THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

You guys know things here in Wisconsin have been a bit tumultuous this past year. Some times things get put into perspective.

I'm out in the country, so my "neighbors" aren't exactly next door. But we're closer than many neighbors who live in the same apartment building. Good situation.

We just got back from a few days out of town to the news that a neighbor's son had been killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. He'd been boating with friends, and had a few beers. They left the park, him in the lead. A couple miles down the road, he was negotiating (?) a turn and hit a buggy full of 11 Amish people on their church commute. Joey died at the scene, and two Amish children are still hospitalized. One of the horses was put down.

Exactly four days ago, his dad and I had been talking about how lucky we felt, what with another neighbor getting severely injured in a tractor PTO accident. You just never know.

Those of you who know me, know that I've had my own share of physical mishaps. But tonight, I'm feeling like I've led a pretty darn lucky life.

Stay well my friends, and don't let a day go by.

Feelin' down in Wisconsin,
Paul

Sorry to here that bud ...Sombody who can make the turn is just traveling to fast period, but it just drives me nuts when I here of bikers KILLING THEMSELVES.....It's not necessary. Most bike accidents are preventable if people that drive them learned to drive a bit more defensively.

I have ridden all my life..started in the dirt and motorcrossed then moved on to road racing...just to get some learning in...had a great teacher there. Then I bought my first street bike (small 350)....then my next (500) and worked up finally to a touring machine.

These new bikes are fast and torquey and I think they give the riders a false sense of security. they corner so well, but they like everything that goes fast slow down way to slow if something unusual happens.

I am even sorrier that the horse had to be put down and the kids were hurt (no fault of theirs). Drives me NUTS .

Hi Jerry,

I didn't mean that poorly towards bikers. Joey shouldn't have been driving. Period. And yeah, what happened to him is a huge bummer, but even worse for the Amish folks. Horse too.

He was only 21, and driving a "crotch rocket" (his dad's term). He even had the bike sold, it was just one last day's ride.

It's just sad all around.

Paul

Paul

very sad

my best, Peter

Sorry about the way I came off. Not trying to be disrespectful, but I lost my best freind 2 days after grad the same way. 3 beers and he was headed home - I had offered him a ride in my old toyota landcruiser, but he didn't want to leave his bike.

When he took off my heart sank. He did a wheelie on HIS crotch rocket and waved his hands...he was an excellent rider, but with the 3 beers I guess he felt even MORE indistructable - problem when we are young eh!.

Well he made it about 7 blocks ran a light and hit the side of a transport truck. I came about 3 minutes later. was the toughest day of my life. Everytime I see or here of a biker being hurt or killed it breaks me up. He was just starting his life out. Never even had a chance to get in debt the bastard and left us all with a BIG HOLE in out hearts...still gets me to think about it

So something positive yes - LIVE YOUR LIFE everyday like it was your last cause maybe it will be. Have no regrets - take no prisoners - make sure you smile more and spend time around people you care about instead of that friggin SECOND JOB.....


Sorry I am rambling again.....be safe out there guys and gals

Jer Bear

Along with Mogs and Pinzies one my lifes passions has been motorcycles.
I've ridden for 25 years, raced at the amateur and professional level off and on for 10 and have been a MSF/team oregon instructor for the last 6.
The biggest problem with young guys and bikes is the total lack of accountability in this country as to who can buy the latest 175 h.p. at the wheel sportbike. Europe has and it somewhat right and Japan does a good job with tiered licencing, in other word you CAN NOT buy it without the right endorsement, and if you get caught riding it without its a mandatory licence revokation! Untill we adopt a tiered licencing system young guys will continue to die on bikes they should not even be standing next to.
I have a LOT of track time and experiance on big h.p. bikes and it absolutly blows me away what you can buy off of the showroom floor now as long as you have the cash or acceptable credit...if its cash they rarely ask to see a LICENCE!
Sorry for the rant, this is kind of a sore spot for me and every time I hear of another kid dying it just kills me.
I feel bad for everyone involved in this tragedy and wish nothing but the best for those involved.
D

The one thing in my career in law enforcement that never gets easier is seeing needless death. It's especially hard when seeing young people die. I get so upset when making a DWUI arrest and listening to some drunk bad mouth, "Don't you cops have anything else better to do?" I always tell them, "No, I don't. I may have save your life."

