My brother in law (19 y/o) just wrecked a motorcycle. He's fine; broken collar bone and scraped wrist is all. It wasn't his; his friend let him ride it through a parking lot and he crashed into a curb. He says he's always wanted a motorcycle and feels like this crash happened too soon, and damned his chances of my sister ever letting him get one. He didn't get the chance to "get it out of his system." He wants just one more opportunity, to take a motorcycle out on an empty highway and just let fly, just once. I guess if that were true, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I know it's B.S. and if given the opportunity to do that, it would just fuel his obsession and make him want a bike even more. That is what sparked the following rant.

It reminds me of my own motorcycle crash. I owned the bike for 4 days before I totaled it. I was ran off the highway by woman who had just made eye contact with me seconds before forcing me into a guard rail @ 50MPH.

Before getting my bike, I was told by several of my friends who had bikes that the most important rule is "pretend that you are invisible" or "drive like nobody can see you," and that is absolutely the best advice you can give somebody before getting on a motorcycle. I didn't heed the advice; or at least I didn't think too critically about it. If I consider that advice now, literally; if someone had some magical cloak of invisibility and told me "Here, drape this cloak over yourself and the bike," what would I do? I sure-as-hell would not get on it and ride anywhere, even down my street, much less down the highway.

I can't understand how anybody can be conscious of this advice, and even relay the advice on to other people, and still ride a motorcycle. They must not be thinking too critically of the words coming out of their mouths, or they just repeat it without actually believing it.

And then after my accident, the same people who told me to pretend I'm invisible were saying stuff like "Everybody who rides falls eventually, and usually more than once," "that's just a part of riding," and "you just have to get back up on that bike and go again." WTF? Seriously? When you do something stupid (like riding a motorcycle on the highway) and get nearly killed in the process, the logical response is to try again and hope for a better outcome?

I can't think of a way to say this without being insulting, so I'll just say it: Riding motorcycles is stupid. If you try it, that's a stupid move. If you try it and you crash - that's your sign - you're doing something stupid, be smart, stop. If you crash and then try again, you are just a stupid person, period. When you repeat the same stupid action and don't learn from it, that's the definition of stupid in my book.

 

I can't help but think of the public information films Top Gear made with regards to bike safety...

 

Been there, done that. The problem is that everybody has a fender-bender once in their life, but with a motorcycle, you are the fender.

 

I can't think of a way to say this without being insulting, so I'll just say it: Riding motorcycles is stupid. If you try it, that's a stupid move. If you try it and you crash - that's your sign - you're doing something stupid, be smart, stop. If you crash and then try again, you are just a stupid person, period. When you repeat the same stupid action and don't learn from it, that's the definition of stupid in my book.

There are very few things in life that are fun but don't include some risk.

I have been riding motorcycles on and off for more than 50 years. I have had only two serious wrecks and neither one of them involved another vehicle. Both were entirely my fault.

Currently, I only ride off road. I consider it much safer, and in some ways, more fun. Maybe that would satisfy your BIL.

ETA: I just realized that I must be stupid according to your definition. Oh, well.

 

Some of the most Zen moments I ever had were on the hilltops east of L.A.
I shoulda stayed there.

 

I have two streetbikes currently. It all goes back to your other post on IDIOTS! Be smart about it and you'll be fine. I've been riding (street) since 2005 and never been run off the road or had a high speed wreck yet. Now, I have laid it down twice going at low speeds (15-20MPH) when I was first learning, and once recently when I decided to cut across a field to get to the other side of the street to beat a friend home when I made a wrong turn (STUPID I know), but other than that, no incidents. I actually feel safer on my streetbikes than I do in my big Ram 2500 diesel truck to be quite honest. That comment might shock a few or get people to ask how is that possible, but that's how I feel.

P.S. - I also keep it on two wheels at all times and don't do stunts. I respect my machine and it respects me

 

either ride like your invisable, or that everyone is out to get you. I too have had people turn into my lane after looking me in the eye beside them. on the kansas turnpike I had three viehicles, two 18 wheel trucks and a station wagon coming down the on ramp, one truck took the acceleration lane, like he should, the other took the driving lane, and the lady in the wagon took the passing lane, dosnt leave much road when your running along at the 80 mph speed limit. it sure was a suprise to them that they werent the only ones on the turnpike that day.
get your BIL motorcycle lessons, it may keep him from doing real stupid things ( I thought that is waht BIL's were for).

