1980 A Lesson to be learned - Ernie Rife's Top Fueler loses its front end at Indy

The bike veered and hit a guardrail at 150 mph. Was this tragedy avoidable?

Drag racing is a dangerous business. Deadly dangerous. Only recently a dragger died at the NHRA National Drags at Indianapolis. Ernie Rife was killed when, just after passing through the lights at 180.36 mph, his Kawasaki went into a wobble so fierce that, as you see in this dramatic photo, the front wheel broke completely off the machine. Why the fatal accident occurred is still being investigated, but it is reported Rife had hit a chuckhole at a race the week before Indy just after he crossed the finish line, and that as a result the front fork was leaking oil and may have been cracked when he wheeled his bike to the line...

1980 January Motorcyclist Motorcycle Magazine Back-Issue available at www.DadsVintageAds.com