Terrible news about a forum member...

Doc2029 is a friend of mine. I sold him the XJ650 that he posted about on here. He was in love with it. It was his first bike. I had it for sale on craigslist. He took it for a spin, and exclaimed that it was perfect for him.

I helped him through some early technical issues, as this was his first bike and (I assume) did not have much experience working on engines and stuff. But he dove right in, figured it out, had big plans for it. He rode it more in the first few weeks he owned it than I had in two years.

We decided to go for a ride. That turned into a few more rides. That turned into watching a show. I could tell he was an all-around good guy, someone with convictions, someone who stood by his beliefs, someone loyal and trustworthy and the type of friend that's getting harder to find.

I learned this morning that Doc died yesterday in a motorcycle crash. He leaves behind a wife and daughter. I feel so bad for his family, I feel guilty for selling it to him, I'm having second thoughts about riding on the street.

Son of a bitch.

Doc, you'll be greatly missed.

 

OMG.

Doc had quickly become a regular contributor, as he had learned more and more about his bike as he solved the problems that arose.

This is terrible news indeed; my deepest and most sincere condolences go out to his family and those close to him. He will indeed be missed.

Don't feel guilty for selling him the bike; he obviously loved it. What happened was a terrible accident, one you couldn't have foreseen.

Damn.

 

I can't believe it

Never met him but you could tell Doc was one of those truly genuine guys, and that he had his heart in soul put into everything he did. We needed more people like Doc.

What a damn shame. He will be missed greatly. Thoughts go out to his family.

 

DAMN! BAD, BAD and BAD!!! Thoughts for him and his family!!!

skillet

 

A very sad loss. I also lost a couple of good friends
over the last year or so and you really miss them riding
along side you.

 

Thoughts and prayers go out to Doc's family.

This makes about 10 riders that I have known (although I didn't know Doc personally) that had a fatal accident. I know many more that have lost a limb while riding.

I have a friend that lost his leg while riding. The first thing he did when he got out of the hospital was started working on the bike he crashed. He still rides 9 months out of the year. Because that's what he loves.

Which is the reason we all ride, because that's what we love to do.

Camshaft, Doc would not want you to give up riding because of his accident. He loved his XJ too much to want that for you. He knew the risks, just like you and I know the risks. He would have bought a bike from someone else, but may not have made such a good friend as you. At least you gave him that friendship.

I think I'll go for a ride now, in memory of Doc and all that he contributed to this site.

RIP Doc, you'll be missed.

 

I was going through some of his old posts.

I really should have adjusted the valves for him.

 

Shocking, upsetting news. Tell his family there are people here praying for them!
Do you know what happened?

 

No, not yet.

Doc, his wife, and a couple of his friends appeared to be social media junkies. Facebook, Twitter, etc. I imagine he died at the scene because there were no updates like him going to the hospital or anything.

I'm sure I'll get more updates as time progresses, but sometimes it's better not to know.

I just hope it was quick and painless.

 

Wow, sorry to hear that.

 

Pegs will be down this week... so sad

 

Damn I hate to hear this kind of news, godspeed Doc....

Try not to beat yourself up over selling him the bike, he knew the risks as do we all, I went bodysurfing into oncoming traffic at 60 mph on April 11th 1999, when I recovered I went about fixing my bike because of my love of riding, from the sounds of it Doc had the same bug, if he didnt buy yours he would have bought someone elses...I believe in fate, if its your time to go, its your time, be it on a bike, in a car, in bed...

Ryan

 

Very sad to hear. I had not met him in person but we discussed him making a trip up here on a couple occasions.

I agree that you shouldn't beat yourself up over selling him the bike.

Personally I'd rather go doing something I love than go sitting in my cube at work or some place like that.

 

I think secretly most guys would like to go out in a blaze of glory. But at 42, well, that pretty much sucks.

 

Condolences to friends and family.don't blame yourself.

 

R.I.P. Doc...

 

You're absolutely right, there's not a man among us (and ladies too I would imagine) that wouldn't want to go down fighting.

But it still very much sucks, no matter how old you are.

Sometimes I feel like it's 1940 and I'm in the RAF. Don't get too close to the new guys...

Please keep us posted as details become available, and if there is anything we can do in even a remote way for his family.

This really does suck. Pegs down tomorrow, and for the rest of the season. Godspeed, Doc.

And for the rest of you: PLEASE BE CAREFUL out there. Ride Safe--- Fitz

 

That really is horrible, and that he left a wife and kids behind makes it worse. Please let his wife and/or family know the outpouring that his "other family" that he's receiving here. I agree that you should feel no guilt but I'm secretly wondering if he would want you to feel good that you sold him the bike that let him learn, explore and feel free in an experience that you only enabled and enhanced for him. Sounds to me like he had a pretty good new friend.

