Biker Down threads!

[Jiminy]

I agree with most here. It always breaks my heart to hear about another biker down because I see all two wheelers on the road as friends.

Sympathy messages are of great support to the family. When someone close passes away, it reconforts me to think or see that other people cared about him/her, no matter how they are related, even if just by a common hobby.

However, I understand the view of thoses who disagree with the threads, and a separate section would make complete sense.

Thanks Mom for starting this thread, it was obviously needed.

[Brett]

It serves a purpose. Being a small country, bikers tend to be a close knit bunch, when one of us gets hurt or killed, generally someone in our network of people will know who that person is. Sometimes it is the only way to hear the news. For example, there are guys I have ridden with who are not KB and other than catching up for rides, I have no other contact with them and I know not their friends or families, so if they were killed or put in hospital I would have no way of knowing unless someone posted it on the likes of KB. That may be my only way of finding out.

[James Deuce]

It's quite simple. If it is a KB member, and the site rules have been observed in regard to making sure the name is public and circumstances known then knock yourselves out.

I've been utterly sickened to see people post RIP threads or Biker Down threads for what has turned out to be a bike theft gone wrong. Wait until you have some facts before posting.

Respect? I don't think so.

Until you post a Car driver/truck driver/train driver/suicide down thread, you aren't showing respect for humanity and the "tragedy" of death or celebration of life. You're just wallowing in the "brother/sisterhood" of motorcycling myth.

Faux grief is dead right. If the person who died was known to you and you can impart a little of why that grief is meaningful then that is a worthy thread. Otherwise it's nothing more than post count buffering.

Sit down right now. Try to imagine 6 million people executed because of nothing more than their religion. Difficult to grasp isn't it? That's tragedy on an horrific scale.

A road death? It is an accepted part of modern society, it happens. You accept that every time you use the road network in/on whatever vehicle you chose to use. If it happens to people close to you and you want our support, let us know, and we'll all rally round and do what we can. Count on it.

But don't try and kid people that you care any more for a person you don't know because they ride (steal/borrow/rent/lease?) a motorcycle than you do for 6 million dead Jews killed 60 years ago. Or 40 Palestinians killed by bulldozers crushing houses, or a bunch of Israeli Olympians, or 100,000 Iraqi civilians. All you're saying to grumpy people like me is, "I'm glad it wasn't me."

Aren't we all.

[Brett]

It's quite simple. If it is a KB member, and the site rules have been observed in regard to making sure the name is public and circumstances known then knock yourselves out.

I've been utterly sickened to see people post RIP threads or Biker Down threads for what has turned out to be a bike theft gone wrong. Wait until you have some facts before posting.

Respect? I don't think so.

Until you post a Car driver/truck driver/train driver/suicide down thread, you aren't showing respect for humanity and the "tragedy" of death or celebration of life. You're just wallowing in the "brother/sisterhood" of motorcycling myth.

Faux grief is dead right. If the person who died was known to you and you can impart a little of why that grief is meaningful then that is a worthy thread. Otherwise it's nothing more than post count buffering.

Sit down right now. Try to imagine 6 million people executed because of nothing more than their religion. Difficult to grasp isn't it? That's tragedy on an horrific scale.

A road death? It is an accepted part of modern society, it happens. You accept that every time you use the road network in/on whatever vehicle you chose to use. If it happens to people close to you and you want our support, let us know, and we'll all rally round and do what we can. Count on it.

But don't try and kid people that you care any more for a person you don't know because they ride (steal/borrow/rent/lease?) a motorcycle than you do for 6 million dead Jews killed 60 years ago. Or 40 Palestinians killed by bulldozers crushing houses, or a bunch of Israeli Olympians, or 100,000 Iraqi civilians. All you're saying to grumpy people like me is, "I'm glad it wasn't me."

Aren't we all.

Fair call, the faux grief thing is bang on. I do not RIP for those I did not know or were not close to people I know and respect.

[Renegade]

this whole thread is just a fucked up.

WE are bikers for many different reasons, but who are WE to judge why another person posts about that death if that poster feels a little empathy at the time of posting.

when you see the words "BIKER DEATH" you feel something unique to you as a person, deal with it in your own way, that may be posting on here, a "community forum", but dont bag on those that do, let them be.

[awayatc]

The thing I actually struggle with is the

............. posts

rip.........posts

I dont know the person, more often than not the one that posts the Police Coms report does not know them either. Why post it, and if it is posted why comment?

A small way of trying to say: "I care"
My inner self hasn't hardened up sufficiently to remain unmoved when confronted with human suffering....
Somebody's father/son/grandson/friend/husband/workmate/teammate/neighbour etc etc etc. has left a gap..a huge gap
It is good to acknowledge this sometimes and humanise it.
Reflect on it, and actualy try to feel some of that loss.
I can't care for the whole world, but I can care for a few smaller subgroups....groups I belong to.
In the end all words are meaningless
.................as good as any other, its compassion that makes us human

[justsomeguy]

this whole thread is just a fucked up.

WE are bikers for many different reasons, but who are WE to judge why another person posts about that death if that poster feels a little empathy at the time of posting.

when you see the words "BIKER DEATH" you feel something unique to you as a person, deal with it in your own way, that may be posting on here, a "community forum", but dont bag on those that do, let them be.

