Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > The "culling season" why oh why?

[MARTIN H]

All good points. I pretty much ride all year when I can. I go out during the week and at weekend. A few weeks ago when the weather improved and the summer only riders dragged their bikes out for the first time it was mayem. As Ian (Dseered) mentions motorcyclists have been falling off in lumps over the last few weekends and there has been a number of fatalities. A friend of mine sold his ZX10r to Tim 18 months or so back as he had a couple of minor accidents himself and we had lost a few friends all in the space of a month or so. He decided it was not worth it anymore. Anyway a few weeks back he decides he will have a ride out on the gsx14000 thing he kept but only did 400 miles on in 2 years. We set off and within 20 minutes came across a bike accident which was a fatality, 30 minutes after that we were at a cafe and some lads we know arrived and told us not to go on such and such road as there had just been an head on with a bike and a van. Within an hour we had got to Devils bridge and some other lads informed us not to go on the Sedburgh Rd as it was now close to to a bike accident. The same road where only 30 minutes later I had to ride into the gutter to avoid a lad on a Mille r coming toward me who had run wide on a left hander into my path.

Felt sorry for my mate who stopped riding because of all this (he used to do 12-15000 miles a year on his bike) He finally decides to have another go and is comfronted by all this. He went home that day and put the bike away and its not been out since. The day after he takes his new girlfriend out in the car to the Lakes and on the way back comes across another biker dead in the road.

It seems to me that most of these people who havent ridden since last summer are just dragging the bike out of the garage and going nuts on them. The roads have not been in the best of condition after winter and they just dont seem to make allowance for that. I'm fortunate in that I can get out during the week and when out I come across the same people I know that do the same because they will just not ride up there at weekend because of the idiots. Its the same people that are speeding through villages and then complaining that the police are everywhere and spoiling it for us with their speed traps and stop checks etc.

[philthy]

Some really good points there.

2 killed in N.Wales the other week. Some riders seem to think they are in a video game and if they fall off they will just get up and get back on the bike and carry on.

Life just ain't like that.

Phil

[Jools]

Hmmm...group riding seems to be taking a kicking.

As a keen and regular attendee on regional DSC rideouts, and as the regional co-ordinator, my view is that organised rideouts are an intrinsic and valuable part of this club's activities. So by definition, if group riding is indeed a contributory factor if not the the cause of fatal accidents, does that mean that the DSC should stop doing this?

Not in my opinion. Group riding is one of the reasons that I love bikes so much because there's not much that's better than a good run out with your mates.

The people that I ride with have ridden thousands of miles together, sometimes very enthusiastically, and have not had any serious accidents. I'm not saying that we're invincible, far from it, I think that's partly because we know we're not invincible. Maybe luck also has something to do with it, but I would like to think that we ride within our limits and we always moderate the pace so that people who may be less experienced don't have to play catch up.

If group riding is a significant factor in the number of fatalities then (AND I HOPE TO GOD I'M NOT TEMPTING FATE) statistically you would expect more accidents in the DSC which must have hundreds of people riding in groups and covering thousands of miles each weekend?

If group riding was the big factor that people seem to claim through anecdotal evidence, this would contribute to the accident statistics throughout the year, when as we already know, this time of year is the biggest month for accidents.

I think that the concept that there is a biking 'season' has a lot to do with it. At this time of year you can spot the people who've been riding all year and the people who've just dusted off their leathers for 'the season'.

This is the time of year when newbie riders appear, even if they're experienced people's skills have gone rusty over winter, the road conditions are not perfect, the bikes may not have been maintained properly over the winter (I wonder how many people ride before checking that their brake calipers are not going to stick or that they really needed to bleed the brakes)? Couple that with peoples false confidence and trying to ride first time out like the bike mag 'riding gods' tell us is mandatory - knee down on every corner, wheelies, stoppies and it can only have one result - to end in tears.

[andyb]

If your riding a motorbike,

There is only one person to blame post accident and thats YOU!

whether you are in a group, on your own, or what ever.............start taking a responsibility for your self!

Its about observation and planning...............at any speed, you probably wont get a second chance!!!!

[GsxrAge]

My only comment is on the group riding thing

We had a ride the other day with 52 bikes !

Everyone was put in one of 5 groups depending on ability!

We had a great day with NO accidents.

We did make sure that everyone was honnest in their riding skills !!!!!!!!!!

