Ducati Monster Forum

As i was leaving school today I saw this. Tire was completely flat. I could never imagine even driving my car like that, let alone my motorcycle.

(http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr94/miamirings/ducati/IMG_0366.jpg)

What's the most dangerous thing you've seen on another motorcycle?

 :o What the hell?!

I have seen some bad tires before... but that is ridiculous. Looks like a burnout casualty.

Oh and I hi to everyone btw. This is probably my second post but i have ben lurking on this board for about the past year, feeding off of the massive amount of information. I've had nothing to say for the most part because every question i have seems to have been answered before.

Me>>>

23yoM Full time finance/pre-med student in sunny Miami, FL where it's always riding weather (except when it's raining) Any one else here from miami..?

My Bike>>>

'02 M620 Purchased with 20k mi.

First thing i did was get rid of those ugly mickey mouse mirrors and put on the CRG's. waiting for the rizoma clip-ons

(http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr94/miamirings/ducati/IMG_0152.jpg)

Yay pictures - you've got things figured out here.

Well, that bike in your first photo's had a tough life, seems to have spent some time off it's wheels and not been fixed up.  The tail's bent, and they are missing a turn signal lens... Obviously this person takes great and loving care of their machine... or not.

I hope they put 'I was stupid' on the ER form as the cause of the injuries they will sustain when the tire blows.. and it will. Not that I wish that owner harm... but jebus, do something to save your own hide...

My contribution

An average Harley rider at Deal's Gap (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whVXD3ex9DA#normal)

That was a dangerous move by that HD rider... and they paid for it.

Everything about that vid makes me laugh.  [laugh]

toss in a lack of pants...and ya have yerself a Luca 

Whats so funny?  The passengers and driver of that vehicle should have stopped and helped the fallen rider.  What if the rider is seriously injured?  They could have offered to transport him/her to the nearest hospital instead of waiting for the ambulance and possibly saving his/her life.  I agree that it was a not so smart move by the rider but how would you like it if it was you and nobody stopped to help you?

Thanks for sharin YUU!     [clap]
The fact that his riding budy nearly did the same thing speaks volume.  Fixate on the tailight much?  I cant imagine he was hurt.  Looks like he went into the bushes upright.  
I bet he told all his buddies the vehicle cut him off.  Yeah, #@$%@ cage drivers!  All that dude needed was a red nose and big shoes.

As for the OP pic...I get the concept of "starving student", but that shouldnt lead to suicide.  Fraktard.

Welcome, glad to hear you're finding good info here.  Check out the South Florida Ducati Brigade (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?board=46.0).


That tire is something else. :o

I was a bit amazed when I saw someone trying to lane-split with crutches strapped cross-wise to the back of his bike.

I agree on the not so funny part, I'm not much for laughing at wrecks. Shaking my head, and a muttered 'Man, that was a bad idea' is my personal MO

Well, just to play devils advocate - it was obvious that assistance had already arrived in the form of the other riders.  The driver/passenger in the van was starting to panic "Dude they are going to kick our asses" so their logical state of mind is also in question...
Also if there was any significant injury, the rider would have been better off to wait for the ambulance and proper rescue than to try to be moved into some van. As we all know, things like spinal injuries can go from ok to very bad if not handled in the proper manner

Of course we'd all like someone to come to our aid in the case of something like this - that's not really a debate.


Well, I've no idea to what happened after the end of the clip - but the Gap doesn't forgive off road adventures lightly. Once you're off the road, things drop off very quickly in some spots.

As noted, I added this since it was a dangerous thing - passing blind, on a very tight, technical road.

clearly someone who hasn't learned their lesson... [clap]

Oh, let me count the ways...

1. Someone is video taping the Gap drive from the passenger seat of a van.

2. Idiots on Harleys try and pass.

3. Said idiots fly right off the road in a perfect display of no fewer than three rookie mistakes.

4. Rather than assist these guys or even consider their well-being, driver of the van repeatedly calls rider a "make the beast with two backsing idiot".

5. Girl from the backseat: "Why would they do that?" <-- Because they were probably sick of following you at 10mph under the posted speed limit and you failed to move over for them (obviously speculating but this usually seems to be the case).

6. Camera guy says "They're going to beat our asses". Obviously watched too many movies.

7. "Yeah, go, get out of here". Seriously? You just left the scene of an accident you had a part in.

8. A few more "F***in IDIOT"s in there...

9. Driver: "I'd have pulled over if there had been a spot to pull over".  [bang]

etc...

Obviously the biker going down is terrible, but he was totally at fault. I agree the driver should have stopped and he's a moron alright. His dialogue was the funny part. HE was the idiot, not just the rider.

AFAIK, unless the moto struck the van/RV, it's not involved in the accident.

Perhaps someone knowledgeable in the local vehicle code can confirm that.

I'm not up on my Tenn laws - but it's pretty universal that if you were not involved, you don't have to stop.

