I would like to get a motorcycle

[Matt88s]

Scratch that, I am getting a motorcycle.

Problem 1. Family and friends.

So I happen to drop that I was wanting to get a motorcycle and now everyone is treating me like I'm crazy. They seem convinced that I'd be roadkill the second I hit the road on one. As much as I appreciate their concern, I don't see it happening.

My view is that yes, it is more dangerous than driving a car, but if you pay attention, wear safety gear, and have a good understanding of the fact that everyone else on the road wants you dead whether they know it or not, then you should be fine.

They don't seem to agree with me and have went so far as to threaten the life of my future motorcycle.

So what do you guys think? Am I as mental as they think? Are cycles really such death traps?

And if not then how do I acclimate them to the idea?

I'm really surprised by the strength of their reaction, they are really against it. I really don't think I should get a bike until they've adjusted some.

(note, my mother works at a major hospital and fields several motorcycle accidents a week so thats kind of prejudiced her against them a bit)

[Pulpo]

I'm in my mid thirties.

Every friend I know my age who has ridden a bike on an almost daily basis from teens / early twenties all have had accidents.

If you are under 25 years then wait.

Its not so much ones own ability but those on the roads.

I like motor bikes but as your only means of transport its not a great idea.

Good luck

Pulpo

[jow104]

Accidents happen and sometimes they are not your fault.

Your protection is much less on a motorcycle.

52 years driving experience and I have seen some terrible sights.

Your doing a steady 60ks. and a car comes out of a side turning without due care and hits you, if you survive you wont be doing much woodwork for a while.

[Geoff Dean]

Yeah, and you could step out side and get hit with by a bus.

If you want to get a motorbike, then go for it. It sounds like you know about the pitfalls, that is a good start.

Or you could wrap yourself up in cotton balls and stay inside for the rest of your life because it is dangerous to do anything.

Better sell the saw, can cut your fingers off; hammers are dangerous, could bang your finger; what about jointers, ooh how dangerous are they.........and so on and so on.

Never owned a bike, I always seem to fall of the buggers. Horses are much safer.

[billbeee]

Hi Mat,
I'd say go for it, when I was in my teens I bought a motor bike for 35 quid and traveled hundreds of miles on weekends and saw places that most of my mates never saw.

Having a cheap form of transport gave me the freedom to do other things than tour around also. (Hiking and climbing).

I firmly believe that the experience of riding a bike for a few years has made me a better than average car driver.

A biker gets a feel for surface conditions that drivers just never do. ( A few weeks ago we had our first light rain of the year that left the roads slick. A dumb sheila that slammed into a power pole was quoted as saying "I always go round that corner at 80").

At the age of 63 I bought a bike after a twenty year layoff. I had to sit the test again. I really enjoyed it, the modern way of teaching is great. Again just taking the bike course reinforced in me safety and awareness points that the average driver never gets close to.

When I was sixteen I after a weekend touring the English Lake District, at one end of the infamous M62 motorway I saw an accident site that left a motorbike in almost unrecognizable parts.

Early last year I took a 125cc bike trip over a high pass on Mt Merapi, central Java. Coming into Solo I saw a motorbike wedged under the back of a bus.

So to paraphrase jow104, 50 years driving experience and I have seen some terrible sights, but the highs outweigh the lows. I wouldn't change any of it.

Of course the sensible thing to do is listen to your parents Mat, eh!

We all did that didn't we?

Cheers
Bill

[RETIRED]

My Dad still rides a motorbike. His age? 79.

[Jim Carroll]

They are all jelous that you are doing something for yourself that they are not able to do.

Get the bike, Just be very carefull

[DavidG]

Go ride.
Get out of the cages that other people travel in.
Enjoy the fresh air.

BUT
Its a bit*h when it rains.
Cage drivers seem to want to kill you.
It hurts when you fall, and you will.

So
Check your insurance cover.
Check your medical insurance.
Check your will.

Go and enjoy.......

[pawnhead]

I've owned a few in my youth, and I'd like to have another one day.
You've got to know your own, and your bike's limits and not go too close to them, but one of the most important points is one that you've already made;

and have a good understanding of the fact that everyone else on the road wants you dead whether they know it or not, then you should be fine.

Every car, and every side street, potentially has some idiot in it who's just not concentrating. The main problem being that bikes are hard to see, especially when it's an overcast day and you're against a dark cloud backdrop.

If I were to buy another bike, then I'd ride with my lights on at all times, and I'd get one of those reflective yellow/orange vests. You might not look as 'cool' as just wearing black leathers, but there's less chance of some other idiot becoming your undoing. There's a lot of vids circulating the web where 'blind' motorists just pull straight out, or chuck a U turn straight in front of a biker, with disastrous consequences.

[wheelinround]

Family of bike riders here 2 sons and FSIL dad rode I rode

if your friends and family feel they are such bad drivers and might cause you injury tell them to either drive safer or hand their licence in.

as everyone has said may as well stop living

have you given up drinking coke cause it can clean up a penny or clean out a radiator better than draino

[flynnsart]

If you have driven a car for at least 2 years, and are not into racing on the road, or showing off, go for it. At least yu dont have to dodge kangaroos there Go do an advanced riders safety course (and let your worried parents and friends know you have passed it).

When I first walked in my parents house with my helmet in hand, My dad says "there goes another short term Australian". Then I told him I had been riding for three years! haha took me a while to get the courage up to tell them I bought one.

Donna

[dazzler]

Hi Matt

Bikes are safer than cars - if you have observation skills and are not a moron. They brake so much better and have the ability to change direction out of trouble.

Most of us are involved in collisions because we drive with no observation skills and so we let other motorists collide with us. When we allow this to happen, by not observing and assessing constantly, then we get crashed into and if we are on a bike our body gets smashed.

Do a defensive riding course that concentrates on observation. Forget one at a racetrack it needs to be on the road with an instructor showing you what goes on in the street.

have fun

cheers

dazzler

[woodbe]

If you want to do it, go ahead.

But please go into it with your eyes open.

Every longterm motorcyclist either has had and expects to have a major accident. They are faced with situations where no amount of skill can get them out of the impending event.

Maturity helps the rider avoid self-imposed prangs, but there is not much you can do about the other road users...

woodbe.

[Sebastiaan56]

Matt,

How to win them over, dunno, Im married to an RN and she has lots of horror stories. Some suggestions,

Go to a good riding school, return regularly for top ups. Learn defensive riding. Most race tracks have riders days. Great chance to get the racer out of your system. Tell em all that you are doing it. Join a club.

If it is going to be your commute, find all back roads to work, most of my mates that are gone got hit, no fault of their own. BTW Ive got plenty of mates still riding everywhere.

Get good riding gear ie: the best tyres, lid, jackets, armour that you can afford.

If you dont have any experience join a dirt club first. Best way to learn slippery bit riding.

Paranoia aside, go for it, best fun next to women a bloke can have,

Sebastiaan

[dazzler]

Your doing a steady 60ks. and a car comes out of a side turning without due care and hits you, if you survive you wont be doing much woodwork for a while.

No that is just as much your fault as the car that you hit. As you approach that intersection you should have seen the vehicle, assessed whether the driver had seen you, has he made eye contact, is his vehicle slowing. If these things arent happening then you slow until he has or you brake and allow him through. Constant scanning and assessment.