On-road danger rising

| Sunday, August 08, 2004

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Motorcycle experts say they are seeing more inexperienced riders and more older riders coming to Sturgis, often on bikes too big for them.

By Steve Miller, Journal Staff Writer

After his Harley hit a median curb at 30 mph in LaCrosse, Wis., Mike Eckman began to think that maybe learning to ride on his way to the Sturgis rally wasn't such a good idea.

With little riding experience, Eckman, formerly of Rapid City and now of Ocala, Fla., bought a new Harley-Davidson Road King in the spring of 2000. "I barely knew how to ride," he recalled. But he rode the 700-pound bike from Ocala to Minneapolis, left it with a relative and flew back to Florida. A month or so later, he flew back to Minneapolis, picked up the bike and rode it to Sturgis.

It was an adventure. Eckman remembers looking away, hitting the throttle and then bouncing up over the curb onto a median in LaCrosse. "I kept on going, rode off the median and broke my kickstand and bent the front fork," Eckman said.

"I wished I had a bike that I could handle better. Here I was on this big bike, and I wasn't very good at riding." But, he thought, "Let's go to Sturgis while I learn."

When he finished the trip, Eckman thought, "Damn, that was crazy," he recalled in a phone interview last month.

Eckman's novice ride to Sturgis, although not recommended, is certainly not unique, according to law enforcement and motorcycle safety experts here.

They say many bikers at the rally in recent years make two common mistakes: They come to the rally with too little riding experience and too much motorcycle.

Riding motorcycles is, by nature, dangerous. The rider and passenger are exposed, and if they fall at 60 mph or get hit by a 4,000-pound pickup, they're likely to get hurt.

Sturgis Police Chief Jim Bush said he has been seeing more novice riders come to the rally in the past four or five years. "It might be their first year riding when they come to the rally," Bush said.

And inexperienced riders, especially those who come from places that have few curvy roads, are doubly vulnerable when they cruise the mountainous curves of the Black Hills, Highway Patrol Capt. Greg Ingemunson of Rapid City said. "We're seeing more inexperienced riders, people trying to get the feel of the rally on the back of a motorcycle and not really having a background in riding," Ingemunson said. "And then, they get into some of our curves here and get over their head and can't pull out of it."

Bigger not always better

Another common mistake of many new riders is buying a first bike that is too big for them, said Ted Erlewine of Rapid City, who has ridden motorcycles continuously since 1957 and now teaches motorcycle safety in one of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation classes offered through the South Dakota Safety Council.

Erlewine estimates that half the people in the motorcycle classes go directly from one week on a course bike weighing no more than 350 pounds to a full-sized motorcycle weighing 600 to 800 pounds or a racing replica with 100 horsepower or more.

"They're buying what they can afford, and they can afford what they want. What they want is a big Road King or a big Gold Wing. "They aren't necessarily buying the best bike for a beginner," Erlewine said.

He urges people who graduate from the safety classes to buy a smaller bike to ride for a few months before going to a bigger motorcycle. He said the smaller course bikes loaned by participating dealers Rice Honda Suzuki and Black Hills Powersports are usually available for sale at the end of the instruction season. (Black Hills Harley-Davidson provides space for the classes.)

Erlewine said that Japan and some European countries require new riders to ride a smaller bike first.

He said you might experience a $500 loss buying a small bike, riding it for a season and selling it. But it might prevent you from dropping or wrecking that $18,000 Harley you buy the next year, Erlewine said.

(For the record, Erlewine rides a 1993 Harley FXR Low-Rider Sport, a 2003 Kawasaki KLR 650 dual sport bike, a 1984 Honda XL600R and a 2000 KTM 300 dirt bike.)

He also said bigger isn't necessarily better. A recent trend, he said, is the move toward dual-sport motorcycles that can travel on dirt tracks as well as paved highways. They often weigh 200 or 300 pounds less than the big highway bikes.

On the other hand, Erlewine said larger motorcycles are involved in fewer accidents overall, probably because they are easier for other motorists to see.

Learning to ride safely

Erlewine has taught motorcycle safety classes since 1981. He said that more people are taking the safety classes. That's a plus. People who have completed motorcycle safety classes are underrepresented in accident statistics, he said.

"A lot of that has to do with the fact that they have specific strategies," Rick Kiley, motorcycle safety program director with the South Dakota Safety Council, said. "They have learned braking skills. Accidents often involve people with poor braking skills and absence of the ability to swerve," Kiley said.

Capt. Ingemunson said inexperienced riders, as well as riders impaired by drugs or alcohol, are over-represented in accidents.

Last year, seven bikers died during the rally in western South Dakota, according to the Highway Patrol. Eight died in 2002, six died in 2001 and 10 died in 2000, according to unofficial tallies.

But the rally accounts for only part of the motorcycle fatalities in the state. Deaths statewide have climbed from seven in 1997, nine in 1998 and 10 in 1999 to 22 in 2000, 19 in 2001, 20 in 2002 and 21 in 2003.

In 2002, the 20 bike fatalities composed 11.1 percent of all highway deaths; the 426 injuries that year comprised 6.1 percent of all highway injuries.

Law enforcement and safety officials are trying to reduce those numbers through a variety of measures.

