FARK.com: (7157369) Pro-tip: If you're teaching a novice how to ride a motorcycle, consider doing it some place other than the fifth story of a parking structure

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		Pro-tip: If you're teaching a novice how to ride a motorcycle, consider doing it some place other than the fifth story of a parking structure (blog.chron.com)		115
		More: Fail, Houston Police Department, parking garage

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Eve L. Koont		2012-06-12 02:07:05 AM

FTA: The death happened at 2929 Allen Parkway near Waugh about 5:50 p.m

Waugh. Waugh. Waugh.

Harry_Seldon		2012-06-12 02:19:20 AM

capt.hollister: FizixJunkee: snuff3r: TFA: the friend told the man to put on the brakes, but the man apparently accidentally hit the accelerator.

Yep, he accelerated all right.

\...accelerated at 9.8 m/s^2

Always obey gravity; it's the law !

My perpetual motion machine rocks!

Harry_Seldon		2012-06-12 02:20:19 AM

AbbeySomeone		2012-06-12 02:22:04 AM

Darwinny and hilarious.

hammettman		2012-06-12 02:24:26 AM

Heh, I've actually been in that parking garage. I can see how a guy could easily go over the wall, aside from the plain fact that it's Texas.

butt-nuggets		2012-06-12 02:26:40 AM

FizixJunkee: accelerated at 9.8 m/s^2

Sir Isaac Newton winks at Darwin

Harry_Seldon		2012-06-12 02:38:14 AM

hammettman: Heh, I've actually been in that parking garage. I can see how a guy could easily go over the wall, aside from the plain fact that it's Texas.

So what you are saying is the family of the rider should sue the owners of the parking garage, the motorcycle manufacturer, and the Catholic Church?

Cloudchaser Sakonige the Red Wolf		2012-06-12 02:46:32 AM

snuff3r: TFA: the friend told the man to put on the brakes, but the man apparently accidentally hit the accelerator.

Eh? Brake and accel are two completely different devices. It's not like mixing pedals in a car up.

No farking way i would let a newbie touch my bike. Even though it's insured up the wazoo, waiting 6 weeks to get it back from the repair shop would kill me.

/rides 6 days a week

My guess is being a novice, he somehow gripped the right handlebar/brake handle in a way that when he squeezed, he also turned the throttle and didn't also squeeze the clutch lever

/rides 5 days a week
//26k miles in the last 4 years

forgotmydamnusername		2012-06-12 02:51:34 AM

capt.hollister: forgotmydamnusername: JonZoidberg: I guess his pipes weren't loud enough; could have saved his life.

As likely as any other scenario. "Loud Pipes Save Lives!" is just something to tell the irate little old lady down the block, because you know she won't give a fark about the 10 additional fewer horsepower you gained by installing them...

Far more likely...

If you don't go with something making absolute 0 back pressure, and you install a more free-flowing intake, and richen your fuel map slightly, no, you'll get noticeably more output. You could also do those things and leave the pipes alone, but it's going to be less successful. Even if you're one of the 'tards who uses the straight drag pipes, you'll see some improvement, just all in the top end, where you'll never actually ride the bike, and at the expense of torque at less than WOT.

Degenz		2012-06-12 03:35:50 AM

BronyMedic: Degenz: Pro tip: if you're a Fark modmin desperately trying to justify your existence, shove your balls and penis up your ass, take a picture, post it with cutesy catch phrase and die.

Are you trolling for a banning?

I just prefix everything with "pro tip" and it seems to get a hard on.

polyphemus75		2012-06-12 03:43:13 AM

Yes, but did he learn to fly?

ladyfortuna		2012-06-12 03:44:19 AM

Really didn't feel like poking around to find the later scene where he screws up riding the awesome red bike... so you get the initial fall.

Jon iz teh kewl		2012-06-12 03:44:55 AM

a "novice"?? what are they, a ham radio operator?

0Icky0		2012-06-12 03:45:01 AM

stonelotus: this article is worthless without video.

Here's one frame anyway.

Neums		2012-06-12 04:01:26 AM

Isn't it high time Texas got its own tag by now?

stonelotus		2012-06-12 04:01:35 AM

Delay: Ed Finnerty: No kidding. You'll need enough time to scream "Oh shiat!!!" completely before hitting the ground.

