Kevin Ash

slowrider · slowrider's Garage

Any details surface on his accident? He died during the press launch of the R1200GS. I always liked his reviews and it is sad to lose someone who was so passionate about our shared diversion.

Rapid Dog · 01-28-2013, 08:21 AM

Bummer...Kevin Ash Linky

boxercup · boxercup's Garage

Greetings,

May God rest his Soul!

Met him at the 2004 South Africa R1200GS press event. We were both in the "Cappuccino Group". Jeez that was fun. 9 years ago... Ironic

Continued to bump into him at the EICMA and INTERMOT shows.

A journalist like no other...

peter f · 01-28-2013, 11:21 AM

Kevin was the best bike journalist by a huge margin. An acoustic guitar of the finest quality in a world full of cheapo electric stuff.

A LJK Setright type of guy if you know who was that man (made CAR the top auto mag).

RIP.

lkchris · 01-28-2013, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter f

A LJK Setright type of guy if you know who was that man (made CAR the top auto mag).

Indeed he did. And Mercedes Enthusiast, too.

Also a motorcycle rider.

I loved his name for Mercedes: "The Old Firm."

GotRoad? · 01-28-2013, 09:48 PM

Big Bummer. He'll be missed. RIP

Trex · 01-29-2013, 01:57 PM

I am not familiar with the name but, if he was on par with LJK Setright then, he was rare, indeed.

Chris Canning · 01-29-2013, 02:31 PM

From time to time to read of individuals in motorcycling who get killed that shake you to the core and this one of them,an absolute unique human being not only with what he wrote but he how wrote it, also unique in the fact he earned his living as a freelance journalist.

Here in the UK the motorcycle press is controlled by 2 companys,with a couple of mags on the fringes trying to operate outside of those two straight jackets is all but impossible,many have tried and he was the only one to make it work,and was a nice guy with it,a terrible shame not only for his family but for us the reader,he just had that knack of writing about that thing at the back of your mind,blimey he'll be missed.

bradzdotcom · bradzdotcom's Garage

i don't think that many people notice this, but motorcycle journalist is a fairly high risk job. you're not only required to be a competent rider and writer, you have to be able to take a motorcycle over the line to find it's faults. sometimes it gets very hairy.

the other part is exposure. when i was a magazine guy you were usually riding three days a week, and racing throughout the weekend. more than enough opportunities to make yourself dead.

looking back, i brushed up against lots of "pert-nears", and i still regularly lose friends at about the same rate that pro motorsports loses racers. maybe even a little more, if you include life-changing injuries.

being a moto journalist can be a great lifestyle, but it isn't without it's risks.

now if i was the editor of a Popular Crochet (the monthly, not the quarterly), that'd be different...i'd only have a few faint blisters, rather than scars, funny bumps and the ability to be a 24/7 walking barometer.