Rider down on bear creek canyon

[BikesRider777]

I was at Moco filling up on gas and saw two sportbikes head up towards Morrison and to Bear Creek Canyon tonight around 4:30pm. 10 minutes later I came around maybe the 12th or so turn into the canyon (give or take 5 or so), a sharp right hander that tightens up pretty significantly. Looks like the bike had possibly lowsided and slid into the guard rail on the other side. The ambulance and police were already there and I didn't see either rider. I hope they are ok. The bike down was an older light green or light orange (sorry, bad memory) Kawi Ninja possibly.

Hoping someone knows what happened and that the rider is ok?

That canyon is no joke man.

[madvlad]

That turn has claimed a ton of people, it really sneaks up on you. There's a lot of decreasing radius turns there. Have to be ready for sure. Hope all is well with the rider.

[Grim2.0]

CLovis knows all about that turn

[Jmetz]

I'm pretty sure that was the 2nd corner, I was behind him.

[JKOL]

I about hit a douche on a Harley at that very corner in my truck. The only reason I didn't smash him when he crossed the center line as the turn tightened up was because having ridden that rode a ton I knew exactly what to expect from that turn and I had already slowed down and moved as tight to the shoulder as I could. The look on the face of the douche and his passenger was pretty damn funny. The reason I say he was a douche is because the only protection he was wearing was a Harley helmet AKA bandana.

[madvlad]

So what you're saying is that he was a douche... :lol:

[JKOL]

So what you're saying is that he was a douche... :lol:

Can you tell I have a dislike of Harley riders in full Harley uniform building up? I live on Brook Forest Rd up in Evergreen, and it isn't the sport bikes that are a problem on the road. Surprisingly the majority of sport bike riders ride sensibly and enjoy the road while wearing a responsible amount of gear. The Harley riders are all riding flat out with nothing but sweet work boots and maybe a bandana if it is cool out. I am certain I will come out to a Harley in the creek running through my front yard when I head to work one day.

[GMR]

Can you tell I have a dislike of Harley riders in full Harley uniform building up? I live on Brook Forest Rd up in Evergreen, and it isn't the sport bikes that are a problem on the road. Surprisingly the majority of sport bike riders ride sensibly and enjoy the road while wearing a responsible amount of gear. The Harley riders are all riding flat out with nothing but sweet work boots and maybe a bandana if it is cool out. I am certain I will come out to a Harley in the creek running through my front yard when I head to work one day.

I've always found it a bit interesting that the look for Harley riders is usually full leathers or "chaps" and no helmet. Sport bike riders are often just helmet with shorts or tank top. I know I'm plenty guilty of riding without much on, but I can't stand not wearing a helmet

[UHATEIT]

I know that turn as well, sneeks up on you, Bear Creek is not all that crazy but those few couple of turns can get you. Hopefully the rider is alright!

[DriverDave]

I think the biggest problem with that turn is the incorrect sign. It has the full "U" sign with a speed of 30 mph. They really need to change it to 20. Most sport bikers figure they can safely double most suggested corner speeds. I'm not sure that even Marc Marquez could take that corner at 60!! I was just up there the other day, and noticed so many other corners that aren't as sharp as that one had speed signs of either 20 or 25. I wonder if CDOT would respond to a request/suggestion to get it changed. I would bet the total number of crashes on that corner would be less than half, if that sign had always said 20 mph.

[Ezzzzy1]

His side of the story:

"Sunday I have some one come into my line around a blind corner in Morrison and to avoid a head on crash I laid my bike down and slid into oncoming traffic and got hit by another car. Luckily I was able to walk away from it but that's only because I was wearing my gear..."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/10491281_667296526657955_2481561947597493366_n_zps 6b7ac993.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/10491281_667296526657955_2481561947597493366_n_zps 6b7ac993.jpg.html)

[DriverDave]

That story sounds a little fishy. If someone was coming into his line (cutting the corner and crossing the double yellow?), and he laid it down, wouldn't he hit that person and not some other car? It's just hard to visualize, based on that description.

[Grim2.0]

His side of the story:

"Sunday I have some one come into my line around a blind corner in Morrison and to avoid a head on crash I laid my bike down and slid into oncoming traffic and got hit by another car. Luckily I was able to walk away from it but that's only because I was wearing my gear..."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/10491281_667296526657955_2481561947597493366_n_zps 6b7ac993.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/10491281_667296526657955_2481561947597493366_n_zps 6b7ac993.jpg.html)

Damn an Orange ZX6R too i like that color on those.

[WolFeYeZ]

That story sounds a little fishy. If someone was coming into his line (cutting the corner and crossing the double yellow?), and he laid it down, wouldn't he hit that person and not some other car? It's just hard to visualize, based on that description.

It almost sounds like he might be describing a bad pass from a friend? "come into my line" could mean anything, lol.

[Ezzzzy1]

That story sounds a little fishy. If someone was coming into his line (cutting the corner and crossing the double yellow?), and he laid it down, wouldn't he hit that person and not some other car? It's just hard to visualize, based on that description.

More like, "A car came around a blind corner and I got scared and laid the bike down"

I wasnt there but I have a hard time agreeing with his story too.

