Big Ben in motorcycle crash!

I woke up this morning with some pain and stiffness in my neck. Then I checked the Riding Sun blog and found out why . Pittsburgh? I know I had a few beers last night, but I think I would have remembered the plane ride.

So now my access stats for my web page are filled with Google hits for "Big Ben motorcycle" and "Big Ben helmet" and the like. At least as of this morning, I'm still ranked higher than that Johnny-come-lately in the NFL. After all, I was Big Ben long before he was, and I'm taller, d@mn it!

More details about that other guy's accident at the Kneeslider. I don't like helmet laws, but a 'busa in city traffic without a helmet ain't too smart. Still, it looks like the accident was yet another example of an inattentive cager turning across traffic, so I feel sorry for the guy.

Um, for the record, I'm fine, and my bike isn't even scratched.

Well,

Let's make sure you DON'T!!

scoot

I hate to say it, but I don't think any bike in city traffic or on the highway should be ridden sans helmet. I don't believe in helmet laws, and believe it should always be a choice, but you don't have to be at fault to have your face and/or brains all screwed up for life. Hell, I won't even ride with an open-face any more as I know it's not if, but when, I eventually go down. It can be something as simple as a deer outa nowhere, which happens practically everyday in the US.

My Mama Always Told Me ( You Ride A Motorcycle Your Gona Go Down) Knock On Wood! 9 Years Strong, Close Calls, But Tha Rubber Still On The Ground. The Other One Was (there Are Only 2 Kinds Of Bikers, The Ones That Have Crashed And The Ones That Will).

Some good points Marc. I think going full-face is a good idea.

I mentioned Lawrence Grodsky's untimely demise this past April. The guy is probably one of the safest riders to ever ride a bike and it didn't matter to the deer who jumped out in front of him from outa nowhere. His last article in Rider Mag might be a bit controversial and the editor stated as much, but decided to publish his last article uncut as he couldn't debate Larry about it. Larry basically blasted a lot of Americans as being stupid, especially those that wear those beanie or non-DOT approved little helmets that are basically worthless, but for some reason the cops won't ticket them for it. They certainly don't do much good outside of keeping you from getting a ticket. I hope many of you out there get a chance to read the article as it's kind of eery reading it knowing the author just died of a motorcycle accident about a day or two after writing it.

I'm not gonna call anybody stupid for riding without a helmet, but I'll definitely urge you to wear one. I'll also never advocate helmet laws as I belieive in choice, as with anything in life.

Any way..keep the shiny side up and look out for the idiots and deer on the road out to get ya whether they mean to or not.

Well, yeah, the lady turned in front of the guy, but he should have seen and anticipated and slowed and been planning when he saw her. Still, she was at fault and he might not have had a way out depending on traffic conditions, but in that instance, I'll slow down and be ready to cover the brakes.

He probably wasn't much of a rider, probably never done a hard braking maneuver. Braking on a bike is much more skills dependent than in a car. I've never had ABS on a bike, won't have it, but even with ABS making up for the idiot at the controls, you need more skills than in a cage. A Busa, of course, has no ABS. It's a bike for the highly skilled which Suzuki dealers sell mostly to complete squid morons. It's a status thing, but meanest, the fastest, the quickest, etc, etc and many of the folks that buy these things have been to see "Biker Boys" and want "one of them ninja bikes" and they find out this one's the king of quick and they gotta have it, and, oh, BTW, how do ya shift this thing? Where's the accelerator???? Great first bike, eh?

So, beyond the fact that he wasn't wearing a helmet which is stupid on a Busa as much for comfort as for safety (ever felt the wind blast at 185 mph?), he was probably a very un-skilled and was probably exceeding the speed limit (the thing will close on 100 mph in first gear) and not riding defensively. Add to that a moron lady pulling in front of him and you have the inevitable result. I hope he learned his lesson (probably not since everyone is concentrating on the lack of helmet) and will get some MSF training if he wants to ride, again. Maybe Micheal Jordan will give him a visit and talk MC safety training to him, never know.

On the subject of helmets, I need a new one and am going to order one soon. I want another flip front for touring. I realize the hinged front isn't as sturdy as a full face, but for touring it's just so danged convenient. I can sip on a gatorade on a hot day riding down the road, flip the front down when I'm through. I wear glasses, too, and don't have to pull 'em off to remove the helmet with a flip front. Also, you don't really even need to take it off at a lot of stops and I don't many times in winter when it's cold. I wore out my old Nolan N100 and need another. I've got a couple of full face helmets I've been wearing until I could afford to get another flip front. I was searching ebay for flip fronts when I came up with that "Sonny Barger Helmet" I posted a while back. That one cracked me up big time, ROFL!

I had a Bell Star 2 I crashed about 25 years ago I kept to show people what can happen if you ain't wearing a full face. I didn't hit a car, I crashed on the track. Simply lost the front and went down face first at about 80 mph, nearly carved the chin bar off that Bell. If that'd been my jaw, well, hopefully they might have been able to reconstruct it, maybe. I haven't crashed on the street since 1975, knock on wood, but no matter how skilled you are and how safe you ride, stuff happens.

I think SK summed up the way I feel about it too. If you ask me for advice, I'll tell you that I think a helmet is the best choice in most circumstances, but if you don't ask, I'll assume you're smart enough to make the decision for yourself. It's not like people don't know they're taking risks. It would be arrogant for me, or for the law, to make that decision for them.

Goose,
I'll bet you're right about how things went down. From what I 've read he mostly only rides Harleys, so he probably wasn't used to the 'Busa (all the more reason to wear a lid, of course.)

Just a note, I ordered an AFX FX97 flip front yesterday. I have a snell approved AFX full face I race in and really like. The Bieffes I'd been racing in (snell approval is mandatory for racing) felt cheap by comparison. The AFX has expensive helmet features like washable liner and feels solid, not cheap. It also fits my head perfectly, so I figured I'd try it. The Nolan N100 I had didn't fit me well, never like it all that much. So, I ordered the FX97 in silver and have a tint screen comin' for it. AFX is a rather affordable helmet which ain't bad, either. Some of the Nolans are nearly four times the price.

http://www.afxhelmets.com/06/street/fx97.php