I'd say 10 stories, minimum.

LaShawna says 11 stories is a proper fall.

[a.abcnews.com image 640x360]

you don't say?

On-Off		2012-06-12 04:41:43 AM

forgotmydamnusername: at the expense of torque at less than WOT.

I always thought the the point of closing the throtle was precisely to lessen the torque.

Max Awesome		2012-06-12 04:52:52 AM

I hope the bike is ok.

Oznog		2012-06-12 06:21:57 AM

On-Off: forgotmydamnusername: at the expense of torque at less than WOT.

I always thought the the point of closing the throtle was precisely to lessen the torque.

LOLWOT?

MythDragon		2012-06-12 07:22:03 AM

Old enough to know better: [i677.photobucket.com image 450x624]

All I got.

Based on the acceleration of the car, and the position of the dog, I don't think he's going to make it.

/recently watched the Mythbusters where they fire a ball out the back of a car at the same speed the car is going foward, and have it drop straight down.

Mad Mark		2012-06-12 07:27:37 AM

MythDragon		2012-06-12 07:36:35 AM

Zizzowop: ~~I let some~~ I was a bigger idiot for letting some idiot ride my 6 month old bike, mostly because he got on it and wouldn't get off of it, and despite him claiming to have ridden dirt bikes-so not the same as a street bike-he laid it down almost instantly. Lucky for me he really didn't know what he was doing as his body took most of the impact. I was able to pretty much repair most of it by getting rid of the stock exhaust and fixing a broken mirror. A-hole never did fully pay me back for wrecking it. NEVER let anyone ride your bike.

Fixed!

Although truthfully, I am in the same club. I was selling my 1990 Honda CB400. Some guy shows up saying he used to ride a motorcycle years back, and he wanted another. Wanted to take for a quick test drive. I had a 2 car driveway that raised on a slight incline. With half the driveway used by a car, he starts trying to turn the bike around in the middle of it. "Dude" I said, "It would be easier to just back it straight down. You're not going to get turned around in that area". He says he doesn't feel comfortable walking the bike backwards and continues to try and turn in...and promptly falls over, busting a turn signal off smashing a mirror, and scraping the shiat out of the paint.

I get him out from under the bike, and he looks at me, looks at the bike, and starts edging toward his car. "yeah, I don't think I want to buy it". He says. "Are you leaving?" I ask. "Yes.", he answers. "No.", I respond. "I seriously hope you didn't think you were just gonna leave without covering the damages. I assume you brought a check?"
'Uh, yeah'
"Give it to me"
'How much should I write it for'
"Leave it blank. I'll let you know what the shop says."
'Uh okay.'
"Don't forget your address is right here on the check in case, for instance, the check were not to go through."
"Um. Okay."
Turned out to be about $250 or so worth of damage. The check cleared.

/Not a tough guy by any means. Just tougher than the 120lb lanky dude that dropped my bike.

LavenderWolf		2012-06-12 07:36:40 AM

TwistedIvory: snuff3r: Eh? Brake and accel are two completely different devices. It's not like mixing pedals in a car up.

Yeah, but how often have you had lizardbrain take over? Y'know, you're riding down the highway and all of a sudden there's some huge obstacle in your way and you just cannot seem to take your eyes off it. . . lizardbrain. Target fixation. Or, with a newbie rider, the guy was probably on the throttle and didn't have the neuromuscular connection made between "stop" and "right hand, lever, now."

One of my bikes is a turbocharged Hayabusa. The first time I was ballsy enough to grab a handful of throttle I gave a scream in my helmet (I'm not too proud to admit this) and had to consciously force myself to let go of the gas. Thankfully I wasn't at the top of a parking garage.

There's still "Jump off this thing before what is clearly certain death" available among the choices.

/Bailed off a few vehicles in my time, some planning to ahead of time, others notsomuch.

MythDragon		2012-06-12 07:38:50 AM

The new rider?
external.ak.fbcdn.net

animal900		2012-06-12 08:27:36 AM

This the place?

i.imgur.com

Baron Harkonnen		2012-06-12 08:43:19 AM

ladyfortuna

I've waited and waited, but that video's not buffering...

my herniated disc		2012-06-12 08:50:19 AM

Wow. Talk about a cunning plan.

