swingset

Shame you're staying north of Amish country, all the good roads start there and go south and east.

Skill and experience don't equal maturity, unfortunately. I don't know too many 18 year old boys who are aware of their mortality and value self-preservation enough to ride a bike with that much power safely and within their limits. I'm not saying this to be callous, because it bothers me when a young man dies like this, but his death does more to prove my point instead of countering it. I just hate to see a kid that young on a bike like that, and I can't imagine the pain of losing a kid either...so I guess it's a personal issue having a teenager.

My libertarian streak thinks tiered licensing is wrong, but stories like this make me change my opinion greatly. I don't think many 18 year old boys, testosterone factories that they are, have any business on a bike that powerful...any more than I think an 18 year old should have unrestricted access to a Ferarri F240 in full race trim.

Hate to say it, but a scooter would be my choice. Super on gas, light, super maneuverable, storage, and easier to mount/dismount/park than a bike with less controls to fuss over in tight spaces. I loves me some bikes, but if it's for business I'm thinking rationally and a scooter makes sense there.

Must have been going screaming fast.

Yeah, sounds like it.

I'd be hypocritical being all pissed at the bullfighter....that bull will trample you to death and won't even eat you. He'll just do it because. Bulls are kinda jackasses, if you ask me.

The wife and I are going to this one.

Weekends suck, cops all over, squids and cruisers cluttering it up. I'd go early morning through the week, to hit the actual Dragon...have it pretty much to yourself without Johnny Law there. IMHO, the road itself is fun, but there are a lot of roads down there that are equally fun to ride, and ignored by most of the people that visit. Pretty much any state route in the immediate area and most of the ancillary roads are great....it's almost a waste to go and just hit the Dragon.

You're picking the absolute worse time to experience it, btw.

I have one, like it a lot. As said above, you don't fill them up...you fill them just enough so that there's air in some of the cells...when you sit on it the air pushes out and the pad conforms and flattens to your butt. It shouldn't raise you much in the saddle. On a real long haul, I'll vary the amount of air and that helps to relieve fatigue too. Are they worth it? Depends I guess. For me on long rides it's worth every penny and much cheaper than a big Russell Day Long or some other custom seat, and easily removed for short runs. I've tried sheepskins, gel pads, beads, none of which gave me all day comfort like the Airhawk. But, every butt is different, and so are seats. My anecdotes don't mean anyone else will have the same experience.

The GS650 is a very smooth bike on the pavement...it's very plush. Obviously that hurts it offroad, it's kind of a turd in the dirt, but there are few thumpers made that are as nice on the pavement, I'd tour on one in a heartbeat.

Gas goin up? Bush's fault.

I guess your definition of blind and mine are different. If you can see the exit from the entrance, it's not blind. If you feel a blind turn has to visible from 1/4 mile before getting to it, I guess yeah that's blind...and there are probably some straight roads that qualify. Next time you're on 541 (I'm on both weekly, btw), count how many times from the beginning of the turn you are blocked from seeing the exit. You will count two, possibly three depending on where you're at in the lane. And, I cautioned the OP early on in this thread to take it easy, ride at a relaxed pace for the new rider. I've taken several new riders on that route, precisely for the reasons I mentioned, and I took it slow and easy until they were comfortable (isn't that what I suggested?). If you ride either road at or near the speed limit, and enter the turns at the posted suggestion or slightly above, it's pretty damned near impossible to overcook. So, again, my assumption was that someone taking a rank-noob on these roads would do precisely that. If you know the OP to be incapable of that, don't scold me for the suggestion, scold him for being incapable of leading a new guy. You're right, everyone rides over their limits occasionally, but doing so is a choice not a condition of riding. My concern is for both riders, and if neither one of them can ride a 2-digit state route full of sweepers, it won't matter where you point them a cloverleaf on I-70 will take them out.

