RubberSideDown

Just to confuse the issue even further, all armor is not created equal- the good stuff has a CE-rating of level-1, and the better stuff is rated CE-level 2 (in a nutshell, this has to do with how the force of an impact is dispersed to spare the rider from as much if it as possible)- most newer gear by the big names will have this rating- it will cost more money- it's worth it.

Can someone please direct me to perhaps to the local dealers for some of the abovementioned armor -- around 6 - 7000baht?

I got my Dainese jacket from their shop in Bangkok- I believe it was 6900bt, plus a couple hundred for shipping (all done over the phone and email)- they might still have some- they had large sizes- I got a Euro 54 (US 44) and I know they had them in 56 as well.

I wear the textile way more than my much pricier Dainese leather jacket.

You can order the Bionic 2 jacket for under $200 shipped off eBay, though there will probably be import taxes.

Neck braces are expensive, bulky, and generally for off-road and track use- they'll wear it once and never put it on again. I have a lot of gear, and I would never bother with it on the street (that's not to say there aren't situations where it could help, but you have to look at it realistically).

I think the best you can hope for is that they'll wear some sort of jacket and a decent helmet- even the jacket won't be popular on really hot days (better known in Bangkok as 'everyday';)).

This the the Alpinestars neck brace for $400- I'm sweaty and uncomfortable just looking at it:

At the higher end, Alpinestars Stella S-MX 5 come in her size off eBay- $260 shipped and hope for the best re: import taxes.

OK- sorry for the hostile post above- this whole situation has really bothered me- it's in my hometown, and I keep thinking of how my mother or someone else could have been caught up in it.

I ride and I love it, but this situation will make things difficult for many riders in NY and elsewhere, and it was totally unnecessary- I blame the riders because they set off with an agenda (like they always do) and didn't give a damn about anyone else's safety.

I feel badly for the guy that was run over, but 'lay down with dogs and you'll get fleas...'

Right- you're proven wrong, so you back-peddle and pull out a strawman fallacy and try to make it about 'Americans' to deflect from how weak your actual point is (though people from all over the world have weighed in with their opinions on this and many other sites)- that's a cowardly way to argue your point, but I guess that's all that will work for you.

I tried, but there's no way to have an honest debate with someone who does that- it's just a waste of time.

I did look at your links- I also read stories posted by news site over the last few days- those are not 'hearsay'. There are sources to look at other than the biased links you posted.

You haven't posted a single fact or piece of analysis to support what you think regarding this incident (though you're happy to go off on silly tangents that have since been deleted).

This is what the family originally said- now, of course, they'll be saying whatever their lawyer tells them to.

From one story:

Meanwhile, biker Edwin Mieses, whose relatives say was just trying to help a fellow biker...

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9272043

From CNN:

Mieses' wife said he had been trying to help the first biker who was initially hit by the SUV when he, too, was hit.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/02/us/new-york-bikers-attack-video/index.html

Local NY paper:

Mieses’ family says he was trying to help the fallen rider when Lien’s SUV rolled over him.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/motorcycle-madness-article-1.1475795

They're claiming he got off his bike to help an injured rider- the video evidence shows otherwise. It needs to be looked at without emotional,bias- the family is obviously preparing for a lawsuit, and they're reading something prepared and approved by their attorney.

This is from another site- it wasn't done by me:

At the start of the video, one thing you should note is that Lien's Range Rover is ahead of the motorcycles. Maybe not all of them, but ahead of the main group. This is important because many bikers are claiming Lien drove through their group from behind. They claim he was speeding and driving recklessly, which is why they wanted him to stop.

Here at the beginning, we see several bikers approaching Mr. Lien's Range Rover. One biker identified as Christopher Cruz pushes into Lien's lane. Lien allows him to enter in front of him.

Cruz accelerates widening the gap behind himself and Lien's SUV. Cruz looks back then applies his brakes. (You can see the brake light come on in the video, especially when in full screen.) The bike abruptly slows.

