askapro Knowing when to hang it up By Lee Parks #162125


Q: Hi Lee, I look forward to rd to reading


your monthly arti- cles in BMW ON. My brother-in-law and I were talking about his friend in his 70s who had a


knee replacement gone bad and was left with chronic infection. He now can only ride a highway-capable scooter because he can no longer lift his leg over a conventional motorcy- cle. My brother-in-law wondered out loud, how do you know when you should no longer be riding a motor- cycle? He surmised that if your motorcycle topples over and you can no longer pick it up, then it might be time to consider retiring from riding. My question is this: are there ANY


state regulations that you know of that screen specifically for motorcy- cle riding capability as one advances in age? I cannot recall having ever seen or heard of motorcycle specific testing for riding proficiency other than getting your initial license. Do you have any thoughts on the mat- ter? —Pete Giarratano


A: That’s a great question, Pete. Unfortunately, as far as I know there are no motorcycle-specific regula- tions that address riding capability once you’ve earned your endorse- ment. This is especially disconcerting with re-entry riders, or riders who come back to the sport after a signifi- cant hiatus. I spend a lot of time training mili-


tary riders, some of whom are ampu- tees or have other serious physical and emotional disabilities we have to accommodate, so this issue has a lot of personal significance to me. What


70 BMW OWNERS NEWS January 2017


our instructors have found is that attitude is as important as ability when it comes to deciding what is a manageable risk. This is because so many accidents result from a lack of situational awareness or from riders getting surprised by unforeseen circum- stances where they freeze or panic. This is part of why we spend so much time on fear, concentration and attitude in our classes. This happened to me while teaching one


of our Supermoto Clinics to GS riders dur- ing the national rally in Sedalia, Missouri, a few years ago. One of the students, who was in his mid-50s, had just jumped his R 1200 GS about 15 feet coming from the dirt sec- tion to the pavement section. He accidently nailed the throttle when his weight shifted backwards from a rear-wheel-first landing. I literally saw my teaching career flash before my eyes as the student began quickly accelerating with his front tire four feet off the ground—heading directly for a tall cin- derblock building. To my amazement, about 25 feet before


the collision the student tapped the rear brake to bring down the front wheel, and showed all of us how good the Beemer’s braking/ABS system could work in an emergency. Needless to say, I was as white as a ghost after observing one of the scariest teaching moments in my life. Perhaps more surprising was the fact that this seemingly near-death experience didn’t seem to faze the rider in the least. Being both relieved and concerned, I


asked him how he kept his wits about him during this particular misadventure. He looked at me like I was green when he asked me, “What do you mean?” I said, “I mean, you almost got yourself


killed out there.” He replied, “Really? There had to be at


least 25 feet between me and the building. That wasn’t very close.” Clearly the two of us had a very different interpretation of the event


occurred. At this point, morbid curiosity led me to


ask him, “Do you mind if I ask what you do for a living?” “I work for the government,” he said. “Er…okay, what specifically do you do


for the government?” I followed up. “I train people to do their job,” he said. Clearly I was getting nowhere with this


line of questioning. “Well, what did you do previously?” I tried again. “I was in Special Operations in the army,”


he said quietly. A quick look on Wikipedia yielded this


definition: “Special Operations (S.O.) are military operations that are ‘special’ or unconventional and carried out by dedi- cated special forces and other special opera- tions forces units using unconventional methods and resources. Special Operations may be performed independently of or in conjunction with, conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a con- ventional force requirement does not exist or might adversely affect the overall strate- gic outcome. Special Operations are usually conducted in a low-profile manner that aims to achieve the advantages of speed, surprise and violence of action against an unsuspecting target. Special ops are typi- cally carried out with limited numbers of highly trained personnel that are adaptable, self-reliant, able to operate in all environ- ments, and able to use unconventional combat skills and equipment. Special oper- ations are usually implemented through specific, tailored intelligence.” Aha! This was a highly trained, albeit


that had just


quasi-aloof, gentleman who knows not to panic and simply to accomplish the task at hand. Although I probably screamed like a little girl during the incident (my memory is blurred, but my doctor says I’m “win- ning” in therapy), he never felt like he was in imminent danger because he was able to


skills


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