A friend is breaking in a new Triumph Tiger 800 so we decided to play hookie on Friday and run to Duluth the long way (up WI 35, down MN 23 & 61).
Around 5:30pm we are heading southbound on 61, halfway between Stacy & Wyoming, MN. Cars are stacked up from the stop sign in Stacy as far as the eye can see. The freeway looked about the same.
I'm in the lead, running center of the lane at 60 indicated (not flying) -- Staring at oncoming cars, scanning for blinkers and the like. Realize this is 3-4 miles of stopped cars.
All the sudden one of them turns out in front of me to make a U-turn out of the jam. Sees me, changes his tune and dives for the grass ditch across the lane.
I grabbed hold of all the ABS I could find. If you've never torn into the ABS on a BMW with the telelever front end - I tell you what. It's a thing of beauty.
It's the closest call I've had in a long time. So much so that we stopped for dinner in Wyoming. Took a while to shake off the adrenalin...
I drop my 11-year-old off for school on the back of my Beemer. He wears an Aerostitch jacket & an enduro helmet. I could bubble-wrap him in the back of a Suburban but what good is that?
I agree with all on the rider classes. My first bike was a 1983 Yamaha xt250. Took the rider course on that thing.
Be interesting to know how much liability is shaved off by having lights/sirens/video on the squad. From memory, if you hit a bus it's your problem as they essentially have permanent right of way. My guess is it's the same with a squad with lights/sirens.
The R1 hit the side of the Police SUV. Driver died, passenger in stable condition.
From the Star Trib story:
"More than a half-hour after Franklin died, Ivan Romero Olivares, 24, was killed at the intersection of 26th Street and Blaisdell Avenue S. when his motorcycle collided with a police SUV headed to the shooting scene. The SUV, with its flashing lights and siren on, had been traveling well below the posted speed limit and video evidence showed that the motorcycle struck the rear passenger side of the squad car, police said.
According to witnesses, the motorcycle had a green light and the police SUV, followed by more police vehicles, was traveling on 26th Street when it went through a red light at Blaisdell Avenue."
Heh - no rant here. You'll know when I rant - I go all sorts of crazy.
No argument here - Aerostitch is some ugly stuff. I've had my RoadCrafter for a decade now and there honestly wasn't anything that could compete with the protection at that time. Joe Rocket had some stuff but it seemed to wear from simple daily wear.
I was in Bob's Cycle this morning and I have to say, like the look of the new Icon gear.
Used gear - lower right corner. They always have leathers, textiles, bags, gadgets, etc. for sale. I've bought & sold a fair amount of stuff on that site.
Aerstitch does suck. It's ugly, heavy, takes forever to break in, people think it's a snowmobile suit, etc. But then again - there's nothing quite like seeing a rain cloud between you & where you are going... Then moving on with life by riding through it.
Doesn't really matter to me what people wear, so long as they wear something. Just because it's hot outside - doesn't mean the pavement gets any softer. I've been on rides where people went down. I can tell you from experience that they look better out the other side when they're in gear. Showed up to a Harley guy that went down in jeans and a leather vest (on route to Sturgis) - I didn't throw up but damn near. Was on an HSTA ride when a member threw a VFR into the guard rail. They left the bike in the ditch and he road pillion to the next stop in his Aerostitch.
I wore Hein Gericke leathers until I moved to Colorado. I totaled a Triumph 955i into the side of a Honda Civic in '99 in Gericke leathers... Walked away from it and that driver bought me a new bike.
Then I lived in the mountains for half a dozen years and learned to love Aerostitch gear. You never quite know what you are going to see in a day of riding, especially NE and West. On a July day it might be cold in the morning, hot at low altitude and snowing up high. It sucks to pull over, pull out your rain garb, ride along, sweat your a$$ off in plastic, pull over, take it off...
As for pulling over and waiting out the rain? Have fun with that.
I'm Ken. Been around a bit - was the chair of Colorado HSTA a decade ago. I've met a few of you. If nothing else, you might have seen me at a track day on my 1100GS. Sold it, now I'm on an RT. Done a few rallies, a couple of SaddleSores, and one BunBurner Gold.
I haven't argued the benefits of Dunlop vs Bridgestone vs Michelin in a while so I'm back online.
@Kemptar from Esko - you can either suffer long distances or you can be comfortable. My suggestion would be to buy a used 'Stitch off an old, soggy BMWMOA member. They're expensive for good reason. I purchased my RoadCrafter in '01 or '02 and it's still going strong. I think my Gerbing is from... '98 maybe...
Show Posts
