Motorcycle Killed My Son

[DEMMYM]

Sorry for her loss, I truley am, But a bike will only go as fast as you turn that throttle.

When I was thinking of getting my Busa people told me they are to fast, Once again, Only as fast as ( I ) want it to be. I take full responcibility of anything that happens once I exceed the legal limit.

 

[RedlineStands]

Grief does a fine job of blinding people from the truth...........

Ian

 

[GSXcite]

Although I feel sorry for this womans loss, it is evident that her son made bad decisions that led to his death.

I'm the finance manager for a large powersports dealer here in Kansas City. I'm the last person that a new bike owner deals with prior to getting on their new bike and riding off. I ALWAYS do my best to talk to the customer about their prior riding experience and the qualifications they have for the new motorcycle they have purchased, but you know what, we live in a FREE country, and if you have the ability to purchase a vehicle we can't and will not stop you. All we can do is give you our recommendations, but in the end the customer makes the decision about what he buys or doesn't buy.

I have no authority by the state, nor am I required by the state to assure someone has a motorcycle license prior to purchasing a bike. The only thing I'm required to do is make sure a customer has a drivers license for proof of legal age to make a purchase, which is 18 here in Kansas. I'm also required to verify a customer has insurance prior to furnishing a temp . license tag. Many times a customer will purchase a motorcycle and haul it home in a pickup truck, on a trailer, or have a friend who is experienced in riding, ride it home for them. Lots of folks doing that prior to taking a MSF course which my dealership sponsors at the local community college.

Botttom line is we all have to be accountable for our own actions. The law in most states say you are an adult and capable of making decisions when your 18 years old. I was in Viet Nam when I was 18 years old, making life and death decisions everyday just like our brave young men are doing at this very moment in Iraq.

 

[Commuta_Busa]

hmmmm I wonder when the world will be safe from ALL accidents.

RIP

 

[Zewski]

I can not believe this. It is amazing to me that there is someone out there that can really look themselves in the mirror, no matter how much they are hurting, and blame somone else. This is not intended to be rude, but her son didn't have an endorsement because that would have been responsible. It appears to me that Mom doesn't take responsibility for things, why would her son. Responsibility is a learned action, if your not taught you can't learn. With that said, if you let your sun "race" dirt track, expect him to "race" street track! I love to go fast, that's why I have a Busa, but with great power comes great responsibility!! (That came from a movie just can't remember which one!)

 

[MPH 200]

I just sent a letter to the Editor & I encourage everyone to do so.


Dear Mr. Rupkalvis,

I am very concerned about your publishing a very one sided, dicriminatory article towards motorcycles. I am not a 20 something kid. I am a 43 year old professional Father of two. My Wife & I both ride "Sportbikes," as they are correctly named, not "Crotch Rockets." I have ridden & road raced for over 30 years and am aware of what it takes to effectively control a motorcycle.

Mom: Motorcycle killed my son


Why did you fail to mention in your article that he ran a stop sign?

Graham man killed in motorcycle accident

Graham man killed in motorcycle accident
Friday, September 28, 2007
Chris Hunnewell


A local man was killed Thursday night when his motorcycle ran into a semi-truck trailer just south of Fort Worth.
Max Valdez, 20, was riding southbound shortly before midnight on a 2007 Yamaha motorcycle on Old Burleson Road 14 miles south of Fort Worth where he ran a stop sign and struck the trailer of Kenworth model truck traveling east on Garden Acres Road. Preliminary reports, explained Fort Worth Police traffic investigation unit Sgt. Rodney Bangs, revealed the intersection was not lighted, but road conditions were dry. The motorcycle driver, he added, tried to stop, but under rode the cycle into the trailer.


Observations:

1. He broke the law by running a stop sign.

2. He broke the law by speeding.

3. He broke the law by being an unlicensed driver.

4. Max was probably was not wearing appropriate safety gear, even though he, "raced dirt?"

5. Excessive speeding on a residential street. Slid 280 feet - that equates w/ a skid calculator to a speed of 90-100mph.

6. Years of dirt riding may help in some situations, but the riding styles are very different. The acceleration of a dirt bike is actually faster than a sportbike.

7. Laying it down to "save your life" is the worst possible choice. Braking hard until impact will do the most good, & the brakes on these motorcycles are incredibly effective.

8. No license is required to purchase an automobile either, but driving a car and wrecking is still the operator's fault.


Since when are we not responsible for our own actions??

Your article has been posted on numerous motorcycle forums & there is quite a discussion about it. We are all sorry that a young man died, but he died because of his own self inflicted behavior.

