[maxpower_hd]

I have read several articles on this 205 MPH idiot. A few say that the 205 MPH estimate is monst likely high, maybe the cop clicked the stop watch a little early or something. All still agree he had to be doing at least 180. At his age and with no motorcycle license, you know he doesn't have the experience to handle those kinds of speeds. He was simply lucky nothing happenned to him or anyone else. They ended up arresting him for driving to endager, operating without a license and speeding. One website posted a "copy" of the speeding ticket which showed a $215 fine. I agree with Seahag. This guy should be walking. It's one thing to ride hard in a safe area you know pretty well but those kinds of speeds should be kept on the track. Be safe everyone.

[AFNurse]

Here in Germany, with "no" speed limit on some stretches of autobahn (interstate type roads), bikes go screeming along. USA Halles and I used to have matching bikes, 1989/90 Kaw Ninja 600R....nothing for us to go 140 mph down the road.....but the roads were designed for higher speeds. I went riding this weekend and rode on one stretch of twisties that is "famous" for motorcyclists here in Germany. A sign at each end reads "der Tott fahrt mit......zum schnell?" literal translation is "and death rides with you......too fast?" at the end of each year, the Germans publish how many bikers were killed that summer on that stretch of road. I enjoy the road, and go at my own pace. No sense adding my name to the list of those that rode too hard and didn't make the other end!

[usahellas]

Hey AFNurse, the Germans have a statistic for everything and for everything a statistic. I LOVE STATISTICS!!!! 2003 German wide

76.227 Bicycle accidents with 612 Deaths
39.189 Motorcycle accidents with 947 Deaths
277.619 Car accidents with 4005 Deaths
Does anyone care to hear the statistics for the big rigs?

Main cause of accidents in Germany are "Speeds not acceptable for the situation" (note the wording), seconded by having someone cut you off "taking your right of way".

Roughly 70% of all fatal accidents have been on back roads, country roads or whatever you want to call them, 20% City and 10% Interstate.

What does this tell me? Stay off country roads with my bicycle.

[CD]

Ein Fahrt, Aus Fahrt hard to keep from cracking the old jokes to the newbies.

Usahellas, you bring back great memories of riding and driving in Germany. Before the end of the cold war, the western part of Germany had these fantastic roads that were barely travelled and you could relax and ride or drive and see some of the most fantastic scenery in the world. Round a corner, see a castle or an old town with buildings a hundred or more years old. One of my goals is to return to Europe and travel for a month.

[AFNurse]

Come on over!! I'll be here until probably next june/july, with possibility of 3 more years, but don't really know yet!!

[usahellas]

Hey CD we use to give em heck. You can still find the t-shirts with something like "Where is Ausfahrt?" How did that thing go again AFNurse? You see them all the time in the BX.

CD the streets are still there just the darn Wall is gone. Not to mention missing the 1km zone. Been there done that. :-) I still have a picture somewhere standing next to one.

Hey AFNurse 3 more years Looks like we might get another ride in after all. Let me see you have been here for roughly 2 years and you just got your bike this year and we have ridden once for 15 minutes together. Leaves a bit of room for improvement.

CD if you make it back over look me up. I will take you to the Harley Garage in Wallau which is roughly 20 mintues from Frankfurt and THE WATERINGHOLE for bikers in Rhein Main. These guys took us on a trip last year and it was unbelievable, coming out of a forest and a castle right in front of you. Road veered off to the right and the castle was on your left. AWESOME!!!

[Painter55]

Again. Last night. SUV vs motorcycle. The SUV made an unexpected U-turn right in front of Our Brother. Crash. Boom. Bang. Score another one for the SUV. The bloodbath in Chicago is relentless. Not a fatality this time, but 'critical condition'.

The HEADLINE story in the Sun-Times:

'DALEY TO BIKERS: PUT ON A HELMET'

Mayor Daley should read this thread. Helmets will NOT slow down inexperienced riders, nor will it protect bikers from unskilled drivers. Perhaps car drivers should be required to ride on a motorcylce in order to obtain a license, to 'get the idea'. Hell, I'll take them all for a spin they will never forget.

Proper motorcycle rider training is the key. And if Darwin's Law holds, then these wild*ss speed-demons will eventually be extinct.

Painter

[Sleepy]

Sounds to me like the bike riders don't have the only official licence on being stupid..unfortunately when you go up against someone having a brain fart in a SUV it kinda makes things a little tuff for the person on the bike. I've been in a number of major cities in the US..Chicago scares me, I got caught on the Dan Ryan in rush hour some years ago and I was amazed no one got run over by the semis..what a crazy drive that was, I did some big league lane splitting just to get the hell out of Dodge....er Chicago. No disrespect but the town just ain't the same since they lost Chris Chelios and moved the Hawks to the United Center from the Stadium

[usahellas]

Is it just me or have things gotten quiet in Chicago? Painter how is everything going? Have all the bikers in Chicago gone on vacation, have all the cage drivers gotten smart or has there been a severe change in the weather?

