How dangerous is it to ride a motorcycle?

[Ludeykrus]

Originally Posted by Absolute Beginner

Do you think that people do this deliberately? I've always thought that people are just blissfully unaware of anything on 2 wheels and I always try to ride with that in mind.

Typically, it's blissful ignorance and inattentiveness. There are the odd times that they are being malicious; it happens more often than you may imagine. I'm speaking about motorcycles, at least.

I've personally had assholes speed up to not let me over, cut me off, the usual. Then I've had the fools who would swerve at you in an effort to spook you or worse. I've also been boxed in on the highway, but I was never in any real danger.

I have heard worse stories, though. I know of a guy from the west, IIRC around the Nevada area, who rides year-round. Sport-tourer. Well, apparently he had a few too many instances of the truckers 'playing' with him at night and running him off the road. He insisted that the only way he stayed safe was by keeping a bigass Ruger .44 Mag revolver open-carried over his jacket on his shoulder. He got the stainless version so it was easier to see at night, when the BS usually happened.

 

[West24]

thats crazy, like something straight out of a tarintino movie. some people are fucked up.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by West24

thats crazy, like something straight out of a tarintino movie. some people are fucked up.
Just so motorists are aware, there is a much higher percentage of motorcycle riders who "pack heat" than your average person. Don't mess with bikers, or you may find yourself driving at 20 MPH on the freeway, staring slack jawed out the drivers side window of your SUV, down the barrel of a loaded .44 Ruger Super Blackhawk. Being angrily wielded by a beared, certified schizoid, "south will rise again" confederate badass - who doesn't care about the "baby on board" sign hanging from your back window, or the "Obama '08" and "visualize whirled peas" bumper accouterments.

 

[Suits You Sir!]

Ditto... depends on the rider. And how much of a dickhead he is on his bike.

Ride defensive and ride alert. Never did me any harm.

 

[Absolute Beginner]

Originally Posted by Ludeykrus

Typically, it's blissful ignorance and inattentiveness. There are the odd times that they are being malicious; it happens more often than you may imagine. I'm speaking about motorcycles, at least.

I've personally had assholes speed up to not let me over, cut me off, the usual. Then I've had the fools who would swerve at you in an effort to spook you or worse. I've also been boxed in on the highway, but I was never in any real danger.

I have heard worse stories, though. I know of a guy from the west, IIRC around the Nevada area, who rides year-round. Sport-tourer. Well, apparently he had a few too many instances of the truckers 'playing' with him at night and running him off the road. He insisted that the only way he stayed safe was by keeping a bigass Ruger .44 Mag revolver open-carried over his jacket on his shoulder. He got the stainless version so it was easier to see at night, when the BS usually happened.

Wow... Really? Wow.

I've had people cut me off or act overly aggressive but this is typical of city traffic. I didn't take it as malice, but it's hard not to take personally when you're as vulnerable as you are on 2 wheels.

 

[bomber]

I don't own a motorcycle at the moment but I have been around them my entire life (lets just say my dad belonged to a 'club'). Point being, I probably know more riders than your average person and I have seen/heard about a lot of wrecks...some minor, some fatal.

The same can be said about cars though, I have a friend who is in surgery as we speak getting hardware removed from a major car wreck he had a couple years ago (doctors said it was a miracle he lived...took him massive PT to even walk again, etc etc).

I have also been hit on my road bike at ~35mph so things can happen no matter what...I guess the only way to be 100% safe is never leave the house?

Sidenote: once I get my credit line paid off I am going to start saving for something, thinking maybe a monster.

 

[Jumbie]

My very first rotation last year was Surgery. After 12 weeks, it was enough to convince me to never, ever, ever ride a motorcycle. Actually, the first week was enough.

Of those who made it to my hospital, many will end up with some kind of crippling effect. Several others were brain-damaged and many became organ donors.

The saddest case though was a guy who straddled a guard railing after going 100 miles per hour. He was in the intensive care unit for nearly 6 weeks. I went to his funeral. If he had made it though, he would have lived the rest of his life with both legs amputated above the knee and no "junk". Sounds great huh?

By the way, breast implants can kill. We had a stripper come in because she was thrown from a soft-top jeep when it rolled. Reason she was thrown? She wasn't wearing her seatbelt because she just had implants.

 

[zrxmoto]

Originally Posted by Ludeykrus

I've done a good bit of practice for cornering and knowing limits via parking lot practice. Also a lot of emergency stops. On cement, I'm golden. Gravel still scares the hell out of me. Oh yeah: ADVRider =

That forum has some REAL riders.

Bradford, do you have a bike?

ADVRider = COOL COOL COOL Those forums remind me every single day about why I love the sport of motorcycling so much.

Gravel can be intimidating, especially if you're on gravel with a street bike with asphalt oriented tires. Keep it slow and steady, easy on the brakes and throttle and you'll be fine.

One of the best things a person can do is get a small little dual sport or dirt bike. Then find some local trails and ride it until you get comfortable with what a bike does on loose bumpy terrain. Ride it and push it until you fall. Yes fall. Pop that cherry and then move on. I've flopped over dirt bikes more than I can remember.

I was recently riding my KLR650 dual sporter on some trails, came upon a big puddle of mud/water and said "I can make it through." Well the puddle was far deeper than imagined, and I think I hit a rock or something on the bottom, I just know that the handle bars suddenly went to the left and the big KLR and I flopped over in the mud. Deep enough that my entire body was covered in mud/water.

You get up. Wipe the mud off. And ride on with a grin on your face.

My brother-in-law last year rode from Minnesota to Hudson Bay and back. A lot of his trip involved gravel. On my KLR I would say not a problem. He rode it on his Harley Road King! Kudos to him.

 

[zrxmoto]

Originally Posted by bomber

I don't own a motorcycle at the moment but I have been around them my entire life (lets just say my dad belonged to a 'club'). Point being, I probably know more riders than your average person and I have seen/heard about a lot of wrecks...some minor, some fatal.

The same can be said about cars though, I have a friend who is in surgery as we speak getting hardware removed from a major car wreck he had a couple years ago (doctors said it was a miracle he lived...took him massive PT to even walk again, etc etc).

I have also been hit on my road bike at ~35mph so things can happen no matter what...I guess the only way to be 100% safe is never leave the house?

Sidenote: once I get my credit line paid off I am going to start saving for something, thinking maybe a monster.

Monsters are ultra cool. I have a 750 Supersport I use mostly for trackdays. A Ducati 1098R would be my dream bike, however a Monster S4Rs in "tricolore" would make for nice "garage art" as well.

 

[zrxmoto]

Originally Posted by Bradford

OK - that was fun!

They had Honda Rebels and Nighthawks. I rode a Nighthawk. There were 5 of us in the class, although the one older gentleman decided midway through that it was not for him.

Learned the basics of steering, shifting, braking and turning. I was OK although it would certainly help to do it more and build up some muscle memory. Things like clutch, brake, downshift, foot down are no doubt easier the more you practice.

I definitely want to go back and take the three day class to get my license. The question is, will I get it in before it gets really hot or do I wait until Fall.

Glad to hear you had a great experience. Just know if you follow this through you will be on your way to a lifelong addiction. Work on a list of excuses now for the eventually questions from any significant others about why exactly you needed yet another jacket or some other sort of cycle gadget.

Practice practice practice. Clutching, braking, shifting, stopping need to become 2nd nature. And don't just do these things, concentrate on doing them well. Once 2nd nature your brain can focus its attention less on the operation of the bike and more on what's going on around you - identifying and processing hazards and most of all enjoying the ride!