Lien is, no doubt, checking all the bikes now crowding around his vehicle. He brakes quickly, but not fast enough. The SUV apparently makes light contact with the bikes rear wheel. The entire time, Cruz is looking back at the SUV.

Cruz apparently doesn't know the SUV touched him. It is possible no contact was ever made! Cruz continues riding for a moment. Lien slows to a stop. The other bikers begin slowing down and looking back, and so does Cruz.

Now Cruz, reportedly injured with two broken legs, begins "walking" his bike back to the SUV. (That is, he remains straddling the bike while rolling backward using his feet to push.)

Cruz has reached the SUV. He gets off his bike and approaches the driver's side door. Mieses walks toward the SUV as well. His family is claiming he stopped to help and injured biker, but up until this point, no bikers have been injured and none are in need of help. Notice how many bikers are stopping around the SUV.

Note the time on this still frame, because when you watch the video, you can see Cruz take a swing at the door or the window of the SUV. (You may need to watch in full screen to see it.) Other bikers have surrounded the Range Rover. At least one tire has been slashed. Mieses is one of many in standing in front of the vehicle.

Feeling threatened and concerned about the safety of his family, Alexian Lien decides to flee the situation. Jay Mieses is run down and seriously wounded. He is not helping anyone, he is not offering aid to anyone, he is blocking Lien's SUV.

I shouldn't judge- I've still got that red-and-white string tied around my steering stem.

Unbelievable- there's a whole website devoted to these ridiculous things.

http://www.gremlin-bells.com

Can't you just have your bike blessed like everybody else?

You didn't hurt my feelings- you made a ridiculous comment- there's a difference.

It's not really a 'funny question' as to whether you watched the video as your posts make it seem you haven't.

Whatever- I'm done with this thread- you're entitled to your opinion- I disagree with it, but it does reinforce my feelings that the major reason riding a motorcycle is so dangerous is because of the actions of the riders themselves, not external factors.

The rider is clearly over the white lines on the SUV's side of the road- I'm sure he wasn't exchanging pleasantries- now the driver has to move right without hitting the bike crowding the other side- this distracted driver is the one you pull a brake-check on? Morons.

Now you're just talking nonsense- 'Many of us would like to shoot them...'

All I'd like is for them not to ride like a-holes and stop endangering people.

You could easily break the mirror glass if you smack it directly with your gloved fist- it's made so it doesn't break if the back part of the mirror housing is hit, though- you sure wouldn't need a stick- bikers have been breaking mirrors that way since day one.

I don't know why you keep harping on 'relaxed', though- they thought they had this guy (and all the others drivers) cowed to let them do what they wanted on the road. They were obviously not expecting to have one of them get hit during the brake-checking maneuver- surprise- that's when things went to hell.

Did you watch the video? The rider who was hit was crowding into the SUV's lane seconds before the brake-check trying to intimidate the driver- not exactly 'relaxed' riding.

Even the organizer of the event said he would have done the same thing had he been the driver- that's pretty damning for the bikers.

Motorcyclist Magazine liked the Kawi 300 better- it's all about the testing criteria- there really aren't too many 'bad' bikes being built by any of the Big-Four.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/comparisons/122_1307_honda_cbr500r_vs_kawasaki_ninja_300/viewall.html

The riders are saying the mirror was broken when one of them was hit by the SUV- very doubtful- I've hit trees with my mirror when off-roading in my SUV and all it did was fold back without breaking- hitting the helmet of a rider moving in the same direction isn't going to do it- smacking car mirrors with a fist is a favorite move of some bikers, though, and that will smash the glass.

I got my info from various (real) news sources.

I also listened to a radio interview of the organizer of the ride ('Nauty' of the 'Rough Ridaz') where he said he would have run as well if he was the one in the SUV and he was afraid for his family's safety.

