MotoGP accidents

[stoorat]

Alright, I know that everyone has seen millions of these (although there were several in this compilation that were new to me), but a couple really stand out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBXmQSYexjc&NR

I mean, a freaking cobra on the track? (4:16)
And the guy doing a decent impersonation of Superman? (4:59)
The fella frantically throwing sand on his burning bike was heartwrenching. (6:31) Spontaneous combustion? (6:58)
Also, found it interesting when the guy left skidmarks along the track the same color as his suit. (1:25) Makes sense, it just never occured to me that would happen.

Professional wrestling (or Jerry Springer, for that matter) only wish that they could manufacture drama of this magnitude.


Also, nice soundtrack.

[subvetSSN606]

Some amazing footage!
The one about 2:30 Reminded me of calf roping in a rodeo!

Three things that come to the top of my head for takeaways from that.
1. These are the best of the best, and it happens to them too.
2. It happens QUICK!!!
3. Gear Works!

Tom

[subvetSSN606]

BTW, The one at 6:07 is a great illustration of what happens if you lock the front wheel. Nothing extraordinary going on, noone near him, just braking hard and late, setting up for the turn... and it's wet. Front lock- Flop! Down in a heartbeat.

Tom

[kf4cln]

F=MA things in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted on by a force such as very very hard asphalt.

[Bugguts]

And how far and violently they roll...both rider and bike!

[LoDownSinner]

And how far and violently they roll...both rider and bike!
Which is why a lot of us refer to people who push the limits on the street as 'idiots'.

They more than likely wouldn't have the opportunity or the space to roll or slide that far before impacting large, often immovable objects at a high rate of speed.

On the track, you're thinking, "I wonder if my bike will start?" On the street, you're thinking, "I wonder how many pieces those bones are currently in?"

[Caddie]

My favorite:
6:36-ish

"Oh crap, someone might run over the remnants of my bike & get hurt! Let me run out there & get it off the track!"

THAT guy is cool as hell in my book.

[OBX-RIDER]

On the track, you're thinking, "I wonder if my bike will start?" On the street, you're thinking, "I wonder how many pieces those bones are currently in?"

My first track lowside stream of consciousness was like 'knee down, that's cool...elbow down, that's weird...shoulder down, uh-oh...better let go of the bike... Hey! this doesn't hurt near as bad as a snowboarding fall...kinda cool...here comes the grass..' flip-flip-flip-flip--flip---flip.... 'whoa, am I ok?...I think I feel ok, just dizzy, where is track, where is bike, oh my poor bike ...'

[SKnight]

Which is why a lot of us refer to people who push the limits on the street as 'idiots'.

They more than likely wouldn't have the opportunity or the space to roll or slide that far before impacting large, often immovable objects at a high rate of speed.

On the track, you're thinking, "I wonder if my bike will start?" On the street, you're thinking, "I wonder how many pieces those bones are currently in?"

Interesting choice of words.

[LoDownSinner]

Hehehe...

I had the front end push one time going into turn 2 at Barber. It's a nice, sweeping right hander. I ended up probably 20 feet to the left of my intended line saving the slide. There was plenty of track left, and I absolutely knew there would be no oncoming traffic. On the Cherohala, I could have become a hood ornament, or would have been off the opposite side of the road into the guardrail or the mountain, or...

[SKnight]

And I've heard bragging from an STT instructor about how he pulled stunts twice where he almost took out students. Doesn't sound good to me. Another reason I've avoided the track, I don't want some wannabe hotshot taking me out when I don't have the priviledge of mirrors to see him coming.

I just felt it was an interesting choice of words, given that we all do less than smart things. On the track, the street, in parking lots.

[LoDownSinner]

You mean like Pedrosa and Hayden?

I've seen people crash at low speed on the street and mangle themselves on fixed objects. I've seen people have spectacular looking crashes at the track and run to their bike and try to get it restarted.

Now, take those circumstanses and reverse them. The low speed crash probably wouldn't have even been a crash on the track. The high speed ones if they were on the street? I don't even want to think about it.

[OBX-RIDER]

Another reason I've avoided the track, I don't want some wannabe hotshot taking me out when I don't have the priviledge of mirrors to see him coming.


That's an interesting rationalisation... Never mind that 95% of the trackday riders are taken out by their own dang idjut selves (this idjut included) and most trackday organisations are very fierce in their 'enforcements' about riding styles that might take out other riders.

And there is a very good reason you don't have mirrors on a race track and it ain't personal. Please note Valentino and Nicky don't have mirrors neither.

Frankly in my experience the two reason most folks don't ever do a trackday is a)their scairt (poultry's just another word for chicken) and that's mostly in their heads 'cause trackriding is fun, not scary or b)deep down they know they suck and they don't want this manifested to themselves and everyone else.