We broke up an underage keg party here that was out in the National Forest. The community actually was against us for "picking on" the kids. This was months after a drunk 18 year old drove off a cliff in the forest and died. Amazing how some people just don't get it.

Really sorry to hear about that, that's terrible

Just for everyone that knows a motor cycle rider, my dad worked trauma anesthesia for +/- 25 years. In his opinion, it's not if but when you will be in a wreck on one of those even without the alcohol mixed in. Friends don't let friends ride motorcycles. He made it a point to tell everyone who rides them about the statistics and he usually keeps to himself about that kind of stuff- he has seen way too many of those and it is never pretty. If he ever saw me on one I know he would literally kick the you know what out of me even though he is over 60.

Again, I am very sorry for your loss but just felt I had to post a warning about that.

I know I will never ride one because of that info and because I have personally seen the results of two motorcycle accindents where no alcohol whatsoever was mixed in.

I don't mean this to be disrespectful in any way. I just thought that this information may have already saved my life, I will never know. And if this thread or post makes one person change their habits or actions, it may save another.

My thanks to all of you who've written. By the way, I didn't read any of your replies as being offensive. At least I took no offense.

We could all throw around blame at young drivers, fast bikes, and alcohol. All of which are a part of our country and culture. There's plenty of blame being tossed around here, to be sure.

But ultimately, there's just an enormous grief for everybody involved. Thanks for allowing me to get my thoughts out, and for putting yours in too. It means a lot.

Paul

I am also saddened for the loss. You are always welcome at my campfire .

You can always pm me and spill your guts bud (in private).

Just wanted you to know that me and the rest of the gang care ok.

YER BUD

JERBEAR of the YUKON

P.S. - Snows is in the hills today - frick it's not even September ....so much for global warming

My First bike in the 1970's was a 250 Ducati. After my test, which was a joke in GB, the tester only saw you for brief moments because he sent you around the course in live traffic, much of it in streets that he could not have got to, even if he were an Olympic sprinter. Yes in those days motorcycle testers were on foot in GB . I then immediately after passing went on to fast road bikes the first being a 750. I travelled long distances in all weathers and commuted to work every day, which was just over 50 miles away, even in the snow and bad weather. I used to practice locking my front wheel up on quiet roads so that I could react appropriately should I inadvertently lock up when trying to avoid a collision or on a slippery road. This helped as I never fell off at speed and I did travel very fast in those days. I did make a prat of my self on a couple of occasions at walking pace when parking up but usually caught it just before it hit the deck. Defensive driving is the only way to stay alive on a bike it is not only what the rider does that counts. It is imperative to be aware of what other road users are doing and what they are going to do next. they where wonderful years on the bike i never wanted to stop. It was so exhilarating nothing is quite like it.

I do not ride today and I would try and put off anyone who wanted to go that way. If it were one of my own, then I would put any thing possible in their way to prevent them ever cocking a leg over one. Having a bike is like carrying a death sentence. I think that it is worse for a pillion as usually they don't even know what is coming next and have no control. I have seen far too many bad things in casualty, horrific mutilating injuries.

The test in GB has tighten up a lot and as said above their is a tiered arrangement. Young people can only ride low powered machines and they have to pass a test which is far more involved than what I ever enjoyed. They have to spend time with trained riders often whom are full time or retired police officers. Over here you can see them driving around following the leader who is on a bigger more powerful machine. The following crocodile riding little more than fancy mopeds. This teaches them the rudiments of the road. They then also have to pass a written test. i am not sure about what size that they can progress to I think it is 125cc. It is very difficult now for any one new to motorcycles to progress fro nothing to a full grown power bike.

