Rick del Monte
Member
This is the title of an article in the Asheville Citizen Times that came out on Monday. Very thoughtful article, unfortunately behind a paywall. It was based on the death of an expert rider, Chris Emory, last week. He was one of the leaders of the local Hayabusa Club and led many of their rides. After may years on his Hayabusa, Chris bought a Harley. That is what he died on. This year there have been 5 fatal accidents and 6 deaths on the Parkway: all of them on Harleys, only one involving excessive speed. It appears he leaned the bike over to make a turn, hit hard parts, and slid into a handrail. He had full gear on.
Chief Ranger Neal Labrie, a rider, is quoted quite a bit. It appears that the most common factor in motorcycle deaths over the years is not years of experience, or experience on mountain roads: it is larger cruiser bikes lower to the ground. It seems riders struggle to stay in their lanes, lean, and scrape footpegs and crash bars. Just Google Harleys on the dragon. Chris was very experienced, but not on Harleys.
One other common factor is that most deaths on the Parkway occur between 12:00pm and 4:00pm: siesta time. They typically do not involve alcohol, less than 17%.
I have a house in Asheville and have spent a lot of time riding the mountain roads in the area. The Parkway is what I ride when I want an easy low stress ride, so the deaths are surprising. I looked at an R18 since I love the look, but quickly concluded that I would not want to ride that bike on a mountain road. Reading the article I think that was a smart decision.
rickdm
Chief Ranger Neal Labrie, a rider, is quoted quite a bit. It appears that the most common factor in motorcycle deaths over the years is not years of experience, or experience on mountain roads: it is larger cruiser bikes lower to the ground. It seems riders struggle to stay in their lanes, lean, and scrape footpegs and crash bars. Just Google Harleys on the dragon. Chris was very experienced, but not on Harleys.
One other common factor is that most deaths on the Parkway occur between 12:00pm and 4:00pm: siesta time. They typically do not involve alcohol, less than 17%.
I have a house in Asheville and have spent a lot of time riding the mountain roads in the area. The Parkway is what I ride when I want an easy low stress ride, so the deaths are surprising. I looked at an R18 since I love the look, but quickly concluded that I would not want to ride that bike on a mountain road. Reading the article I think that was a smart decision.
rickdm