Death On The Dragon

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by Big_Jim59, Oct 17, 2016.

  1. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    Did you see this story:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/1-dead-another-injured-after-motorcycle-collision-on-dragon/2016/10/17/b39b1002-9486-11e6-9cae-2a3574e296a6_story.html

    I looked up Kevin Diespenbrock ‘s Facebook page to see if I knew him (Greenville TX is just down the road from me.) I don’t. The sad part is it looks like his riding buddy was the one that he hit and that got killed. The article said that the Victory was hit by a BMW when he braked hard for a corner. There is a picture on Kevin’s web site showing a BMW and a Victory. It looked like they were out touring and having a great time. Freaking sad.

    https://www.facebook.com/kevin.diepenbrock?hc_ref=SEARCH
     
  2. John451

    John451 Member

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    Truely sad though reinforces my regularly counting 2.5 to 3 seconds gap between myself and the rider in front, so I don't get caught up in their mistake or gives me critical time to see and miss whatever road obstacle they have just avoided.
     
  3. ictghost

    ictghost New Member

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    2.5 to 3 seconds is a VERY good habit to be into. Hard to maintain sometimes when your having fun. Sad story. Ride safe
     
  4. ictghost

    ictghost New Member

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  5. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    Life imitates art huh, crazy chit for sure. I will live in TN one day when we retire from the "sunshine-state" gota be careful out there, I never road with groups or many people back in my days in NY state and NJ.

    Sorry for the doodes surviving family :rip:
     
  6. James Bond

    James Bond Member

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    This is why I like to go to the Dragon very early in the morning. That's the only time I ride it and usually pass nobody else going or coming. There are harder roads to ride in the area but they don't have people trying to prove something on them. Too much herd mentality on The Gap. 30 hours is a long time to be messed up so close to other people.
     
  7. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    2.5 -3 seconds spacing is a number but does not account for distance at a given speed. Example: 3 seconds @ 30mph could be considered adequate. 3 seconds at the ton would not. This added or subtracted from rider ability, visibility and road conditions, herd mentality, and dudes who just have to keep up with the pack lest they become psychological castratos, makes actual distance a better factor IMO. Say 1.5-2 car or bike lengths between riders/10mph.

    We are not talking schools, organized and monitored track days or real racing but all that other stuff that other than being sauced up whilst riding gets a shitload of dudes permanently planted.


    Dave Hough puts it better than I do plus a shitload of other stuff that a bunch of dudes (dudes is genderless) might ought to cruise through. Even harleydoods if anyone really knows one..

    https://books.google.com/books?id=V...q=david hough distance between riders&f=false
     
  8. Dash.

    Dash. New Member

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    Actually, using seconds as a measure of spacing is good because it DOES increase following distance as speed increases:
    3s @ 30mph = 132 feet
    3s @ 60mph = 264 feet
    3s @ 120mph = 528 feet

    Using 2 car lengths (30 feet) per 10mph is way less conservative:
    2L/10mph @ 30mph = 90 feet
    2L/10mph @ 60mph = 180 feet
    2L/10mph @ 120mph = 360 feet
     
  9. Joey_Dude

    Joey_Dude Member

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    Too bad about the crash but I notice the survivor is a "Safety Officer" at Burns & McDonnell. Ironic huh?
     
  10. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    Wow, Had I not been in the corner when I was the dude coming the other way went right off the road over a 30ft cliff up at Mt. St Helena few years back, had I not witness this be hard to say how long he would have been down there, SMH it was a mess to get him up and out being in rocky boulder country. that was something else to watch happen to boot, last thing to expect coming around a great corner. The lord was with him that day, even though he was foolish.
     
  11. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    David's books are great, especially for the street rider. He really has some good tips for street survival. I have both 'Proficient Motorcycling' and 'More Proficient Motorcycling', I recommend these books all the time, particularly to new riders.
     
  12. RobVG

    RobVG Member

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    Damn. I couldn't watch all of that.

    Right now literally dusting off my back protector that I haven't worn in over 20 years....
     
  13. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

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    Very creepy vid to watch - feel bad for him and his friend that perished. That said, if I was making what I thought was a dying declaration vid to my mother, wife, and kids, I think I would maybe NOT drop the F-bomb in the vid - just sayin'.
     
  14. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    I don't think you're thinking very clearly in a situation like that and dropping the F bomb wouldn't even be on your mind. The Dragon is very dangerous in several areas, long ago before they called it the dragon it was deals gap. People died there even back in the 70s when I was writing it on two strokes. Condolences to the family.
     
  15. kennybobby

    kennybobby New Member

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    It was always Deal's Gap for me too--don't know who started all that dragon crap, probably a bunch of squids and posers
     
  16. sunofwolf

    sunofwolf New Member

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    That BMW is a tank on a twisty road-you need a lot of spacing to not hit the other guy-loaded up add more space. Both bikes were not exactly very good on curves and braking- a sad story
     
  17. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    I'm afraid ta watch it. After watching qualifying last night, how many of you guys wear the chest protector the riders slide in before zipping up?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  18. A.M

    A.M Moderator Staff Member

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    This whole story is just so sad. I have read the links in replies here, but I could not watch the videos.

    But I agree with ictghost, you have to think about the people you love and who love you when out riding. It could help keep you level headed.

    To answer Duckie's question, no I do not slide a chest protector in before I zip up. I have a cheap ICON Stryker vest I could be wearing under my jacket though...
     
  19. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Using parsecs is a great unit of measure. Conversion to metrics works for some. Number crunching is easy in any attempt to evidence a point.

    Anybody riding in a regular group ride where skills are unknown at 120 mph is a fucking fool.
     
  20. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Dave was a member of my MC for years. He came on several of our club rides when I was Ride Coordinator. Several of my pix are in his books.

    Dave is quite the talker but never preaches.. Engineer by profession. His dad built the blimp hangers for the US Navy in WWII. He's shown up several times at Sportbike NW.. on his CanAm.
     
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