Joe Boyd

[Dag]

Did you know that the National release date for the first Valkyries was May 25th 1996?
Two years and two days later, May 27th 1998 Joe Boyd died in an accident involving another Honda employee, Dirk Vandenberg, while they were evaluating a pre-production version of the Honda CBR600F4.

Following their death the words, "Dedicated to Super Evaluators Dirk Vandenberg and Josef Boyd", were embossed in raised letters on the inside of the Honda CBR600F4's upper fairing.
It`s called the F4 Secret Message.





STORY OF THE VALKYRIE AS TOLD BY A FRIEND OF JOE BOYD
http://valkyrienorway.com/STORY%20OF%20THE%20VALKYRIE.html

[Thunderbolt]

Goes to prove that you can learn something each day.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Goes to prove that you can learn something each day.

Agree ....I've always thought he was killed on a Wing while testing . I got my incorrect information from a post on the old VRCC board many years ago  ???

[wiggydotcom]

Most VRCC members know of Joe Boyd and the gratitude we owe to his perserverence to get
the Valkyrie Project approved. But the curiousity in me prompted me to find out more on his untimely death.  I guess it seemed logical that an accident that took two lives on a test track
would  have been the result of a collision between two bikes. I was kinda stunned to learn that
Joe was struck and killed while taking photos of Dirk Vandenberg.

Here is a link that gives a few of the details.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/n0530b.htm

What a sad way to go out...

[BigAl]

According to what I read, they still to this day do not know who was on the bike and who was taking the photo.

That's how the wounds they recieved were documented.

A collision of rider and photographer.

This is my recollection, could I be wrong yes.

But I believe it to be what I remember.

AL

[YoungPUP]

Does anyone have a pic of the "quiet" memorial Honda ad?

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

Goes to prove that you can learn something each day.

Agree ....I've always thought he was killed on a Wing while testing . I got my incorrect information from a post on the old VRCC board many years ago  ???

Yep, me too. Thanks for posting the real info.

[Dag]

http://articles.latimes.com/1998/may/29/local/me-54589



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Boyd

[9Ball]

thanks for sharing...a true loss to all of us.

God bless Joe and his perseverance....

[Novavalker]

I wonder what he looked like and does his family know that he is not forgotten?