I love anti-motorcycle people.

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JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,456
854
126
I guess I question the riders that act like if they are defensive, wear gear, and pay attention they are somehow different from every other rider out there that claims to take proper precautions.

Like no person with proper gear and defensive riding skills has ever gone down on a bike.

I would love to ride a bike. I respect them, respect the power and danger and would take all the proper precautions, but will never own a bike. you just cannot elminate the risk of the stupid/texting/drunk/bad driver that will end up potentially being the end of you. At least in a car, you have a cage, crumple zones, air bags, seat belts on your side. On a bike, well, you have a pair of leathers so you don't get road rash and a helmet so you can have an open casket funeral.

Well, we're all going to die. I'd rather go doing something I love than live my entire life never having tried things because of fear.
 

Zivic

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2002
3,505
38
91
Well, we're all going to die. I'd rather go doing something I love than live my entire life never having tried things because of fear.

If you are out on the track, that's one thing... but you spoke about riding your bike to work in your OP. I think I can manage to live a full life with no regrets if I never ride a motorcycle to work.
 

MixMasterTang

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2001
3,167
176
106
If you are out on the track, that's one thing... but you spoke about riding your bike to work in your OP. I think I can manage to live a full life with no regrets if I never ride a motorcycle to work.

You should probably never leave home and not allow those germ ridden hosts (people) into your house.
 

dud

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
7,635
73
91
The only problem I have with motorcycles and their riders is the F^@$ing noise! Damn, how loud does a bike have to be before it infringes on other peoples rights? I have an idiot who lives down the street who rides a chopper. The idiot starts his bike up at 0545 each workday and then proceeds to ride through the neighborhood waking everyone up. What the hell does this moron think is going to happen when you ride a bike with no muffler (just a straight exhaust) in a neighborhood before 6 AM?

I have some good friends who either work for or own Harleys ... and I just don't get the culture. Most (but not all) have obnoxiously loud exhausts that are offensive to the ears of those around them. Do they think that a loud exhaust is going to make them more noticeable on the road? It just makes me want to silence that thing so the pain will stop.

As for giving a friend flak for riding ... no way do I provide it. If a person is smart enough to be able to ride a MC ... they should know the risks. These days riding (especially in traffic) is like playing Russian roulette. A co-worker just lost their eldest son in an accident (the driver of the car never saw him).
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,456
854
126
If you are out on the track, that's one thing... but you spoke about riding your bike to work in your OP. I think I can manage to live a full life with no regrets if I never ride a motorcycle to work.

I spent years commuting by bicycle. I've spent years commuting by motorcycle. The bicycle is far more dangerous than the motorcycle IMO.

I don't do it because I think I'll regret it if I don't, I do it because I love it.

You said you'd love to ride a bike. So do it.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,284
5,056
136
I have a question. If bikes are so dangerous, why does OSHA allow cops to ride them? Aren't those police being put in unnecessary jeopardy?

Back on topic. I agree with everyone here, bikes are dangerous and only an idiot would ride one. Is your life so meaningless that you'd throw it away on a motorcycle?
 
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Zivic

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2002
3,505
38
91
I spent years commuting by bicycle. I've spent years commuting by motorcycle. The bicycle is far more dangerous than the motorcycle IMO.

I don't do it because I think I'll regret it if I don't, I do it because I love it.

You said you'd love to ride a bike. So do it.

I love to breathe, I love to be able to hug my family, I love to be able to walk under my own power. ... all more than riding a bike
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
7,121
4
0
ive known lots of people who have ridden for 40+ years and never a problem outside their own stupidity.

my biggest fear when riding is hitting deer. there just isnt much you can do to prevent it... but if you wear proper gear, ride during the day and dont speed you really dont have to worry about much.
 

Pinepig

Member
Feb 25, 2000
196
7
81
two kinds of riders.
- those that have been in an accident
- those that will

Bullshit, there are lots of folks out there that have never been down and have tons of miles under their belts.

Never deal with absolutes, your statement makes about as much sense as everybody that get's in a car will be in an accident eventually.

How many people think they are great ( car ) drivers, how many really are. Same thing when folks on bikes say the same shit about defensive and gear, the results are what matters, not what people claim.
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
7,121
4
0
I have a question. If bikes are so dangerous, why does OSHA allow cops to ride them? Aren't those police being put in unnecessary jeopardy?