ModernLuddite		2012-06-12 08:50:36 AM

weave: My first time on a bike was when I was 12 on a Honda CT-70 trail bike, back when it had a clutch and 4 speed (c.1970). Anyway, I did something that caused me to accelerate into a fence. To this day I don't know what wrong, and I've been riding for over 40 years since without ever wrecking one again. So yeah, teaching someone to ride 5 stories up isn't real smart.

I hadd a Honda CT-70.......this was in the 2000's, though, but the bike was from the '70s. Same thing happened to me, but a tree instead of a fence. Man, I loved that bike. I rode the hell out of it until I wiped out in a sinkhole, destroyed the engine, burned a hole in my leg, and dropped the entire thing into a seemingly bottomless cave. Good times.

Lady Sally		2012-06-12 08:54:27 AM

New rider here (2 months) and can totally see how this would happen. Until I took the course, it felt like damn near every thing I did gunned the throttle; right turns, braking, starting... After the course, no more problem.

Spending 2 days creeping along in line-ups waiting for your turn gives you great control in 1st & 2nd.

/now riding 6 days a week
//wimpy little Suzuki DR200, but I look totally hot on it.

eas81		2012-06-12 08:55:27 AM

ladyfortuna: No no no, this is a good way to weed out the people who love their overly loud motorcycles. Like my neighbor.

farm3.staticflickr.com

Just show your neighbor this.

RidgeRacerZX6		2012-06-12 09:20:15 AM

As some one currently teaching my wife to ride a motorcycle I'm getting a kick out of this thread...

TwistedIvory		2012-06-12 09:26:25 AM

Harry_Seldon: the stock brakes were not good enough. Turning was not one of its strengths, either.

Braided brake lines make a world of difference; they take the brakes from feeling like you're squeezing wood in a vise to providing much more positive feedback and pressure. And, when you set the suspension right, the bike actually handles pretty well. It's never going to be a GSX-R600, but it does well enough.

I kind of miss riding supersport, but I just don't fit on those bikes any more.

dkimball		2012-06-12 09:28:03 AM

Is there some reason the twist of the throttle direction is purposely done with a dangerous result if you grab on? why not twist the other direction?

puppetpusher		2012-06-12 09:28:12 AM

I only allow 2 people other than myself to ride my bike. One is my fiance who bought it for me, and the other is my mechanic. That's it. Keeps things pretty simple that way.

And yeah, I agree with the question of why in the hell it seemed like a good idea to teach someone to ride anywhere above solid ground.

Zizzowop		2012-06-12 09:29:32 AM

MythDragon: Zizzowop: I let some I was a bigger idiot for letting some idiot ride my 6 month old bike, mostly because he got on it and wouldn't get off of it, and despite him claiming to have ridden dirt bikes-so not the same as a street bike-he laid it down almost instantly. Lucky for me he really didn't know what he was doing as his body took most of the impact. I was able to pretty much repair most of it by getting rid of the stock exhaust and fixing a broken mirror. A-hole never did fully pay me back for wrecking it. NEVER let anyone ride your bike.

Fixed!

Although truthfully, I am in the same club. I was selling my 1990 Honda CB400. Some guy shows up saying he used to ride a motorcycle years back, and he wanted another. Wanted to take for a quick test drive. I had a 2 car driveway that raised on a slight incline. With half the driveway used by a car, he starts trying to turn the bike around in the middle of it. "Dude" I said, "It would be easier to just back it straight down. You're not going to get turned around in that area". He says he doesn't feel comfortable walking the bike backwards and continues to try and turn in...and promptly falls over, busting a turn signal off smashing a mirror, and scraping the shiat out of the paint.

I get him out from under the bike, and he looks at me, looks at the bike, and starts edging toward his car. "yeah, I don't think I want to buy it". He says. "Are you leaving?" I ask. "Yes.", he answers. "No.", I respond. "I seriously hope you didn't think you were just gonna leave without covering the damages. I assume you brought a check?"
'Uh, yeah'
"Give it to me"
'How much should I write it for'
"Leave it blank. I'll let you know what the shop says."
'Uh okay.'
"Don't forget your address is right here on the check in case, for instance, the check were not to go through."
"Um. Okay."
Turned out to be about $250 or so worth of damage. The check cleared.

