What is wrong with sport bike riders?

I drove by 20 minutes after this happened Saturday: http://www.douglascountysentinel.com/view/full_story/22186725/article-Douglasville-teen-killed-in-motorcycle-wreck

"..witnesses noticed the motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic before the wreck..."

You could tell it was a bad wreck from the debris field of mixed bike parts and bike gear. For the heck of it I searched the kid's name and pulled up a reckless driving arrest from back in November of 2012. There were two other bikes parked on the side of the road, so I guess he was riding with his buddies. Still sad though, that was someone's kid

Just four hours prior on the same stretch of I-20 we were swarmed by a local chapter of the "Ruff Ryderz" bike club. I almost killed two of them when they made a high speed pass on my right. They must have been trying to catch up to the main pack because I thought they had all gone by and I was about to exit. I'm still kicking myself for involuntarily yanking the wheel and putting my family in danger to save two organ donors from fiery death. Called it into GSP but I doubt there was anything that could be done. When I saw the bike accident later that afternoon part of me was sure it would have been one of the people from that group, but I guess they all survived that day.

This kind of thing used to be rampant a few years ago but I think the credit crunch removed a lot of the sport bikes from the roads around Atlanta. I dreaded heading downtown at night on I-20 thanks to these bands of roving organ donors.

For better or worse, it seems to be one of those self regulating problems

The downside of Spring where I live is my ear-shot proximity to I-95. At night they go screaming up the road to the NJ border where they turn around and head back into Philly.

Oh to be young and invincible again...

I rode my son's sport bike a few times, several problems here:

1. Wicked fast, they spool up like an electric motor and the power is on at ~15,000 rpm.
2. Culture says it's the bike to have.
3. Young, inexperienced riders need them.

These idiots are who I think of every time I see them "Watch out for bikes" stickers. berkeley that, let them watch out for me.

(Still thinks back to that idiot that passed me on a single lane exit ramp. If I had seen him sooner, he might have taken a dirt ride through the infield.)

Ian F wrote: The downside of Spring where I live is my ear-shot proximity to I-95. At night they go screaming up the road to the NJ border where they turn around and head back into Philly. Oh to be young and invincible again...

It goes year round near my house. At night you can hear the bikes get on at Memorial Drive, scream north on 285, hang the right onto 78 east and scream to Brocket Road, then exit and take the back roads to Memorial Drive to get back on 285 and do it all again. Some bike club is headquartered around there, the police raided it not too long ago.

I'm guessing the run between Atlanta and Birmingham on I-20 is fairly popular for bikes as sometimes it can be wide open, but some places are congested even on the weekends.

There are idiots riding every kind of motorcycle, it's not limited to sport bikes.

http://www.kare11.com/news/article/1020493/396/Motorcyclist-killed-in-Brooklyn-Park-crash

This happened locally yesterday, he was a big part of the local bike/car scene. Apparently he was running from the cops, ran a red light and got popped by traffic, he died at the scene. He was on an r6 at the time. IDK why they feel invincible, but I see it all the time out of the rocket riders out here. Sure, i've seen harleys and other stuff do the same, but it seems to be more prevalent amongst the sportbike crowd.

slefain wrote: I'm guessing the run between Atlanta and Birmingham on I-20 is fairly popular for bikes as sometimes it can be wide open, but some places are congested even on the weekends.

That's got to be about the most boring stretch of road for a sportbike around here that I can think of.

Although if you're the sort who is dumb enough to think that I-20 is a substitute for the Bonneville salt flats, a sport bike is about the cheapest way to scratch that particular itch.

One of the guys on my soccer team has a modified Hayabusa and has had it up to the high side of 200 a few times.

At least the crotch rocket guys round here seem to know what a helmet, riding gear and a muffler is unlike people riding a certain domestic motorcycle.

Saw a kid on a sport bike with a passenger weaving in and out of traffic, who was then followed by a twit in a sideways ballcap driving a fart-can equipped Eclipse.

I don't really believe in a higher power but I did say a silent prayer that the passenger make it home okay, I don't think she would deserve to end it wadded up on the highway. No one does, but especially the pillion...

Jerry, I'm not sure if it's really a fair thing to say "they should watch out for me", what if people driving Expeditions thought that about the guy silly enough to drive an MR2? Or a pedestrian? Law abiding motorcycle riders get killed all the time doing normal things like going down a street at legal speeds because of some guy in a bigger vehicle turning left in front of them. Not the fault of the rider. Lots of other ways to bite it as a rider through no fault of your own.

mndsm wrote: Sure, i've seen harleys and other stuff do the same, but it seems to be more prevalent amongst the sportbike crowd.

I put in a lot of miles driving around Atlanta and I can't remember the last time I saw a non-sport bike rider acting like an idiot.

Harley riders have their own form of stupid.

I see crazy riding all of the time, here. I also see people dressed in the proper safety gear riding in a responsible manner.

