Motorcycles are awesome.  They’re loud fast and beautiful.  But as awesome as they are, sometimes it takes a reminder to help you recall just how dangerous they can be.  Here’s a short list of some famousand infamous fellows that have gone on to that great highway up in the sky as a result of a motorcycle accident.

1.  “INDIAN” LARRY DESMEDT

Indian Larry was an accomplished and revered bike builder.  He was a legend in the biking community.  In addition to winning 3 “Discovery Channel Bike Build Off’s” he also managed to win Easyrider Magazines “Chopper of the Year.”  But building boss choppers wasn’t all that Larry was known for.

In addition to his building skills, Larry was also an adept motorcycle stunt driver.  He was the featured motorcycle stunt performer in a number of movies and television shows.  Among the most iconic and memorable of his stunts was his trademark, in which he stood atop a moving motorcycle with arms stretched outwards maintaining his impeccable balance for some distance.

Unfortunately for both Larry and his fans, he didn’t really enjoy wearing a helmet.  In August of 2004, Larry was performing his trademark stunt  in Concord North Carolina.   The bike began to wobble, Larry couldn’t keep his balance and he crashed to the ground.  Because he was not wearing a helmet he sustained significant head injuries which he ultimately succumbed to 3 days later.

2.  T.E. LAWRENCE

Thomas Edward Lawrence was a British Military Officer more famously known as “Lawrence of Arabia” who served as a liaison in Palestine during the “Arab Revolts” (1916-1918.).  Lawrence’s exploits during the Arab Revolt’s had become the stuff of legends thanks in part to being closely followed by journalist Lowell Thomas.

The Oscar Award winning ’62 film, “Lawrence of Arabia”, starring  Peter O’Toole showed in great detail the monumental life of T.E. Lawrence and all his exploits.  The film began with the depiction of Lawrence’s death and told the remainder of his story in flashback.

Lawrence perished as a result of a motorcycle accident not but a few weeks after having left the service.  As is the case with many motorcycle accidents, the fault was not entirely his.  Rather, was swerving to avoid two children on bicycles.  He suffered head injuries after losing control of his bike and being tossed.

3. LUC BOURDON

Before his untimely death, Luc Bourdon was a promising professional Hockey player.  Luc defied the odds of adversity by dealing with and ultimately overcoming crippling childhood arthritis.  He  was recognized as a skilled defensemen on his various minor league and amateur teams.  After representing his home country of Canada on two IIHF Gold and Silver medal teams, he was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft by the Vancouver Canucks.

Unfortunately for Bourdon, he didn’t live long enough to watch his career in the NHL grow.  Bourdon was riding his Suzuki GSX-1000 when he lost control of the bike, crossed the center line and crashed head long into the rear of a tractor trailer.  Authorities determined that strong wind gusts in excess of 30 mph coupled with Bourdon’s lack of experience as a motorcycle rider likely were the main contributing factors in the accident.

4. DAR ROBINSON

In his time, and perhaps in all the hsitory of film, Dar Robinson was without peer as the greatest working stuntman.  Dar Robinson performed stunts in countless movies such as “Magnum Force”, “Sharkey’s Revenge” and “Leathal Weapon.”  He set a number of world records while completing his stunts including the record for the highest free fall (no wires, no parachute) from a commercial building… it’s the climactic sequence from “Sharky’s Machine.”  He was so adept and skilled at stunt work that he caught the eye of Burt Reynolds, who at the time was the world’s biggest box office star.  Reynolds cast him as a villain in “Stick.”

And for all the death defying and awe inspiring stunts that Robinson completed, it was a routine run through that ultimately did him in.  Robinson was involved in filming a high speed but relatively simple motorcycle stunt.  The crash was relatively simple as the bike slipped out from underneath him.  The tragedy of the crash was that the emergency medical crew had been dismissed and the filming was being done in the desert, far from the convenience of a locally placed hospital.  As emergency services weren’t immediately available he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

5. JEREMY LUSK

Jeremy Lusk was a highly successful freestyle motocross athlete.  As a member of the popular “Metal Mulisha” Lusk won Gold and Silver medals at the ‘olympics of extreme sports’, the X-Games.  Lusk had made a career of attempting and performing many insanely difficult and dangerous stunts.

During the 207 X-Games Lusk attempted to perform a “Lookback Hard Attack Indian Air” and crashed.  He underroatated and was tossed over his handlebars.  While he failed in the competition he walked away unscathed.  Unfortunately, in February of 2009 while performing at an event in Costa Rica, Lusk attempted to perform the same trick with similar results only this time he wasn’t fortunate enough to walk away.  The jump ended with Lusk landing directly on his head with the weight of his body and the bike fully contributing to the speed and force with which he crashed.  He was taken immediately to a hospital and fought bravely for 3 days but ultimately passed away due to complications from the injuries.