It gets IZ_ when there's incidents like once vehicle cutting another off - the cut off vehicle crashes, but there's never any direct vehicle to vehicle contact - the old Left turning cage scenario. It's pretty clear in our heads that a car turning left across your nose is the direct cause of a spill - but it can be hard to prove if there's no evidence besides your word vs theirs and your torn up bike

In this case, yeah the van driver was going irritatingly slow it appears. But video can decieve - I've got films from the gap that seem slow while at my desk.. but I know we moving along. Either way, driving they way the van driver was would not put him at fault. Irritating, but not dangerous.

This is very true about the slow-looking video.

I always thought that if you were a witness to a crash you had to stay. IMO, if the van was the reason these guys passed and crashed they should have at least stayed to give a statement.

Yes, I'm from Miami, but i am a bit north from you. I live in Davie just PM me or check out the South Florida Ducati Brigade in the Local Club board for more info about what goes on in the Ducati Scene.

Personally, I would've stayed and helped, but consider the average cage driver.

Probably no medical training.

Probably no mechanical training (AKA, ain't helping fix your ride).

Probably nothing in the vehicle to aid getting a bike out of a ditch.

Probably, at most, would have a cell phone with a signal. Maybe, and might call for help.


The van may not have been aware of the motorcyclists, thus did not pull over. I mean-how quickly can you come up on a car in the twisties? Probably a lot quicker than the average cager would guess. After that, how long do you wait for them to find a turnout, or do you just pass?


Consider the mindset towards a group of large Harley riders. The people in the van might have actually 1) felt responsible to some degree and 2) thought they might legitimately get their asses kicked. Would you still stay?

Think of the times someone has made you bin it or almost made you bin it. Would you want their help after or to take a swing?  I'm typically not feeling all too happy at that moment.

We just consider them fellow motorcyclists-to the average population, they are a "motorcycle gang", and thus dangerous.


Depending on how upset the guys looked, I might've just kept driving, too.

Nope, you're not legally obliged as a run of the mill citizen. Morally... perhaps. Last accident I saw I stopped, gave a statement and my info - even got summonsed to court to testify. Moral obligation and legal are quite different as we all know - but I'll stop there before I step up on a soap box.

Now, if the van driver/passengers were medical professionals/first responders - there rules are different there. But I don't know the detailed ins and outs of their responsibilities - in a situation like that - perhaps someone in the know can help out

Vermont (edit:  and Minnesota) are the only states with a requirement to stop and render aid.  It is a misdemeanor if you do not. 

Witnesses are not required to stop.  Police cannot compel you to stay, but could require you to appear in court to testify with a subpoena, if a judge is willing to give one for such an event.

Ah good, some more details... Since I've never lived in those states, and haven't even been to one (Vermont) since I was 10, I wasn't up on their rules.

What gets me is that the HD rider HAD MADE THE PASS and was on what looked like the correct line, then he straightens up and goes off the left side.  Probably thought he was way to fast, tries to brake with substandard braking system (looks like he locked up the REAR brake) and then just goes with it; target fixation and all that.

Yeah, if there's no contact it's hard to prove involvement in an accident. I've actually heard people suggest NOT to dump the bike trying to avoid the dreaded left turn and to just hit the guy instead because it leaves proof of involvement.  :-\ That's not to say you shouldn't try to avoid the accident but if you know you're going to wreck by either dumping the bike or hitting the car, hit the car. Of course hitting the car is usually more damaging to everything though. Lose lose either way.

Oh, on topic:
This greasy guy came out to join the lion dance team and he was all chatting me up since we both ride and when I finally saw his bike it was a total mess. Not a single part unscratched. Then when he rode away it made a scraping sound kinda like a dry clutch, but it was a Japanese bike. Turns out his chain was INCREDIBLY loose! When I finally convinced him to let me look at his chain we found no less than 8 broken links that were just barely hanging in there and another 4 frozen links. Popping off his front sprocket cover revealed a giant wad of mucky chain lube/grease with broken chain links stuck in it. A week later he was riding around a beach area and dumped it in some sand while making a left. The chain was still loose because tightening made it freeze and he didn't want to replace it yet.  [roll] So the chain jumped and cut up his foot since he was also wearing sandals.  [bang] I'm so glad I never road with that squid. We didn't talk much after that since he was such an idiot. When I took a favor with a friend (fellow Duc rider) to borrow her truck and time to help pick up his bike after the wreck she said we should just dump it in the junkyard.  [laugh]

That Harley/Deals Gap video is as 'old as the hills', but it's still interesting to watch.   [laugh]

Anyway, regarding the OP - I was on a ride through the Wisconsin twisties a couple months ago and saw a rear tire like that one.  A group of sportbikes came up behind me on one of the long straights and I waved them past.  The first bike to go around me had a white stripe on the middle of his rear tire.  I thought he had driven over some white paint or something, but it quickly dawned on me that some prolific burnouts had probably worn his tire to the cords.   [laugh]  

I can't imagine feeling safe at any speed on a rear tire w/ a 1" strip of cords showing down the middle.  These guys were well into triple-digit speeds down the straights.  :-\

I grew up in Weston, so I'm up there all the time. I'll PM you next time i'm going up there.