[SKnight]

That's an interesting rationalisation... Never mind that 95% of the trackday riders are taken out by their own dang idjut selves (this idjut included) and most trackday organisations are very fierce in their 'enforcements' about riding styles that might take out other riders.

And there is a very good reason you don't have mirrors on a race track and it ain't personal. Please note Valentino and Nicky don't have mirrors neither.

Frankly in my experience the two reason most folks don't ever do a trackday is a)their scairt (poultry's just another word for chicken) and that's mostly in their heads 'cause trackriding is fun, not scary or b)deep down they know they suck and they don't want this manifested to themselves and everyone else.

OK, before this spirals out of control, I know that most TD crashes are a LOFT problem (Lack Of Friggin Talent) and single bike incidents. I also know of plenty of guys that went down by the LOFT from a wannabe Hayden and I'm not willing to have my daily driver and only bike trashed by them. If I do it, you won't hear a word from me.

The STT incidents are very similar. An instructor dove to the inside of guys on two seperate occasions, entering a corner, during a novice session (Read, NO passing in corners. Your line is your line.) once by his admission nearly brushing the student, once he realized he was going to take out the student and was good enough to lock the front to slide it out and avoid contact. His words, and I have witnesses. Yes, I understand the mirror issues, I would just like to have some warning that somebody is coming during a no passing session. Apparently instructors are outside that rule. If it's going to go bad, it's going to happen to me.

And frankly, your opinion is just that, your opinion. Your balls are no bigger than mine just cause you do track days. When I feel I'm ready for a track day, I'll do it. You sucked at one time, and if you didn't respect that back then, you're lucky to be here now.

I just have a real problem when a group is pointed at by others and called names. In this case now, chicken or sucks. I put up with enough of that crap in high school, and I left that behind. Right now, nothing scares me much, but I do have respect for my abilities at this point, and I'm not ready for the track.

[LoDownSinner]

Dude - I've noticed a huge reduction in ball size after hitting the track!!!

And, true enough - I chose poorly in putting my opinion into words.

[SKnight]

Dude - I've noticed a huge reduction in ball size after hitting the track!!!

And, true enough - I chose poorly in putting my opinion into words.

No problem bud, it just hit me wrong and at the wrong time, and I apologise. Next time I'll PM you and ask what you meant, just clean out your in box so I can.:thumbsup:

[OBX-RIDER]

And frankly, your opinion is just that, your opinion. Your balls are no bigger than mine just cause you do track days. When I feel I'm ready for a track day, I'll do it. You sucked at one time, and if you didn't respect that back then, you're lucky to be here now.

I just have a real problem when a group is pointed at by others and called names. In this case now, chicken or sucks. I put up with enough of that crap in high school, and I left that behind. Right now, nothing scares me much, but I do have respect for my abilities at this point, and I'm not ready for the track.

Man, get your panties back out of a wad and lighten up a little. You putting off a trackday because you don't feel your ready is probably valid... as opposed to not doing it because of what one rider-coach did or did not do or because they don't let you use mirrors which is BS. There are lots of smack-talking squids around who are the next Nicky Hayden in the parking lot, but always have an excuse when it comes to the track. Nobody talks smack at the track because the track is transparent...

Yeah I certainly 'sucked' at one time...probably for longer than most of the foks here because I started in the early 70's when it was 95% trials and errors... And I waited one hell of a long time to do a trackday, CA Superbike about 7-8 yrs ago, and frankly that's one of the reasons I don't 'suck' now. Do you get my point...with my sons it's do the BRC, ride 5,000 mis., do CA Superbike level 1. It's part of their motorcycle education which will help keep them alive riding a bike. The trackday is part of their learning process! You don't quit 'sucking' and then do a trackclass, the trackclass helps you get over 'sucking'.

Frankly I was a little intimidated about my first trackday partly because I didn't know anyone who had ever done one and it was something new to me even though I had owned several bikes and been riding for years but mostly because of free floating anxiety, the last of which is just me being stupid, humanly stupid. But most of the riders I know have it about their first trackday.

Last, I don't think what I do on a motorcycle has anything to do with the size of my balls... maybe the 1,400 combat flying hours and what I did in them, or the job I do right now, or that I'm a good dad and husband or that I put up with folks like you hoping you might learn something from my experiences....

[stoorat]

I think it's naptime for some of us...we all seem to be getting a little cranky.

(And then, when she's asleep, let's draw on Bugs' face with a sharpie!)

[SKnight]

Last, I don't think what I do on a motorcycle has anything to do with the size of my balls... maybe the 1,400 combat flying hours and what I did in them, or the job I do right now, or that I'm a good dad and husband or that I put up with folks like you hoping you might learn something from my experiences....

And you need to keep your nose where it belongs, and you won't have to put up with "Folks like me." Do you get that point?

