William Dunlop killed

Not to distract from his tragic death, but he died in an accident doing what he loved, he wasn't "killed", thankfully.

EVERY racer knows he is putting his life on the line when he drops the clutch.
 
grandpaul said:
Not to distract from his tragic death, but he died in an accident doing what he loved, he wasn't "killed", thankfully.

EVERY racer knows he is putting his life on the line when he drops the clutch.
Click to expand...

With motorcycle racing, when the risks are minimised to a tolerable level it is 'safe'. I have watched several on-board videos of the IOM. Seems to me almost impossible to ride it in the same way as you can on a short circuit. A friend of mine once said' people complain about trees along the sides of the road. However they should not be looking at the trees, they should be looking at the gaps between them. Because if you look at the trees, you will hit them if you run off. On the IOM, there are simply too many things to hit if you try too hard. One of our best Australian riders was killed in the70s - Ken Blake - only completed about two laps before hitting a post. People who saw him there, said he was trying too hard. I would have great reservations about racing on the IOM, but I would still ride there - CAREFULLY.
 
"A man's got to know his limitations"

I could never race competitively; I realized that in AHRMA, I could DEFINITELY feel myself trying too hard, and missing lines and braking points. I had more than enough fun just sticking to the basics and making sure I wasn't in peoples way.
 
grandpaul said:
"A man's got to know his limitations"

I could never race competitively; I realized that in AHRMA, I could DEFINITELY feel myself trying too hard, and missing lines and braking points. I had more than enough fun just sticking to the basics and making sure I wasn't in peoples way.
Click to expand...

In road racing, it is always wise to start slowly and work up. If you practise braking later into corners and getting on the gas earlier coming out, when you go around just out of control, you will know how fast you can do it. Then you do it that way every time. It is the limit of both man and machine. You will only ever be as good as the technique your bike promotes in you. What happens in the straights is usually irrelevant.
You need a lot of racing miles under your belt and the bike has to do something for you.
Never worry about the riders behind you. If you get to the corner first, it is YOUR corner. It is up to them to miss you. And never worry about how you look if you cannot go fast - we all did that..
 
I really dislike it when guys get killed doing road-racing. It is not fun when that happens, but it IS part of living. The way I am going, I will probably die in some miserable old peoples' home - not doing what we I loved so much. My partner-in-crime, died in a car accident - what a bummer ? He'd stuck his neck out so far and so often during bike racing and he went in a dumb road accident.
In this life you ahould do what you have got to do to stay alive.
 
acotrel said:
If you get to the corner first, it is YOUR corner. It is up to them to miss you.
Click to expand...
After my first 3 actual race starts, I was never beaten to turn 1 in 30 races on my bone-stock Production Heavyweight Triumph 650 Bonneville; that was up against triples and OHC four 750s, with multiple years track experience. I could usually stay in the lead for several corners or even a lap or two, but CCs make a difference.
 
There will be no old folks house for me .... we in Canada now have the Right to die with dignity when time comes with a Doc’s sponsorship ... it will be a bottle and some pills for me.....
 
Craig said:
There will be no old folks house for me .... we in Canada now have the Right to die with dignity when time comes with a Doc’s sponsorship ... it will be a bottle and some pills for me.....
Click to expand...

That is sick. I am going to live my life until I am dead.

A road bike always makes a good start in a road race, but there is always more to a race than the start. Getting to turn 1 first is very important. The last time I raced the Seeley, I had three rides. I was up with the lead bunch in two races, but could not get a decent start in any but the last race. In that one, I revved the tits off the motor on the start line and dropped the clutch, fully expecting the gearbox to blow up. The bike lurched off the startline and got to turn two behind three other riders. I smartly turned under the three of them and was up beside the leader when the fuel line popped off covering the motor with methanol. If there is ever a next time, it will be very different. I now have the very low first gear and five more instead of four close ratio.
 
grandpaul said:
After my first 3 actual race starts, I was never beaten to turn 1 in 30 races on my bone-stock Production Heavyweight Triumph 650 Bonneville; that was up against triples and OHC four 750s, with multiple years track experience. I could usually stay in the lead for several corners or even a lap or two, but CCs make a difference.
Click to expand...


With some bikes, you can choose where you want to lose a race. My 500cc Triton had a four speed close box. I dropped the overall gearing and led a race for a lap, but I was caught and passed at the end of a long straight. I usually rode with higher gearing and got blown off as I came away from corners. If I'd had six speeds, the story would have been different, and that is what most Japanese two-strokes have got. Engine capacity and horsepower are not the be-all and end-all of road racing. Even a good 500cc four-stroke can be made to go fast. Would a 750cc Commando beat a 500cc Paton ? - I know which one I would like to be riding.
A 60s 650cc Triumph Bonneville is a very good bike. Probably needed the 70s five speed box ?
 
acotrel said:
A 60s 650cc Triumph Bonneville is a very good bike. Probably needed the 70s five speed box ?
Click to expand...
My problem is, apparently, I was a sucker. I built an original spec ("Production", get it?) bike, and most of the other competitors hot-rodded their engines internally, skirted the rules with alloy wheels, etc. I don't recall if the rules allowed 5-speed upgrades, but my situation was that I had to choose between a BMW R60/5 of dubious prospect, and a Bonneville 650 (which I was very familiar with). I didn't have the play money to source and set up a 750 at the time. Also didn't have a 5-speed cluster available.

Anyway that class has rules that were written to be taken advantage of. As long as the bike APPEARS stock, it can run in the class! There are several alloy cylinders that can go well over 750, be painted black and APPEAR stock. Stroked cranks, high compression pistons, oversize valves, the lumpiest cams you want, anything goes, as long as it loos stock. Oh, yeah, 500cc-750cc is the range for the class, I was the only 650, there were no 500s running, but there was one guy that was quite fast on a DOHC black bomber 450 Honda, and another on a SOHC 400 four. Then again, what would you reckon the disadvantage is on a pushrod twin?

We're far off topic, so that's it for me...
Rest in Peace, William D.
 
A unit construction 650 Triumph Bonneville with the two race cams fitted is fast enough for anyone. They handle almost as good as a Manx. 5 speeds make it even better.
 
Back to William Dunlop - sometimes you don't even need to blink at the wrong time.

 
I think posting the crash video is in poor taste. Its serves no purpose here.
 
It serves a purpose if it saves somebody's life. That video shows the bike going up extremely close to the right hand side of the track - why wouldn't it be in the centre of the road ? That sort of accident should never happen on a straight piece of race circuit. If the cause is not found, the guy has died for nothing. Road racing should be safe - that means the risks should be minimised to a tolerable level. Obviously they were NOT !
 
You cannot just write this incident off by saying 'that's what happens in racing'. There is a reason for the crash. I have had several friends who have been killed in racing accidents, I know exactly why each one of them died, otherwise I would not be racing myself.
 
A source said: “One theory being explored is that William had just come over a bump on the course, his motorbike bottomed out and this ripped out a portion of the sump.
The open sump poured oil on to the roadway – his back wheel went over this slick and he lost control.
“He tried to right the bike but at huge speed he slammed into a ditch. There was nothing he could do.
“He was thrown from the bike and suffered devastating head injuries.”

https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/tragic-william-dunlop-died-after-14916401
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top