18 motorcycle crashes in one day at Sturgis Rally in South Dakota

[LAB3]

If you really want to see something comical just sit on the porch up at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort on the NC end of the Tail of the Dragon. Not only do you get a front seat view of the idiots heading out at a 45° degree angle and the front wheel in the air but also the emergency vehicles going out to scrape them up shortly thereafter. Then there's the newbs who quite obviously have never ridden in the hills before trying to negotiate the steep driveway leading out dumping their bikes and scraping the pavement while simultaneously causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to their paint and chrome. It's a comedy of errors hanging out up there, I'll be back shortly after Labor Day!

[GS1150Pilot]

Although plenty of squids wreck on the Dragon, Max Wrist is an extremely fast YouTuber who rides it with aplomb.

[Cipher]

Sturgis can get intense. A friend from the fire department who goes every year says most crashes come from rider mistakes. With so many people in one place, long rides, fatigue and sometimes alcohol, even skilled riders can get caught off guard.

Are you an AI Bot?

[argonsagas]

I couldn’t get either of Robert’s links to work. Here’s another.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5435046-sturgis-rally-south-dakota-motorcyle-crashes/

No reports of any fresh grass cippings on the roadways on which these incidents occurred.



In all seriousness, my condolences to the family of the one rider who lost his life yesterday.

A common theme in many of the incidents:
“The rider was not wearing a helmet and sustained serious injuries

day 1 totals:
In addition to crashes, the South Dakota Highway Patrol reported that from 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, there were a total of 21 DUI arrests, 31 misdemeanor drug arrests and 14 felony drug arrests.

Highway Patrol also issued a total of 252 citations and 592 warnings from Saturday to Sunday.

In Ontario wearing a helmet has been mandatory for years, but there are many who consider that an unwelcome imposition, and they look for ways to evade the law.

Sometimes reality gives them an abrupt and hard lesson.

So-called "beanie" helmets are used by many of those riders. It is far from unusual to see H-D riders with them, but I have seen them on many cruiser riders.


I have known a number of EMTs and they all told me about one common thing they hate to see when arriving at the site of a bike crash: a beanie helmet on the side of the road.

The moment they see a beanie lying on the road or shoulder, they immediately expect the worst.


These toy helmets may have some sort of legal approval....or not.....but they apparently do not stay on your head when you crash

[argonsagas]

This has nothing to do with Sturgis, but I have seen more idiot riders this year than ever before....not just a few more, but probably five times as many. already...and we still have a couple more months to go before fall sets in.

How such a major change has come about so suddenly I do not know. The only thing that comes to mind is maybe they are trying to make videos. for social media.....

[argonsagas]

I couldn’t get either of Robert’s links to work. Here’s another.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5435046-sturgis-rally-south-dakota-motorcyle-crashes/

No reports of any fresh grass cippings on the roadways on which these incidents occurred.

Ideas on what these guys were doing?

There is a house directly behind them, so this is likely a driveway. What is it that they are trying to jump over.?
Is someone holding this airborne rider's beer?


.

[trevor]

On Sunday I got a call from my friend Chuck who I had just been on a week long trip with....he told me that another good friend of ours had texted him that his son had been killed Sunday night on his motorcycle. He was 28...just turned 28 July 22nd and I had texted him wishing him a happy birthday and he told him I was flying to Ontario in Sept to ride my ST1100 back to BC....has said he wanted to ride part way back with me...we were making plans...I have know his father for 40 plus years and we were even roommates in our early 20s.....I'm devasted for my buddy and his wife....left hand turner that got charged with careless driving causing death.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/article/woodstock-ont-man-dead-following-crash-in-brant-county/

[alke46]

Trevor, sorry for the loss of your friend.

[trevor]

Trevor, sorry for the loss of your friend.

Thank you....I texted with his best friend tonight, telling him how sorry I was for his loss....he thanked me and told my my friend's son was to be his Best Man in October....tragic

[Nessism]

Thank you....I texted with his best friend tonight, telling him how sorry I was for his loss....he thanked me and told my my friend's son was to be his Best Man in October....tragic

So sorry to hear about this loss. Stories like this are tragic, of the highest magnitude.

I introduced my son to motorcycles, in a very soft way. He saw my bikes in the garage, and just thought it was so cool. I never pushed. Eventually, he decided he wanted one, so I helped him buy an MT07 Yamaha. Such a GREAT bike! He took a safety riding course, bought tons of gear, and did everything right. His girlfriend bought him a really nice Shoei helmet, too. After a year of careful commuting, he made the decision to sell the bike. Every day, and I'm not joking, every day when he would get home from riding, he was just giddy. I'll bet he commented 50 times about how much fun it is to ride. He's a remarkably level-headed guy. Unlike me, sometimes. Anyway, during his year of commuting he recognized the risks of riding a motorcycle, particularly in the city environment in which we live. And frankly, after having a left turner get me in 2006, I have nothing but respect for his decision. Motorcycles are so much FUN, but they are also dangerous.

The other thing, and one of the reasons I don't ride much anymore, is because motorcycling is a SPORT. You need to practice to stay sharp. That may be the problem with some of these HD guys; they don't ride enough to stay sharp. Either you ride, regularly, or you shouldn't (on the street anyway) ride at all. Thus the reason my bike sits so much. Sad.

[trevor]

Thank you Ed,
You bring up something I have been thinking about too....my son has hi own bike too...I introduced him to riding when he was 12 I got him a CRF70 that he paid for half of it.
He we rode off road together for a year....he then kind of lost interest. So we sold the bike.
Then a year and a half ago he started to show interest in riding (like you, I never pushed)....I got him private riding lessons from a friend of mine that is a retired rcmp officer and is a certified instructor....smart people don't teach their own kids to drive or ride imo.
Anyway he has his full motorcycle endorsement now and as you have probably seen here he now has his own bike (GS800F) after riding my dr650 for a year.
When I heard of my friend's son's accident the first thing I thought of was my own son....and how hard it would be to not blame myself if he were to get into an accident...you know...the whole if it weren't for me he may have never gotten into motorcycles in the first place.
When my wife started riding and she told her dad at dinner one night he actually started to get very emotional....because he was so worried something bad would happen....I'll never forget the look on his face.
She took lessons and rode for a bit but ultimately decided it wasn't for her....and I'm not going to lie....I was very relieved