Apparently he likes to wad things up. Pic of his car. Said he "hit a slick spot on 470"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/7546_598570973530511_607435406_n_zpsa4707b05.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/7546_598570973530511_607435406_n_zpsa4707b05.jpg.h tml)

[Ezzzzy1]

Sooner or later someone is not going to be walking away from these accidents that everything else is causing him to have.

[madvlad]

When keeping it real goes wrong lol

[#1Townie]

Darwin will claim him soon enough.

[asp_125]

Invisible sand! Yeah.. that's it, that's the ticket!

[madvlad]

Can you tell I have a dislike of Harley riders in full Harley uniform building up? I live on Brook Forest Rd up in Evergreen, and it isn't the sport bikes that are a problem on the road. Surprisingly the majority of sport bike riders ride sensibly and enjoy the road while wearing a responsible amount of gear. The Harley riders are all riding flat out with nothing but sweet work boots and maybe a bandana if it is cool out. I am certain I will come out to a Harley in the creek running through my front yard when I head to work one day.


They'll leave sweet metal drag marks all over your grass from barely leaning over :lol:

[UHATEIT]

Ah man thats a gorgeous ZX6r, I like the orange! I also like that 300ZX TT I had one of those too in high school and loved it.

[Clovis]

I wonder if that's the same corner I slid in back in '11?

That issue was cold tires. The turn snuck up on me so I just "leaned more" and much to my surprise the tires slipped out.

I stopped running Dunlops after that and switched to Michelins.

Agree his story sounds like BS.

[BikesRider777]

I wonder if that's the same corner I slid in back in '11?

That issue was cold tires. The turn snuck up on me so I just "leaned more" and much to my surprise the tires slipped out.

I stopped running Dunlops after that and switched to Michelins.

Agree his story sounds like BS.


What's up with the Dunlop vs Michelin comparison? Aren't there tires within each brand that warm up quicker? Don't you give up stickiness for quick warm up too? Just curious, had a friend slip on his dunlops the other morning when it was cold out on his way to work...but I don't commute, so is that even something to worry about?

[big_sur]

No, blaming tires for crashing is ridiculous. Ride within the limits of your equipment and yourself. If your tires are cold, they will have less traction. You should know that and even if they do start to let go, you should be able to feel for and correct that or you shouldn't be riding that quickly. A more accurate description of that crash is probably something more along the lines of, "I started losing the front end and didn't correct it quickly enough so I low sided" Taking responsibility for and learning from your mistakes will make you a much better rider at the end of the day as opposed to just blaming the tires, switching brands, and moving on. That car turned in front you? You should have been watching more closely\been more defensive\etc. Your chain came apart? You should have done your maintenance\checked your chain before you went out\etc. There was gravel in the road? You should have adjusted your speed to conditions\been riding in the car tracks\etc. See how this works? You have your life in your hands, do you really want to trust other people with it? I've crashed the shit out of some motorcycles and every single one has been my fault.

Also as an aside, Q2\Q3's have some of the quickest warm up out there, definitely better than power pures I've ridden.

[Ezzzzy1]

Anyone dropping into the canyons up in Morrison has warm tires... Unless you live at the Conoco :lol:

[FZRguy]

Excellent post big-sur.

[Ted]

Anyone dropping into the canyons up in Morrison has warm tires... Unless you live at the Conoco :lol:

Great point, but what if you camp at the Conoco waiting for others for a while ..... :)

[AOK303]

Great point, but what if you camp at the Conoco waiting for others for a while ..... :)

unless its raining or sunset there is no shade where you should park Warm Tire problem solved

and i do live 3 min from Moco and ive never had tire warming issues just drifting issues

[Clovis]

Well, if you must know...oh old and wise canyon carver...

I arrived at MoCo early and waited around for over an hour before the group left. So yeah, cold tires. I've done that same turn a million times on non-cold tires and had zero problems.

This happened 3 years ago.

But thank you for sharing your option.

PS I switched from Q2s to Pilot Road 2s because the PR2s doubled my tire life while maintaining 90% of the handling of the Q2. After the first set I couldn't even tell the difference.


No, blaming tires for crashing is ridiculous. Ride within the limits of your equipment and yourself. If your tires are cold, they will have less traction. You should know that and even if they do start to let go, you should be able to feel for and correct that or you shouldn't be riding that quickly. A more accurate description of that crash is probably something more along the lines of, "I started losing the front end and didn't correct it quickly enough so I low sided" Taking responsibility for and learning from your mistakes will make you a much better rider at the end of the day as opposed to just blaming the tires, switching brands, and moving on. That car turned in front you? You should have been watching more closely\been more defensive\etc. Your chain came apart? You should have done your maintenance\checked your chain before you went out\etc. There was gravel in the road? You should have adjusted your speed to conditions\been riding in the car tracks\etc. See how this works? You have your life in your hands, do you really want to trust other people with it? I've crashed the shit out of some motorcycles and every single one has been my fault.

Also as an aside, Q2\Q3's have some of the quickest warm up out there, definitely better than power pures I've ridden.