That’s not completely true. One of our bikes is a Yamaha T-Max 500, which is a maxi scooter (similar models include the Honda Silverwing and the Suzuki Burgman). I’ve never had any problem with potholes, because the wheels are bigger than your usual scooter wheel (though still not as big as a motorcycle wheel, granted). Big scooters are a blast to ride–they’re as fast as a regular motorcycle, more comfortable, and you don’t have to worry about shifting. They also have a bit of storage space, which makes them good for commuting.
As for riding–when I ride I assume I’m in a video game. Everything on the road is actively out to get me, and it’s my job to pay attention to it and anticipate any stupid thing somebody might do. Passing a guy? He’s gonna not see me and move into my lane. Passing parked cars? One of 'em’s gonna pull out without looking, or open his door. City streets? Oblivious pedestrians darting every which way.
Sure, it doesn’t often happen. But it’s always on my mind. I still remember my old MSF instructor many years ago teaching us SIPDE: Search, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute.
Oh, and get good gear. Don’t be tempted to ride in shorts and short sleeves, no matter how hot it is.
If you do get one, please go slow. I see too many idiots trying to go as fast as they can, usually well over 100 mph. It’s one thing to do an extreme sport and put your own life at risk, it’s quite another to put others lives at risk too.
This photo definitely needed a two click rule and a warning on how graphic it is. Seriously, next time warn posters about the image they’re about to see.
I have edited your post to both put it under a spoiler AND warn people.
Today, riding my motorcycle down I-94, I passed under one of those electronic displays that says about 420-something people in IL have died in auto accidents so far this year.
Thank you for remembering and asking. I’m great. I’m now riding in downtown Houston. It took a few months before I was confident enough to stop driving my car, but that was as much because I didn’t know where I was going as because I was afraid of getting smooshed.
Riding and doing cat rescue is just part of who and what I am. Once, I overheard
Bill being asked why he “let” me ride a Harley. Bill’s calm answer was something like: Because that’s what she loves. If I try to make her change, she won’t be the woman I love after I’m done changing her, and she won’t be happy. And if I do mange to make her sell her bike, she won’t be the same person that I love.
I don’t suppose you’re able to update that OP with the results your junkyard dog lawyer got you? I’d love to here about the final outcome, if it is indeed final.
And I’ll be gauche here and say that Bill doesn’t know what he’s missed. I would have totally fucked a smurf, and a check for lost congress is a poor substitute for that missed experience :).
A quick search of the web will turn up equally graphic photos of devastating injuries due to car crashes, hiking accidents, commercial airliner crashes, falls in the shower, and so on.
That last one? No kidding. I once saw ER video of a guy who had fallen in his shower. As he fell, the skin on his back had become caught on the edge of the wall-mounted soap dish; it tore/avulsed that skin down to the muscle, resulting in an 8" tear and a loose flap of skin about the size of his hand. If that doesn’t convince you that we should all sit down in the bathtub for our daily ablutions, then nothing will.
The mere fact that a horrible injury can happen is not enough information. You must also show that it is highly likely - and most importantly, you must also show that I receive inadequate benefit for taking that risk.
That last one is the key, and it’s impossible for you to show, because you can’t know how motorcycling makes other motorcyclists feel. There are those among us who are not dissuaded by the prospect of death and injury, even when we have seen friends get killed, and even when we have personally experienced horrible injury. Two of my friends have been in bad accidents that resulted in multi-day hospitalizations; after they recovered (slowly - they were middle-aged at the time, not young stallions with insta-heal powers), they returned to riding. In other words, these are people who aren’t operating with some vague delusion of “that’ll never happen to me” or “it can’t hurt that bad.” They’ve actually experienced the bad side of motorcycling, but the good side was so good, they made a conscious and very well-informed decision to come back for more.
I think motorcycles are cool and all, but I definitely would never ride one as I have little kids and you can’t control the stupid people around you, you have no safety belt, no metal around you, no airbags and chances are if you get into a crash at freeway speeds you will be seriously injured or die no matter what kind of gear you are wearing.
If the above weren’t the case I would love to own and ride a motorcycle.
I haven’t read the thread, and don’t have time to read it now. So forgive me if I repeat things others have said.
You do have a helmet though, and you should be wearing protective gear. Many have hard armor in them.
When I lived in L.A. I rode my motorcycle(s) most days. A rucksack sufficed for grocery runs, as well as for when I went to buy other things. One bike got 50 mpg, and the other got 42 mpg. Comprehensive insurance on one, and liability on the other, is dirt cheap. Since I lived in California, I could split lanes. It’s not particularly unsafe, and I didn’t have to sit in traffic with the cars. Saved a lot of time. And motorcycles are more fun than cars.
