Too much motorcycle equals a fast track to trouble

[totalmotorcycle]

I posted this newstory in our News One Forum and thought it would be good to post it here as well for all new riders to consider...

Mike





Too much motorcycle equals a fast track to trouble
Thursday, September 21, 2006 - By Mike Seate - TRIBUNE-REVIEW


Remember when our moms tried to dissuade us from following our goofy friends into potentially dangerous situations? "If your friends jumped off the Seventh Street Bridge and broke their necks, would you follow them?" Mom would always ask.

Well, Mom was more insightful than we give her credit for, as lots of local men are hoping to follow in the tracks of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger when it comes to motorcycles. Roethlisberger was involved in an accident back in June while riding a Suzuki Hayabusa, a high-performance streetbike popular for its license-shredding, 186 mph top speed.

Roethlisberger's accident could have ended his life or his promising NFL career. The incident also has proven to be an interesting conundrum for local motorcycle shop owners, said John Burgman of West Hills Honda in Moon.

Burgman is among the local motorcycle dealers deluged with requests for the Hayabusa and other cutting-edge sportbikes, despite the difficulties involved in riding such fast motorcycles.

"People come in all the time and ask if we sell Hayabusas, which we don't. It got all the publicity, but plenty of other motorcycles go nearly that fast," said Burgman.

Earlier this month, Burgman was approached by a customer who wanted one of the 1,300 cc Hayabusas, despite having limited experience on streetbikes. Burgman managed to talk the customer into a smaller, 800 cc machine that boasted a none-too-shabby top speed of 155 mph.

"And he ended up crashing before he even left the parking lot," Burgman said.

Over on the other side of the state, motorcycle riding instructor Glenn Goldman has seen thousands of riders who have chosen motorcycles that are too fast and too powerful. Some have had accidents, while others have followed the Philadelphia native down the path to safety.

"The one thing I see again and again is people with too much motorcycle. They want the biggest, fastest thing out there because that's what their friends are riding, but they end up getting themselves into trouble," said Goldman, a riding instructor for the past five years.

To help keep the riders of Hayabusas and other high-performance motorcycles out of the headlines and on the roads, Goldman is issuing a challenge to local bikers. Meet a representative of his Team Pro-Motion riding school at Burgman's Moon shop on Saturday morning between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. and Goldman will let you ride your fast bike on a racetrack.

That's race track as in no speeding tickets, no cars, intersections, gravel or other roadway obstructions. Goldman is betting that local street riders will realize there is a lot of training and discipline involved in riding one of these bikes and so perhaps end up less likely to require an ambulance in the future.

If these local riders are smart, like Mom wanted us to be, they will enroll in Goldman's class and learn that it takes more than an admiration of Big Ben to stay safe on two wheels.

West Hills Honda is located at 209 Moon-Clinton Road, or call (412) 262-2200.

[Andrew]

Not a bad article or idea from the shop owner, but as we've discussed ad nauseum before, what does it have to do with Ben Rothleisberger? His accident is a horrible example to use if you want to dissuade someone from buying too powerful of a motorcycle.

[totalmotorcycle]

...what does it have to do with Ben Rothleisberger? His accident is a horrible example to use if you want to dissuade someone from buying too powerful of a motorcycle.

Too true and I didn't understand that point of the article. What I did like was the fact this dealer was pointing trying not to sell more powerful (and more expensive) motorcycles to his customers if they lacked experience. And pointing out the fact that new customers do over buy on their first bikes. I'm guessing the 800 was VFR, which is still too much bike for a new rider IMHO. If he was looking at a standard, a Honda 599 would have been a better choice. Where did all the 400-500cc motorcycles go!?

Mike.

[Wrider]

Awesome dealer! Yeah, I've got an 800 cc cruiser that handles my 270 lbs just fine... I'm really glad I didn't go with anything bigger for my first bike, accidentally dropping the clutch or revving the throttle would send the bike forward while I managed to stay still! lol I wish there was one like that here in the Springs to take us out riding!
Wrider

[VermilionX]

To help keep the riders of Hayabusas and other high-performance motorcycles out of the headlines and on the roads, Goldman is issuing a challenge to local bikers. Meet a representative of his Team Pro-Motion riding school at Burgman's Moon shop on Saturday morning between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. and Goldman will let you ride your fast bike on a racetrack.

That's race track as in no speeding tickets, no cars, intersections, gravel or other roadway obstructions. Goldman is betting that local street riders will realize there is a lot of training and discipline involved in riding one of these bikes and so perhaps end up less likely to require an ambulance in the future.

is that for free?

if yes... i wish somebody here does something like that. but it'll be swarmed though by the many trackday junkies we have here.

i was actually gonna attend this relatively cheap trackday but you have to be a trackday newbie to register. too bad the runner of the trackday org was not good in handling his business and he ended up owing the racetrack a lot of money so all his schedule for the year was cancelled.

[Kal]

Septembers issue of Bike had a big feature on the dangers of riding, why we find them irresitable and why human beings are so bad at risk management.

As ever with Bikes Feature of the month, it made very interesting reading.

[Lion_Lady]

Its kind of like when the "live action" movie, 101 Dalmations came out, suddenly every kid in every household wanted a dalmation and the mommies and daddies bought them. Totally ignoring the fact that they are VERY active dogs and need lots of training and care to be good housepets. Six months later shelters were overrun with dalmation drop offs.

For motorcycles, I'd attribute it to classic "testosterone poisoning."

All those guys saw Rothlesburger (sp!) on a Hayabusa and totally dismissed the accident, telling themselves "I can handle it, I won't crash." They are just deluding themselves because they have absolutely NO IDEA what it takes to control a machine like that.

See it. Want it. No brains.

P

[Mintbread]

The same goes for all the knucklehead kids around here regarding Nissan Skylines, WRX's etc. Just about every week you can find a picture in the paper of someone that wrapped their said car around a telegraph pole or a tree trying to be a racer but they all still want one.

[CNF2002]

Its kind of like when the "live action" movie, 101 Dalmations came out, suddenly every kid in every household wanted a dalmation and the mommies and daddies bought them. Totally ignoring the fact that they are VERY active dogs and need lots of training and care to be good housepets. Six months later shelters were overrun with dalmation drop offs.

P

Is that true? That's awful! I can understand kids doing something like that, but I can't believe grown adults would be that cruel to an animal (you hear rare cases, but for a movie to influence so many people like that...ugh).

[Kal]

That sounds about right to me.

I deal with the general public every working day, and the general public is an arse.