News

Marvin Jarels, a 59-year-old postal clerk in Christiansburg, took an afternoon motorcycle ride with two friends Wednesday.

It would be his last.

The group rounded a curve on Virginia Rte. 8 in Riner and came up on a Ford pickup truck waiting to turn left off the hightway at Camp Carysbrook Road.  Two of the three riders reacted in time and avoided hitting the truck. Jarels couldn’t stop or maneuver his Harley-Davidson and slammed into the back of the pickup truck.  Rescue officials took him to a Montgomery Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Jarels’ death came on the day the University of Rochester Medical Center released a study showing older motorcycle riders die more often in motorcycle crashes.

Reports Reuters:

Researchers found that between 1996 and 2005 the average age of motorcyclists involved in crashes increased to about 39 from 34 and the proportion of injured riders aged 40-plus rose to about 50 percent from 28 percent.

The study found that of all injured riders in the study, those aged 50 to 59 represented the fastest growing group, while 20 to 29-year-olds were the most rapidly declining.

“We made the clinical observation that older patients – people in their 50s, 60s and even 70s – were being injured on motorcycles with increasing frequency,” Mark Gestring, director of the trauma program at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said in a statement.

“We wanted to see if this observation was true on a national level and we found that it was.”

Jarels’ crash was the second motorcycle-related death and third bike accident in the area in a week.  On Monday, Drew Thomson, 58, of Martinsville died when his Harley struck a car that pulled out in front on him on U.S. 220 business at the Big Lots parking lot. Police charged Lewis Clark, 85, of Ridgeway with reckless driving.

A rider on the Blue Ridge Parkway suffered a broken collarbone struck a deer near Rocky Knob last Friday.

As a rider, I’ve had my share of spills and close calls but, fortunately, walked away with only bruises and scrapes. When you ride a motorcycle, you do so with the knowledge that the risk of serious injury or death is intensified.

I ride Rte. 8 and the Parkway often and approach every curve with the belief that something could be lurking just out of sight. Rte. 8 is a mine field of turning or slow moving vehicles and the need to take evasive action presents itself on almost every ride.

Marvin Jarels was well-known and popular figure in the Christianburg post office and in the area motorcycle community. His death is a loss to the community and our condolences go out to his family and friends.

His death also reminds those of us who ride that we always need to be careful out there.

• Aging motorcyclists hit the road, but at greater risk of injury, death (scienceblog.com)
• Motorcycle Safety Trends (motorcycleinsurance.org)
• Motorcycle Training Does Not Reduce Crash Risk, Study Says (wheels.blogs.nytimes.com)

From The Associated Press:

Harley-Davidson, the motorcycle maker, reported a fourth-quarter loss Friday, its first quarterly shortfall in 16 years, hurt by restructuring costs and the sluggish economy.

Harley-Davidson has come under pressure over the last year as the tight credit markets and the weak economy led consumers to shun purchases of its high-end, heavyweight motorcycles.

The company has been reorganizing its business through layoffs, factory closures and closing or selling unwanted brands. Harley said shipments of its bikes to dealers in 2009 fell 27 percent, to 223,023.

For 2010, Harley said it expects shipments to fall another 5 to 10 percent to 201,000 to 212,000 motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson said it lost $218.7 million, or 94 cents a share, during the fourth quarter. That marks its first three-month loss since the fourth quarter of 1993 and contrasts with a profit of $77.8 million, or 34 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue tumbled 40 percent, to $764.5 million from $1.28 billion a year ago.

Reports Business Week:

Shares of Harley-Davidson Inc. declined Thursday after an analyst recommended investors sell the motorcycle maker's stock, saying bike sales fell as much as 40 percent in October and November and demand remains uncertain.

 

Shares declined $1.38, or 5.1 percent, to $25.51 in midday trading.

Goldman Sachs analyst Patrick Archambault on Thursday added Harley-Davidson to the bank's "Conviction Sell" list with a six-month price target of $23. That implies the analyst expects shares to drop almost 15 percent from its closing price Wednesday of $26.89.

He previously rated the stock "Neutral."

Archambault said checks with dealerships indicate retail bike sales declined between 35 percent and 40 percent in October and November due to tighter lending standards at the company's lending arm and a recall of 110,000 touring and custom bikes.

The end came suddenly for Buell Motorcycles even though rumors circulated for months that Harley-Davidson would dump its orphan sportbike subsidiary. When the announcement came this week, Erik Buell posted an emotional video on the Buell website. Buell tried and failed to hold back the tears as he talked about his 26 years of trying to build an American sportbike that could compete with the metrics of Japan and Europe.

Passion drove Buell, whose company became part of Harley in 1998 and all the Buell riders I know share that passion.

Production ends this month but Buell said Harley has pledged to stand behind the warranties on the bikes and will continue to stock parts.

Buell's demise makes me wonder what Harley will use to replace the Buell Blasts for the Riders Edge Motorcycle Safety Foundation courses taught at some dealers. Honda Rebels?

In a sad note of irony, six police motorcycle officers crashed while escorting members of motorcycle dealer mogul Bruce Rossmeyer's family to his funeral in Ormond Beach, Florida, Tuesday.

Two received minor injuries.

Reports The Associated Press:

Authorities say six motorcycle officers were involved in a crash while escorting the family of one of the country's largest Harley-Davidson dealers to his funeral.

A Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman says a group of motorcycle officers from various agencies was riding with the funeral party for Bruce Rossmeyer Tuesday morning in Ormond Beach. The spokeswoman says the lead rider slowed down, while the riders near the back of the group didn't, causing a chain-reaction crash.

Authorities say two officers were hurt, but their injuries weren't serious. Damage to the motorcycles was also reported as minor.