 

Instead of blaming Bikers, I'd take a closer look at the people driving the cars, since most of the time it seems to really be their fault, not the bikers'. Sure, if a biker does something stupid like staying in a car driver's blindspot, then he/she is asking for trouble. But in my experience most collisions involving motorcyclists and an automobile are caused by the automobile driver's lack of attention or caution. When driving a car you MUST constantly be alert. Try to predict what other drivers are going to do. Make sure you know your surroundings. That's one of the first things you learn when you first start driving. And for some reason it also tends to be one of the first things people forget. As a driver, you must pay attention to where you are and who is around you. Failing to do this can cause serious injury to you or someone else. Bikers have as much right to the road as anyone else provided they do all they can to make sure other drivers see them. Beyond that it is the other drivers' responsibilities to follow the rules of the road and make sure they know what is around them. If you ask me, THAT is what people should take away from this, NOT that biking is a stupid thing to do. It's not.

Just my $0.02.
Matt

 

"I feel safer on a motorcycle." Of course you do. You out accelerate, out maneuver, and out brake anything else on the road. The problem is that it only takes one idiot to turn in front of you so your only choices are to fly or splatter.

When I was in California, I was in a car that got pulled over because the driver was seriously drunk. The cop just told him to have his wife finish driving home. Meanwhile, I came within 2 points of losing my license in 90 days because the police were writing false tickets for people that owned motorcycles. The logic was that motorcycles are dangerous and drunk drivers are not. How ya' gonna win with help like that?

 

I tend to not watch the movements of the vehicles, but rather the peoples gestures and movements in the vehicles. I.E. - Are they on their cellphones (what are they doing), do they make quick sudden head movements to the left or right (as if wanting to change lanes). I do not drive in peoples blind spots, I do not ride next to people period (either front of behind them), when passing a semi I accelerate quickly past it, when coming to intersections I slow down and constantly am checking left, right, behind, ahead of me, try to avoid driving in the far right lane as much as possible unless turning right soon, at stop lights I always watch my rear end as to not get hit from behind and remain in 1st gear, if a person is beside me and im passing them I try to get as close (as safely) possible to their vehicle so I can help eliminate some of the larger areas of their blindspots.

For instance on a two lane road there is a car in the right lane and I am in the left lane, when passing, I will get as far right in my lane as I comfortably can so that the vehicle can see me in their side mirror. Riding safely is all about lane position. I don't use my horn if someone starts coming over in my lane, I typically hit the clutch and brakes then give it full throttle. Der is right, don't knock bikes, knock the morons in the cars who have no respect for them or attention to what they are doing.

As for a 19yr old owning a sport bike, If it were my kids I'd be saying heck no! I couldn't get a bike until I got out of my parents house. I don't think bikes are a smart choice for anyone under 21yrs of age. That's just my opinion. I know how I was at 19 and HECK NO lol

 

My brother in law (19 y/o) just wrecked a motorcycle. He's fine; broken collar bone and scraped wrist is all. It wasn't his; his friend let him ride it through a parking lot and he crashed into a curb. He says he's always wanted a motorcycle and feels like this crash happened too soon, and damned his chances of my sister ever letting him get one. He didn't get the chance to "get it out of his system." He wants just one more opportunity, to take a motorcycle out on an empty highway and just let fly, just once. I guess if that were true, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I know it's B.S. and if given the opportunity to do that, it would just fuel his obsession and make him want a bike even more. That is what sparked the following rant.

It reminds me of my own motorcycle crash. I owned the bike for 4 days before I totaled it. I was ran off the highway by woman who had just made eye contact with me seconds before forcing me into a guard rail @ 50MPH.

Before getting my bike, I was told by several of my friends who had bikes that the most important rule is "pretend that you are invisible" or "drive like nobody can see you," and that is absolutely the best advice you can give somebody before getting on a motorcycle. I didn't heed the advice; or at least I didn't think too critically about it. If I consider that advice now, literally; if someone had some magical cloak of invisibility and told me "Here, drape this cloak over yourself and the bike," what would I do? I sure-as-hell would not get on it and ride anywhere, even down my street, much less down the highway.

I can't understand how anybody can be conscious of this advice, and even relay the advice on to other people, and still ride a motorcycle. They must not be thinking too critically of the words coming out of their mouths, or they just repeat it without actually believing it.

And then after my accident, the same people who told me to pretend I'm invisible were saying stuff like "Everybody who rides falls eventually, and usually more than once," "that's just a part of riding," and "you just have to get back up on that bike and go again." WTF? Seriously? When you do something stupid (like riding a motorcycle on the highway) and get nearly killed in the process, the logical response is to try again and hope for a better outcome?

