Big bike ridden by British man catches fire after flipping on wet highway

[Yinn]

11 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

saw an amazing bike rider a couple of days ago. Kid of about 15 riding a big bike down a main road, laying flat across the top with his feet pointing to the back of the bike, no helmet or shoes, just hanging on to the handles like a stunt rider. If he had not been going so fast I could have gotten a pic, the most insane thing I have seen recently.

 

[Curt1591]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It's all a question of the speed...

Not entirely. Mix a little water and oil and a bike can shoot from under you while practically standing still. 

 

[spiekerjozef]

Did he come straight out of prison?

[Grumpy one]

1 hour ago, Denim said:

Sloppy reporting or translation.

 

That road is in Petchabun not Petchburi. Goes to Khao Khao and is a must ' beauty spot ' for every man and his mate.

 

What model BMW is that ?

 

 

 

Burnt and Broken, they sell cheap

[saminoz]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It's all a question of the speed...

Not necessarily.  I was recently going slowly around a corner on a roundabout when a Thai on a bigger bike roared inside me (I was already keeping left and turning left) and he clipped my frot wheel, tipping me over the front to the left.  Bone dry conditions.

I must have been doing 20kph max and was surprised to see the amount of gravel rash (as well as losing a big toe nail-ouch!).

Left forearm stripped from elbow to wrist, knuckles, both knees and all toes.

Yes, I was dumb enough to have popped out for a short run in my flip flops, shorts and t-shirt.

Just goes to show that you are never too old to learn!

????

Flame away chaps!

????

[DualSportBiker]

4 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Never ride my bike on wet roads or bad weather if possible.  2-wheels just do not get enough traction to be safe...

Twaddle. Unless you think this is fake: 

 

 

Wet roads require lower speeds, but to say there is insufficient traction is simply wrong. I've ridden with GS1200 riders on TKC80 tires in the rain and they had their panniers on the road in corners. I'm not good enough to get my panniers on the ground (mine are a little higher...) but still there is plenty of grip.

 

[Road Warrior]

i never ride m/bike on wet roads ever !!!

[robblok]

16 minutes ago, saminoz said:

Not necessarily.  I was recently going slowly around a corner on a roundabout when a Thai on a bigger bike roared inside me (I was already keeping left and turning left) and he clipped my frot wheel, tipping me over the front to the left.  Bone dry conditions.

I must have been doing 20kph max and was surprised to see the amount of gravel rash (as well as losing a big toe nail-ouch!).

Left forearm stripped from elbow to wrist, knuckles, both knees and all toes.

Yes, I was dumb enough to have popped out for a short run in my flip flops, shorts and t-shirt.

Just goes to show that you are never too old to learn!

????

Flame away chaps!

????

Why flame.. seems you were punished enough. 

[robblok]

12 minutes ago, Road Warrior said:

i never ride m/bike on wet roads ever !!!

Might be hard to do in the rain season you could go somewhere when its dry and then encounter rain.

[Matzzon]

1 hour ago, Yinn said:

All the hundreds Thais negotiate that “wet” curve ok. Everyone successful.

 

Only the UK crash it. 

 

Road not look wet. Hmmmm

 

Maybe go fast? I think it real reason. Bike fire.

I agree! Road not look wet. Probably just another not so careful guy. If too fast, though? hmmm How do you explain him getting away almost unscratched if fall in high speed wearing an elastic top and jeans? I would like to hear that explanation. ???? 

[Kerryd]

Where the F*** did I "apologize" AT ALL for the "foreign" rider's accident ? 

I offered a POSSIBLE explanation for it based on my own experiences riding "big bikes" on Thai roads over the last 12 years.

I also noted that we rarely (as in almost never) hear about accidents like these when they involve a Thai rider (unless it's in the city).
WHY ? Because the people who put these articles on ThaiVisa select things that are more likely to draw the attention of their target audience.

Which, in case you haven't figured it out, is mostly FOREIGNERS. 