I have to agree that there are fast bikes in the wrong hands which must account for some of the accidents , Speed is part of the issue but We have had quite a few accidents in the South west in the last month where the bikes have been taken out by the car drivers !!!

Age

[skidlids]

Originally posted by AGE996
I have to agree that there are fast bikes in the wrong hands

No kiding, my bike was kicked out of the 2003 TT 1000cc production race where it had finished 25th out of about 90, not bad considering it was a 600, hence it getting chucked out.
The following year my 400 was lapping faster than quite a few 1000cc bikes
Considering all entrants to the TT have to hold International licences it shows how few of them can actually ride a top sports bike to its limit so what hope has Joe Public

I find my 996 is more than enough for the road, yes a few modern sports bikes will blow it away in a straight line but from A to B on rural roads there's not much in it.

[weeksy2]

Jools,

i don't do ride-outs with more than a few people. I took part in the recent DSC run to box hill... and whilst i had a lovely day out with everyone, it was a terrible terrible ride for me..

Not knowing what anyone else will do.... or where they were going to brake/turn/apex etc.... it was not fun at all .. PLEASE NOTE: i'm not blaming anyone for this.. i just don't get on with ride-outs.

I think to be honest they can be a factor due to Ego/bravado/showing off to your mates.. people try and ride outside of their skills simply to keep up with others and not feel embarrased.

[weeveetwin]

It strikes me that every time I read a thread like this, I come across phrases such as these:

"... grouped according to their ability". "...always moderate the pace so that people who may be less experienced don't have to play catch up". "'Enthusiastic' riders' having to wait for the slower 'inexperienced' guys", etc. Hmm! Maybe a different - more enlightened - view is needed from the outset? Is speed the only criteria by which motorcyclists are ever judged? If so, why?

I appreciate there is some validity to the above, but my own 'inexperience' amounts to practically thirty years of riding motorcycles. I've ridden/owned more machines than I care to remember, and covered more miles than I care to count. I've used a bike for my day-to-day transport when I didn't have a car, and ridden it come sunshine or snow. (I rode a Jota 1000 every day for eight years through the daily grind of rush-hour commuting and the dubious pleasures of winter - bump-starting the beast every time it stopped - and loaded the same bike with enough camping gear for a two-week 'two-up' trip to wherever I found myself heading). I've owned/ridden turbo-charged bikes, six-cylinder monster-bikes which handled like they were on castors, 1300cc 800lb Electra-Glide Harleys, and tiny little 50cc Puch mopeds with feeble lights and more feeble brakes. I currently run two 888 Ducatis and an RC30.

My 'inexperience' on two-wheels has served me well though. Like Jools, I've no wish to tempt fate, but I can honestly say I've not crashed a bike, been caught 'speeding', or suffered any kind of bodily injury to my person for over twenty five years. NOT ONCE. And I'm as 'enthusiastic' a rider as the next guy.

'Enthusiasm' doesn't mean speed. Please don't label a guy such as me as 'inexperienced' or 'unenthusiastic' simply because I no longer feel the need to prove how macho I am. I left that behind when I reached adulthood. Neither am I 'of lesser ability' simply because I don't (won't) try to keep up with the 'better', 'more able' riders - sic!

My daily work (for 13yrs) has involved TEACHING the rules of the road to the 'inexperienced' & 'enthusiastic' road users out there. Every minute of my working day involves reading the road. I lie awake at night replaying each and every scenario. It's my life, and it's absolutely ingrained.

Group riding, for me, is often akin to watching a real-time video of 'how not to ride safely'. I've seen every rule in the book broken. Sometimes, it's all I can do not to shake my head in despair. Excuse me, therefore, if I don't try to emulate the 'better' riders ahead of me. And if I'm ever left behind on a run, don't fret. I'll expect arrive in my own good time. I always have!

So, maybe this kind of language should be saved for the track. There, you can more accurately group people according to their ability - TO GO FAST! On the road, different judgement criteria are needed. I'm not an inferior rider simply because I'm 'slow'. Sometimes, we 'inexperienced' and 'lesser able' riders are deliberately so. We're just doing what we do best - surviving.

Rant over! Ride safely guys.

[clockwork orange]

Well said WVT. Rather arrive late than not at all. Group riding is something I enjoy, and if I get left behind then at least I know Roy et al will be waiting at the next junction. Not that it happens all that often, but I know there's no need to play catch up if I don't want to.

[ath748]

Better to arrive late than dead on time.

S'what I was always told.