You can buy 7,800 milk crate top boxes for the price of the KTM. I'd have a hard time not buying a KLR over the adventure KTM's. They're every bit as capable, plenty reliable, will go anywhere a 990 will (and then some), and who gives a snot if you beat the crap out of it? I really don't get the big KTM's, GS800's etc., myself. They're just way too massive to be much fun in anything technical, they're not great tourers compared to a Strom/GS/Tiger, and all of those more street worthy bikes will still go on gravel/hardpack or light trails just fine if you set them up for it. I guess it depends on where you do all your riding, but I love adventure touring, and I can't rationalize a 990 or GS800 as being useful for the type of riding I do. If I'm not trail riding bad terrain when I get there, the Strom will do everything the 990 will. If I am trail riding when I get there, a DR650 or KLR will do it better than the 990, at half the cost. I have nothing against anyone who has one and enjoys it, I think those bikes exist in this weird niche that doesn't apply to what I enjoy. If I only had one bike, I'd own a KLR just for the sheer versatility and frugality of it. It's not great at anything but damn you can take them anywhere from single-track to the superslab and they do it all.

Errr, no. Get thee some training. Better yet, get a dual sport and learn how to ride on loose surfaces.

I guess I assume someone won't over ride their abilities on a road they've never been on. I think 79/541 are very mild compared to 536, 555, etc...which are full of blind and strange camber turns. Visibility is good on 79, and there's only one decreasing radius (and it's barely decreasing). 541 only has 2 blind ones, but they're sweepers. 80% of both of those roads are straight with long lines of visibility...and the pavement is almost always free of shit and debris. I learned to ride twisties on both of those roads, and never came even remotely close to losing my shit...but I rode cautiously with smarts until I was ready to hurl it into the turns, a skill I tested on a track day and not Coshocton County. I think that's a foreign concept for too many people, sadly.

I'm fascinated that when people know the deceased or affected, they're inclined to read the comments section and get offended at anyone's second guessing or anything they deem offensive to their loved ones or friends. When I lost a friend a couple years ago to an accident, it didn't even occur to me to go read the article about him and bristle at everything. I had better stuff to do.

This. If you chalk everything up to shit happens, it's denying that better skills or behavior could prevent this kind of thing. I care about my fellow riders, if someone gets shook into thinking or acting differently by looking at an accident or scenario, then it's worth talking about. Doesn't mean you don't have compassion for those affected.

I was only half kidding about the offended part. I'm only offended when I miss out on a deal. That shit pisses me off, royally.

Yeah, but my 50% Jew is pure Wild Middle Eastern Jew, not the North American Domesticated. It's like an africanized honey bee, see? Call me a dirty Jooo, and I'll ram a sheckle up your tuchas. Unfortunately, the other half of me is German, so the inner conflict can be quite overwhelming. Imagine the mix of pride and self-loathing, being drawn to kosher and scat porn, passing an oven without the compulsion to throw myself in... Anywho, I still like to speak for my chosen people....cause most of them are kinda faggy you gotta admit. Ain't no Jewish MMA badass, or an NFL lineman, all we got is Seinfeld and Adam Sandler. Ugh.

On behalf of Jews everywhere, since I'm 50%, I would like to protest the use of "jew" as a verb for aggressive haggling during a transaction. Even tho it's completely accurate and I do it like black people crave the orange drank, I'm highly offended. Racists. Xenophobes. Nazis. Uptight folks that won't come down on your bike sale. Shame on you all. Srsly. 4 Real. Signed, Jew, half-off.

Read in the article's comments from an eyewitness that the girl was in the right hand lane waiting on oncoming traffic to turn into the driveway, the bike came over the hill and he braked and went into the ditch on the right. Definitely not the girl in the car's fault. I really didn't think visibility at that driveway from the direction the bike was coming looked bad, but I also don't know the bike's speed or other details to do anything but guess at this point.

Oh for sure, one thing I like about riding dirt and trails is it forces you to overcome target fixation....or else your offroad riding comes to a predictable and quick end. You have to choose lines every inch of the way, but after a while it gets to be subconcious. At first you're like "Oh look, that big rock up there, I should avoid that....there's that rock....rock...rock...OH SHIT I HIT THAT FUCKING ROCK!!". The problem with street riding is you can get away with it for so long, but a bad situation can bring out bad instincts right now. I suggest to new riders to ride dirt for a while before getting on the street, it teaches you so many things, and it's fun as hell and hurts a lot less. Sadly, not many people do it.

Even if she was stopped dead in the road, that's not an at-fault situation. About all she could have done wrong is back up, or go into the wrong lane to turn as he went right to avoid her. Can't say stopping in the road is wise, but it's still up to following traffic to keep assured clear distance or stop before stopped traffic. I do think it's weird there was no skid mark, debris slide or anything. Makes me wonder if he veered right to miss her and didn't correct or target-fixated on the ditch and went in. That I could see happening very easily.