And my comment was aimed at the 2nd post in this thread where it was questioned if this would have been "news" if it had of been a Thai rider (instead of a Brit one).

Had this accident been a Thai on a big bike in the same area, it probably wouldn't have been reported in the (English language version) of the Nation and therefore wouldn't have been put on ThaiVisa.
I've attended funerals of Thai friends who died in "big bike" accidents and gee, guess what ? Those accidents weren't reported on ThaiVisa either ! It had nothing to do with who may have been at fault in those accidents.

But almost every accident involving a foreigner IS reported. Regardless of who may have been at fault.
WHY ? Because their target audience is more likely to look at articles where other foreigners are involved. 

Most of you wouldn't even glance at an article about a Thai having an accident on a big bike.

But an article where a foreigner is involved ? Especially one you may have a connection to (i.e. fellow countryman or fellow biker for example).
You are more likely to look at that article and the people who post the news items on ThaiVisa know that.

I wasn't ****ing commenting on who was at fault or suggesting that it wouldn't have happened if the rider had been Thai.

Some of you need to take a chill pill once in awhile. I had actually read ALL the posts up to when I made mine and was trying to respond to 3 of them in a single post, but didn't bother with quoting each bit I was responding to. My bad.
 

[RobbyXNorway]

Hope he owned the bike and had it properly insured. Going to be an expensive barbeque if it was rented without proper insurance.

 

Could be a lot of reasons as already commented. Sand/gravel in the road is also a possibility. Coming too fast into a curve and breaking too hard with the front wheel while bike is laid over is also a bad one.

[smedly]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

So true.. how he did not account for weather conditions and so on. Blaming all Thai drivers. Now where is the backlash for Brit divers.. ehh.. the silence is deafening.  

 

Quite predictable. 

I didn't read any quotes from the rider

[robblok]

30 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Where the F*** did I "apologize" AT ALL for the "foreign" rider's accident ? 

I offered a POSSIBLE explanation for it based on my own experiences riding "big bikes" on Thai roads over the last 12 years.

I also noted that we rarely (as in almost never) hear about accidents like these when they involve a Thai rider (unless it's in the city).
WHY ? Because the people who put these articles on ThaiVisa select things that are more likely to draw the attention of their target audience.

Which, in case you haven't figured it out, is mostly FOREIGNERS. 

And my comment was aimed at the 2nd post in this thread where it was questioned if this would have been "news" if it had of been a Thai rider (instead of a Brit one).

Had this accident been a Thai on a big bike in the same area, it probably wouldn't have been reported in the (English language version) of the Nation and therefore wouldn't have been put on ThaiVisa.
I've attended funerals of Thai friends who died in "big bike" accidents and gee, guess what ? Those accidents weren't reported on ThaiVisa either ! It had nothing to do with who may have been at fault in those accidents.

But almost every accident involving a foreigner IS reported. Regardless of who may have been at fault.
WHY ? Because their target audience is more likely to look at articles where other foreigners are involved. 

Most of you wouldn't even glance at an article about a Thai having an accident on a big bike.

But an article where a foreigner is involved ? Especially one you may have a connection to (i.e. fellow countryman or fellow biker for example).
You are more likely to look at that article and the people who post the news items on ThaiVisa know that.

I wasn't ****ing commenting on who was at fault or suggesting that it wouldn't have happened if the rider had been Thai.

Some of you need to take a chill pill once in awhile. I had actually read ALL the posts up to when I made mine and was trying to respond to 3 of them in a single post, but didn't bother with quoting each bit I was responding to. My bad.
 

Sorry but if you read what is posted when Thais are involved in an accident they always blame the rider. Here nobody blames the rider and is making excuses giving reasons why it could have happend. The same does not happen when a a Thai rider has an accident. 

 

You should seriously look and see the difference in comments. As for me having to take a chill pill I don't start to curse at people like you do. 

 

You are right that articles about foreigners are more often posted as you so rightly say its a foreign orientated site. However i seen plenty of Thai riders accidents and how the comments go are totally different. 