The bad news is that motorcycles are not practical everywhere. I live in the PNW now, and my motorcycle hasn’t been ridden since Autumn. Sitting for months caused the fuel to go bad, and there’s something wrong with the front brake. I wanted to start riding it a month ago, but I have limited time for maintenance (or doing other things). It was only Wednesday that I rode it to the shop to fix the brake, and it will be at least a week before I get it back. (They’re a busy shop, and down two people.) In just three months or so, it will again start getting too wet and too cold to ride. Things get slippery when it’s wet.
Another thing is that it’s cheaper to drive the car. My YZF-R1 gets 42 mpg on premium fuel. The Prius gets 47 mpg on regular fuel. And with no lane-splitting up here, it’s more comfortable to boot.
Those who have and those who will. Dump/lay down/get hit, etc. They look like tremendous fun but you can do everything exactly right and someone in a car will ruin your day. I participate in a sport that is supposedly as dangerous as riding a motorcycle. But I know if I am hurt (or worse) it is highly unlikely that anyone other than me will be to blame. Can’t say the same for bikes.
I wouldn’t dream of trying to talk you out of riding. But I do encourage you to consider carefully what each person who has contributed has said. There’s a lot of good advice here.
I wanted to ride so badly and was scared to death to try. Finally in my thirtieth year I bought a 350 cc bike to learn on. So I have been riding now for thirty-five years. And I can admit to having a healthy amount of fear (which I prefer to call respect) at some point nearly every time I ride. I like to think it’s one of the reasons I’ve never had a serious accident.
I have ridden in vile weather conditions for days at a time, in large groups and in rush hour traffic in heavily populated areas and I wouldn’t endorse any of them. Now that I am free to make my own choices about these things I don’t do them any more. I also don’t ride when I am tired.
I choose my routes and riding days accordingly and just enjoy the heck out of it. Nothing else I enjoy in my life quite compares to the feeling of the wind on my face out there.
Guess I’m definitely hooked. Noticing a decline in my reflexes and vision in my mid-fifties I retired my last bike and then, one beautiful spring day about six years ago, the fever just flared up again and I went out and bought what may be my last bike. Who knows?
I do agree with starting with a used, smaller bike until you get over the dropsies. Bu if you plan to ride in traffic, make sure you have something zippy enough that you can move rapidly at short notice.
Take the classes. Practice in safe places.
Buy the best gear you can afford and learn how to take good care of it. Good quality motorcycle gear lasts forever. At least it was made to do so when I bought mine.
Have fun!
Really have to say a word about gruesome deaths. If the thought of one bothers you, consider another hobby. What I fear more is that last cogent half-hour on my death bed thinking about all the things I wish I’d done.
I have heard that there are two kinds of motorcycle riders.
Those who have wrecked.
Those who have not wrecked…yet.
That, for what a saying is worth.
Beyond this, my brother was in a motorcycle accident. He is a very good, aware driver. Someone came over two lanes and hit him. He was “OK,” but he lay on the ground with his leg behind him over his shoulder. He knew it would hurt more if the EMT had to pick it up and put it in place when they got there, so he reached back and just put it in its (more) proper place.
The problem is, even if you are looking out for other people, it’s really hard to watch out for people two lanes over. I mean, you can do it, but when they are driving fast and poorly, they really come out of nowhere. My brother was a good driver and understood the concept of watching out for the other guy.
I can predict when someone will change lanes without a blinker, and without looking. It is when I am changing lanes and am halfway in the new lane. Then, others “remember” that the lane I am moving into is “free,” and they just get over.
I’ve had multiple people try to assume the lane that I am in the process of moving into causing all kinds of confusion with each other and me–I being the only driver using a blinker.
In these instances, I am driving a car. I know there are stories of people who have been riding for 30 years with no accidents. I wouldn’t use them as a benchmark though.
Also consider when the roads are being paved. You wind up driving on roads that are scratched in a way that they will bond to the new pavement poured on top, but it plays havoc on two wheels. The roads may be uneven to the tune of inches as you come onto the highway.
Two of the people at my work were injured while riding bikes, both seriously. They both were experienced careful drivers and wore protective clothing. It’s the luck of the draw.
I ride, but I know that one day I might be seriously injured or killed. Life is dangerous, and I accept that.
I once helped nurse a guy with a worse injury than that. Basically, he’d have been better off having it amputated, but he was in hospital for months, and not a good result.