This is one of the largest motorcycle forums in the world - see what people have to say.

https://www.hayabusa.org/forum/general-bike-related-topics/95038-motorcycle-killed-my-son.html


Respectfully,

Michael Capps

 

[JINKSTER]

I can not believe this. It is amazing to me that there is someone out there that can really look themselves in the mirror, no matter how much they are hurting, and blame somone else. This is not intended to be rude, but her son didn't have an endorsement because that would have been responsible. It appears to me that Mom doesn't take responsibility for things, why would her son. Responsibility is a learned action, if your not taught you can't learn. With that said, if you let your sun "race" dirt track, expect him to "race" street track! I love to go fast, that's why I have a Busa, but with great power comes great responsibility!! (That came from a movie just can't remember which one!)

Again....i say the same...



Mom: Motorcycle killed my son


“It’s really, really hard,†she said. “I miss him so bad. But if my son had to die, maybe someone else will listen.â€

I'm listening...and at the risk of sounding a tad heartless?...i will express my realistic views and opines...as follows...

Almost one year ago, Cyndi Martin learned firsthand how dangerous high-speed motorcycles known as crotch rockets can be.
On Sept. 27, 2007, Martin’s life was turned upside down when her son, Max Valdez, was killed riding a crotch rocket.


The term..."Crotch Rocket": is no more than "name calling" by the ignorant...just like any "Sportsmen" can die participating in any sport without at least reading and learning a little bit about it first.


The difference on that night was Valdez was riding a crotch rocket for the first time.


"on that night?...."First Time!"....wtf!

Max Valdez grew up riding motorcycles, excelling on dirt tracks.
“He rode dirt bikes, raced them for years,†Martin said. “But this isn’t a bike. Those things will go zero to 60 in four seconds.â€

So...the fact that EVERYONE KNEW that the differences between dirt biking and street biking were worlds apart we still let this kid ride one for....the first time...at night?...again...wtf.


That speed is what killed Valdez. Martin said he bought his motorcycle at 6 p.m. on Sept. 27, drove around for a little bit and came home. At 11:45 p.m., he went out with two friends, accelerated down the street, smiled back at his friends and turned around to see a semi-truck turning in front of him.

okay...back to the "reading and learning before you do" thing again...MOST/ANY 2-wheeled rider at all knows better than to...


"accelerated down the street, smiled back at his friends "

the streets ain't no dirtbike sandbox where if ya fall down and go boom at 25 or so ya typically don't wind up going to the hospital or getting airlifted out...and for bonus points?...ya fall in sand/dirt...screw up in the many risks of the street at 25mph?...and 6 months later you might still be in ICU with your family having to decide wether to "pull the plug" or not....but somehow we let this kid try it for his first time at night?...such a shame...and i mean that.


On a normal motorcycle, that would have been fine,but with the acceleration rate of a crotch rocket, Valdez was going too fast to stop. He did the only thing he could to try to save his life, dropping the motorcycle and trying to slide under the semi. Instead, Valdez hit his head on the truck, sliding 280 feet before he stopped.

hmmm...really now...i guess a normal HD's light-weight frame and badazz brakes would've helped him decellerate faster somehow?...interesting...the way i see it?...he was on a sportbike...capable of stopping/turning/handling on a dime and giving you 9cents change..in other words...his ability to EVADE such a situation on a sportbike....would already be..."enhanced"...so to speak.


Martin said. “I was very broken. My first thought the day after Max passed away was I thought about God. I told God, ‘I now know how you felt when you let your son die. I know how your heart was broken.’ I locked myself in my house for 11 months.â€

sounds to me like..."pentence paid"...for being a bit to permissive in not insisting that a bit of research be done before he tried it for the first time....at night.


Martin has raised three boys and all of them are very special to her. But Max was her best friend. Even as an adult, he would sit with his mom and tell secrets, sharing the biggest details in life.
When he died, he was on the verge of making a big leap in his life. As an oil-field worker, Valdez had distinguished himself to the point the company wanted to invest in his future.
“He was to leave the next week, making $90,000 a year and going to college,†Martin said. “The only thing he was waiting for was to find a way to tell me. He told me on Thursday and died on Friday.â€

"oh-the drama"...


That Friday marked a dramatic change in Martin’s life.

see?..."drama"...toldya so...

[She not only lost her son and her best friend, but she began a mission to find out everything she could about crotch rockets./B]

[OOOHHhhh...i see...sooo nooooowwww we decide to read up and learn a little bit..again...sad "after-the-fact" irony in my book./COLOR]

“He was a beautiful kid,†Martin said. “He was the ultimate small town kid."

he wouldn't have been "the ultimate small town kid" had that been a 12 year old little girl walking home from a friends house instead of a semi.

After the initial shock wore off, Martin began looking into how her son died —

specifically concentrating on the vehicle he was riding.

Why?...what if he was riding in a mustang gt...or?..a snowmobile...or?...a freaking skateboard or?...sky-diving or?...pleasure boating/jet ski-ing..sorry but..."accelerating while looking back and smiling"?....doesn't bode well with any of those "dangerous sports" either.