Back on topic. I agree with everyone here, bikes are dangerous and only an idiot would ride one. Is your life so meaningless that you'd throw it away on a motorcycle?

because they aren't being put in unnecessary danger.

and why do people hate motorcyles so much? youre not the ones riding them. they arent effecting your life. let us have the few freedoms we have left to enjoy.
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
7,121
4
0
The only problem I have with motorcycles and their riders is the F^@$ing noise! Damn, how loud does a bike have to be before it infringes on other peoples rights? I have an idiot who lives down the street who rides a chopper. The idiot starts his bike up at 0545 each workday and then proceeds to ride through the neighborhood waking everyone up. What the hell does this moron think is going to happen when you ride a bike with no muffler (just a straight exhaust) in a neighborhood before 6 AM?

I have some good friends who either work for or own Harleys ... and I just don't get the culture. Most (but not all) have obnoxiously loud exhausts that are offensive to the ears of those around them. Do they think that a loud exhaust is going to make them more noticeable on the road? It just makes me want to silence that thing so the pain will stop.

As for giving a friend flak for riding ... no way do I provide it. If a person is smart enough to be able to ride a MC ... they should know the risks. These days riding (especially in traffic) is like playing Russian roulette. A co-worker just lost their eldest son in an accident (the driver of the car never saw him).


more often then not, cycles that get hit by someone else didnt do enough to prevent it. when youre on a bike, the rules of the road change dramatically. you must be proactive every second, you must stay away from everyone. you must never assume anyone will do anything theyre supposed to.

every cycle crash story i have heard had one caveat, the rider did something at least a little stupid. even my dad, who just got hit a couple years ago. 55 years old and hasnt been down in 25 years. why did he get hit? he assumed the lady coming at him head on was going to stop at the yellow. she slowed, it looked like she was stopping, but decided to run the yellow and didnt see dad. they were going about 20mph, and he was fine, but he admitted he screwed up. she got the ticket, his bike was paid for by her insurance, but he knew he could have prevented it.
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
9,133
5,072
136
Anti-Motorcycle people - "I don't like motorcycles because i had a friend\acquaintance\cousin who was killed....blah blah blah"
Me: He was probably riding like an asshole

Anti-Motorcycle people: "Are you one of those people who ride 100 mph everywhere"
Me: "Between the hours of 7AM and 3AM or whenever other traffic is on the road I'm pretty strict about traffic laws. Even When asshole, tailgating cell phone talking SUV driving assholes are getting all road raged because I'm doing speed limit and they want to do 20 mph over. From 5AM to 7AM on the weekend I may take it up to some high speeds but there are no cars on the road at that time. Are you one of those people on the cell phone who drifts across lanes without a signal? I may not be one of those who ride 100mph everywhere but if find one of those asshole on the cell phone who tailgates and refuses to use their blinker I'm going to shit in their grandfather's mouth"

Anti-Motorcycle people: "I hate those morons who wheelie all over the place"
ME: "Me too. Screw those guys"

Anti-Motorcycle people: "I hate those morons with loud exhausts"
Me: "Me too. Screw those guys. I prefer nice and quiet"

Anti-Motorcycle people: "Do you dress like a power ranger?"
Me:" Only when your mother asks me too..."
 

max347

Platinum Member
Oct 16, 2007
2,334
5
81
Man some of the people in this thread...its just obvious that you have never ridden a bike.

No, not everyone who rides a motorcycle is going to get hit, or lay the bike down. Ride during the day, be proactive (as wirednuts points out), and be smart. If you have never ridden, you really *cannot* understand the difference between riding a bike and driving a car, there is no comparison in the attention you put into driving. Bikes get hit when cars stop paying attention.

Helmets- helmets should not be required by law, people should be able to do what they want with their lives. That said, if you ride without a helmet you are an idiot IMO. Someone not wearing a helmet does not endanger others any more than someone with a helmet.

Loud exhausts- yeah, im not a fan of overly loud bikes. But, the FbF pipes I have on my Duc do help get some attention on the road. One more chance I won't get hit by a douche on a cell phone. To the story about the guy in the morning- yeah he's a dick. Maybe you should say something to him about it.

