MyBB Motorcycle Owners Thread

[UrBaN963]

Fair enough he makes very valid points - but saying that more people die in cars than on motorcycles is fudging the point of the increased risk because so many more people drive cars than do motorbikes...

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/are-motorcycles-more-dangerous-than-cars.htm

"Even so, compared with people driving cars, motorcycle drivers face a much higher risk of dying in a crash: U.S. government data from 2013 show that for every mile traveled that year, the number of motorcycle-related deaths was 26 times the number of car-related deaths [source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety], with a total of 4,381 motorcycle fatalities. "

That's not the point he was making. Anyway I don't think this is an appropriate time for this debate, given that most regulars on the forum are still in the middle of dealing with the death of a popular, beloved member.

Bikes are dangerous. So are cars. On this we can all agree. End.

 

[Cray]

That's not the point he was making. Anyway I don't think this is an appropriate time for this debate, given that most regulars on the forum are still in the middle of dealing with the death of a popular, beloved member.

Bikes are dangerous. So are cars. On this we can all agree. End.

Agree...

 

[|tera|]

Well guys. My Bigboy GPR just became dog food a while back. The dog at the place I rent at decided he wants to eat it. Flickers gone in front, rear one too. Not a pretty sight. He even managed to munch my mirrors and the rubber covers off it. It's going to be too expensive to fix it all, so I'm just going down this road hoping for a cash injection somewhere for a new ride.

 

[Tickled_Tortise]

I guess it's safe to assume we will all be a lil more cautious than usual on the ride home today.

I once read somewhere that riding a motorcycle is not only a physical activity but a spiritual one, akin to saying a prayer or meditation. Once you start the engine, you cannot be distracted by thoughts of what's for dinner or the meeting you are late for, it requires your full concentration and constant awareness of your surroundings as you scan the road for potential dangers (distracted or reckless cagers and froggers). Your focus must be persistent from start till the end.

This interpretation has stayed with me and explains the feeling of relief I feel when arriving at my destination.

Admittedly, It's not easy to keep the focus day in and day out, as riding and using the same route becomes familiar and distraction starts to creep in.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Am not against bikes at all, enjoy them if that's your thing but if you are going to use and enjoy them, acknowledgement and management of the greater risks involved should be a key - simply saying that people die in cars too helps no one. You have to realise that bikes are more inherently dangerous than cars, not to say that you cannot manage the risks and reduce the danger but that anyone approaching riding bikes regularly needs to face up to all the potential risks and dangers so they can mitigate/manage them.

As was pointed out to your already...I advise you scroll up and revise my entire statements around the matter and not take one single post out of context.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Fair enough he makes very valid points - but saying that more people die in cars than on motorcycles is fudging the point of the increased risk because so many more people drive cars than do motorbikes...

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/are-motorcycles-more-dangerous-than-cars.htm

"Even so, compared with people driving cars, motorcycle drivers face a much higher risk of dying in a crash: U.S. government data from 2013 show that for every mile traveled that year, the number of motorcycle-related deaths was 26 times the number of car-related deaths [source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety], with a total of 4,381 motorcycle fatalities. "

Never claimed bikes are as safe as cars or even in the same ballpark.

I was simply pointing out that cars also kill people yet you'll never see people suddenly jump up and tell you they are "coffins on wheels" because they are accepted as the norm and therefore inherent risk is acceptable.

There is a massive learning curve involved with bikes and by the very nature of them falling over by themselves unlike cars you are bound to get injured more easily.

However it remains fully your responsibility to operate the vehicle and more often than not the bikes are blamed for the obvious failure of the rider.

There is an undertone that it's all magically the bike's fault (and doesn't get applied to cars) which simply isn't true.

****

I'll also point out that your stats originate from a country where lane splitting is illegal in most states and that has been proven to be more statistically unsafe for motorcycles for various reasons I'm not going to go into detail now.

 

[Cray]

As was pointed out to your already...I advise you scroll up and revise my entire statements around the matter and not take one single post out of context.

Fair enough.

 

[maumau]

Never claimed bikes are as safe as cars or even in the same ballpark.

I was simply pointing out that cars also kill people yet you'll never see people suddenly jump up and tell you they are "coffins on wheels" because they are accepted as the norm and therefore inherent risk is acceptable.

There is a massive learning curve involved with bikes and by the very nature of them falling over by themselves unlike cars you are bound to get injured more easily.

However it remains fully your responsibility to operate the vehicle and more often than not the bikes are blamed for the obvious failure of the rider.

There is an undertone that it's all magically the bike's fault (and doesn't get applied to cars) which simply isn't true.

****

I'll also point out that your stats originate from a country where lane splitting is illegal in most states and that has been proven to be more statistically unsafe for motorcycles for various reasons I'm not going to go into detail now.

