I want one. Doubt my parents would be ok with it though. And yes, that matters, cuz I'm a 27 year old living with his parents, making music while everyone else is working and making money. I need to get out of the house, but somehow avoid drinking and smoking. I think motorcycles is my best bet.
Will I die if I start riding motorcycle
- Thread starter FRV4
- Start date
Yeah I think I'd probably die. I hardly pay attention to potholes and it would take awhile to develop the habit probably. I was actually of the opinion motorcycles shouldn't even be legal not too long ago. But sometimes I sit and think, "man, I would look cool in motorcycle gear".
SeeItHitIt
Professional
I voted ‘yes’, the obvious answer. Just to be clear, no one gets out of this life…unscathed. Whether riding a motorcycle accelerates the inevitable? Who knows. I ride. It’s fun and ‘here for a good time, not a long time’.
i guarantee you’ll be dead a long time.
i guarantee you’ll be dead a long time.
very interesting, maybe I'll give it a shot.
Bagumbawalla
G.O.A.T.
A motorcycle, like a boat, is never a practical investment.
depending on where you live, it will be cold, rainy, wet, slippery, foggy
in the winter, and sweaty-hotb baking in the summer. You will have about
3 good riding weeks a year.
Unless your musical instrument is a flute, you will have trouble toting your
equipment- let alone groceries and other items. The "coolest" bikes are heavy
and cumbersome. A guy I worked with broke his ankle when his fell over on him.
And, yes, even if you are a great rider, some guy in a car will not see you,
and run you off the road.
depending on where you live, it will be cold, rainy, wet, slippery, foggy
in the winter, and sweaty-hotb baking in the summer. You will have about
3 good riding weeks a year.
Unless your musical instrument is a flute, you will have trouble toting your
equipment- let alone groceries and other items. The "coolest" bikes are heavy
and cumbersome. A guy I worked with broke his ankle when his fell over on him.
And, yes, even if you are a great rider, some guy in a car will not see you,
and run you off the road.
appreciate this thoughtful post, I've decided not to get one
You're almost guaranteed to get injured some time in your life riding... I was considering buying one again but someone is always driving like garbage these days.... awful drivers everywhere lately. Too many dangerous senior drivers as well. I think it's now unsafe/not worth it and I wasn't ever of this mind. Think there have been record fatalities/accidents these last two years.
I've had people look me in the eyes while they run me off the road.
I've had people look me in the eyes while they run me off the road.
princemidplus
Semi-Pro
I've ridden for about 20yrs. No serious injuries. You drive like everyone is out to kill you. I live where I can ride most year round and I save about 67% on fuel costs. You don't really save a lot of time unless you split lanes in very heavy traffic or getting last other road blockages like accidents. You can't do much shopping on a bike or take the wife and kids with you.
ollinger
G.O.A.T.
True enough, sold my bike a few years ago, felt like there were too many oblivious drivers out there, used to live north of NYC where there was more open space, now live in a denser part of the area where I feel more imperiled, and the riding is less enjoyable in more heavily populated areas.
FRV4
you wont die if you ride a motorcycle.
you might die if you hit a fixed object or another motor vehicle, like a car.
a bigger issue is what if you are maimed or become a vegetable, how easy is it to play tennis then?
obviously, you need to make an adjustment, that might be very difficult if you are living organ donor.
not everyone who rides a motorcycle dies, i have friends in their 70s that still ride. they dont ride in heavy traffic, usually
they take road trips in the western states.
they dont use their motorcycles for transportation.
my advice is to not get a motorcycle, get a job and move out of your parents house.
your life will change for the better
z
you wont die if you ride a motorcycle.
you might die if you hit a fixed object or another motor vehicle, like a car.
a bigger issue is what if you are maimed or become a vegetable, how easy is it to play tennis then?
obviously, you need to make an adjustment, that might be very difficult if you are living organ donor.
not everyone who rides a motorcycle dies, i have friends in their 70s that still ride. they dont ride in heavy traffic, usually
they take road trips in the western states.
they dont use their motorcycles for transportation.
my advice is to not get a motorcycle, get a job and move out of your parents house.
your life will change for the better
z
Turbo-87
G.O.A.T.