The last decision is yours and yours alone. I've seen others stop riding after the passing of a friend or you can choose to celebrate lost friends by thinking about then when you ride.

My condolences to his wife and children.

jeff

 

wow, we all know our passion about bikes puts us in this position but we don't believe it'll happen to us. i stopped riding 30 yrs ago because i got tired of near-misses. started up again last year and have been roundly criticised by family and such due to the the danger.
as for "going out in a blaze of glory", there ain't no such thing. if you've ever seen a body on the road (or wherever), "glory" isn't a word that comes to mind. while doc's fight is over, his family must now deal with the devastation of his passing.
i'm keeping good thoughts for his family and friends, especially the daughter.

 

I'd like to think so. It's a shame he didn't start earlier, he had a very short time to enjoy himself. Less than a year riding. He sure packed in as much as he could though. He rode it pretty much every day that it would start (he ran into a couple of tanks of bad gas, or something. It was finicky in cold weather).

He was going to come over soon so I could show him how to clean the carbs and set the floats. I'd never sync'd a set, but I have a basic understanding on how. One carb had a float needle that didn't always seat, he left it on prime once and it filled the crankcase with gas. Talked him through that, and I was glad I gave him a spare oil filter.

He was really enjoying it, had so many plans, was planning on riding it year round...

It's a crying shame. I still can't believe it. What a disaster.

Daniel and I are planning on attending his funeral. I'm a bit leery of being identified as the guy who sold it to him, though. I'd be mad at me too. Is that selfish?

Damn it. What a miserable, awful tragedy.

 

terrible thing to happen and so young,hey camshaft ,its easy for me to say it but don't beat yourself up over this,its not your fault, my mums next door neighbour lost his leg only last week in an accident,he is 69 and been riding for nearly 50 years,'the only reason he didnt die was because a doctor was in the traffic,,this stuff unforetuneatly happens,we all know the danger,that's one of the reasons why its thrilling,to me anyway. R.I.P

 

I have asked one of his friends, in the most humble way possible, what exactly occurred. I just hope he didn't suffer.

 

He was in a head-on collision with a car. He may have drifted out of his lane, but no one is sure yet. No info about the car driver. Was alive but unconscious, and died on the way to the hospital. Probably didn't feel a thing. I'm going to throw up.

 

i cannot imagine how you're feeling right now. all the logic says it's not your fault yet i completely understand how you could feel they way you do.
you should go to the services and offer your condolences. if you're met with anger, them let 'em vent and move on but my money is on a special thanks for being his friend this last year. you know in your heart he valued his time with you as you did with him.
time is the only healer in this and truthfully, you'll never get over it, you'll just manage it better.

 

Dont beat yourself up over it, he went out doing what he loved. RIP man, too many are going.

 

His family deserves to be mad, and if they decide to be mad at me, I will respect their feelings. It's all I can offer them, frankly.

 

Suddenly losing a spouse or a very close friend, especially under the circumstances such as this tragedy, is all alone on at the top of life's most agonizing and remorseful emotional traumas.

People often don't know what to do or say.
Just having someone to lean on can help them through the shock and grieving process.

It’s common to feel helpless, awkward, or unsure. You may be afraid of intruding, saying the wrong thing, or making the family feel even worse. Or maybe you feel there’s little you can do to make things better.

While you feel guilty and powerless to take away the pain of the loss, you can provide much-needed comfort and support. There are many ways to help a grieving friend or family member, starting with just letting the family know you care and your heart is broken, too.

Gather everyone and lead them all in prayer from the bottom of your heart.
Just before you do, open a Holy Bible to The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew. Chapter: 18 Verse: 20
God be with you.

 

You cant hold yourself responsible, even though I know you do. The fact that he died on that bike is insignificant in the greater scheme of things and if it hadnt been you that introduced him to it, it would have someone else, maybe even someone that didnt give a shit about the guy.

Its obvious you are hurting over this, and thats natural, but the "blame" is not only irrelevant, its the reverse of whats accurate. I have been involved in a serious life threatening accident. I know several people who have been as well to the point that years of recovery were required. NOT I, nor a single one of those guys "blame" ANYONE but themselves. WE blame ourselves for loving a dangerous activity, we blame ourselves for going out that day, we blame ourselves for smallst instant in time that might have made it different...but to a man, no one I know has ever blamed a fellow rider for introducing or encouraging out passion for riding, and with it our passion for life.


Lets face it, what we do is dangerous, and people die doing it. Its a risk we take when we trow our leg over and hit the start button. Its a risk we all take because it means something to us...and you can be sure it meant something to him.

Thats something. its not trivial. it may not give you solace, but I hope it gives you comfort.

 

That's where the light is in this whole mess. He was going to get a bike regardless, and I always thought "Well, this bike sure went to the right guy". He was clearly in love with it.

