No, I won’t.
Good answers, all. I’ve been hit, but I still ride. Like my cars, I have something for every situation.
They are, however, not for everyone.
I love to scuba dive. It opens an entire new world to explore. When my wife dives, she just feels the billions of tons of water on her, and the ocean closing in on her. Me? Freedom. Her? Claustrophobia.
The best way to really feel this for yourself is to do it. And, since we’re all safety nuts here, we all agree that your first step is a motorcycle safety course. These guys are who you call.
They’ll start you off on a small, manageable bike and you’ll learn to ride. Like most of us, you’ll probably love it and go get a bike next week. Some however, don’t like it and stop right there. I’ve seen the same with flying lessons and in my shooting classes.
In taking the lessons, you’ll talk firsthand with experienced folks who will answer all the questions you have and you’ll be able to relate to the experience better. Then, you’ll know if it’s for you or not.
If you decide to go for it, ***then ***we’ll all tell you what bike you should get!
Naturally, I suggest you get a bike you can’t tip over, has passenger and trunk space, and has a machine gun mount.
You’ll get more tail than Sinatra!
Have you thought about a moped as another option?
Do you have an SO? Kids? If you have both or either, the bike is going to be considered your selfish toy. Can you pick the kids up from soccer? No, honey, I took the bike today. Could you pick up a bag of dog food and toilet paper on the way home? No honey, I took the bike today and would have to go home and get car first…easier for you to load up the kiddies and run to store, doll. Your mother needs a ride to the doctor. Oh, honey, sorry, I took the bike today and her walker won’t fit on the back. The dog needs to get picked up from the groomers and I’m stuck here at work until late could you please? No honey, I took the bike today, can’t you call your mom?
If you don’t already have a Motorbike license in the UK then its going to cost you quite a bit.
To get a license you may need compulsary basic training then within 2 years you need to sit your driving test. You probably dont need the theory test if you drive a car.
If you want direct access to a larger machine you will need CBT and and looking at spending maybe 4 days intense training and spending over UKP1000.
http://www.thebikeschool.com/full_licence.htm
If you hold a full car license and want to “test the water” I would recommend buying a “Twist and Go” up to 125cc ( Check out the SYM Joyride - or Joymax depending on what its called in the UK) If you are over 21 have a full car license I believe you can immendiately ride that.
If you like it then you may want to spend the money on a full motorcycle license.
As for Twist and Gos its not all little Vespas and mopeds.
Check this hunni out!
Do you have a garage?
You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!
Let’s start at the beginning. Do you know how to ride?
A lot depends on you and how you drive.
To ride a motorcycle, you have to watch the other drivers and anticipate what they are going to do. Not “Know what they will do” but anticipate. You will never know what someone else will do, but, if you watch, you can anticipate what they can do. By knowing what may happen, you can keep yourself out of dangerous situations.
I ride a bike nearly every day. I don’t use it for commuting. I used to, but so much of commuting is rote driving that I felt it was too dangerous. You have to be an active driver to ride a bike, not a passive one.
I do ride the bike to the grocery store. I know the roads and know what the drivers are going to try to get away with. Sure, there are a lot of dangerous situations, but I know where they are and I watch to see what is going to happen before I commit. The motorcycle gets around 40 MPG in town, the car maybe 12. Grocery store, department store, dry cleaning, If I can fit it in my bags, I go by motorcycle. I can keep the high performance engine better than 25 mpg if I don’t drive it to the fast food place.
Where I have found myself in dicey situations on the motorcycle is where I have convinced myself to take chances that I normally wouldn’t take. Bad weather, trying to beat traffic, just to prove myself to be a badass. I have learned not to put myself in those situations on a motorcycle, so I like to think I am avoiding the most dangerous situations. Now, I will drive 100 miles on a weekend when I don’t have to be anywhere over country back roads. Not that that is easy, you still have to watch out for the idjits who aren’t paying attention, but on those back roads, you don’t see as many, so you can pay more attention to the ones you run across.
If you do decide to get a bike, that a Safety class. They will teach you things that people have died to learn. Pay attention. Learn to operate the machine. But you also have to learn to learn how to read the others on the road. Be Safe.
excavating (for a mind)
One of my friend’s daughters does forensics here. Her issue with motorcycle accidents is that often the head is still inside the helmet - quite some distance from the rest of the victim. sorry best I have to offer
Thanks for all the replies everyone, you’ve given me a lot of food for though.
Ugh…well at least my face will be preserved!
Nice link…spiders?!
Yes and no respectively, although she has her own car and doesn’t rely on me transport-wise.
Eh, I’m not too keen on those as I go on motorways (highways) pretty frequently and I don’t like the idea of riding one of them on there. Although that slick beamer moped linked above does look pretty sweet, I’ll have to admit.
Depends on how much adversity you want to put up with. I’m a fair weather rider, and only ride on low-traffic rural roads. If there isn’t rain forecast I ride, otherwise I drive my car. When it rains, raindrops hurt and you get surprisingly cold unless you have proper rain gear.
I wouldn’t commute on congested roads on a motorcycle. Every other driver on the road increases your chance of an accident, and you often don’t walk away from accidents on a motorcycle.
But there is nothing like riding a motorcycle down a curvy rural road on a sunny day with no traffic. You see hear and smell more than you ever do in a car, and you have much more of a feeling of “being there” than you do in a car.
Don’t do this.
Three wheels = all the danger of a two-wheeler, but with about 10th of the fun.
You can’t lean the buggers! And that’s the fun of riding a motorcycle!
Also, if you do decide to go for it, take the UK equivalent of the MSF class.
And don’t buy a moped. Start with a smaller-engine motorcycle.
