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written by David Mixson

It was January 28, 1986, and I was in the Auburn University Student Center. A group of about thirty of us were gathered around a large tubed television watching the Shuttle Challenger countdown. Everything looked normal. But it didn’t stay that way for long.

A minute or so after liftoff, something went horribly wrong. There was a blast and pieces starting going in all different directions. I’ll never forget that pit in my stomach.

“How many elementary-aged kids were so inspired by something NASA did in the last sixty days that their jaw dropped in awe?”

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Figure 1 Countersteering

(Push on Left Handlebar to Tighten Turn)

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Rider in Somewhere #1

Rider in Somewhere #2

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NOTE: I’ve never (knowingly) watched a video on YouTube that shows a rider being seriously injured or killed. That does me no good, and I think it’s disrespectful to the rider and their family. But YouTube can be a great tool if used properly—because there’s usually a lesson buried in every motorcycle crash.

* A portion of this article is an excerpt from my book Motorcycle Smarts.

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About the Author

David Mixson writes about the topics other motorcycle books gloss over. He worked as a NASA engineer for over thirty years and is the author of three books.

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