Roland Sands Motorcycle Accident At Buffalo Chip Leads To Several Lawsuits

An Alaska man who had a motorcycle land on him during a show at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has filed a lawsuit against the rider, the bike manufacturer and the show host.

Royce Rath was in the crowd during the Aug. 7, 2016, concert that featured performances by Lita Ford and Kid Rock. Between those performances, a designed and modified for race Indian motorcycle without front brake was driven on stage by Roland Sands. The bike failed to stop and rolled off the stage, landing on Rath, who was one of four people injured in the accident. The bike was designed on purpose without front brakes.

Rath suffered permanent disability, medical expenses and the loss of wages and earning capacity, according to his lawsuit. Besides filing suit against Sands and Polaris Industries Inc., the owner of Indian Motorcycles, the suit names the Buffalo Chip Campground, which hosted the show, for failing to use reasonable care to ensure the safety of Rath and others watching the show. The lawsuit says “Defendant Buffalo Chip Campground, LLC, knew or should have known that allowing an individual to ride on a motorcycle without front brakes, across the stage surrounded by patrons, could endanger those patrons”

20 Responses to “Roland Sands Motorcycle Accident At Buffalo Chip Leads To Several Lawsuits”


  1. 1 Joe Oct 18th, 2017 at 9:39 am

    Bottles and throttles don’t mix.

  2. 2 Zundap Oct 18th, 2017 at 10:31 am

    It’s always fun till someone gets hurt!

  3. 3 bigitch Oct 18th, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    lita ford and kid rock have money… throw them in the legal pile

  4. 4 rebel Oct 18th, 2017 at 12:44 pm

    no one to blame but the chip for not having a buffer zone, and the drunk it fell on

  5. 5 Kroeter Oct 18th, 2017 at 1:10 pm

    Stupid question: did it have rear brakes?

  6. 6 USAYGO Oct 18th, 2017 at 2:42 pm

    I hate when that happens!

  7. 7 yagoddabeshidinme Oct 18th, 2017 at 4:14 pm

    You want the front row experience you gotta take the risk…

  8. 8 donny brasco Oct 18th, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    roland should have know, no front brake no stop. dumb is dumb!

  9. 9 Mike Oct 18th, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    “The bike was designed on purpose without front brakes.”

    Yet these so-called motorcycle designers are all too happy to sell you a bike for $40,000 plus without front brakes because, well you know, it looks cool.

  10. 10 fuji Oct 18th, 2017 at 10:14 pm

    Mike . this particular bike was the FTR 750 flat track bike designed without front brakes as stated by American flat track rules. This was the introduction of the bike. I personally look at it as operator error by not having control of the motorcycle. Having seen replays poor judgement was demonstrated by the operator. VERY POOR !

  11. 11 Guzzigreg Oct 19th, 2017 at 7:06 am

    Sands screwed up,he should pay up!

  12. 12 Al Gajda Oct 19th, 2017 at 7:24 am

    Am I the only one that feels bad for the poor dudes the bike landed on—————Roland clearly f’d up here

  13. 13 scott Oct 19th, 2017 at 7:52 am

    The bike was not an FTR750. It was introduced that night but Roland wasn’t riding one.

  14. 14 HD Rider Oct 19th, 2017 at 8:42 am

    The Scumbag Lawyers are at it again.

  15. 15 Xenu Oct 19th, 2017 at 10:01 am

    Roland shouldn’t have skipped rehearsal. He’s no Olivier.

  16. 16 FlaNativ Oct 19th, 2017 at 1:09 pm

    Bet it left a nasty mark and may have spilled his drink

  17. 17 EASYGEAR Oct 19th, 2017 at 2:58 pm

    I don`t mean that in a gleeful way, i`m certainly not, and nobody died, so please take another look at the Video – that one thing is funny, i didn`t notice that when i looked first time…:
    When he already drives in, the announcer says “…that bike has no front brake…”, as if he would know that THIS is the important feature of the bike and the stunt that HAS to follow next…..i can`t help myself, that`s too funny…..rofl

    “that bike has no front brake”…..”crash boing”…..muaha

  18. 18 Biggles Oct 19th, 2017 at 10:26 pm

    The bike is a flat track racer which don’t have brakes. Where’s the safety zone between the stage and the crowd? But, hey this is the American way. Sue the arse off everyone you can to get as much money as you can. Just close down the Sturgis weekend due to soaring insurance costs and litigation. Nice one!

  19. 19 Hobo tom Oct 25th, 2017 at 6:54 am

    This just plain awful. For all the parties involved. Let’s hope beers where not involved that will just open a whole new can of worms. I can tell you this the hospital has the BAC . I pray Roland did not get on that bike after he had a beer. These accidents just plain S*+k . It is just a shame on so many levels..

  20. 20 Freddie_Ray Oct 29th, 2017 at 10:57 am

    That escalated real fast!!!

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Cyril Huze