Darwin at work here.
An experienced motorcyclist was killed after he lost control of his bike while pulling a wheelie and fell into the path of an oncoming van.
The 50-year-old rider was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash near Goodwood in Chichester, West Sussex.
He was out riding his Suzuki motorbike with friends when he pulled a wheelie, only to swerve on to the other side of the road, where he fell from his bike in front of a van.
Fucking idiot. Pulling wheelies on the public highway is stupid, irresponsible and is a loss of control – and the video tends to show a complete loss of control rather than brisk acceleration to a cruising speed. The place for stunt riding is off-road. This twat not only got himself killed, he has doubtless traumatised everyone else involved and encouraged the idea that motorcyclists are irresponsible road users.
‘Motorbikes are powerful machines and they should be treated as such, as failing to do so can lead to devastating consequences.
‘The victim was an experienced rider who had enjoyed numerous outings with fellow bikers prior to this incident.
‘He and his friends were all wearing the appropriate clothing and safety equipment, and no one anticipated that this ride would be his last.
‘It was undoubtedly a hugely traumatic experience for all parties involved, and our thoughts remain with them.’
Not pulling wheelies on the public highway would be a start.
Sergeant Badman said: ‘There are a number of ways motorcyclists can be safer on our roads – ride with your lights on, wear the appropriate clothing for increased visibility and protection, consider your position in the road, and most importantly, ride safely and sensibly.
Well, yeah, not pulling wheelies will help. The public highway is not a race track and anyone who treats it as such gets all they deserve. No sympathy here.
Agreed.
My gut tells me he was impatient, possibly because he had to wait for the policeman who was controlling a junction that isn’t usually controlled.
Seems he gunned it while not quite upright, rear wheel slid out and he over corrected.
Certainly a very powerful multi cylinder bike. His camera is very low indeed and while I know it’s no indication of where his eyes were looking, the camera spends far too long looking at rear end of the bike directly in front of him.
This article states:
“high-powered Suzuki machine”.
and
“The victim, a 50-year-old man from Surrey, had been riding for a number of years prior to the fatal collision.”
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2017-08-24/familys-warning-about-wheelies-after-motorcyclists-death/
So I guess we’re talking about a direct access rider doing a mid-life crisis thing (or realising you can get awesome kicks for a fraction of the price of a decent sports car).
You have to be very fit to ride one of these beasts. Either GSX 1000 puts out 200 plus bhp and weighs 200 plus kgs.
Very basic mistakes, hot day, late, possibly bloody hot in is protective gear and almost certainly both dehydrated and with aching wrists.
Plan presumably was to scream past all the slow, sedate bikes ahead of him.
And so close to where a policeman is. (Just begging for trouble).
All stuff of a pouty 16 year old mentality.
Yup, Darwinism at work!
Hope the bike’s not too badly damaged.
Ouch! I thought I was being brutal.
Spare a thought for the van driver. I’ve been there and it isn’t pleasant for years to come.
@Smoking Scot
Agree, that’s how I read it too.
Yep, that was always my first thought after an unintentional dismount.
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I started at 14/15 on a CZ175 Trail bike. Once 17 I would venture out on roads on Sundays to gain experience. Once I felt OK I progressed to commute to school and back. At least 6 months of that before buying a KE175D3 and riding with friends.
At 19 upgraded to a GPz550H1 which I treated with great respect and like CZ & KE rode year round inc snow & ice. Missed Off-road & bought an RM250 MX bike.
Upgraded to a GPz900RA2 when 23, again all year riding. Then at 28 to a ZZR11 (derestricted). Been happy with big ZZRs since then.
In all that time and up to today have never pulled an intentional wheelie or stoppie – the 1 to 3 secs needed to force both wheels on ground and regain full control is too long. Howver, I have ridden at >100mph over legal limit on empty roads eg Dolphinton Straight.
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btw: passed car & bike tests first time when 17.
^ RM250 in addition to GPz550
I had been riding for years, on and off, before I bought my first big bike. It was only a Triumph Daytona 900, a bit of a sheep in wolf’s clothing really, even for the mid noughties. I still treated it with the greatest respect, fully aware that its performance capabilities were far in excess of anything that I was used to.
I graduated to a big bike – a 650 – after around six or seven years of riding. It was another couple before I was riding 1 litre plus machines.
Pretty dumb I agree. Still, at least it’s removed another idiot from the gene pool…
I came back to biking after a long lay off. I had to pass my test again because Swansea had lost my entitlement. I got a Daytona Triumph 955i and I knew I had made a mistake riding down the road from the showroom. I signed up to loads of training programmes but even now 6 years on I am very careful, although I have my share of fun.
It’s like pilots: There are old bikers, there are bold bikers, but there are few old, bold bikers.
A 50 year old doing a wheelie, what a nut, he hadn’t had the reflexes for 30 years. I’ve been riding since 1966, age 14, with a Yamaha 100cc TwinJet, and I’m not half the biker I never was. My CBF 1000 scares the crap out of me every single ride.
Even so, off tomorrow for 3 days on the big rocky circle: http://tinyurl.com/y898lroe
Riding big bikes doesn’t scare me. But then, I’ve always held the performance of my machines with great respect and ridden accordingly. Also, I teach this stuff for a living these days.