/Not a tough guy by any means. Just tougher than the 120lb lanky dude that dropped my ...

That's why you see on classified ads for bikes: Must have motorcycle license and cash in hand if you want a test ride. When I finally sold my bike, I did this, but the guy did look like he was going to crash it before the test ride was over.

Even funnier, I use to work with a guy that sold motorcycles. He sold a brand new Yamaha FJ1200-biggest street bike they made at that time, well the guy had not been on a bike for a few years, so my co-worker first tried to talk the guy out of buying it, but hey, he had cash so when you're a salesman, it's hard to turn that down. So once it was sold, he recommended having the bike delivered to his house, no deal, the guy wanted to ride it home. Well, the dude totally laid the bike down right there on the lot, brand new. I think people just under estimate the power of a motorcycle, and sadly, it happens all to often.

Tenatra		2012-06-12 09:43:59 AM

I wonder how often these novices die in accidents. Last year there was a 50 year old man in my town that died just after getting his motorcycle license, he went to a motorcycle dealer and was test driving a bike. He took a left hand turn to cross a divided highway. As he pulled into the center lane to merge into traffic he wobbled a bit and the semi that passed him messed up his balance even more. He fell off and got sucked underneath the semi, *squish*

capt.hollister		2012-06-12 09:53:46 AM

forgotmydamnusername: capt.hollister: forgotmydamnusername: JonZoidberg: I guess his pipes weren't loud enough; could have saved his life.

As likely as any other scenario. "Loud Pipes Save Lives!" is just something to tell the irate little old lady down the block, because you know she won't give a fark about the 10 additional fewer horsepower you gained by installing them...

Far more likely...

If you don't go with something making absolute 0 back pressure, and you install a more free-flowing intake, and richen your fuel map slightly, no, you'll get noticeably more output. You could also do those things and leave the pipes alone, but it's going to be less successful. Even if you're one of the 'tards who uses the straight drag pipes, you'll see some improvement, just all in the top end, where you'll never actually ride the bike, and at the expense of torque at less than WOT.

There are always exception, of course. For example my old Triumph Thruxton came with very restrictive exhausts, so Triumph's own "off road" pipes and some simple rejetting of the carbs did yield an appreciable improvement, though certainly not 20hp.

I don't think any of my Japanese bikes would have benefitted form an aftermarket exhaust without some very extensive mods on the intake side. Any gains made in this way usually also result in compromised rideability. Most owners, though, don't realise a piston engine is just a big air pump where any improvement in exhaling requires an equivalent improvement in inhaling, so they just slap an aftermarket pipe on their bikes and end-up with power losses throughout the rev range.

My Harley I leave alone. It sounds fine with the stock pipes and besides, no matter what I do, it'll never produce huge horsepower numbers without throwing large sums of money at it

Skyd1v		2012-06-12 10:05:05 AM

Zizzowop: I let some idiot ride my 6 month old bike, mostly because he got on it and wouldn't get off of it, and despite him claiming to have ridden dirt bikes-so not the same as a street bike-he laid it down almost instantly. Lucky for me he really didn't know what he was doing as his body took most of the impact. I was able to pretty much repair most of it by getting rid of the stock exhaust and fixing a broken mirror. A-hole never did fully pay me back for wrecking it. NEVER let anyone ride your bike.

Guy at work did that to me once. Told him to get the fark off my bike or I was going to knock him off the bike. He pulled the whole "Gee, arsehole, can't you take a joke?" routine on me, but he did get off my bike.

Killed himself 6 months later riding his own machine drunk. Felt a little bad about how I handled our last exchange, but still feel it was an appropriate response.

darch		2012-06-12 10:09:42 AM

When I decided I wanted a bike, the very first thing I did was sign up for a MSF safety course. AWESOME experience. Made me totally comfortable on a bike. In fact, I went out a month later and bought an '08 HD Night Train- 1584cc. That was over 4 years ago and still ride like I'm on the training course. I take it nice and easy and ride like I have nowhere special to be. If I'm in a hurry, I take the car.

KidneyStone		2012-06-12 10:17:11 AM

JonZoidberg: I guess his pipes weren't loud enough; could have saved his life.

When riders bring up the loud pipes save lives nonsense I ask them "if you're so concerned about safety that you spent $600 on new pipes then why aren't you wearing bright colors? And why just a half helmet?"