His quote:

"If it was me, and I felt that all these people would jump me, and I'd get hurt and my family would get hurt, then I'm gonna run off too."

These riders had a mob mentality and obviously had no fear of the driver- they found out that was a bad idea, though- you don't mess with a man and cause him to fear for his family and expect him to do nothing about it.

One of the riders smashed his mirror prior to the filmed incident, and another of them admitted they were pulling him over to 'talk'...

Obviously the riders were acting aggressively and initiated the problem.

See the mirror in this pic:

I'm from NY- these idiots have been causing problems for years- this time there was a camera present, but plenty of similar incidents have occurred. The driver isn't being charged with anything- the bikers are being charged for this incident (deservedly) with assault with a deadly weapon (among other things) as they're the ones that instigated the confrontation. Why do you think they all went to the trouble of removing their license plates before setting out? Because they knew they were going to cause problems- well, they got more than they bargained for. These idiots started off by riding aggressively on sidewalks (as shown in other videos) exhibiting no regard for pedestrians- they had none for drivers either.

I very much doubt he would have had any charges had he slammed on his brakes while bring pursued and a couple bikes ate his bumper.

The only real mistake the driver made was not heading for the George Washington Bridge, where a squad of counter-terrorism police are always in place- they would have handled the situation.

Maybe if he hadn't driven off, they would have stabbed him to death on the highway instead of just slashing his face- maybe his wife would have been injured trying to help him if there hadn't been a substantial crowd of onlookers like there were on the street where he was finally forced to stop. Maybe he should have knocked a few of the bikes aside when they were chasing him, as that would certainly have dampened their ardor for catching up with him.

That's if we're speculating.

I'd rather take my chances than hope for some mercy from a gang of angry bikers who intentionally caused the accident I was just involved in.

If I had been driving the SUV with my wife and daughter in the car and these guys started slashing my tires and beating on my vehicle and threatening us, the streets would have been red with the blood of several of them as I ran them over getting the hell out of there (I would have brake-checked the chase group as well- bike-vs-SUV is like knife-vs-gun)- if you put me in fear for my family's safety you're gonna be sorry.

A normal accident is one thing- a deliberate provocation and mob attack is another. The NYPD already said they're not charging the driver.

The guy in the SUV probably didn't give way or possibly cut one of the bikes off- watch one of the vids in the link I put in post #19- if you were in a car on that road, getting in the way of a bike would have been nearly unavoidable, especially if you needed to change lanes to exit the highway- lane-splitting is illegal in NY, and drivers aren't used to so many bikes in their blind spots.

I'm a bit cramped from the pegs to the tank cutout, so I got a set of 1" lower pegs as a stop-gap until I pick up some rearsets. Very nice quality (beautiful, actually) though a bit pricey at $150 + shipping.

image.jpg

Pricey is a understatement! Not sure if all bikes are different but ive seen vortex rearsets on sale in the mid 3s...And a nice locally made set from rsv for 4500baht

My ABS brakes create issues with the Vortex rearsets (which I don't really like in any case)- I'm going to get a quickshifter eventually and I'll choose rearsets that will best accommodate it (probably Sato or D-Axis, which will be $500+)- there still isn't much out for the 2nd-gen 14R, but that will change eventually.

This link has the vids that the original uploader deleted showing how these guys were riding in traffic prior to the Range Rover incident:

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/the-footage-that-the-nyc-bikers-didnt-want-you-to-see-1435594427/1436603736/@orlove

Here's the biker clearly brake-checking the Range Rover before the initial contact (and notice no plate on the bike):

The guy being beaten after he was dragged out of his car- note his wife coming out of the car- his two-year-old daughter was in there as well- also note the front tire is completely gone, which backs up the driver's claim that it was slashed by the bikers on the highway after he rear-ended the bike that brake-checked him, and is why he feared for his family's safety and took off- I don't blame him a bit (click on the pic if it looks distorted or compressed to see full image):