Beginners- I recommend anyone who comes to me for advice to buy a rebel 250 (if they want a cruiser) or a ninja 250 (if they want a sport bike). Heck I enjoy riding either of those bikes and I've been riding since I was 4. Riding is riding!

Lay bikes down- while you can't avoid everything, I don't know that *everyone* will lay a bike down. Yeah, I put dirtbikes down all the time, but I've never been down on a street bike. Know your limits, and know the limits of your bike. I bet a lot of people who put their bikes down also are the ones you see taking the bike in to a shop for a freaking oil change...I'm not going to get all hippy here, but seriously, wrenching on your own bike has its advantages in knowing every little thing about it, and that helps on the road.

People getting angry at motorcyclists because they are stupidly putting their lives at risk- I really have trouble fathoming where people are coming from on this. Mind your own business? I understand that many people are risk averse. That is fine. But we would not have gone to the moon or even be in this country without people willing to take risks. Not everyone can be risk averse...that would suck for us as a species.
 

max347

Platinum Member
Oct 16, 2007
2,334
5
81
Anti-Motorcycle people - "I don't like motorcycles because i had a friend\acquaintance\cousin who was killed....blah blah blah"
Me: He was probably riding like an asshole

Anti-Motorcycle people: "Are you one of those people who ride 100 mph everywhere"
Me: "Between the hours of 7AM and 3AM or whenever other traffic is on the road I'm pretty strict about traffic laws. Even When asshole, tailgating cell phone talking SUV driving assholes are getting all road raged because I'm doing speed limit and they want to do 20 mph over. From 5AM to 7AM on the weekend I may take it up to some high speeds but there are no cars on the road at that time. Are you one of those people on the cell phone who drifts across lanes without a signal? I may not be one of those who ride 100mph everywhere but if find one of those asshole on the cell phone who tailgates and refuses to use their blinker I'm going to shit in their grandfather's mouth"

Anti-Motorcycle people: "I hate those morons who wheelie all over the place"
ME: "Me too. Screw those guys"

Anti-Motorcycle people: "I hate those morons with loud exhausts"
Me: "Me too. Screw those guys. I prefer nice and quiet"

Anti-Motorcycle people: "Do you dress like a power ranger?"
Me:" Only when your mother asks me too..."


All this +10000
 

Jumpem

Lifer
Sep 21, 2000
10,757
3
81
I would never ride a motorcycle due to the highly increased risk of injury or death. That said, if someone wants to ride one, good for them.

I draw the line at people with children. If you have a family to take care of, you should not be riding a bike.
 

foghorn67

Lifer
Jan 3, 2006
11,885
53
91
Jules, and I'm not sure why you bother. It's amazing how many people decide to enforce their will on others.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,284
5,056
136
because they aren't being put in unnecessary danger.

and why do people hate motorcyles so much? youre not the ones riding them. they arent effecting your life. let us have the few freedoms we have left to enjoy.

I was being sarcastic, it didn't work.
 

rumpleforeskin

Senior member
Nov 3, 2008
380
13
81
This summer I had a gentleman decide to give me a stern talking to on the dangers of motorcycling, during which he was smoking... I'm not sure he could see the irony of bashing one dangerous past time while pursuing another.

Anyways if you think bikes are dangerous you should watch out for bread.....


Research on bread indicates that:

1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.
2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.
3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.

4. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.
5. Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average American eats more bread than that in one month!

6. Primitive tribal societies that have no bread exhibit a low incidence of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and osteoporosis.
7. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after as little as two days.
8. Bread is often a "gateway" food item, leading the user to "harder" items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts.
9. Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.

10. Newborn babies can choke on bread.
11. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.
12. Most American bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling.
 

Murloc

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2008
5,382
65
91
I don't care if people drive a bike, they're usually conscious of the increased risk and it's their choice anyway.
You can be as prepared and defensive as you want, but if someone hits you and you're on a bike, you're going to get hurt more than if you were in a car. The deer jumping in front of you is a good example. Also if rock falls on you from the mountain, or there's oil on the road. You're an exposed body moving at superhuman speed.
Some accidents can't just be prevented by yourself alone.

What I can't stand is:
1. loud exhausts
2. two-cycle engines
3. overtaking on the right

2 are going to get banned and 1 is under control by the police, it's not even worth it.