Scooter and moped wheels are too small and get sucked into potholes, whereas a full-size motorcycle wheel will just go right on over them.
Spiff, MSF-certified instructor
How about getting an old Reliant Robin? You can certainly lean those.
I had a Kawasaki Z-1 Classic for a couple of years when I lived in a small panhandle town and had easy access to New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, etc. That was awesome.
In the big city though I see too many idiots in giants pick-ups and SUVs driving distracted on the road. No way I’m venturing among them on a bike.
Don’t get a motorcycle. Get two. Get a dirt bike and street bike. Get a street bike and a touring bike. Get another bike for someone else to ride. Get a classic Harley restore and a bike to ride everyday. You have a lot of choices, why stick to just one?
Nitpick: Moving motorcycles do NOT want to fall over. The running engine and moving wheels act like gyroscopes and so the motorcycle wants to stay upright. Slow moving and stopped motorcycles DO want to fall over, so many new riders learn the bad habit of jackrabbit starts.
To the OP, you have gotten very good advice in this thread. I’ve been riding since I was 17 and I love it. Besides taking a safety/riding class, invest in the best riding gear you can. I’m pretty sure I’m alive and able to post because I always wear a very good (and very expensive) helmet.
Be sure to buy good rain gear, it looks like you will be using it a lot.
Also, and this is really important, you need to become hyper aware of what other drivers are doing. Use your mirrors all the time. Don’t relax when you are stopped at traffic signals, watch what is happening behind you. Watch what is happening in front and to the sides of you. If you watch experienced bikers riding, you will notice that their heads are always moving.
Be constantly aware that once you throw your leg over the saddle, you become invisible.
Another thing to consider…do you spend a lot of time riding a bicycle? If so, you will probably want to give it up. The controls on motorcycles are similar but different to bicycles and in a tight spot, you don’t really want to have to try to remember which controls are for which vehicle. You want to be able to instantly hit the brakes instead of fumbling around for them.
I know this because I can’t ride a bicycle anymore. My body knows that I use my left hand and right foot to brake so when I’m on a bicycle and looking for the back brake I can’t find it and fall over.
Also, do be aware that you are going to fall over at first. Plan for it. Inspect your gear every time you fall over and if its damaged, replace it. Leather looks cooler than Kevlar, but buy Kevlar anyhow. You need really good gloves, because the first part of your body that will hit the ground is probably your hands. Reaching out when you are falling is instinctive.
You will need winter and summer gear. Don’t get one season fits all gear, it doesn’t. You want your gear to fit snugly so the road doesn’t unpeel it as you roll (if you fall over), and your winter gear needs to be loose enough for the under garments, but to still fit snugly.
Riding isn’t cheaper than driving a car. I get 55 mph on my bike and 30 on my car. That sounds awesome, but I don’t need protective gear when driving my car. I change the front tire on my bike at about 5-7 thousand miles, and the back tire gets changed every other time I change my front tire. The tires on my car last for at least 50,000 miles and are much cheaper than my bike tires.
Dang, I’m on a roll, sorry. Quits now.
If you do start to ride, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
[QUOTE=flatlined;16374986[I’m pretty sure I’m alive and able to post because I always wear a very good (and very expensive) helmet.]
(I'll bet you would drive better with that cell phone up your ass. - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board)
[/QUOTE]
Hey, flatlined. How are you doing? I followed that thread (and posted in it). How far are you on your way to being whole? I know you called in your crew to get back to riding, but am wondering if there’s any lingering PTSD. I’m hoping your joy to anxiety ratio is way up.
And your response to that incident still impresses me greatly. You’re good people.
Sorry for the hi-jack, OP!
One word: Donorcycle.
I had one for 4 years and sold it. Would I get another one? Probably not.
-Without a radio to listen to it got really boring.
-It was only nice if the weather cooperaated. Rain sucks. Cold sucks. Hot sucks.
-If I just wore sunglasses it felt like I was outdoors. With a helmet on I might as well be inside a car.
-Road grime and auto exhaust. I got tired of arriving at my destination dirty and smelly.
-Cornering is fun. Loose gravel is not. You never know when you’ll find loose gravel in a corner.
-Can’t eat or drink while driving.
-Spontaneous stops for purchases weren’t always possible. Where the hell am I going to carry a gallon of milk?
-Got tired of checking the weather every day.
-Since I had to have a car anyway I didn’t like having to pay additional insurance and find a place to store it.
-It’s fun to ride with friends, right? And do what? Not talk to eachother for miles at a time?
If you ride a motorcycle like the average car driver drives, you will soon crash, probably badly.
Average car drivers tailgate without even knowing it, and then follow even more closely when they are frustrated with vehicle in front. Average car drivers focus attention about 2-5 seconds ahead of vehicle at the most, often much less. Average car drivers do not anticipate moves of other drivers. Average car drivers can’t or won’t drive anything but an automatic transmission. Average car drivers drive after 1 or 2 drinks. Average car drivers enter turns and curves too early (especially to the left) and rarely are able to complete a turn into a single chosen lane without button hooking or drifting over other lanes in the process. Average car drivers can’t make a stop in less than twice the distance their vehicle is capable of without activating ABS…this is why we have ABS. Average car drivers will spend long amounts of time in other driver’s blind spots.
If you don’t do most of these things, congratulations, you are above average. You might survive on a motorcycle long term. If you think I am exaggerating or being overly critical, please be sure to fill out an organ donor card before you start riding.
You need to have an attitude toward riding like pilots have toward flying: You are never finished learning. Now and then you will take the perfect line through a curve, then you strive to do it on every curve, and fail, but you always get better.