Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/06/30/lack-of-caution-leads-to-motor.html
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How horrifying. Did he live?
Friends to know,
and ways to grow.
A Reading Rainbow!
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As a bicycle rider I am a big fan of keeping the CofG forwards with weight on the handle bars, and a long stem forwards from the axis of the steering bearings. The bike should keep itself straight and stable, but it doesn’t hurt to be sure. The handle bar is not a steering wheel.
This bike looks like the trail was all wrong and once the oscillation went beyond its zone of stability, it went into this divergent mode and fell over.
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I was in China in '91 traveling to the airport outside of Beijing when a motorcyclist crashed much like this guy did. The van I was in came up on the crash just seconds after the crash. It was alarming to see how many people just kept on driving by. Nobody stopped to help. The shattered bike was still slowly spinning in the middle of the highway while the driver was slowly pulling himself over to the curb dragging his limp legs behind him. Still nobody stopped to help. The van I was in just kept going.
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Holy shit, that road rash on the arm!
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So what made it do that?
Can I get a translation?
- Oh yes, “Peppa Pig runs from the Pigs” is a classic episode.
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This is called a “Tank Slapper” Aka Speed Wobble, head shake, and shimmy.
It is not fun.
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Distribute your load evenly, with as much low-center of gravity weight as possible. Pannier-style compartments may be ugly, but they sure keep you stable. Forward weight where possible is helpful. That rear rack is not meant to be a catch-all.
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one of the wheels on my truck did that once, but I had three other wheels to help keep it from killing me.
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Jeeps and Landcruisers and lifted truck can get something similar with old steering boxes, tired tire-rod ends, and skeevy steering knuckles.
It is called death wobble.
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I realize that it probably would not have been my first instinct as well, but if you see someone on the highway who appears to have poor control of their vehicle, you should call 911 before the accident happens, not start filming. You might save a few lives.
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They followed him for 5-10 miles, which is 5-10 minutes that they weren’t calling the cops to /prevent/ the accident in the first place. I don’t rat people out, but when I see patently unsafe shit that could get others hurt (mostly obvious drunks going 110 in the median), I’m not going to hesitate to call.
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Dangit. I did at least skim the thread.
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At least he smartly lowered his center of gravity by not wearing a helmet.
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That poor guy! At least he had a helmet on. I know not everyone likes armor in the summer heat, but no matter how dorky, arm and knee pads are so much better than skin grafts. From the description of him walking to the side afterward, it sounds like he didn’t slip a disc or break his back, which is a minor miracle.
It’s called speed wobble. Causes can be a loose lugnut on the fork, loose chain, even low tire preassure, but given how quickly he spun out, I would guess his head bearings were coming loose. When your bike starts to wobble, it’s time to slow down and get your bike to a mechanic.
Isn’t he? I’m watching on a small screen, but it looks like he has a helmet on. I could be wrong.
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I saw a helmet. Bet he wishes he had leathers on…
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Leathers can be oppressively hot ridding in the summer sun. But I have a breathable synthetic jacket with aramid fibers in the danger zones. If I wipe out in it, it’s still gonna hurt, but I probably won’t leave skin all over the blacktop. Even pads would be better than nothing though. I’m just a little extra careful because a riding buddy of mine spent six months in rehab after her bike rolled over on her.
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I’m watching on my iPad, and I don’t see a helmet. Helmet-hair maybe…
But it’s a very fuzzy image.
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In bmw airhead parlance “Rubber Cow”
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Ha! I hadn’t heard of “Rubber Cow”. That sounds like a translation from a German word.
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