Never ridden a bike but I still don't understand how you can happily ride between two lanes of moving cars knowing as you do how badly people drive and how quickly accidents happen and you will definitely come off second best.

 

[SykomantiS]

Never ridden a bike but I still don't understand how you can happily ride between two lanes of moving cars knowing as you do how badly people drive and how quickly accidents happen and you will definitely come off second best.

Once you do ride you will understand.

 

[Y'all Qaeda]

Never ridden a bike but I still don't understand how you can happily ride between two lanes of moving cars knowing as you do how badly people drive and how quickly accidents happen and you will definitely come off second best.

You get used to it.

Every move you make on the bike is basically a risk/reward decision. Is the risk of overtaking now, worth the reward or getting in front of a clearly distracted rider. Is the risk of hovering behind or next to someone worth the reward of not having to go between them. Personal risk acceptance for every decision.

 

[Archer]

Never ridden a bike but I still don't understand how you can happily ride between two lanes of moving cars knowing as you do how badly people drive and how quickly accidents happen and you will definitely come off second best.

Ride like a car and you can get squished and you essentially have nowhere to go (assuming typical rush hour traffic)
Lane split and you can get squished but you have more options available to you (since you should have an opening ahead or behind you) and you'll spend less time in the squish zone. Of course the trade off is you need to be more alert to what the people around you are thinking about doing.

 

[Mortymoose]

I crashed on a monkey bike when I was fourteen years old, put me off bikes for years , when I was eighteen , a classmate got killed on a bike.....reinforced my belief in staying away from bikes...... Yet, I still have many friends that ride.....

 

[Tickled_Tortise]

I crashed on a monkey bike when I was fourteen years old, put me off bikes for years , when I was eighteen , a classmate got killed on a bike.....reinforced my belief in staying away from bikes...... Yet, I still have many friends that ride.....

When I was eighteen my friend and neighbour died in a car accident with his first car... I still drive a car.

 

[Tickled_Tortise]

Ride like a car and you can get squished and you essentially have nowhere to go (assuming typical rush hour traffic)
Lane split and you can get squished but you have more options available to you (since you should have an opening ahead or behind you) and you'll spend less time in the squish zone. Of course the trade off is you need to be more alert to what the people around you are thinking about doing.

Agreed, When Lane splitting It is astonishing to see how many drivers still use thier phones while driving and you can see thier faces in their side mirrors! Laughing and oblivious to thier car drifting towards the centre line, then they wonder why there are so many angry bikers, I came very close to stopping and grabing a phone and throwing it before riding off.

 

[Tickled_Tortise]

...

 

[Hamster]

It's

And hundreds die in cars but for some reason people keep on trucking using those every day because it's the normal thing to do.

https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2018-04-24-south-africas-road-death-toll-a-national-crisis/

That's a total of 259 per week on average. 11 being on bikes is a mere 4%.

whats the ratio though? 259 out of how many cars vs 11 out of how many bikes?

There's now way bikes in city traffic are safer than cars. Not that it matters - one assumed the risk vs the benefit

 

[Pox]

...

The amount of people I've ridden past with them tapping away on a phone, or checking messages or scrolling thru Facebook. Completely oblivious to surroundings.

 

[Pitbull]

Really don't want to start the usual motorcycle v car argument here. It's a personal choice. I'm rethinking mine, can't help it looking at those pics, thinking of my girls... I'm sure that Fanie would have appreciated a moment of introspection in the wake of this news - he seemed like a thoughtful person.

I have made a conscious choice a few years ago already when I got drunk and flipped my S1000RR doing an Endo.

Realized I'm getting way too cocky and my kids are still small. I will surely get a bike again, but only once my kids are out of the house. Riding is dangerous, not just the other road users but we ourselves too. It's something one has to realize yourself, no one can decide that for you.

 

[SlinkyMike]

I have made a conscious choice a few years ago already when I got drunk and flipped my S1000RR doing an Endo.

Realized I'm getting way too cocky and my kids are still small. I will surely get a bike again, but only once my kids are out of the house. Riding is dangerous, not just the other road users but we ourselves too. It's something one has to realize yourself, no one can decide that for you.

This is the reason for my introspection. I don't even have a big bike, top speed is just under 200kph and it takes a while to get there but I'm still very aware of times that I've been up around 150kph for no good reason if I'm very honest.

Fscking schit way to behave when I'd likely be gone leaving everyone who loves me to clean up the mess and deal with it.

 

[FlexSA]

I have made a conscious choice a few years ago already when I got drunk and flipped my S1000RR doing an Endo.

Realized I'm getting way too cocky and my kids are still small. I will surely get a bike again, but only once my kids are out of the house. Riding is dangerous, not just the other road users but we ourselves too. It's something one has to realize yourself, no one can decide that for you.

In my experience, guys with that kind of attitude on a bike rarely change, and will most likely end up getting drunk on a bike again and flipping it