In Italy it's pure hell. 2-wheeled vehicles are utilitaristic there, everyone owns them and drives them like criminals.
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,377
126
Jules, and I'm not sure why you bother. It's amazing how many people decide to enforce their will on others.

Yep, although I acknowledge (and mourn, in the case of lost lives) the dangers, I love riding and would never want to take that away from anyone by force or law. We live in a dangerous world to begin with, there's no sense infringing on the freedom of others excessively for the so-called 'safety' factor when things like alcohol, smoking, etc are (and should be) legal. I find the super anti-cycling crowd to be the same type that wants to ban/limit firearms, lol.

As for saying that not everyone lays it down, well it's a lot like the rule of assuming that every weapon is loaded before you check it. If you haven't laid a bike down yet, it just means you haven't ridden long enough. It's like someone who has managed to drive for 25 years without a single accident (including ones that are someone else's fault). My first lay-down was putting on the throttle on some asphalt that appeared no different than the rest, but had some oily slime on it. My fault really, I should have been going slower. My second lay-down was only days later, and destroyed the bike. I was at an intersection behind a ryder truck in the center lane waiting at a light, and someone coming up to the intersection darted into the center lane (my lane) to get closer to the front of the intersection as they were stopping. They didn't see me, and although I popped my bike forward when I noticed that I was about to be hit and started to hop off the bike (this probably saved me from more severe injury), I wasn't able to completely avoid them and the dude crushed the rear of my bike and mauled the frame under his idiotic chevy blazer. There was nowhere else to go, not enough room on either side to squirt out of there.

If you've been driving a car for 20-30 years and nobody has so much as grazed your vehicle while you're in it, maybe you're just blessed by angels or something. Riding a bike you're MUCH less visible, and the quality of drivers on the roads is deteriorating imho. People are also driving much larger vehicles on average compared to when I started riding in the 80s. I used to notice the odd Bronco there, the odd Suburban there, now it feels like literally everyone and their dog are driving top-heavy three ton behemoths. Maybe it's just different in Texas. Anyway, it's not even a reflection of your personal riding skills and techniques, people are just idiots on the roads, and they CAN and WILL strike you if you're out there long enough. It's just something you prepare for, and hope that you come out all right. Most of us know at least one person who did not in fact come out all right. I'm a father of two young boys, so I personally choose not to ride in this metroplex full of drunken morons and sloppy drivers. But I'm not going to crap on anyone that does, with the exception of the beginner riders who choose to ride sportbikes like they're somehow immortal, and often without any protection or real training. And even then, as much as I will call them out on being jackasses, I still am deeply saddened when I read that one has passed away or is crippled.
 
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Zivic

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2002
3,505
38
91
Bullshit, there are lots of folks out there that have never been down and have tons of miles under their belts.

Never deal with absolutes, your statement makes about as much sense as everybody that get's in a car will be in an accident eventually.

How many people think they are great ( car ) drivers, how many really are. Same thing when folks on bikes say the same shit about defensive and gear, the results are what matters, not what people claim.

Your comments about cars and drivers are fairly accurate imho. many drivers will be in accidents, but they have cages, crumble zones, seat belts, air bags, side air bags, active head rests, etc protecting them.

Yes, a lot of people think they are great drivers, and many are not. You think because the vehicle that is operated changes somehow only the "good" operators/drivers/riders will get on a bike? Sh!tty riders are a plenty, just like drivers
 

Zivic

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2002
3,505
38
91
This summer I had a gentleman decide to give me a stern talking to on the dangers of motorcycling, during which he was smoking... I'm not sure he could see the irony of bashing one dangerous past time while pursuing another.

Anyways if you think bikes are dangerous you should watch out for bread.....


Research on bread indicates that:

1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.
2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.
3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.

4. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.
5. Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average American eats more bread than that in one month!

6. Primitive tribal societies that have no bread exhibit a low incidence of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and osteoporosis.
7. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after as little as two days.
8. Bread is often a "gateway" food item, leading the user to "harder" items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts.
9. Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.

10. Newborn babies can choke on bread.
11. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.
12. Most American bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling.

How is that even remotely relative to the discussion? Posting distracting BS doesn't take away the fact that motorcycles are dangerous.

I won't tell you not to ride, simply I chose not to. What I will ask is don't come in here talking about how you almost got hit by a car, or stupid drivers this or that. We get it