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Motorcycle - To Sell Or Not To Sell: I Need Some Advice

flopper

flopper

Member
Scoob said:
Why aren't you concerned about our use of cars, stairs, kitchen knives, or Naval Aircraft?

As a Safety Professional, and motorcyclist-for-life, I am sick and tired of hearing people weigh in on thoughts on motorcycle safety who don't ride. If you stopped to think about it, you might realize that there is a direct correlation between the guy doing a 90mph wheelie down the interstate and the guy in your ER. Not every asshole on two wheels is an asshole on two wheels.

Lock your door, wrap yourself in bubble wrap, and enjoy your risk free existence, but you can have my motorcycle when you take it from my cold, dead hand.
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Not trying to beat a dead horse here but I'll simplify this for you. The direct correlation is that a motorcycle + motion = greater chance of injury than car + motion. We both know that you can be as safe as you want and you might be the best rider on the planet, but if someone pulls out in front of you, you're done plain and simple guy. We have all had close calls because of some jerk who shouldn't be on the road or may have even had a few mishpas ourselves. I was answering JT's main concern about minimizing his health risks associated with riding bikes. If you disagree that they are more hazardous well... I wish you safe travels regardless.
 
PigzFly

PigzFly

Member
I would have to agree that there is a high correlation to the trauma victims in the ER with those standing up on the rear or weaving in and out of traffic at speeds beyond the level of control. But there are also those who ride safely and smartly. riding is CA, especially with the traffic, and all of the immigrants (not being racist, just telling it like it is) who drive without licenses, Id bet there is no place in the country with more hazards to a motorcyclist. However, there is probably one of the highest number of bike riders to passenger vehicle drivers anywhere as well. a good rider, a smart rider has developed a high sense of situational awareness and is extremely alert. And to go even further, a good rider knows how to take a fall safely, just as most extreme athletes do. There is skill and technique needed for safe riding, and while a rider cant control everything, they can put them selves in the best possible situation and react safely without giving up their bike. And I would even venture to say that those who ride, and do so safely, also control and aircraft with the same high level of alertness and situational awareness.
 
Scoob

Scoob

If you gotta problem, yo, I'll be part of it.
pilot
Contributor
PigzFly said:
a good rider, a smart rider has developed a high sense of situational awareness and is extremely alert. And to go even further, a good rider knows how to take a fall safely, just as most extreme athletes do. There is skill and technique needed for safe riding, and while a rider cant control everything, they can put them selves in the best possible situation and react safely without giving up their bike. And I would even venture to say that those who ride, and do so safely, also control and aircraft with the same high level of alertness and situational awareness.
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Bing-fucking-go!

There is no such thing as someone who just pulls out in front of you when you spot vehicles waiting to make a left a half-mile down the road, keep an eye on their rims to watch for rotation, cover the brake and use the surrounding traffic to make sure you're not the only thing between them and a clear intersection.

Or, we can just sit through another hypocritical safety standdown where the traffic safety portion exclusively addresses the 2 guys riding motorcycles in a group of 100 cagers ignoring the lecturer, who has never been on 2 wheels.
 
BENDER

BENDER

Member
pilot
MSF course, ride smart, do some track days, listen to better riders, ride in your limits and stay alert. Formula for some good times and safe riding. 3 1/2 years riding in Houston and no accidents... knock on wood, and in this city guy's go down almost everyday, and most of them that are fatal are dudes not wearing there gear and acting like fool's on the road. Living life by statistics is no way to live in my opinion. Just my 2 cents.
 
jt71582

jt71582

How do you fly a Clipper?
pilot
Contributor
Wow this thing really blew up into a big safety discussion.

I think, after consideration and talking to my uncle (pilot) and father, that I'm going to just hang on to the CBR until the end of the summer at least. I'm probably looking at a September OCS date, I can address the sell or not to sell thing later. I really love to ride. As a matter of fact, every time I get out there on my bike I think to myself "I can't believe you want to give this up." Lately, I've been thinking about going to the 'dark side' and getting a cruiser, but I think I'll put that off. Plus, my dad is going to rent a HD Ultraglide Classic and let me ride his Fatboy on a road trip. Maybe that will give me some more insight.

Thanks guys for the hearty discussion! It's good to see there are riders in the Naval aviation arena that never gave it up. I just don't think I'm ready at this point to jump off the CBR, it's a great bike and has served me well. We'll see...
 
insanebikerboy

insanebikerboy

Internet killed the television star
pilot
None
Contributor
Smart riding has saved me several times. Just like in Scoob's left turning example, I saw a car do a rolling stop for a right turn at a stop light so I slowed down, let the car on my right keep going, and the turning car side swiped the other one.

Here's a question for the non-motorcycle riders. How often when riding down the freeway do you look at the mirrors of the other cars to see where the person is looking? Yeah, I mean actually looking at their eyes and which way they look. Or where the driver has his hands. I can tell when a car is about to change lanes before they signal or turn the wheel almost totally based on how they're gripping the steering wheel.

SA on a motorcycle is what will save a person. Yes, I can't deny the fact that if I play tag with a car I'm gonna lose but paying attention to every little detail of the cars on the road (relative motion, wheel speed, hand position, eye position, etc) instead of just "seeing" the car is what keeps me safe.

This may be my personal opinion, but I visualize motorcycle riding as being more "offensive" than "defensive".

And Pigzfly, that's a good point about handling an aircraft. Thinking about it now, I can actually say that most of the guys I know who ride are really competent pilots. That'd be an interesting survey.
 
SWCS242

SWCS242

SWO in-training
jt71582 said:
Wow this thing really blew up into a big safety discussion.

I think, after consideration and talking to my uncle (pilot) and father, that I'm going to just hang on to the CBR until the end of the summer at least. I'm probably looking at a September OCS date, I can address the sell or not to sell thing later. I really love to ride. As a matter of fact, every time I get out there on my bike I think to myself "I can't believe you want to give this up." Lately, I've been thinking about going to the 'dark side' and getting a cruiser, but I think I'll put that off. Plus, my dad is going to rent a HD Ultraglide Classic and let me ride his Fatboy on a road trip. Maybe that will give me some more insight.

Thanks guys for the hearty discussion! It's good to see there are riders in the Naval aviation arena that never gave it up. I just don't think I'm ready at this point to jump off the CBR, it's a great bike and has served me well. We'll see...
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Yay, I'm glad you decided to keep it. You would have for sure missed it.
 
jt71582

jt71582

How do you fly a Clipper?
pilot
Contributor
insanebikerboy said:
This may be my personal opinion, but I visualize motorcycle riding as being more "offensive" than "defensive".

And Pigzfly, that's a good point about handling an aircraft. Thinking about it now, I can actually say that most of the guys I know who ride are really competent pilots. That'd be an interesting survey.
Click to expand...

Spot-on. I take control of the situation around me rather than let it control me. Most of the time, I don't realize I'm doing it, but I also pay attention to the little things other drivers do - most of the time you can figure out where they're going before they do.
 
spitfiremkxiv

spitfiremkxiv

Pepe's sandwich
Contributor
I'm new to motorcycles, just took MSF, and I'm looking to buy my first bike soon. I've been monitoring this thread the last few weeks, and all of this input is very helpful!
 
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