 

You might not be to blame for that but in general it is. I am not the only one who sees this at least 2 other posters share the same experience. 

[dddave]

7 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

If this was a big bike being ridden by a Thai, would it be news ? Just asking.

 

Probably didn't even hit the Thai language press.  "The Nation" English edition will obviously seek out stories perhaps of interest to English speakers.   Some days are slow news days so stories such as this fill up empty space.

Nothing sinister here.  Move along.

[ExpatOilWorker]

7 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

If this was a big bike being ridden by a Thai, would it be news ? Just asking.

 

The Thais take it to the next level.

 

[Kwasaki]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

A big bike ridden by a British man flipped

I take it they mean he " highsided " the bike on a wet road.

Obviously a speed incident in the wet as they don't report much. 

 

[ravip]

7 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

If this was a big bike being ridden by a Thai, would it be news ? Just asking.

 

 

7 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Maybe not.  But if it did make the news, we'd already have pages and pages of posts about poor Thai driving skills.

Something tells me, not only Thais, but other nationalities also are capable of meeting with accidents. British rider, BMW bike, perfect picture... an accident is impossible? Not enough details in the article to understand the correct cause. Bad Thai road? The curve too sharp? Any other excuse to 'soften' the picture? 

Imagine a Thai rider, in a cheap bike, identical incident...

Whoa! speaks volumes...

[rwill]

What a lucky man he was.  I wonder if they gave him a ride somewhere or just left him there after taking the selfies.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, DualSportBiker said:

Twaddle. Unless you think this is fake: 

 

 

Wet roads require lower speeds, but to say there is insufficient traction is simply wrong. I've ridden with GS1200 riders on TKC80 tires in the rain and they had their panniers on the road in corners. I'm not good enough to get my panniers on the ground (mine are a little higher...) but still there is plenty of grip.

 

Now try that in a corner - or better don't try it!

[Kerryd]

13 minutes ago, robblok said:

Sorry but if you read what is posted when Thais are involved in an accident they always blame the rider. Here nobody blames the rider and is making excuses giving reasons why it could have happend. The same does not happen when a a Thai rider has an accident. 

 

You should seriously look and see the difference in comments. As for me having to take a chill pill I don't start to curse at people like you do. 

 

You are right that articles about foreigners are more often posted as you so rightly say its a foreign orientated site. However i seen plenty of Thai riders accidents and how the comments go are totally different. 

 

You might not be to blame for that but in general it is. I am not the only one who sees this at least 2 other posters share the same experience. 

Well in all fairness you were the first to call me an "apologist" and the way it read "Again an apologist" made it sound like you thought I did this all the time. Then 2 posts later someone without a clue agreed and claimed I was "one o' the lads".

Which, if he did have a clue and knew who I was, would know that I rarely, if ever "apologize" for the actions of foreigners in Thailand because in my opinion a lot of what happens to them is brought on by themselves. He would know that I sure as **** am not "one o' the lads".

And yes, I noticed the comments. It happens all the time on all manner of subjects. There are people here (on ThaiVisa) who think that everyone is out to get them and that everything is someone else's fault. (Even when they are the cause of their own problems as I noted above.)
There are way too many who immediately decide that their countrymen are never too blame and that they are always being "framed". (Like in that case where the guy picked up a hooker, went back to his place, got high, killed her, left on his scooter, got into and accident, went to the hospital and confessed while in the hospital. Immediately there were people claiming that the cops must have "beat a confession" out of him, etc, etc.)

It seems that 99% of the people here either blame everything on the Thais or blame everything on the foreigners. It seems to run around 50/50 (and nothing is ever their own fault of course.)

I'm usually in the 1% who sit in the middle and try to figure out the truth. And if I thought the foreigner was to blame, I would have said it and explained why I thought so. The same way I do if it's a Thai involved. 
I really don't give a **** who is at fault. I try to find out what happened and why because in cases like this for example, it could happen to anyone.

