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Just got back from Council Grove and had a good time as always. about 70 riders ranging from 15 to 75 yrs and beginners to ex pros. Most rides were med slow & easy gravel with a few low maintenance ones thrown in.

Steve Starkel from Wichita took a bad spill. If you know Steve or even if you don't, contact him through the BTK site to let him hear from you. Turns out he has a brain contusion, 8 cracked ribs, and a broken collar bone. To say the least he is hurting. He was in the same group as me and we were playing follow the leader on gravel roads in Morris county when it happened. This accident could happen to any of us so ATGATT please!! I was playing clean up rider since I had GPS routing available so I didn't see it happen. Imagine a group of 18 riders going about 35 to 40 mph down a smooth gravel road. You look ahead and see what appears to be a small pot hole. from 50 feet away it looks to be 16 inches in diameter so you would think it would be a few inches deep. WELL, not this time. this is just my opinion, but there was a drainage tube under the road with a crack or a broken joint in it right under this spot. the water way that fed it was 4-500 hundred acres so I think so much water was being forced through this small tube that a jet of water came up and out of it to cause a sink hole. Looking at the hole latter it was several feet deep. Steve hit the hole causing his front end to throw him to the ground. Lucky for him he ended up in the grass at the side of the road to help him slide and maybe cushion the fall a little. His helmet was broken and his jacket was torn a little. He was just protected by a enduro style jacket with built in pads and the same for pants, as far as I could tell. He was life flighted to Wichita.

Everyone should keep in mind it could have been you just as easily as him so ride carefully!!! Where all your stuff and consider upgrading to top of the line protection. Would a steering dampner have helped ? Those dampners run at least 500$, but compare that to the bill Steve is gonna have.

Ride smart, ride safe, David H

Dave, is this the Steve that rides a Husky too? I only broke 3 ribs and dang near passed out due to the pain, I can't imagine 8!!!

Might be time for me to call Kelley at Motorsportz... Dave, Troy we can save some shipping costs

http://www.motosportz.com/MZ-Dirt-Stab-Husky.htm

Yes, Steve rides a husky And yes he passed out or was knocked out. Someone took off his helmet to HELP him out . First thing the deputy said was who the hell took off his helmet? Who ever did it was trying to help, but could have screwed the whole situation up. THINK before you act. We all want to help, but be careful about what you do to your friend.

David H

Steve! What terrible news. Keep Steve in your prayers, all. Although it was not fun to report, thanks for filling us in, David.

Hang in there my Husky brother!

Sorry to hear of the accident, best wishes for a speedy recovery. I was out in CO and riding and camping at fourmile outside of Buena Vista. There's still 18 feet of snow on Cottonwood and Marshall Pass is still closed mainly to keep it from being rutted up.

What is a steering dampener and how would it have helped in this situation?

Everyone had a good time at the ride but the new of Steve put a damper on the evening. He is in a lot of riders prayers.

ajayhawkfan wrote:What is a steering dampener and how would it have helped in this situation?

A steering damper works kind of like a shock absorber for your handlebars. The idea being that it will absorb some of the bumps that would throw your bars from side to side as you're riding. Depending on the exact circumstances, I'm not sure it would help in this case. If he hit it slightly sideways and it caused the bars to get torqued sideways, then it could have absorbed some of the shock and may have allowed him to maintain a little better control. If he hit it straight-on then the bars never turned anyway. I'm not sure, but I don't think most dampers are designed to take this kind of impact. They usually just help to smooth out some of the roughness.

Thank you. That makes sense.