[Painter55]

I am sad to say that TWO MORE riders died Monday night in Chicago. This time, it was on a Harley. The guy hit a utility truck that was blocking the road at 1:30am. Death toll now is 17. NO word on whether the rider and his passenger were wearing helmets or on how fast he was going. Dead is dead, tho, regrdless of the details.

Painter

[SK]

Remind me to stay clear of Chicago when I'm out for a ride. ****..that sounds like a dangerous place. Las Vegas (which has it's share of crazies going 80+ even in construction zones..go figure) doesn't sound too bad after hearing about Chicago.

Here..there's always fender-benders blocking the roads and jamming em up. Lane-splitting is illegal, but I do it anyway when the freeway comes to a halt..especially when it's 100º+ out. Thank God the best weather of the year is upon us..80ºs and sunny every day right now.

[SK]

BTW..I didn't know "D A M N" was that bad of a 4 letter word.

[SISK]

SK,

You're breakin' the dam* rules when you post those dam* four letter swear words!
But I guess if you're lane splittin' in Vegas, you're just a dam* rule breaker anyway (Hoover Dam that is )

SISK

God, deliver us from our 'friends', - we can handle the enemy. G.S. Patton

[Painter55]

Chicago is simply a dangerous place--period. It was newsworthy today that yesterday was the first day since 1999 that no one was shot in Chicago over a 24 hour period. FIVE straight years of constant everyday gun violence. OMFG!

Chicago drivers are VERY impatient-- a second's delay and HONK! Traffic is heavy everywhere all the time. They are also very rude and road-raged. I hate driving here. I would like to think that the challenge of driving in a big city undersuch adverse conditions makes me a better cycle pilot. I have to ride 25 miles out from my suburb just to get to an open road. Beyond Chicago are miles and miles of open roads of the best cycle rides I have ever been on. Now if it weren't so dam* cold here all the time. That's why I would love to move to VEGAS! I love the heat and the mountains out there.

Most of the motorcycle fatalites here seem to be rider related. Too fast, too dark, too drunk. Even tonight I saw an idiot crotch-rocketeer rainsing h*ll down First Avenue. Good thing he was't far from the hospital along that stretch.

Yo, down the road,

Painter

[usahellas]

Well painter good to hear from you. Sorry to hear about Chicago being so bad. I had always heard things about Chicago being a dangerous city but I always thought it was just more or less hear say. Nothing really to it if you know what I mean. I guess I will just have to put Chicago onto my list of places "Not to move to".

My daddy was a "Atlanta Braves FAN" BUT he always said that the Chicago Cubs were his all time second favorite team in the US. Please do not ask me why. I guess because back then we use to get about 5 or 6 TV stations. You know NBC, ABC, CBS, TBS and what was the Chicago station???? Darn it I use to know the call sign. (10 minutes go buy) Was it WGN??? Anyway we use to get this channel 32 or 36 I think it was in Alabama. If the Braves were not on Channel 17 out of Atlanta then we could see the cubs on channel 32 out of Chicago.

Take care and ride safe.

[Pariah]

I'm in Chicago a few times a week pretty regularly as part of my job. I also ride through a lot as I have family in Michigan and you can't practically get from SE Wisconsin to SW Michigan without going through Chicago. I dont have any problems as long as the traffic is moving. It's the dead stops for no reason that you will ever figure out that drives me nuts. It's most definately an interesting experience, though, in a cage or on the bike riding hwy 94 through the middle of downtown at 80 miles per hour and getting passed on a regular basis!

[SK]

This in the Las Vegas Journal-Review this morning. I saw the helicopter video on the news last night and didn't know the guy died until this morning. One thing of note..the mention of the novelty skid-lid as a contributing factor in the riders death. They seem so rediculous to wear. I've been wearing a full-face now for a few years..even when I ride my big cruiser. Appears to be the rider's own fault here. The helicopter pilot said the accident had happened 20 minutes before, but there was no motorcycle on the ground..already removed..yet the Toyota and everything else was still there..strange.

----------------------------

Driver of motorcycle dies in crash

REVIEW-JOURNAL

A motorcycle driver died Wednesday following a collision at Pecos Road and Owens Avenue.

Las Vegas police said the man, whose name was not released, failed to stop for a red light as he drove a Harley-Davidson north on Pecos, approaching Owens.

A Toyota traveling south on Owens entered the intersection upon getting a green directional arrow.

The motorcycle struck the right side of the Toyota.

The motorcycle driver was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Police said it appeared use of a novelty helmet contributed to the driver's death.

The accident still is being investigated.