But saying I'm too scared or that I suck too much to do a track day is something you know nothing about. Know me? Ever ridden with me? Talked to anyone that knows me? Didn't think so. I know it's part of your vast experience, but don't apply that to me, you just may be suprised. Good or bad, you won't be right.

The only reason I said anything about mirrors is because I want to know who's running up my six, nothing about not getting to have them. From what I've been gathering, that's a real problem on track days. I have no excuses for not going to the track, if I knew it'd be just me in my area, I'd try it, it's only money. But I don't trust my reactions in those close quarters, with some guy sticking his nose in or wiping out in front of me. I don't feel I'm there yet reaction wise.

What LDS said about idiots hit me wrong, I called him on it and I apologised for it. He gave some examples, and I countered, you jumped in and since I was feeling a little punchy I hit back. I won't be countering here anymore past this, but let it be known, my panties are fine, high and dry. Remember, you jumped in, I didn't invite you. Feel free to PM me if you would like to continue.

You have the utmost respect from me for your service, and in combat aircraft, I'm jealous to no end. That was my dream job until my eyes went bad at 16. I had been working with a recruiter, changed my HS classes around, I went back to school one year and realized I couldn't see. On a side note, they started allowing correction two years after I was too old. That's the way it goes I guess.

EDIT-I hit submit after Stoorat said called cease fire. I was at work, and only get to type a little at a time.

[OBX-RIDER]

I can hear my wife telling me "you know how to stop, just stop". Besides I didn't get my nap today...

Actually there is another reason for not doing a trackday..., not wanting to tear your shiny new bike up. I don't know what it is, but I have seen more shiny new bikes crashed this year than ever before. Some of them with the bike not just lowsiding, but something grabbing in the dirt and the bike flipping end over end endlessly so every piece of plastic on the bike gets rashed. Pretty depressing if it's your only bike and your still paying on it.

The above is why I recommend CA Superbike for a first trackday so much, in my experience they have the lowest rate of crashes of any school I've attended. And they are a good fairly controlled environment to dip your toe in and are really setup for first timers. They do the crawl-walk-run pretty well (actually crawl-crawl-crawlfast-walk slowly-walk-walk-walkalittlefast) but by the end of the day you feel pretty good about yourself. (of course in your mind on the way home your just a half step slower than Rossi)

Most trackday junkies end up with a dedicated track bike so it only (usually) costs a couple hundred when you wipe out. That and everybody pitted around you paying you a visit to tell you about how they crashed in that same corner.

[LoDownSinner]

Orpheus - to put things in perspective, the 'idiot' comment was inspired by a certain someone (not on this particular board) with an accent and an often-crashed Kawasaki 636. You and Larry know who I mean...

[SKnight]

I can hear my wife telling me "you know how to stop, just stop". Besides I didn't get my nap today...

Actually there is another reason for not doing a trackday..., not wanting to tear your shiny new bike up. I don't know what it is, but I have seen more shiny new bikes crashed this year than ever before. Some of them with the bike not just lowsiding, but something grabbing in the dirt and the bike flipping end over end endlessly so every piece of plastic on the bike gets rashed. Pretty depressing if it's your only bike and your still paying on it.

The above is why I recommend CA Superbike for a first trackday so much, in my experience they have the lowest rate of crashes of any school I've attended. And they are a good fairly controlled environment to dip your toe in and are really setup for first timers. They do the crawl-walk-run pretty well (actually crawl-crawl-crawlfast-walk slowly-walk-walk-walkalittlefast) but by the end of the day you feel pretty good about yourself. (of course in your mind on the way home your just a half step slower than Rossi)

Most trackday junkies end up with a dedicated track bike so it only (usually) costs a couple hundred when you wipe out. That and everybody pitted around you paying you a visit to tell you about how they crashed in that same corner.

Very big part of it. Bad part is, I had a shot at a Busa track bike with only a track plastic front nose on it to hold the windshield up, while I had the money no less. No, I didn't want a 1300 track bike, but it would be like sitting on my daily driver with no adjustment time. Decided to put the money elsewhere, now I wish I'd have thought a little more. I would love to run across a GSXR with a trashed engine, since I could fix it myself, it's common to the point parts are plentiful and reasonably cheap, and they handle great. Time will tell, a buddy of mine has an Aprilla 250 track bike that he's not happy with, so I may try and pick that up. Nothing wrong with the bike, he just doesn't like it, too narrow a powerband, MotoGP shifting, stuff like that.

[SKnight]

Orpheus - to put things in perspective, the 'idiot' comment was inspired by a certain someone (not on this particular board) with an accent and an often-crashed Kawasaki 636. You and Larry know who I mean...

Yeah, what a guy he is. Wish I was a parts guy in his area.