Explain this one

[Jgrazjgraz]

But why would he be downshifting? Looks like they were moving pretty good. Didn't look like they needed to slow down for any reason
,,I think the guy in front went down first. Maybe hit an oil slick?
Very hard to watch.

[Rotorboy]

I thought I saw the front end of the first bike dive right before the puff of smoke come off the back tire. All else is speculation on my part.

[glwilson]

With software to stop the video frame-by-frame... the two bikes do not hit each other to cause the accident as some speculated.

The front of the bike does dive just before the puff of smoke... which, in my opinion occurred when he downshifted to a too-low of gear causing the back tire to skid-out and begin to fish-tail on him.

The bike fish-tailed for a split-second just before you see the smoke -- which is evidence the back-tire was locked-up for a moment.

Why did he down-shift? He was probably contemplating having to down-shift fairly soon as it appears this group-ride was coming into a town or location where people were gathered "up ahead" -- and down-shifted too early for the gear he chose -- or something similar.

Once you have down-shifted to a too-low of gear causing a fish-tail, there is not much to do besides pull the clutch quickly -- because if you don't you will not be able to hold onto the bars for long -- which is likely what happened to him.

Just my two-cents after looking at it frame-by-frame...

[Kedosto]

I'd say it looks like a front tire blow out. The puff of smoke isn't smoke, it's compressed air blowing out of the tire. He lost the front end and in his inexperience, put his foot down. It looks like it's a puff of smoke from the rear because he's moving forward so quickly.

I agree that the bike behind him never made contact. The wobble was caused by the sudden deflation of the front tire. If the front tire had sufficient air, the front end would have tracked straight even after the rider fell off -- especially at highway speed. The trail on a Harley is pretty damn high, so any get-off that leaves the bike even close to straight and upright virtually guarantees a long runaway. It looks like the front end slapped left/right as the collapsed sidewall buckled back and forth.

I'd say the second bike went down sideways because he panicked and stomped the rear brake a lot harder than he grabbed the front. Most cruiser riders use waaaay too much rear and not enough front brake. As a result, the rear end broke loose and came around and he high-sided. He woulda' high-sided even worse if the bike didn't weight 800+ lbs.

I'd say it's anybody's guess if there was any way the guy could have saved his own ass. If you lose the front end on a big beast like these cruisers at highway speed you're in for a wild ride. It would take almost super human strength to keep a grip on the bars once the tire collapses. And the way it looked like his front blew out, it would be INSTANT trouble. Who among us rides with a super tight death-grip on the bars at all times? Not me. Think about it; one minute you're riding along enjoying a beautiful ride with your buds and in less time than it takes to snap your fingers the front end blows out. Oh SH!T.

He does, however, make a great case for ATGATT. My guess is he lived, but quite painfully for a few months.

[Jgrazjgraz]

I don't know,,it looks like those tires are still intact as they're coming towards you, if they blew out,would they still look like a full tire,woudnt it look shredded a bit?

[Loafer]

I've looked at it several more times, maybe the 2 riders didn't make contact,
but they are both down within an instant of each other. Not sure why he would
try to down shift as there appears to me that there is ample room between the
bikes that pass and the ones that go down. A front tire blow out sounds reasonable
but I see no flat tire as it passes by.
So, did the engine lock up?

[glwilson]

In looking at the frames after the bike goes out of control, the front tire (and rear tire) appear to be fine. Given this is a heavy bike, the tire would have shown some indication of being deflated... but it doesn't.

I don't believe the engine locked-up either. The rear wheel continues to roll in several frames after the fish-tailing. If the engine were locked, the rear tire would be dragging behind the bike and it isn't.

[Jgrazjgraz]

We need Columbo on the case. Lol

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by Jgrazjgraz

We need Columbo on the case. Lol

Ha! No kidding!