The bike safety classes teach such skills as cornering, emergency braking, proper following distances, riding in groups, avoiding alcohol and drugs when riding, and wearing proper protection (jackets, jeans, gloves and helmets).

They teach bikers they can do a lot to protect themselves by slowing down, watching for potential danger and learning how to stop and maneuver quickly to avoid obstacles. The safety program has nearly tripled its training during the past few years, Kiley said.

Black Hills Harley-Davidson donates space on its parking lot for the classes. There is still room in the basic rider course this summer, Erlewine said. Applications are available at local dealerships.

Erlewine said his own skills have come in handy in a couple of close calls.

"Once, coming back from Casper on an old 500 Yamaha, I had to dodge a piece of two-by-four that came off the back of a lumber truck," he said. "It bounced up in front me. If I hadn't known how to swerve, I'd probably been eating that two-by-four."

But the safe rider course instructors emphasize to the new graduates that unless they already had a lot of experience, they have only made a bare start on becoming accomplished motorcycle riders.

"One of the things I say on the last day of the basic rider course is you've taken the basic rider course, but that probably doesn't mean you're ready to ride to Devils Tower with 500 people or ride to the Main Street of Sturgis unless you brought a lot of skills to the class," Erlewine said.

Older new riders

Safety class officials also note the increasing number of women and the increasing numbers of older people learning to ride, some of them in their 50s and 60s.

Although many women have the disadvantage of being smaller in comparison to the size of the motorcycles they ride, they make good students, safety officials say.

Ingemunson said he doesn't see many women involved in accidents. "I don't know if they're being more cautious or if there are just fewer of them. The guys are the ones getting into the wrecks," he said. "Usually when a female is involved, it's because she's a passenger."

Many of the older riders are more cautious than younger riders, but safety officials emphasize to them that their reactions are slower, their eyesight not as good, their strength not what it once was. "Those things are like bad shocks on a car," Erlewine said. "They just kind of creep up on you. You don't know you're not as quick as you used to be until you need to be."

It is not as easy for older riders to learn to ride, Kiley said. But, he added, "With awareness, those people are proving to be pretty safe riders."

Younger riders, often on high-powered racing-style motorcycles, are more likely to take risks, experts say.

Erlewine said during last year's rally, he was in the right lane of Interstate 90 on his way to Sturgis when two young guys on racer replicas passed him on the right, then revved their engines and rode wheelies for more than a quarter of a mile in front of him. Passing on the right in the right-hand lane is "absolutely not legal here, and it's not safe," he said. "That's become a sport, the wheelies and the trick riding."

Erlewine said that kind of dangerous riding reflects on all motorcyclists.

There are other factors affecting safety, too.

Helmet debate

"The dead dog under the table that nobody wants to talk about is helmets," Erlewine, who has competed in enduro races for decades, said.

"Most dirt bikers have an opportunity to road test a helmet," he said. "When you hear that helmet hit the dirt, you know that if that had been your head, you wouldn't have gotten up and just walked away. At the very least, you'd have been rummy for a while."

Erlewine, who was a top college wrestler, also said it is a fallacy for riders to believe they are athletic enough to duck their head, or put their arm out to protect their head in a fall or a crash. "You're a projectile. You're not an athlete," he said.

"I think that unless you have a closed mind, if you take the motorcycle safety course, at least you see a good reason to consider wearing a helmet from a logical standpoint. From the emotional standpoint, you can't do anything about the I-want-to-be-a-stud syndrome."

Older riders are more likely to wear helmets. And both Capt. Ingemunson and Chief Bush say they see more and more riders wearing helmets, even at the rally.

Ingemunson and Bush, in separate interviews, also said too many motorcycle riders — and car drivers — are still driving under the influence of alcohol. "Even excluding the rally, we make as many or more DUI arrests as we ever have," Bush said.

"Just think about that," Ingemunson said. "You're on two wheels and start drinking a few beers. Think what that does to your balance and to your depth perception when you're coming up to these curves."

During the rally, campgrounds, casinos and other businesses for the past few years have offered shuttle service to downtown Sturgis and back for bikers who want to be able to drink and ensure they get home without damaging themselves or their motorcycles. Bush said more bikers are taking advantage of the shuttle buses and taxis in the Catch a Ride program. "Last year, it wasn't uncommon to see 50 to 60 people sitting there waiting for the buses."

The city has set up three locations for the bus and taxi services: at Sherman and Fourth streets near Erskine School near the courthouse; at Middle and Main streets near the Vets Club; and at the post office at Lazelle and Kinship Road near Sturgis Community Center.

Meanwhile, Eckman, who learned how to ride his Harley when he rode it to Sturgis in 2000, now has 30,000 miles under his belt. This year, he is hauling his bike on a trailer from Florida to Scotland, S.D., then riding it to Sturgis.

He tries to ride safely.

Bush said he believes most bikers at the rally try to be cautious.

Erlewine, who has been riding motorcycles to the rally since 1959, agrees.

"I think most of the riders who come to the rally are aware and try to be safe," Erlewine said. "But the people who accept a lot of risks, or show off, or drink and ride — they come to the rally, too. That's pretty scary."

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com