ER6N Rider killed?

DavidFL

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Anyone have any news about an accident on R107, the Chiang Mai - Fang road, where a farang riding a new Kawasaki E6RN was killed?

Condolences go to his family & mates.
 

Marco

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Oct 15, 2006
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That is one thing in LOS,, always leave space when over taking,,,
one never know when something happen inside the persons head whom you over talking and they move and if you are too close, they is no time to avoid coallition...

always use sound judgement, it might not be your fault, but you are the one who might get hurt.

again, sad news.
 
Jun 5, 2008
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My Condolences to the deceased and his lady,very sad indeed.

As an aside a friend of mine,I only know as Keith from Isle of Man had an accident on Friday the 20th on the 1095 to Pai when he hit some loose gravel on a corner.I dont know too many details yet but I know he is presently in CM Ram with a broken collarbone.

Can count himself fortunate but I believe the bike is a writeoff
 

DavidFL

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The guy killed was supposedly from the UK & a regular visitor with a bit of reputation. He tried to rent bikes from two other shops but was refused because of previous bad experiences, one of which involved an accident & then getting busted for a funny cigarette by the police.
The female pillion - a local - was killed instantly & the farang rider died en route to the hospital I understand.
It is always sad news when someone goes down & does not survive. Again condolences to the family & friends of both those killed. RIP.

Keith dumped one of Mr Beer's new ER6Ns on some gravel in a right hander on the asphalt R107 approx 30 kms south of Fang. It was a low speed tumble & according to Keith, both the bike & he are ok. Keith's got a broken collar bone in 3 places, a cracked rib & a "small lower arm fracture?" He's a tough nut & a very experienced rider, was wearing his full leathers at the time & did not spend a night in hospital! He expects to be out of action for a few months & the back on the road asap.
Get well soon Keith & thanks to the Thai guys from Piston Shop whom he was riding with, for looking after him so well & getting him back to Cnx so promptly.
 
Dec 27, 2007
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Terrible sad news. Perhaps a dumb question, but were the deceased wearing helmets?

Some call the ER6 a learners bike, but any bike that weighs only 200Kg and cranks out 72 ponies and tops out at 220km/hr is a bit more than a learners bike, IMHO.

I hear Pop's ordered 50 ER6n's for their rental fleet. It begs the question- as more and more big bikes become available for rent here in Thailand do you guys think the rental shops have any responsibility to insure that the customers actually know how to ride before they're given the keys?

For example, do customers have to show a valid motorcycle license? Been a while since I've rented a bike in Thailand, but I used to quite often and was never asked for a drivers license...

I wonder what kind of liability insurance bike rental shops in Thailand have to have to protect themselves from the mistakes of their customers...

Ride Safe and Happy Trails!
 

KZ

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Aug 20, 2003
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After The Wall came down between East and West Germany thousands of Easterners came to the West. In only a few months it was almost impossible to find a cheap apartment and the prices of old used cars skyrocketed. There was also a high numbers of accidents and traffic deaths. The main reason was that Easterners, being used to small, 600cc two-stroke cars (if they could afford one at all) could now buy european and japanese cars that had 100+hp and went 180km/h or more. The Easterners simply couldn't handle it; they've never experienced powerful vehicles, didn't realize how dangerous it is to go way too fast - they were just enjoying themselves and then crashed.
Maybe this situation here is similar - riders who rode a 125cc bike or a Phantom 200 can now own a 70hp bike that goes 200km/h.
I've owned a ZX9R, K100RS, Intruder 1400, Sabre 750, XS 650 aso - but that's ten years ago. When I test-rode the Ninja 650 here in Thailand I didn't even open it all the way and was blown away.
So maybe everybody should be aware of that - everything is relative, and even a "small 650" can be too much after riding a Honda Wave for years.
My condolences to the families, thai and foreign.
 

Pikey

www.tbbtours.com
When the ER6 availability was announced myself and Tony (my partner) discussed buying a couple for the rental fleet but our opinion is that there would be a very limited market as we would need to vet carefully who we rented such a bike to. We thought we'd wait and see how some of the other shops did and unfortunately, our apprehension seems to have been well placed (no offence to you Keith!).

Sure, people can harm themselves on anything, but give them a potent bike, inexperience/unawareness of local road conditions and people's behaviour and you have a much greater potential for problems or worse.

BTW, seems like the local CNX police have recently been requesting either a Thai or International Driving Licence for those stopped riding bigger bikes - probably more of a revenue raiser than a morality view but worth noting if you plan to rent a bigger (200cc+) bike.