One of the biggest concerns to authorities here is the amount of carnage sustained by "Born Again Bikers" these are typically men in their 40's + who have a test certificate from their younger days but can now go out and buy what ever they want. Their is just no resemblance between a bike of yesteryear and the 170+mph machines of today. Most of these guys are what I call Butterflies or fair weather riders. They only come out in sunny weather and then cruise around in large groups. They are easy to spot because they have the best bikes and the latest matching riding gear. In my opinion they never gain enough experience to handle their machines in adverse conditions and cannot react when things go wrong. They come out to Wales on the bank Holiday hot weather. One never sees them in the rain. The roads here are fantastic for bikes, well it was. They congregate in village pubs then play catch up the leader. It is not uncommon to find them well on your side of the road on some bends. They try to pull back but are committed to a line and one needs to take avoiding action. I have seen countless machines stuffed in hedges ambulances in attendance. I have a sister who is a paramedic and it is routine for her to attend this sort of thing. Occasionally she finds it very distressing. On one occasion even though we live hundreds of miles apart and she knows I don't ride these days, she phoned just to make sure that I was safe because the deceased rider was unrecognisable and in a very unfortunate state. I wont go into the details but what she described was unimaginable. it had taken a search team including her self to locate the body hours because it had flown so far from the site of the collision. They eventually found it high up in a tree down an embankment a long way from the bike.

I am very sorry for relatives and friends, it must be their biggest fear, a fear that is too often experienced.

I don't know if you have similar "titles" for motorbike riders in other countries, but in Australia a popular slang term for motorcycle riders is :
"Temporary Australians"

....so if your ever in Australia and somebody mentions "temporary Australians" you'll know what they are talking about!

Now if they also say "it's as rough as hesian undies" ..... Err-Ummm... I'II explain that another day!

I have to chirp up here in FAVOUR of biking sorry...cause I happen to LOVE 'em .

Having said that you have to have a healthy dose of "hey dude your're the smallest thing on the road here so keep your head up, eyes peeled and drive defensively or your going to be in trouble.

I don't drive beside someone on the road PERIOD. If I am on a two lane highway then stay behind or get ahead but don't linger beside ANYONE not even another biker.

There is no room to move there. Stay in view of the person in front of you at all times. So many times I see people riding their bike in the right track behind a vehicle (in North America). That is the hardest place to see you from. Staying in the left track is safest because they generally look out that mirror and they should (if you stay back far enough) see you in the rear view too.

NEVER expect them to see you PERIOD either. I always drive with my high beams on in the daytime and they have a gizmo to make it flash constantly. Might be a pain in the a$$ for driivers but they SEE ME.

In towns and cities I run in a lower gear than normal ppl do. If you need the power you are a flick away from the power band and if you need to stop the engine can help. If you are too high a gear you can't do either .

If I go to pass then I always flash my highbeams a couple of times too ( I do this in any vehicle actually) just incase they are a bit dosey and when I pass I PASS - no dicking around...get by them and give them some birth (go wide) cause if something happens to come outta the ditch then you and they have some room to move.

Try not to drive at night if you can help it. I think that's the most terrifying time for new and experienced drivers and if you do SLOW DOWN and get some DECENT HEADLIGHTS.

This is something that really scares me - bikers with passengers that travel WAY TO FAST. I see this mostly on the crotch rocks. The passenger has nothing SIT ON little lone HOLD ON TOO and some idiot that is new to riding is showing them how fast this thing will go. ARE YOU NUTS. You have a persons life in your hands and you owe it to them to keep them safe PERIOD.

It absolutley scares the crap out of me when I see this young kid with his gilrfriend on there...both in cutoffs and tee shirts and a halter top and he is flying through traffic like HE IS THE KING OF THE ROAD - get a brain, slow down and get some protection and I don't mean condoms....although they should have BOTH tee hee .

NOW HAVING SAID ALL THAT: SOME PRO'S

I don't know if there is anything better than traveling on a bike cause the views are spectacular. If you have NEVER travelled on a bike and you love sight seeing you are really missing out. You can't see above the guard rails in most vehicles and you can't see through your roof. You really are missing out. You get all the smells (great when the smells are great I guess), but you get 'em. I travel alot on my own, but I have recently joined a goldwing club up here and we had a rally this summer. These are some of the most fun loving people on the planet BESIDES PINZ OWNERS.

