UK Journo killed on watercooled GS Launch

[Frog]

Sad news indeed. R.I.P

[subie]

Sad to hear. RIP.
Something that bothers me with new bikes test ,launches etc. It bothers me when I see a new model with some old ballie
doing the testing etc.  Maybe the big tourers/cruisers but definately not a sportbike or adventure bike. These I associate with younger fit riders around thirty or so.

[ReaperMan]

RIP. Always sad

[DRAZIL]

very sad. RIP
How was his dirt riding skills on a big DS bike especially on SA gravel?

[the_wes]

Sad to hear. RIP.
Something that bothers me with new bikes test ,launches etc. It bothers me when I see a new model with some old ballie
doing the testing etc.  Maybe the big tourers/cruisers but definately not a sportbike or adventure bike. These I associate with younger fit riders around thirty or so.

by all reports, Kevin Ash was a heck of a rider.

[1ougat]

Not great for BMWs marketing department though.

"The all-new BMW R 1200 GS - killed one of the most well-known and respected international journalists at launch!"

IDR where did you get that or did you make it up ?


In bad taste whatever 

[Karel Kat]

Something that bothers me with new bikes test ,launches etc. It bothers me when I see a new model with some old ballie
doing the testing etc.  Maybe the big tourers/cruisers but definately not a sportbike or adventure bike. These I associate with younger fit riders around thirty or so.

Does not always hold true. I dare anybody on this forum to keep up with Dave Petersen on and off road...and he is ancient. OK, he used to be a bit faster and sharper when he was younger but if someone has been riding professionally or testing bikes professionally for 30 odd years he usually knows what he is doing.

[subie]

Sad to hear. RIP.
Something that bothers me with new bikes test ,launches etc. It bothers me when I see a new model with some old ballie
doing the testing etc.  Maybe the big tourers/cruisers but definately not a sportbike or adventure bike. These I associate with younger fit riders around thirty or so.

by all reports, Kevin Ash was a heck of a rider.

No! I did not want to cast doubt on Kevin's riding abilities or old toppies in general. In my mind biking (sport and adventure) should
be a young fit man's game and as such I want to see a young  fit rider introducing or testing such a bike. Just something that bothers me and probably not relevant in this instance.

[Snafu]

Sad to hear. RIP.
Something that bothers me with new bikes test ,launches etc. It bothers me when I see a new model with some old ballie
doing the testing etc.  Maybe the big tourers/cruisers but definately not a sportbike or adventure bike. These I associate with younger fit riders around thirty or so.

by all reports, Kevin Ash was a heck of a rider.

No! I did not want to cast doubt on Kevin's riding abilities or old toppies in general. In my mind biking (sport and adventure) should
be a young fit man's game and as such I want to see a young  fit rider introducing or testing such a bike. Just something that bothers me and probably not relevant in this instance.

Reality is that most adventure bikers are 30+

[GEE-SH]

I see in The Herald this morning apparently two UK journalists were involved in the accident, the other was injured and in Knysna hospital  - no further details given.

[LuckyStriker]

Sad: His daughter released the following statement on her father's website Ash On Bikes (www.ashonbikes.com): 'Kevin Ash passed away due to a motorcycle accident during a press launch in South Africa.
'The phrase ‘he died doing what he loved’ sprang to mind but I would like to stamp that firmly out. He loved his family more and we love him.'
'As his oldest daughter, I only recently started to fully realise just how much further his parenting went than most; on receiving a tearful phone call at Stanstead airport it was a natural response to immediately cancel his press launch and ride back home to teach trigonometry the night before exams.
'Everything he did was entirely for his children and his wife, and a little bit for his cat.
'My parents loved each other very much and I hope that one day we can learn to live without him.'

Very sad, and deeply touching

[Welsh]

Yes strange no info coming out on cause 

[melvman]

I see in The Herald this morning apparently two UK journalists were involved in the accident, the other was injured and in Knysna hospital  - no further details given.

It seems the accident happened on the gravel road between Willowmore and Uniondale, which is a fast section of gravel. If I am correct in assuming that before you exit the Baviaans on the Willowmore side, take a left towards Uniondale.

I would love to know how this happened.