I just keep my eyes peeled and hope that I'm vigilant enough to notice the idiots driving like morons far enough in advance to avoid them.

In reply to Brett_Murphy:

I think gear worn is a decent indicator of seriousness and respect a rider has for the process. The guy that has bothered to spend money on a real ATGATT approach is probably not going to rail around on city streets with little regard to the dangers involved.

slefain wrote:

mndsm wrote: Sure, i've seen harleys and other stuff do the same, but it seems to be more prevalent amongst the sportbike crowd.

I put in a lot of miles driving around Atlanta and I can't remember the last time I saw a non-sport bike rider acting like an idiot.

Maybe it's a regional thing? I saw a couple of numbtards on fully bagged out ROAD KINGS stand em up and ride wheelies down the road not long ago. You could tell they'd done it before, the pipes were all angled from scraping the pavement.

slefain wrote:

mndsm wrote: Sure, i've seen harleys and other stuff do the same, but it seems to be more prevalent amongst the sportbike crowd.

I put in a lot of miles driving around Atlanta and I can't remember the last time I saw a non-sport bike rider acting like an idiot.

Oh, come on down to Daytona for Bike Week!

Plenty of idiots on bikes of all kinds. Typical idiots:

On crotchrocket---- wearing shorts, flip-flops and no shirt--- usually with a hot young girl perched on top. Impress girl by doing wheelies, stoppies, and hauling ass through traffic---- ie. organ donor

On Harley---- Full leathers, but no helmet. Stop at bars throughout day drinking, hitting on ANY type of female, idling loudly -- blipping throttle (even if the bike is FI) By end of day/ night---- very drunk, but still on two wobbly wheels------- ie. organ donor

be careful out there.......no shortage of dumb.

Maybe this begs the question: what kind of riders are on enduros?

The enduro riders I know are borderline boring. One is a project manager, one is a programmer, and another is a HVAC specialist. They ride like old people grocery shop. That is pretty much the way I've seen most enduro riders act. And none of them have ever put their bike on dirt that I know of.

Jerry wrote: These idiots are who I think of every time I see them "Watch out for bikes" stickers. berkeley that, let them watch out for me. (Still thinks back to that idiot that passed me on a single lane exit ramp. If I had seen him sooner, he might have taken a dirt ride through the infield.)

You have every right to be aggravated with people behaving like idiots no matter how many or few wheels.

But the folks sporting "watch out for bikes" stickers probably aren't the same people pulling that E36 M3.

Watching out for bikes means things like not being that oblivious asshat who pulls a left directly in front of an oncoming bike (just like you'd not do to a Peterbilt, only it's worse for the bike and takes marginally more attention to avoid).

[EDIT: Possibly overly-pointed closing remark removed.]

Now, everyone KNOWS to buzz Margie's place during Bike Week, especially if you have open drag pipes. I mean, COME ON, it's like TRADITION.

Around here, I see a nut case on a crotch rocket, AKA "Squid" regularly for about 2-3 weeks, doing the usual squid stuff out on the interstate. Then, for some reason, you just don't ever see them again. A few months later, another will take his place.

I would have loved to see the Road Kings doing wheelies. That's some serious power to do that on a 900 lb bike. You can't do that very often, though, because neither the front end of the drive belt is strong enough to take that.

Dr. Hess wrote: Now, everyone KNOWS to buzz Margie's place during Bike Week, especially if you have open drag pipes. I mean, COME ON, it's like TRADITION. Around here, I see a nut case on a crotch rocket, AKA "Squid" regularly for about 2-3 weeks, doing the usual squid stuff out on the interstate. Then, for some reason, you just don't ever see them again. A few months later, another will take his place. I would have loved to see the Road Kings doing wheelies. That's some serious power to do that on a 900 lb bike. You can't do that very often, though, because neither the front end of the drive belt is strong enough to take that.

As much as the riders were numbtards, it was impressive to see. They had to stand on the seat, clutch kick it, and step down on the backrest to get it to pop up in the air. Rode em a good ways too.

stuart in mn wrote: There are idiots riding every kind of motorcycle, it's not limited to sport bikes.

QFT!

To the OP, "Why are all the drunk drivers tobacco chewing rednecks in pickup trucks?" Or "Why are all the slow pokes hogging the left lane grey haired old ladies in Cadillacs?" Broad strokes with a fat brush goin' down here.

I love this guy.

I see a lot more idiots driving cars...

living in Panama City I was always amazed at the stupidity of some sport bike riders, flops, tanks, shorts and no lid... or my fav was watching some kid holding the lid sitting on the back seat of his bike down while taking a turn and almost going shiny side down... the irony

I partly understand that you can buy super car performance for half of a new civic... so thats part of the issue... my '98 katana 600 was more than enough for me though thank you

as mentioned the cruiser guys aren't much better in the area, just older and slower... but no less stupid