowledge of give way rules, round about etiquette and lack of ice / snow driving ability are people in the higher age groups.

[EJK]

Do you think they need to put rubber crash barriers down the centre line and sides of all roads? The problem with that is though our registration/tax will go through the roof in order to fund it.

I have a better idea. We should bubble wrap ourselves when riding.

[Daffyd]

the inherent flaw in your perspective, is the idea that skill and experience are related. they are not.

a substantial portion of the people I see driving with complete disregard for, or lack of knowledge of give way rules, round about etiquette and lack of ice / snow driving ability are people in the higher age groups.

I never said they were related... If you had read my post properly you would have seen that I do not claim to be an expert, (read skillfull,) rider, but at 73, have had one 'off' at about 15kph, one at about 5kph and one while stationary. I think that would class me as 'experienced'.

[EJK]

I think I read somewhere where you can get an inflateable airbag that goes off if you begin to fall off but
that was a long time ago so perhaps it did not work as well as hoped otherwise they would be very common.

The bubble wrap was a joke but FYI that suit is by Dainese and Valentino Rossi wore it this Moto GP season. D-Air is what they call it.

[Gremlin]

Take my situation for example... At 73 I have the benefit of a considerable amount of experience, but I would never claim to be an expert rider. Because I am 73 I have a highly developed sense of self preservation. Maybe I am 73 because I have a highly developed sense of self preservation. After all, I have survived nearly four years of riding in the Philippines.This is an attribute that is developed over years of life experiences and does not automatically come to teenagers or even those in their 20's.

(big generalisation) There are pros and cons to every road user group. Younger, less experienced and less able to identify risk, and possibly, depending on their social circle, more risky behaviour (less road worthy vehicles, carrying passengers on wrong licence, drinking and driving etc). However, they also bounce better and heal quicker being younger. Through a lack of funds, possibly less vehicles per person than older people. Likely gone through tougher more recent driving testing.

Older drivers, well, returning riders for example feature heavily in statistics. May be experienced, may not be (have they been riding the whole time, or just getting back into it after a decade or two off). Likely haven't had their driving skills tested in decades, road law knowledge may be out of date. While young people are distracted by their peers, older people could be distracted by their family, kids etc. They may have a more mature attitude to the road, but then I've seen plenty who don't. Drinking and driving still features...

As you get older, your reactions slow, and you don't recover as quickly. Hard part is getting people to acknowledge that...

[haydes55]

The bubble wrap was a joke but FYI that suit is by Dainese and Valentino Rossi wore it this Moto GP season. D-Air is what they call it.

I've got an air jacket, had it for a couple years now. Havent used it for a couple years either. 'Point 2' is the brand.

Problem is I have to tether the jacket to the bike each time I get on then unclip when I get off. It's also gets pretty warm umder it. It's also got a built in back protector.

[pritch]

The bubble wrap was a joke but FYI that suit is by Dainese and Valentino Rossi wore it this Moto GP season. D-Air is what they call it.

I think all the GP riders have air bag suits now, they've had them for a season or two. They all seem to have little LEDs blinking on their sleeve anyway. Anything Dainese is expensive but the air option is right up there.

The GP suits don't need to be tethered either, I haven't checked whether the versions currently available to us still require that. My interest would only be academic at the current pricing.

[jasonu]

Is their performance outgrowing the abilities of their riders? Do riders need to look in the mirror and ask that person, "Do I have the skills and the reactions necessary to safely ride this bike in any road conditions?"

According to the pigs these are too powerful for a lot of riders and have been banned...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=11552282

[jasonu]

I think there is overseas statistics that those features create a feeling of overconfidence resulting in no fewer crashes from vehicles with them.

Can you provide links to this information?

[Tazz]

I don't think you read my post properly... I also know that in all of the incidents on Sunday the biker was not at fault, AFAIK.

I was referring to m/c accidents in general.

I would be interested to know what types of bikes are involved in these situations.

I was using the weekend as a sample of crashes in general since there was a decent amount...

The speed is not really what kills anyway, it's the decisions that lead up to doing that speed in a situation where the outcome is obviously not ideal or planned which is all on the rider and can happen on any bike regardless of pony powers.

[neels]

I observed a reasonable amount of madness in 1500k's over 4 days including the weekend, from pretty much all types of road users, and I have no doubt that there would be observers saying the same about me.

One close encounter with a rental camper, therefore assumed tourist, on my side of the road.
All the usual mental behavior on passing lanes, there really needs to be some research on the subconscious effect of passing lane signs on otherwise sane drivers
Drivers who would rather speed up and drive at their or their vehicles limits than pull over and let someone pass who has caught up to them
People weaving across the road while looking at their cellphones rather than where they are going
Some interesting behavior from motorcyclists, particularly those who like to travel in large groups and wear matching jackets.

Somehow, by some combination of good luck and good management, made it home to ride another day. Thoughts to the family of those who didn't, through no fault of their own.

[Old Steve]

On Sunday, coming down from Wellsford to Kaukapakapa, I came across a sports bike rider who'd just come off on a fairly clean straight piece of road. A couple in a ute had pulled up and were helping him. No obvious damage apart from a scarred helmet and some broken platstic on his bike, but it would have been a 100 km/hr stretch of road and it could have been worse so he was lucky I guess.

I'm 67 and have only 7 years riding experience so I ride within my limits and have chosen my bike accordingly (cruiser, 37 kW and 270 kg). But it can happen to anybody, with or without the help of overseas tourists or locals texting on their mobiles.

"Be careful out there".