Motorcycle Discussion Thread

[X-Rated]

Maybe you did hear that. I certainly did. Something happens to some kid in Iowa, this kid in SC can't go see a basketball game with his friends.
Now to address the other statement. I have heard people all the time say things like, so&so bike accident. Selling my bike.
So I ask again. How many people stop driving cars because someone they know is injured or killed in an accident?

Sorry I tweaked your nipples and caused you to revisit a painful childhood. Wasn't my intention. I relive mine everyday, only the bad parts. Go figure.

Stopping driving cars because there was a known accident somewhere at sometime that someone was in is irrational. But I ceased driving many times due to the accidents of others when I was under my parent's roof. It was a common occurrence for me. I hope this properly responds to your statement, "That would be like me saying, 'I had some friends die in auto accidents so that option is off the table for me.' "

[KG4CGC]

Now, without the painful memories of a childhood denied, why does someone having a MC wreck mean that you will now have a MC wreck?
To wit I ask, does a person stop driving when their friend has a vehicular accident, in a car?

I've know grown men sell their their bikes because someone they know had a bike wreck.
In other cases it is because the wife makes the husband sell it because she's just found out that she is going to spoot out a blood relative.

[N8YX]

I've buried many motorcycle-riding friends over the years.

I still ride. And practice. And learn.

[KG4CGC]

I've had several friends and family members of friends die on a MC. The last one was due to a drunk in a car.

There is also a prevailing thought in some people that riders don't have the same "rights" to the road as their larger vehicle does. However, guys on bicycles sometimes think they can have it both ways. They are subject to the same rules of the road that everyone is bound to. The thing I have a problem with is when they run red lights.

[X-Rated]

Now, without the painful memories of a childhood denied, why does someone having a MC wreck mean that you will now have a MC wreck?
To wit I ask, does a person stop driving when their friend has a vehicular accident, in a car?

I've know grown men sell their their bikes because someone they know had a bike wreck.
In other cases it is because the wife makes the husband sell it because she's just found out that she is going to spoot out a blood relative.

IMHO, selling your bike because someone you know had a wreck is a personal decision. It is not one I would make, however I never had a motorcycle. If I liked Millie Vanilli before I found out they didn't sing their songs, I would not burn my Millie Vanilli albums. But I never liked them. I don't understand that attitude. Like Fred said, live, practice, learn and go on. Your knowledge of their mistake is their gift to you. Use it and don't just throw it away.

[KG4CGC]

IMHO, selling your bike because someone you know had a wreck is a personal decision. It is not one I would make, however I never had a motorcycle. If I liked Millie Vanilli before I found out they didn't sing their songs, I would not burn my Millie Vanilli albums. But I never liked them. I don't understand that attitude. Like Fred said, live, practice, learn and go on. Your knowledge of their mistake is their gift to you. Use it and don't just throw it away.

So, what does JEF think?

[NQ6U]

Like contesters, motorsickles are de ebil.

Wish I still had my bimmer....

[KG4CGC]

Like contesters, motorsickles are de ebil.

Wish I still had my bimmer....

"Because motorcycle gangs travel from town to town, getting underage girls pregnant and giving them AIDS."

Actually heard that come out of a grown woman's mouth in 1986.

[W9JEF]

So, what does JEF think?

I thought you'd never ask. ;)

The one time I was on a motorcycle (that of a high school friend):
I forget how to apply the brakes, and bump into a garage door.
(Slow enough, so no damage to either man or machine.)

Truth be told, I have had real bikes, the kind with pedals.
In Madison, if the weather was sufficiently clement,
I'd ride my John Deere 10-speed "skinny wheel" the 9 miles
to the WISC-TV transmitter, where I worked.
So I'm aware of the extra danger of being a small visual
on roads where most vehicles are faster, more massive,
and less aware of their two-wheeled road buddies.