Worked with a guy that was constantly getting cars moving into his lane. Had pipes so loud that I could hear him start up from deep inside the 4th floor of our building. He kept saying he needed louder pipes to keep the cars away. Then I rode with him once. He rides like a moron and kept putting himself in blind spots. Well duh.

In over 60,000 miles of riding in the Atlanta area I've only had a car come into my space once. I was in his blind spot and was watching him because of where I was. No big deal.

Inflatable Rhetoric		2012-06-12 10:33:53 AM

FTA: At some point, the friend told the man to put on the brakes, but the man apparently accidentally hit the accelerator.

I haven't ridden a bike for awhile, but I do remember the throttle is the right hand, and the brake is the right foot. You push the brake down, and you rotate the grip for the throttle. I'm pretty sure.

Takes some creativity to confuse the 2.

0Icky0		2012-06-12 10:52:35 AM

Inflatable Rhetoric: I haven't ridden a bike for awhile, but I do remember the throttle is the right hand, and the brake is the right foot.

The front brake is on the right hand also. Which is where the confusion may have come in.
But I'll bet he won't make that mistake again.

Inflatable Rhetoric		2012-06-12 11:01:30 AM

0Icky0: Inflatable Rhetoric: I haven't ridden a bike for awhile, but I do remember the throttle is the right hand, and the brake is the right foot.

The front brake is on the right hand also. Which is where the confusion may have come in.
But I'll bet he won't make that mistake again.

Using the front wheel brake is an advanced maneuver, he should not have been messing with that.

Whiskey Dickens		2012-06-12 11:11:40 AM

CtrlAltDestroy:

I need parts for my bike and they wont be here till the weekend. Sucks.

/Then again, my car is a turbo convertible. So it could be worse.

B-B-B-B-BALLIN'
t3.gstatic.com

geekbikerskum		2012-06-12 11:39:24 AM

dustman81: Wanna learn to ride a motorcycle in a safe environment with experienced instructors (and get an insurance discount in the process)?

Take this:
[msf-usa.org image 270x50]

This times 1,000,000. Way better than having your Ricky-Racer buddy show you where the controls are in a parking lot.

Your Black Muslim Credit Union		2012-06-12 11:53:38 AM

Would have been an amazing story had he lived. Odder things have happened.

/has crashed almost everything with wheels.

inner ted		2012-06-12 11:59:53 AM

dustman81: Wanna learn to ride a motorcycle in a safe environment with experienced instructors (and get an insurance discount in the process)?

Take this:
[msf-usa.org image 270x50]

all sorts of that

plus you get to ride THEIR bikes... they almost assume you are going to tip over the ones they provide.
much better than learning on your own brand new shiny... or worse, you pal's.

inner ted		2012-06-12 12:02:45 PM

TwistedIvory: snuff3r: Eh? Brake and accel are two completely different devices. It's not like mixing pedals in a car up.

Yeah, but how often have you had lizardbrain take over? Y'know, you're riding down the highway and all of a sudden there's some huge obstacle in your way and you just cannot seem to take your eyes off it. . . lizardbrain. Target fixation. Or, with a newbie rider, the guy was probably on the throttle and didn't have the neuromuscular connection made between "stop" and "right hand, lever, now."

One of my bikes is a turbocharged Hayabusa. The first time I was ballsy enough to grab a handful of throttle I gave a scream in my helmet (I'm not too proud to admit this) and had to consciously force myself to let go of the gas. Thankfully I wasn't at the top of a parking garage.

- if that is true, your balls must *clang* as you walk.

also - cause it's fark and you didn't sign of with the appropriate 'csb' - you get:

t2.gstatic.com

0Icky0		2012-06-12 12:08:32 PM

Inflatable Rhetoric: Using the front wheel brake is an advanced maneuver, he should not have been messing with that.

Advanced? Not in my riding course.

/which I finally got around to after 20 years of riding...

capt.hollister		2012-06-12 01:17:58 PM

Inflatable Rhetoric: Using the front wheel brake is an advanced maneuver, he should not have been messing with that.

It's a good thing that you don't ride, 'cause with that thinking you wouldn't make it past the first emergency stop.

Knowing how to use the front brake is a basic riding skill, not an advanced manoeuver !

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