Him buying my bike was the only way we'd meet, so I'm glad I had the opportunity to meet him, and I'm glad he had such a good time, regardless of how short it was.

 

one other thing, no matter you religious belief...


Conservation of Energy: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.


His energy lives on, in one form or another, if nothing else, through his wife and child. Death is not the end, its only a door.

 

Terribly sad....my thoughts are with you and his family

 

Man, sorry to hear that camshaft! My condolences to you as Doc's friend and to his family as well. I add my amen to everyone else's sorrow over this loss. We all know it could be us. That's what makes it ring so close to home.



"What is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little while and then vanisheth away."

 

So sorry to hear this. My thoughts and prayers are with you and his family. You shouldn't beat yourself up over this but I know how you must feel but like others have said on here. He would have bought a bike from someone. At least you got to meet and have a relationship with an awesome person. I was going to pm him about meeting up for a ride sometime since I am not too far up the road from him. Now I hate that I have waited. Please send his family my condolences and let them know that all of his XJ family will miss him as well. Godspeed DOC!

 

Man, what a tragedy, he had posted up on several of my asking advice posts.
He was willing to help and put in his thoughts to help the rest of us.
I will miss seeing his replies. Hope he is riding the on the great wide open up there!

R.I.P. brother Doc.

 

R.I.P Doc you will be missed.
My thoughts are with you and his family.

Al

 

R.I.P brother. I can't believe this, especially with how close knit this community of xj'ers becomes. I literally just sent him my old tank badges for his maxim 2-3 weeks ago. He seemed like a very nice individual and was excited to throw them on the bike. My thoughts are with his family - my condolences.

-Tim

 

Holy smokes. I rode with him on Sunday afternoon. Can someone PM me what happened? I was wondering why he wasn't returning my PM. This must have happened after we seperated to go our seperate ways...

 

I just talked to his wife. She wanted to make it perfectly clear that he loved the bike and I shouldn't feel guilty.

 

It sounds like Doc's wife is as decent a person as Doc was....hopefully her words will help you camshaft because you don't own any part of this tragedy. It strikes without discrimination....old, young, years of experience or FNG....it makes no difference!

Jeez, I hate hearing things like this! Thoughts and prayers out to everyone involved.

R.I.P. Doc

 

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesd ... fhid=11640

 

"Riding too fast and looking for trouble" isn't what I would have put in an obituary for anyone.

Do you have any more actual details as to what happened? I'm not being morbid, but we all want to know. All we have so far is something about a head-on crash with a car; and no other real details.

 

No, not yet. The viewing is tomorrow, and the funeral thursday. I plan on attending both. I will update as new information becomes available.

 

Godspeed Doc - you will be missed by all here

Camshaft - My thoughts and prayers go out to you + the rest of his friends + family. please pass on condolences from myself and all the XJ'ers out there to his family. Don't beat yourself up for selling him that bike. Cherish the times you had together and the memories that you made together. We're all brothers and sisters bound by our passion for riding, which he clearly had. Death is a part of life and he's in a better place now. Hope he's still riding... cause it sure ain't heaven if we can't get on 2 wheels up there.

Everyone - I know accidents happen, but please be safe out there

 

Jeez....

The only interaction I've had with him was being a little annoyed at something he said, then shortly after laughing my ass off at his preacher-esque rant when the guy finally checked his valves.

"he died doing something he loved" there's no better way to tell you not to blame yourself. Love is the most beautiful thing in life, without it life is miserable. He already had two loves at home, and you gave him another love. You should be happy about that, I'm sure he was.

 

My best friend recently got out of ICU and has a month or three ahead of her before the docs will let her try to walk. She was/is (already shopping for a scooter to tide her till she can throw a leg OVER again) heads and shoulders the best, safest, most accomplished daily type rider I know. We can reduce some risks and mitigate others (every single day at least one surgeon thanked her for making their job easier and even possible by wearing ALL her gear) Things like left turners can get anyone, anywhere, anywhen.

It's the risk we accept every time we hop in the saddle. It's for our love of the road that we choose to do it anyway.

When I go I want my tombstone to read "quality > quantity"
Sounds like Doc lived his life the way he wanted to live his life. We should all be so lucky to get to do so until our clock runs out. He will be missed "until we meet again"

Ride in peace Doc, I never got to meet you in the here and now. We'll have to carve it up on those twisties up above. Catch a ride on the pillion any time Man. You know better than any of us we could use all the help we can get out there looking over us.

 

I was sad to see the header on this thread. I never knew Doc, but he was part of the whole XJ forum, doing what all of us enjoy doing, riding bikes.
My condolences to you on the loss of a good friend and to his family for their loss.
R.I.P. Doc!

 

My condolences........R I P DOC.

 

I just saw this post. Did you get my pm's? Not familiar with this site layout.

Call or text me if you got my number.