Even driving the cheapest car puts lots of steel around you,
not to mention keeping you out of the wind, rain, and fumes.
Orders of magnitude more comfort in a bucket seat than a saddle.

Yeah, it's neat to see a biker with his old lady in the "back seat"
sharing the thrill of launching down the road, wind in your face.
But when that enchanted moment arives, even the smallest car doubles as a boudoir. ;)

Maneuverability-wise, the bike has its advantages in tight traffic.
But at highway speeds, all to often--having had the right-of-way or not
--it's the biker and passenger who're killed or severely injured, .
typically, a car doesn't see them, and makes a left turn in front of them.
Once, as a kid on my bike, a parked car door opened--unhurt, but lost a handlebar.

Our '05 Ford Focus: although we're statistically more likely to be hurt in a crash,
its sure-footed nimbleness allows me to avoid having the wreck in the first place.
So while I can understand the thrill of motorcycling on the open road,
I'll be in my padded, armored, temperature-controlled, fairly maneuverable vehicle. :)

[N8YX]

I'll guarantee you that either of my Concours 14s are a hell of a lot more nimble AND quicker than your Focus.

Further, if you rely solely on a one-dimensional approach to get yourself out of an accident you're going to eventually find yourself in one.

Throttle, brakes, maneuverability - and not necessarily in that order.

[K7SGJ]

I'll guarantee you that either of my Concours 14s are a hell of a lot more nimble AND quicker than your Focus.

Further, if you rely solely on a one-dimensional approach to get yourself out of an accident you're going to eventually find yourself in one.

Throttle, brakes, maneuverability - and not necessarily in that order.

Skill, timing, and a little bit of luck don't hurt, either.

[W9JEF]

I'll guarantee you that either of my Concours 14s are a hell of a lot more nimble AND quicker than your Focus.

Further, if you rely solely on a one-dimensional approach to get yourself out of an accident you're going to eventually find yourself in one.

Throttle, brakes, maneuverability - and not necessarily in that order.

Brakes are the most important. Along with steering, and throttle, an aspect of maneuverability.
Your Concours 14s may well be a hell of a lot more nimble and quicker than our Focus.
As I explained the maneuverability is a tradeoff with safety and comfort (in that order).

[N2CHX]

I've buried many motorcycle-riding friends over the years.

I still ride. And practice. And learn.

My hubs thinks I'm nuts because I watch motorcycle crash videos. I watch them because I learn a lot from them. You get to see the mistakes other people make without making them yourself, and you get to see and learn the things people do right that save their lives, like this guy...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyG_fGpNgmU

[NQ6U]

As soon as I saw him pull over to the shoulder I knew what was coming.

[N2CHX]

As soon as I saw him pull over to the shoulder I knew what was coming.

Yup. I learned not to stop directly behind a vehicle because of this video. Had he not stopped off to the side, he'd have been dead. I remember one day in 2012 when I drove the Prius to work and got rear-ended. I can't even remember why I was driving the Prius that day, because it was sunny and warm, but I am so glad I wasn't riding the Ninja that day!

[W5BRM]

What was that car stopped for anyway? Watched on a mobile phone so couldn't see a lot of detail

[NQ6U]

Yup. I learned not to stop directly behind a vehicle because of this video. Had he not stopped off to the side, he'd have been dead. I remember one day in 2012 when I drove the Prius to work and got rear-ended. I can't even remember why I was driving the Prius that day, because it was sunny and warm, but I am so glad I wasn't riding the Ninja that day!

Yeah, no chit. Sort of why I gave up the Bimmer—too many close calls with morans in cages. Might have felt a little different if I'd been riding a bike that was a little faster and more nimble than a '68 R60, I don't know...

[KG4CGC]

My hubs thinks I'm nuts because I watch motorcycle crash videos. I watch them because I learn a lot from them. You get to see the mistakes other people make without making them yourself, and you get to see and learn the things people do right that save their lives, like this guy...


Damn good lesson!
Thanks!