I can't think of a way to say this without being insulting, so I'll just say it: Riding motorcycles is stupid. If you try it, that's a stupid move. If you try it and you crash - that's your sign - you're doing something stupid, be smart, stop. If you crash and then try again, you are just a stupid person, period. When you repeat the same stupid action and don't learn from it, that's the definition of stupid in my book.

People like your brother-in-law who just want to "get it out of their system" and have no intention of really learning how to ride before they let out the clutch, frankly, deserve what they get. The parking lot had curbs so he wants to go to an empty section of highway. The empty section of highway will have gravel shoulders and ditches and the bike may develop a high-speed wobble that scares the **** out of him. There will always be something. It is just surprising how many great 19-year-old drivers are unlucky enough to have a parking curb jump into their path the first time they ride a motorcycle.

Tell him to find a Motorcycle Safety Foundation training class in his neighborhood and take ALL the classes. Motorcycle manufacturers provice the bikes, volunteers who have worked up an apprentice/journeyman/master program do the training.

He will start by pushing the thing around a parking lot so he feels the weight and balance of the bike (again, surprising how many 19-year-olds drop a 250cc honda rebel while they push it in the parking lot). Then he will paddle it around while he sits on it to better understand the weight and practice with the brakes.

On and on it goes until they are able to do a figure 8 in a 20 foot x 30 foot box.

 

I have been riding motorcycles on and off for more than 50 years.

Nobody sees the humor in that?

 

Hey aren't automotive discussions banned?

Maybe crashing a bike is not considered a "modification"...

 

I respect my machine and it respects me

Machines, call them chain saws, Piper Azteca, Costa Concordia or you name it, they do not respect anyone, they just do what the driver makes them to do or allows them to do when out of control.

It is simple: try to hit a wall at 80 mph. Your respectful machine will dutifully crash with you, the respected rider onboard without no remorse. It was designed for that.

Handling vessels I learnt: this thing has to do what I want her to do. For that, I should never put her in a situation that later I could not handle.

 

Last edited by atferrari; Today at 01:03 PM. Reason: wrogn spelling

Try again, Agustin

 

WHat bewilders me is that people on motorcycles ride like they know they are invisible and act accordingly yet people on bicycles ride like the whole world is watching them so that they thusly have zero concern for ever needing to pay any attention to what's going on around them.

I have never seen a single even remotely competent motorcycle operator ever ride head on into a parked car or other stationary object yet I cant count how many times I have seen some person on a bicycle get wiped out by a parked car or tree or sign or wall that just jumped out in front of them!

 

^ LMAO. That's funny

 

It's a regular feature on America's Funniest Videos.

 

Try again, Agustin

Tell you a secret: if you check backwards, it has been always like that.

 

Instead of blaming Bikers, I'd take a closer look at the people driving the cars, since most of the time it seems to really be their fault, not the bikers'. Sure, if a biker does something stupid like staying in a car driver's blindspot, then he/she is asking for trouble. But in my experience most collisions involving motorcyclists and an automobile are caused by the automobile driver's lack of attention or caution. When driving a car you MUST constantly be alert. Try to predict what other drivers are going to do. Make sure you know your surroundings. That's one of the first things you learn when you first start driving. And for some reason it also tends to be one of the first things people forget. As a driver, you must pay attention to where you are and who is around you. Failing to do this can cause serious injury to you or someone else. Bikers have as much right to the road as anyone else provided they do all they can to make sure other drivers see them. Beyond that it is the other drivers' responsibilities to follow the rules of the road and make sure they know what is around them. If you ask me, THAT is what people should take away from this, NOT that biking is a stupid thing to do. It's not.

Just my $0.02.
Matt

I don't disagree, usually it is the other drivers at fault in motorcycle accidents. But that has nothing to do with whether or not it's stupid to ride a motorcycle. My spin on what you just said, I can express with an analogy: you jump into a tank of hungry sharks, and they eat all your limbs off. You get upset and blame the sharks. Well, yeah, of course the sharks ARE the ones who ate your limbs off and I'm sure they could be found guilty of crime in a court of law, but they were just doing what sharks do; what everybody knows that sharks do; what YOU knew that sharks do, and you chose to swim with them anyway.

Yes, people drive around while reading books, applying makeup, facebooking on Ipads, eating cheeseburgers, and drinking beer. They make lane changes without signalling or looking, and cause a never ending situation of danger, especially for motorcyclists. Everybody who has ever gazed out a car window knows this. Expecting other drivers to drive properly, well thats about as stupid as expecting sharks not to eat you. That's the whole point of the thread; that's the reason why I'm saying riding bikes is stupid.