I'm truely sorry for your loss...however...i'm more appauled at the level of ignorance that took place here with as much contempt for your effort to outlaw the freedoms which wiser, more responsible folk still enjoy.

Geese...i wish the folk who would like "More Government Regulation" would concentrate on other issues such as...

Regulating Oil Profits, Lending Practies, Lobbyist or dang...even global warming...as i'm certain the elimination of "crotch rockets" ain't gonna pass house...and even if it did?...we'd just fall back to the "Caf'e Racer" era all over again!

Truth be known?...with "No Motorcycle Endorsement" on his D.L.?...ya'll were already breaking the law AND?..."ODDS OF SURVIVAL" from jump street.

L8R, Bill.

 

[Billy Busa]

Its kind of sad when one dosent have any right wrist throttle control.

"accelerated down the street, smiled back at his friends and turned around to see a semi-truck turning in front of him".

What a stupid inexperienced young kid.

 

[JINKSTER]

Its kind of sad when one dosent have any right wrist throttle control.

"accelerated down the street, smiled back at his friends and turned around to see a semi-truck turning in front of him".

What a stupid inexperienced young kid.

amen....it's a shame ain't it?...especially when folks don't follow the law (re: no MC endorsement on his DL) only to then lay out a light coat of black over the entire sportbike community...i regret their ignorant loss but despise their "after-the-fact" hindsight demeanor.

L8R, Bill.

 

[Narcissus]

OMG! That bike should be locked up for life before it strikes again! Now I can't sleep at night knowing there is a serial killing crotch rocket on the loose.

 

[Pinky Winky]

Holy crap.!!! I just read the post by MPH 200 a few posts up thats showed the police report and I just remembered this kid. I had just left a party in Burleson when a buddy of mine called me and said that he needed my help, that this friend was in an accident. I called another buddy of mine and we got about two blocks away from the crach site and were stopped by the police. This kid used to hangout with my buddies. I cant believe I just put this together. From what I remember it was a 600 that he was on. But i cant get ahold of my buddy to ask him yet. I didnt know him personally but I knew the name sounded familiar. I cant believe his mom is acting this stupid. She knows abjout bikes and what they can do. This whole thing is blown way out. Ill try to get my buddies take on what happened that night and post back up.

 

[BrianKesler]

0-60 in four seconds...musta been riding a 13.5

 

[SD1300]

Well stated. All I could dig up was that it was a Yamaha... so it couldn't have been that fast right?

But seriously, 200 ft of skid marks means he was flying along. No way he could have stopped for the stop sign he blew through to hit the truck. Several bad decisions on his part.

200 feet of skid marks kind of indicates to me they were the rear tire. I'm quite sure the kid didn't know the bike had a front brake or how to use it. He grew up riding in the dirt..... they don't use front brakes.
I'm sorry for the loss but the young man was an idiot and the mother is typical of 2008... "it's not my fault, gotta find someone to blame"
I expect we'll read a followup that she is suing the motorcycle dealer and Yamaha. Heck, she should sue the state because they put the stop sign there.
I enjoyed the line "he put the bike down to avoid the truck.... sounds like a Hardly bit: I can't tell you how many times I've heard that from Hardly expert riders.

 

[Speednut]

Here I sat in front of this pencil on my desk. Then I picked it up, and stabbed myself repeatedly in the eyeballs. I'm glad my wife informed my mother about the incident so she can begin the lengthy process of outlawing pencils left on desks... or at least forcing the government to restrict how sharp you can make the point on those things. Dangerous items like these should be banned for good!

 

[Adolf]

I wonder why she didn't go after the helmet manufacturer since her son died because of a broken neck.

 

[MPH 200]

I looked on google maps at the accident scene. The guy ran a stop sign at a T intersection and hit a tractor trailer. There is a trailer depot or wharehouse at the end of the T. He would have crashed even if the truck wasn't there, because the road stopped going the direction he was traveling. I hope she gets over this stupid blame phase and moves on to remembering the good times with her son.

 

[mymaster]

I wonder if she or anyone in her family smokes cigarettes? Prayers sent, R.I.P. Max.

 

[memorex]

I feel for her. Its the motorcycles fault. It has a brain of its own and made him go that fast and then turn his head to look back at friends. The government isn't the one that needed to govern him. It was his parents. The government is already telling us what we can and can not do to much already. We all have the ability to govern our own actions. We all have taken risk as he did. Some are lucky enough to learn from them some are not.

 

[Billy Busa]

I wonder why she didn't go after the helmet manufacturer since her son died because of a broken neck.

Thats why i dont wear one.

 

[Mr Bogus]

Thats why i dont wear one.

well he could not hear the truck turning either right?

I can not believe every single racing organization and body REQUIRES a helmet to be worn by every competitor... how cave man is that...

dumb people that make safety rules huh?





:cough: :cough: