Maybe guys that decide to ride without a helmet just don’t want to have someone wipe their back side for them if they are in an accident, they would rather be gone than stuck in a chair. I can understand that logic even if others don’t.
I can understand that logic but you’d have to be pretty naive to think that every Joe Dirt out there riding without a helmet thinks that way. People make decisions like that based on “personal freedom,” not the logic that “I’d rather be dead than living in a wheelchair.”
Wonder what your family and friends would say about that. I’ll bet most of them would rather have you alive than dead, even if you were limited.
When Capt made this thread I bet he expected some of this but 3 pages of us looking down our noses at him is enough I think.
I surely did expect this. I am a little surprised by how much however. I guess I expected more people to be supportive of him and my decision though he could have just done it anyway. I dont really see it as someone looking down their nose at me, just people providing advice and their experiences which is what makes this site and its people great.
I dont really see it as someone looking down their nose at me, just people providing advice and their experiences which is what makes this site and its people great.
Good. Maybe I am just reacting to it poorly then. Kids are gonna do dumb stuff, hopefully he is safe and if he does lay it down walks away with a new found respect for what can happen. Also I do agree with others on here that riding today with no one paying attention is a much riskier move than when I rode.
but if something happens to him I will never forgive myself. Tell me I didnt make a huge mistake!
The end of his first post literally asked for validation and others responded with their insight and first hand experiences. Just looking out for one another on here. No demeaning or disparaging undertone was intended. As others have stated, there are many risks in everyday life. Its all about managing those risks and some are much easier mitigated than others.
Gnarliest thing I have ever witnessed was a bike accident that the biker had no fault in. I was following a semi and trailer north bound on a north/south running highway. Road construction came and the flatbed the guy was towing in front of me collided with a center cement divider and the semi driver kept going. I seen sparks fly and chunks of cement come off the center divider so i threw on my hazards and stopped to pick the cement off the road to proceed north bound. Unbeknownst to me, in the southbound lane on the other side of the cement divider was a piece of construction equipment that fell off the semi’s flatbed. I was picking up cement chunks and heard a squealing of tires in the south bound lane, a thud and crunch, and I looked up in the air and flying into the north bound lane was a person, who splattered on the road 5 feet from me. I can still here the sound of his body breaking, his head splattered and his leg was broken and twisted in 2 ninety degree angles that I’ve never seen before. I yelled to my wife to call 911 and thought the guy was dead. Never heard his status, but the helicopter came and scraped him off the highway and I gave the state trooper my story. Never had a inclination to get a motorcycle, and surely don’t now. Sad thing was it wasn’t the motorcyclist’s fault either. It was a night, however, so I would just encourage safe driving and within city limit.
Holy crap is that a terrible story. Most times it seems its not the motorcyclists fault. My son hasnt had the bike out in over a week. Too busy with work. Which is good!
Didn’t read through the whole thread, so not sure if anything like this has been mentioned, but some food for thought.
I’ve been riding for about a decade now, on and off. I’ve laid both bikes I’ve owned down once each, both were in my driveway at a standstill, and about 1 mph, respectively. I’ll also freely admit that if it weren’t for my own actions, I’d have been a part of countless crashes by now. You do have to ride different than you drive. More defensively, yet also more aggressively at times. The first thing I’m always looking for is distance. I generally ride a bit faster than the flow of traffic, to stay clear of it. I’m much more attentive to other drivers, both their cars and the person behind the wheel. Never take the blind spot for granted, always signal well ahead of any maneuvers, and have a plan at all times for what to do if Car A, B, or C does something stupid.
There’s no question motorcycles are more dangerous than cars, for a multitude of reasons. But I would also bet plenty of money on the fact that MOST people that ride bikes are much safer, more attentive, and better drivers than MOST of those that don’t.
There’s no question motorcycles are more dangerous than cars, for a multitude of reasons. But I would also bet plenty of money on the fact that MOST people that ride bikes are much safer, more attentive, and better drivers than MOST of those that don’t.
That is a very good point! My son took the bike out the other day just after I got home. Since my truck was in the garage he put it under the deck for now. As he is taking off his helmet I said “I hope you are not wearing earbuds”. He said I am! I said I am pretty sure that is illegal, for sure in both ears.
He said no its not and then went into the house. He then googles it and finds something that says its illegal in “some” states. Well, of course he just asked if it was illegal. I searched “is it legal to ride a motorcycle in Minnesota with earbuds in both ears”?
The answer is NO and I showed him. One ear OK, both NO. Now he knows. I told him why that is the case and this should have been covered in his permit test I would have thought.
That’s a bigger red flag than the chicks on my dating apps with filtered pics and their dirty a$$ bedroom in the background.
Needless to say he got a very stern talking to and the bike is now parked because I looked at the tires and they need to be replaced IMO, but Im not a bike guy so maybe not.
regardless of if earbuds are legal or not, why would you want to take away your second most important sense when on the road? even if its just one ear, seems foolish to me but then again, I’m more risk averse than most.
second to people being on their phones, seeing people with earbuds in while driving bothers the heck out of me, regardless of how many wheels they’re driving on. Its like great, now you won’t be able to hear someone honking at you if sh*ts about to hit the fan or if an emergency vehicle is in the vicinity.