RIP

[KTMaster]

Sad to hear. RIP.
Something that bothers me with new bikes test ,launches etc. It bothers me when I see a new model with some old ballie
doing the testing etc.  Maybe the big tourers/cruisers but definately not a sportbike or adventure bike. These I associate with younger fit riders around thirty or so.

by all reports, Kevin Ash was a heck of a rider.

No! I did not want to cast doubt on Kevin's riding abilities or old toppies in general. In my mind biking (sport and adventure) should
be a young fit man's game and as such I want to see a young  fit rider introducing or testing such a bike. Just something that bothers me and probably not relevant in this instance.

Reality is that most adventure bikers are 30+

+1 I was just about to raised the same point.  Not only Adventure bikes are generally the bike of choice of 'mature' riders, but also the Beemer bikes in particular are definitely the natural choice of mature riders.

Put a young hot shot used to ride superbikes or MX bikes, and the chances are that he would tell you that the big GS is too big, too heavy, and too boring to ride.

I'm sad to hear about that journalist's tragic accident.  I guess it's a bitter reminder that bike accidents can happen to anyone, regardless of age or riding experience.

[corriej]

RIP Kevin

Cycle World Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer arrived on the scene approximately 10 minutes after the accident. He was able to aid a second downed rider, who was not immediately identified.
“I worked on him with another American who also had some medical training,” said Hoyer, “and then I assisted the medics. He looked like he was going to be okay. He appeared to have suffered a broken humerus and/or shoulder. We put him on a backboard when the medics arrived about 30-40 minutes after I contacted the second patient.”
Hoyer reported they were riding on a straight, dusty, gravel road.

http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/01/23/rest-in-peace-kevin-ash/

[2-Stroke]

I only met him once at a launch in Bilbao. I had chatted to him via email previously because we had bought a couple of stories from him. At the launch, he walked up to me, asked if my name was Donovan, which I confirmed, too which he smiled warmly saying "Hi, I'm Kevin."
I noticed he was very amicable to everyone, always smiling and always being very friendly. All the other journalists, even the stereotypical British hotshots, were always deeply respectful to him. I didn't know too much about him at the time, but even an idiot like me could work out that he was something great. Every journalist throughout the world has only good things to say about him.
Hearing the news this morning was a massive shock.

[DEONP]

Very sad news
Condolences to family and friends

[bradleys]

RIP ,sad news.

[Kameel]

Sad to hear. RIP.
Something that bothers me with new bikes test ,launches etc. It bothers me when I see a new model with some old ballie
doing the testing etc.  Maybe the big tourers/cruisers but definately not a sportbike or adventure bike. These I associate with younger fit riders around thirty or so.

by all reports, Kevin Ash was a heck of a rider.

No! I did not want to cast doubt on Kevin's riding abilities or old toppies in general. In my mind biking (sport and adventure) should
be a young fit man's game and as such I want to see a young  fit rider introducing or testing such a bike. Just something that bothers me and probably not relevant in this instance.

Reality is that most adventure bikers are 30+

+1 I was just about to raised the same point.  Not only Adventure bikes are generally the bike of choice of 'mature' riders, but also the Beemer bikes in particular are definitely the natural choice of mature riders.

Put a young hot shot used to ride superbikes or MX bikes, and the chances are that he would tell you that the big GS is too big, too heavy, and too boring to ride.

I'm sad to hear about that journalist's tragic accident.  I guess it's a bitter reminder that bike accidents can happen to anyone, regardless of age or riding experience.

Hence the reason why the average age of a BMW 1200GS rider is something like 54?

[Kameel]

RIP Kevin

Cycle World Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer arrived on the scene approximately 10 minutes after the accident. He was able to aid a second downed rider, who was not immediately identified.
“I worked on him with another American who also had some medical training,” said Hoyer, “and then I assisted the medics. He looked like he was going to be okay. He appeared to have suffered a broken humerus and/or shoulder. We put him on a backboard when the medics arrived about 30-40 minutes after I contacted the second patient.”
Hoyer reported they were riding on a straight, dusty, gravel road.

http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/01/23/rest-in-peace-kevin-ash/

thanks CorrieJ. That is also the article I read.