They have all the gear too to keep them safe and warm. Heated vests, seats, handle bars, the lightest and toughest rain gear on the planet (a real must this year WOW). They have cb's so we can talk to each other which is great when someone is leading and there are things on the road -you can instantly let everyone know...it's amazing.

I have my stereo (Ipod) hooking into mine and the radio so I can check the weather etc. Some have GPS - but we only have one road here (goes up the hwy and down the hwy and it's called the Alaska hwy)so it's not much good for me.

So for me it's been one of the nicest ways to travel with and without other ppl and I have met many nice ppl through biking.

That's my 2 cents worth...now if ppl would just read this and LISTEN...but we know ppl don't we.

Jer Bear

I'm sorry to hear about the loss also.
Here in Colorado (USA) in the 1970's the driving test was slaloming a set of cones. I showed up and the big bad Harley rider chided me for my girley man Honda cl350. Picture it in your mind a big Harley chopper trying to slalom cones (wipe out 2, go around 1). While the testor and I laughed the Harley guy came back and apologized and asked to borrow my Honda if he would buy me a drink. We both passed and then I got my reward and drove home... There but for the Grace of God...
A week later my boss and I went out after work for a bar crawl. He on a Kawasaki 350 triple bored, stroked, ported... After we closed down the 3rd bar I went home and the next day asked him how it went. He told me when we left the 3rd bar he had $18 and some change. When he got home he had $2.00 and couldn't remember anything in between. There but for the grace of God...
Another night after the usual bar closings I remember laying the Kawasaki down in a corner and seeing sparks where my foot was and thought "that gonna hurt" There but for the grace of God...
I lost a friend at work when his bike went down in a corner in the day at low speed and his head hit a curb and broke his neck. At his funeral I saw his wife and kids and thought why him???
I am sorry for your neighbors loss. Now I am no longer 10 foot tall and bullet proof.

Profpinz, here in Colo my ex wife worked in an emergency room and there they called motorcycles "Donorcycles" because the organ donor is in transit.

I'll say a prayer for your neighbor, his family and the son.

Ps thats why I like the Pinz: If I forget to put down the kick stand it doesn't fall over!!!

When I took my bike test sometime in the 70's I just just booked an appointment time with the test centre and turned up on my 250. The official looked at my licence and insurance details and then we went out side. He explained to me what he wanted me to do. This was in Birkenhead near to Liverpool GB. It has a very fine Victorian grassed and gardened Square with a road going around its periphery hamilton Square. It was about a couple of hundred yards per side perhaps. I was instructed to ride around the square a couple of times in the traffic and negotiate the traffic lights. Then I was to detour a little and come up a certain street close to the test centre where he would ask me a few questions on the highway code. This I happily did it had no worries for me as I had already several years of motorcycling covering quite a big mileage. After the general knowledge test of answering a few very simple questions about traffic lights and what certain road signs meant we passed on to the second part of the test.

"I want you to ride around the block and keep repeating this until I come out in front of you with my hand up so" He demonstrated what resembled a natsi salute which one used to see Police officers do when they wanted any one to stop. Around and round the buildings I rode wondering just were he might pop up. Then between a row of parked cars the official did his Hitler impression while jumping in front of me and I applied both my brakes. The back started to lock up but I released some of the pressure and brought the vehicle to a smart controlled stop. I then had to follow him for about 50 yards at walking pace behind him to show slow speed control, this I did at half of his walking speed and he had to stop and wait for me. He ticked some boxes on his clipboard and remained expressionless then told me that I had passed and that he was impressed with my braking. After receiving the certificate I took off my mandatory L plates and roared off to celebrate. The whole operation took between half and one our including waiting for my examiner.


At that time their was no compulsion to take ones test unless one wanted to move up to a bigger machine or take passengers who had not passed their motorcycle test. Before that time their was not even any limit on the cc or engine size that a learner could ride. Mind you their was then some pretty quick 250 cc machines that could give some Triumph Bonneville or Norton's a hard time


The funny thing about the GB test at that time was their was rumours about an examiner testing a motorcyclist for his obligatory Emergency Stop but unfortunately he jumped out in front of the wrong rider and was flattened,



Ho