Like in my post here where, unlike probably most of you, I actually opened Maps and checked the location and LOOKED at the road where the accident happened. I then looked at the photos and, like others, noted that the road appeared dry despite what it said in the article. I opened the actual news article to see if there were additional photos or information that wasn't in the OP (which happens a lot). (The Nation doesn't blur out the guy's face by the way.)

I then offered a possible explanation based on my experience riding big bikes here - without blaming anyone or apologizing for them.

I've seen enough lunatics on bikes here (Thais and foreigners) to know that a lot of people here often drive far too fast for road conditions.
Which, as most should know, does not just mean "wet roads".  (And not just bike riders either of course.)


Who knows. The rider is a Brit, he was on a "big bike" and came from "Chon Buri". Maybe he's on TV and will post about it himself. 

 

[robblok]

5 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Well in all fairness you were the first to call me an "apologist" and the way it read "Again an apologist" made it sound like you thought I did this all the time. Then 2 posts later someone without a clue agreed and claimed I was "one o' the lads".

Which, if he did have a clue and knew who I was, would know that I rarely, if ever "apologize" for the actions of foreigners in Thailand because in my opinion a lot of what happens to them is brought on by themselves. He would know that I sure as **** am not "one o' the lads".

And yes, I noticed the comments. It happens all the time on all manner of subjects. There are people here (on ThaiVisa) who think that everyone is out to get them and that everything is someone else's fault. (Even when they are the cause of their own problems as I noted above.)
There are way too many who immediately decide that their countrymen are never too blame and that they are always being "framed". (Like in that case where the guy picked up a hooker, went back to his place, got high, killed her, left on his scooter, got into and accident, went to the hospital and confessed while in the hospital. Immediately there were people claiming that the cops must have "beat a confession" out of him, etc, etc.)

It seems that 99% of the people here either blame everything on the Thais or blame everything on the foreigners. It seems to run around 50/50 (and nothing is ever their own fault of course.)

I'm usually in the 1% who sit in the middle and try to figure out the truth. And if I thought the foreigner was to blame, I would have said it and explained why I thought so. The same way I do if it's a Thai involved. 
I really don't give a **** who is at fault. I try to find out what happened and why because in cases like this for example, it could happen to anyone.

Like in my post here where, unlike probably most of you, I actually opened Maps and checked the location and LOOKED at the road where the accident happened. I then looked at the photos and, like others, noted that the road appeared dry despite what it said in the article. I opened the actual news article to see if there were additional photos or information that wasn't in the OP (which happens a lot). (The Nation doesn't blur out the guy's face by the way.)

I then offered a possible explanation based on my experience riding big bikes here - without blaming anyone or apologizing for them.

I've seen enough lunatics on bikes here (Thais and foreigners) to know that a lot of people here often drive far too fast for road conditions.
Which, as most should know, does not just mean "wet roads".  (And not just bike riders either of course.)


Who knows. The rider is a Brit, he was on a "big bike" and came from "Chon Buri". Maybe he's on TV and will post about it himself. 

 

I admit i get carried away as i notice the difference between how accidents are looked at. I agree you are not one of the usual suspects for sure.

 

I just get bored at times how foreigners are instantly cleared of wrongdoing and Thais are immediately crucified. 

 

I have no clue if the guy had bad luck or it was a wet road or he was just being a fool. I have ridden a big bike in the past but did not tour much so can't call myself an expert.

 

Yes there are plenty of people driving / riding to fast i see them every day but i see plenty of people driving ok. Maybe because I am in the BKK area and on main roads. But the majority of drivers is not bad at all. There is of course a large group (but far from a majority) that are total idiots.

 

Then again there are far more foreigners here that abuse the roads (we read on thavisa often about people complaining about fines and alcohol checks) Then back home. 

[onekoolguy]

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Shirt's too tight.

 

Probably took the curve too fast and slammed on the front brake, road is dry

That's the "U*** A****" brand. They are all that way! I don't much like them either.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Shirt's too tight

Or too much filling !