+1

We are all bikers, we all realise that we may die doing it as it is risky.

This is where we hang out. So when we hear of a death among us we stop for a moment and reflect on what happened to that person, their family and other people affected.

Sure we are glad it wasn't us to some degree but for those few minutes we take a moment to remember the dead biker, those that we know who have left and also those still here who have escaped death.

I am glad we have these threads. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM DON'T OPEN THEM/don't read them/ignore them.

Would you only have the happy threads here? Seems like Ixion's comments about hiding one's head in sand are rather appropriate then?

Posting in such threads is an act of respect. Hence the simple posts and lack of banter in them. Sometimes somethings are better left unsaid as the lyrics to that Hall and Oates song goes, hence a ".........." post may have more meaning than you care to get out of it.

[Disco Dan]

Whos the down biker then?

[justsomeguy]

Another thing.

Even since threads about Flying_Sam, Loosebruce, DSS3, Rayza, Uncle Bruce, Motobob's accident, Inlinefour's accident, Shaun's accident, Frosty's accident, my accident, certain highly respected and skilled gentlemen KBer's deciding to give up road bikes or give up riding due to the subjects behind such threads -

I and people I know review biker down threads with a lot of seriousness, regardless of whether we know the person or not. We do this due to our life experience and our personal ideologies.

If you don't understand us, that is not our fault. Just leave it be.

[WelshWizard]

Whos the down biker then?

Not about an actual biker but about the posting of biker down threads

[skidMark]

chances are, someone here might know that rider. plus it also reminds us all to keep safe where we can.

and why do you say its unfortunate when some die on their bikes? ive said it before, and ill say it again, give me the choice, and id rather breath my last at 100k than lying in a bed remembering what once was...

only at 100k????

i was thinking more knee down peg down at 150kph through the 55's on whangamata road.

but each to thier own.

[ElCoyote]

Truck drivers wave to each other...

And they still have their sub-groups. Big trucks wont wave to little trucks, so you need to give them such a giant and enthusiastic wave that they wave back as a reaction, Before there coolness kicks in and they stop themselves.

Then, ya flip them the bird.



Then, they try and bully ya off the road next time they see ya...But thats a whole different saga......

Right from now on I don't wave to GN250 riders and if the flip me I'll kick their bike over next time I see it.

[car]

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM DON'T OPEN THEM/don't read them/ignore them.

If that's your attitude to threads you don't like, why are you replying to this one? And, to be fair, isn't that exactly what's been happening so far?

Personally, I'm heartened to find that my lack of ability to engage with this grief for total strangers doesn't make me a psychopath. Or at least, if it does, I'm not a lone psychopath.

Would you only have the happy threads here? Seems like Ixion's comments about hiding one's head in sand are rather appropriate then?

Not at all. As Jim2 said elsewhere, if you have a problem, the community can help sort it out. We've seen this already, it's a good thing. And, God forbid that anyone has cause to grieve here, but we know that it happens and I don't think that anyone in their right mind is saying that it shouldn't.

[Number One]

only at 100k????

i was thinking more knee down peg down at 150kph through the 55's on whangamata road.

but each to thier own.

Crikey?! Give me a break SM!!!! I don't know you and you don't know me and I wouldn't normally have a go but now I've come across many of your posts I feel I can say it with some experience under my belt...your a bit of a knob! Oh and thought your bike didn't go that fast? O wait a minute it's a rocket ship capable of supersonic speeds according to some of your other posts...well, that is until someone who actually know you slams you for it then with your tail between your legs you go on and say it is actually a slug....are you trying to prove something, just get a reaction or what? Given the amount of crap you seem to get from people it would seem to me that you don't do yourself any favours on here....or is it just that you long for any kind of attention? This is a quite serious thread and you come on talking about doing stupid stuff like that...WTF are you on?

ON THE SUBJECT - I don't like these posts but I do feel they are cathartic for people...we all deal with grief in our own way and for some that just means just acknowledging someones passing...whether they knew them or not. I read them if they are in areas where I know bikers (or where I know my friends are riding) touch wood so far (since I have been on here, not long I admit) I have not had the sad and unfortunate experience of finding out someone I knew/am close to has died but I have been alerted to a few friends having big crashes this way....and I don't post unless I know the person or their friends/family but I do nonetheless feel a level of grief for the biker and family/friends...death is sad FULLSTOP. I cry at funerals (even for those people I don't know well, and before you ask I would only go to the funeral of someone I didn't know to support my family or riends). Every time I hear of a 'biker down' I remind myself that we are not invincible, that it does happen...and not always because of any fault on the bikers part. Finally I agree with the sentiment that there could be a dedicated forum for them though, then I probably wouldn't notice them as I may not go there until after I knew of someone I knew crashing...AND it does seem things get on here pretty damn quick...if it was someone I cared for I'd want to know before seeing it on the 6 o'clock news or reading about it in the paper the next day. rant over.

[Grahameeboy]

"We are all bikers, we all realise that we may die doing it as it is risky."

You'd think we had the film rights on risk eh?

Life is a risk and biking is one of the lesser ones so we are no heroes..

Anyway, I intend to live to 100 and pop me clogs on my Birthday....time to go......don't wanta risk any more years