I have a radio on my Street Glide. 1st bike ever with one… had this bike 8 years and I can safely say it’s on been on for about 2 or 3 hours at the most.. and most of that was a Vikings game… just don’t care for the distraction I guess.. and I have been riding 50 years…
Yeah, loud audio is not good at all when operating a vehicle. I’m guilty of it at times. But NEVER, no way in h-e-hockey sticks(x2) will it be headphones anymore. I did that once or twice when I was a little younger, but it’s dumb. I feel like it’s worse than car speakers because it also blocks outside sounds more. Even if it’s only in one ear. IMO
In his defense he doesnt ever play anything very loud. He also said that the model he has dont fully block out ambient sounds so horns and sirens would certainly come through. They are apple airpod pros apparently. He will only be wearing one but I said I would prefer NONE!
Question for the motorcycle riders. Why do some guys ride darn near on the center line of the road? I often times pass bikers who’s tires are maybe 8-12 inches from the centerline and they’re left handlebar is actually over the center line. I could be driving perfectly legal in my lane and clip them with my mirror if I didn’t veer right. I always wonder wtf is going on. Not sure if its some sort of power move or what but its certainly not safe. It happened again today with a big group of bikers as I was driving back from hunting up north.
Dirt bikes before street bikes…….learning how to ride in the dirt and mud makes you a much better rider on the street. You need to know how to handle the street bike when it starts sliding.
Dirt bikes before street bikes…….learning how to ride in the dirt and mud makes you a much better rider on the street. You need to know how to handle the street bike when it starts sliding.
Yea that makes sense.
No skin in this game gitchi but my dad used to be big into riding Harleys and I know a lot of them would hug that centerline for whatever reason. I’m going to ask him about that when I get the chance. There’s probably some kind of reason?
Also no judgement from me as far as riding a motorcycle on the road. You need to have balls and smarts to do it well and right. In fact, I took a little spin on a friend’s chopper/low rider style bicycle a few weeks ago and my dumb a** took a spill and bruised the side of my head, rib cage, and a few other cuts and scrapes… and that was at about 9.5 mph… my ribs still aren’t 100%
That pavement beat me like I owed it money. Go**ammit. I digress again.
Question for the motorcycle riders. Why do some guys ride darn near on the center line of the road? I often times pass bikers who’s tires are maybe 8-12 inches from the centerline and they’re left handlebar is actually over the center line. I could be driving perfectly legal in my lane and clip them with my mirror if I didn’t veer right. I always wonder wtf is going on. Not sure if its some sort of power move or what but its certainly not safe. It happened again today with a big group of bikers as I was driving back from hunting up north.
There are benefits to riding in the left part of the lane (better visibility, riding in “the left groove” if the asphalt is wavy from traffic, etc), but the excessive center line riding is a nothing but a stupid macho move, especially noticeable with male Harley riders.
You don’t see people on Honda Goldwings do it, rarely see a crotch rocket do it, and you’ll almost never see a woman doing it.
Of the bikes you see doing it, you’ll notice it’s 95% that one demographic, they somehow get a kick out of it. Just like unnecessarily revving their engine at a stop light or gas station.
You can also tell they’re super smart because most of them don’t wear a helmet, and putting their elbow into incoming traffic seems like a great idea to them.
Hold your ground and give them the thrill they’re looking for, even better with tow mirrors extended pulling a tandem axle trailer
Question for the motorcycle riders. Why do some guys ride darn near on the center line of the road? I often times pass bikers who’s tires are maybe 8-12 inches from the centerline and they’re left handlebar is actually over the center line. I could be driving perfectly legal in my lane and clip them with my mirror if I didn’t veer right. I always wonder wtf is going on. Not sure if its some sort of power move or what but its certainly not safe. It happened again today with a big group of bikers as I was driving back from hunting up north.
Gitchi, I will usually ride the center if nobody’s in the oncoming lane, or exceptional situations like debris or emergency vehicles. If it’s just me and an oncoming car, I’ll definitely move over to the right. Like I said above, I try to pay enough attention that my lane position is always dependent on what’s going on around me. One of the things they drum into you in a Basic Rider Course (which I took 12 years ago when I started riding), is to always have an escape plane, and ride like everyone is out to get you. If guys aren’t doing that, or crowding your lane for no reason, then yeah, probably just @$$holes trying to show off.
And just to throw out there since it’s came up, I have a bluetooth speaker in my helmet that I use pretty regularly. They’re not like your typical in-ear buds that block everything out, I can still easily hear my bike or emergency sirens over the music. I’d say I can definitely hear more on my bike listening to music, than I can in my truck with the windows up and music going. There’s a legitimate use of communication too, people riding in groups can use speakers and mics to chat with each other on the road.
And while I’m mainly just trying to play devil’s advocate and give a differing perspective, I will say that there are a lot of morons and idiots on there on motorcycles, and there are definitely both safer and more dangerous habits and ways to ride. I rock a full face helmet and jacket any time I’m on the bike.