[sawadee1947]

Obviously there are not always Thais who cannot drive properly. 

There are other idiots on the road like this Brit. ????

[Kerryd]

Just now, robblok said:

Then again there are far more foreigners here that abuse the roads (we read on thavisa often about people complaining about fines and alcohol checks) Then back home. 

I find that the instant I hear a car horn, I automatically assume it's a foreign driver. Not sure about being more foreigners abusing the roads here than "back home" as most of the news we see here is generally slanted towards foreigners, making it seem like they are usually the ones causing problems. (Or complaining about almost everything over here.)

And to be fair though (sort of) - I don't read a lot of Thai media or websites so I'm not sure how much the locals complain about the same things. Hard to say if, on a per capita basis, more foreigners abuse the roads here than locals. 
(It seems to be pretty even in many ways, when it comes to wearing helmets, drink driving, no license, etc, etc.) Obviously there are more locals than foreigners (which is why I mentioned on a "per capita" basis).

There are lots of idiots of both groups (foreign and Thai) on the roads. Neither can claim the title in that regards.
 

[GreasyFingers]

6 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

I don't like these horrible noisy things. Thailand needs some laws on noise pollution....it is getting ridiculous when every Honda 50 has a straight through, after market, exhaust that makes it sound like a jumbo jet taking off. 

A BMW noisy, you need to listen and look more.

 

There are so many posters on here that have probably never been on that road. It is great for a bike ride but it is not the best of roads surface wise and with the rain we have had lately there could have been all sorts of sh## on the road. Very easy to drop a bike and if you have never dropped a bike you have never ridden one.

[richard_smith237]

This maybe considered a Thai bash or being over protective of ‘Westerner’s’ when I’d be critical of a Thai rider in the same situation, I don’t know - I try to be balanced and not impacted by bias, maybe thats impossible for some of us as Rob pointed out. 

 

Judging by the picture; I see a Guy in a sweaty under-shirt which I assume was worn under a protective leather jacket. The guy is also about 45-50 years old. He wasn’t hurt. 

 

This implies that he was an experienced rider and not going too fast (as he wasn’t hurt). Many western ‘big bike riders’ have taken their full motorcycle tests (in their home countries), in the UK this quite an advanced riding test. 

 

These are all assumptions of course and could be completely wrong. 

 

Compare this to a Thai kid in flip-flops and we draw the same conclusions we draw every week - speeding, riding recklessly. 

 

Is this fair? No... Is this biased? Yes....  But the real question is this probable? I think the answer is yes.

 

Fault in any accident involving a single person is placed directly at the hands of that person. It would be reasonable to assume there are mitigating factors in this case. 

 

Of course, this could be wrong, but for those of us who’ve lived here a long time our thoughts are impacted by the news we read and things we see....  it forms bias which in the absence of any other information is all we have to go on, rightly or wrongly.

 

[Dumbastheycome]

When I still had my bike I experienced  some patches on uphill corners that were as slippery as ice.

It  was the stinking slop from trucks carting rubber latex ! More than once  have seen  people on small  bikes  literally get dumped on the road going in a straight line from same. One time a guy in a  Mitzi ute  spinning in circles  across  both sides of the road and going nowhere with a frightened  look on his  face. I thought at first as I came up and stopped well back that it was some hoon until I noticed  there was no smoke from the rear wheels. I think in his panic he had  kept his foot down . Eventually he slid off the  road and  stopped....in the entrance to a Rubber  latex buyer's yard ! I and others then  passed by but even on the downhill when I tried to accelerate  my  vehicle  wheelspun almost instantly. An hour  later coming back the other direction I saw 3 water trucks and a team of people  with  yard brooms  scrubbing down the road.

So I am not so quick to judge peoples handling capacity in some situations !

[from the home of CC]

13 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

If this was a big bike being ridden by a Thai, would it be news ? Just asking.

 

probably a 'headline' then..