Once again RIP to the victims of the accident.

Cheers,

Pikey.
 

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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TonyBKK wrote: Some call the ER6 a learners bike, but any bike that weighs only 200Kg and cranks out 72 ponies and tops out at 220km/hr is a bit more than a learners bike, IMHO.
Here in NSW Australia, they have a limit to what bikes a learner can ride... Basically anything under 250cc except a list of race bikes... and moderately powered motorcycles with an engine capacity up to and including 660ml and which do not exceed a power to weight ratio of 150 kilowatts per tonne as pre-qualified by the manufacturer...

The ER6N isn't on the list, but some of the ER5s are... My KLR650 is on the list for example...

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/tes ... iders.html

pikey wrote: Sure, people can harm themselves on anything, but give them a potent bike, inexperience/unawareness of local road conditions and people's behaviour and you have a much greater potential for problems or worse.
I think there is an arguement in the middle here...

you have backpackers who think it would be a nice way to spend the day, hiring a scooter with very little experience, let loose in some of the most challenging traffic possible... no protective clothing, crap helmets, a recipe for disaster...

you have heroes with very little experience who think it is fun to hire a scooter and ride like maniacs around town... hope they don't take someone innocent with them...

you have even worse heroes who, probably do know how to ride, but don't understand that while it is dangerous to get a fast bike and do wheel stands up and down main street back home, it is suicide in Thailand...

you have normal riders who would like to do a real ride in Thailand, on a bike at least similar to what they ride at home... they aren't too well catered for at the moment...

TonyBKK wrote: do you guys think the rental shops have any responsibility to insure that the customers actually know how to ride before they're given the keys?
You see this argument a lot on sites like ThaiVisa... especially relating to Pattaya where guys loose their heads... and often their lives... not taking into account the danger of their actions...

again, there is a bit of a dichotomy here... most of you guys left 'the West' because you liked the idea of a place where 'The Man' didn't control every aspect of your life... the flip side is poor regulation and enforcement means that others doing the same thing you wold like freedom to do, will also have negatives...

If I was looking to get a fleet of good bikes to rent to real riders, not dangerously inexperienced tourists or the heroes mentioned above, I would be looking at doing it exclusively by pre-booking online, 3 months in advance... if they haven't planned ahead to do it, they aren't really that committed...

Anyone can have an spill... even the most experienced riders, but that way you limit the chances, and you know that you aren't contributing

Cheers,
Daewoo
 

Franz

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Jun 28, 2007
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Sad news, condolences to his & her family. Warning & reminder to all of us to keep our eyes always concentrated on all other roadusers. Once driving a car or riding the bike, I'm not able to talk to anybody, therefor after a long run I always feel completely exhausted and need a rest, but this keeps me more save than driving not concentrated. Safetygear is always a must !! Franz
 

KZ

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Aug 20, 2003
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Franz raised a very important point - even though riding motorcycles is a lot of fun, it's not the place or time to have conversations, tell jokes or even "party". You have to concentrate, read the road at all times and be ready to react right, instantly. One moment of distraction could lead to going down.
I instructed my daughter never to talk to her mother when riding a bike. I see careless thai people cruising the streets without a helmet, but maybe with a baby standing on the seat, as if they were at home watching TV. No wonder that there are so many accidents in TH!
Also many people forget to instruct a pinion rider how to sit - close to the rider and lean with the turns. Even though it may be uncool, if it's the first time you take that girl for a ride, explain to her that if she leans back, you can't make a turn. And make sure she speaks enough english to understand.
 

Pikey

www.tbbtours.com
Probably a bit off topic but good points about distractions. I used to use an MP3 player on my daily 200km round trip commute to work in the UK but over here wouldn't even entertain the idea of that or the bluetooth phone/GPS gizmos. All eyes and braincells fully focused!

Cheers,

Pikey.
 

mikerust

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OT but..

Once driving a car or riding the bike, I'm not able to talk to anybody
I don't own an intercom so can't comment on bikes but in a car a light conversation is OK provided the other person realizes you won't acknowledge them or look at them. It is a question of concentration. When I'm in a car usually my concentration on driving is total.

The problem starts when the wife starts up a historically contentious issue. :x

:idea: Oh Ok then no talking in car either. :wink:

It is the family of the girl I feel for. After all she just went for a ride, albiet without a helmet.

To paraphrase Dennis Miller "Help the Helpless, not the Clueless"
 

KZ

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Aug 20, 2003
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I wouldn't even consider listening to music over headphones while riding a bike - I want to hear the engine!