That's what happened to me. I bought a Suzuki Katana and owned it for one summer. I had too many close calls with people who just didn't see me. I sold it at the end of that summer and didn't really miss it that much. The novelty wore off, kind of like when you buy a jet ski or a fast boat.
Funny story. I am not a tall guy and this was a big bike for someone of my stature. I couldn't have both feet flat on the ground at a full stop because of that. My first day with it, I was rolling to a stop at a light in the middle lane of a three-lane road. I didn't really notice the condition of the road as I rolled to a stop and ended up putting my foot in a pothole. The bike started to tip to that side and once that happens, it's over. I dumped the bike at a dead stop with plenty of onlookers. I was injured, but thankfully it was just my pride.
Mongolmike
Hall of Fame
I wiped out my Honda VFR800 on a corner which l took too fast. Did not die.
Did shatter my shoulder blade into 5 large pieces, broke my collarbone, broke 3 ribs, gave myself road rash on my forearm about 3 inches wide and 6 inches long.
The good news is l took a big chunk out of my helmet instead of my skull.
I also road my bike back home with bent handlebars and me all busted up because l didn't want to abandon it on side of the road, and had no other way to get home.
Trust me, driving home taking corners on a bike with a broken shoulder blade & collarbone....yeah, does not feel good.
So, yeah, you may not die....
Riding a bike is like smoking. You need to decide if you are a smoker, or not. If you are, then F it. Smoke. Enjoy it.
If you aren't, then why are you smoking? Quit.
Are you a biker? Then ride. Be careful, but have fun.
If you are in your 20s, 30s, 40s and you have no bike experience to this point, chances are high you are NOT a biker. Save your money.
Thinking you will look cool on a bike is also like wanna-be smokers. They smoke cuz they think they look cool. That imo is a really lame reason to smoke or get a bike. You are a poser. That is not a good thing.
On the other hand, you migh be able to find/sign up for a bike safety handling class. It is low speed stuff, usually in a parking lot, but recommended if you have no experience.
Did shatter my shoulder blade into 5 large pieces, broke my collarbone, broke 3 ribs, gave myself road rash on my forearm about 3 inches wide and 6 inches long.
The good news is l took a big chunk out of my helmet instead of my skull.
I also road my bike back home with bent handlebars and me all busted up because l didn't want to abandon it on side of the road, and had no other way to get home.
Trust me, driving home taking corners on a bike with a broken shoulder blade & collarbone....yeah, does not feel good.
So, yeah, you may not die....
Riding a bike is like smoking. You need to decide if you are a smoker, or not. If you are, then F it. Smoke. Enjoy it.
If you aren't, then why are you smoking? Quit.
Are you a biker? Then ride. Be careful, but have fun.
If you are in your 20s, 30s, 40s and you have no bike experience to this point, chances are high you are NOT a biker. Save your money.
Thinking you will look cool on a bike is also like wanna-be smokers. They smoke cuz they think they look cool. That imo is a really lame reason to smoke or get a bike. You are a poser. That is not a good thing.
On the other hand, you migh be able to find/sign up for a bike safety handling class. It is low speed stuff, usually in a parking lot, but recommended if you have no experience.
Mongolmike
Hall of Fame
Saw the same thing in front of me, but the dude was short and stopped on the crown of the middle of the lane at a stoplight. He put his foot down, flailed a bit, bike down on top of him. I jumped out quick, his engine was still running and revving high. Hit the key, lifted the bike off him, he was also clearly drunk. I wheeled the bike to the side, asked if he needed a ride...."no,no, I'm fine. I don't live far." .......ok dude smh
guanzishou
G.O.A.T.
Yes.
Everyone will eventually die, riding motorbike or not.
Everyone will eventually die, riding motorbike or not.
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
Motorcycles seem great on open roads without much traffic, but can be a nightmare on freeways and in heavy traffic. You are at the mercy of cars and trucks, and drivers are often oblivious to motorcycles. Also, rain can be a big problem, especially when it first starts and the roads are slick with oil.
I have a couple of friends who had accidents on L.A. freeways, but luckily it was just some broken bones.
Hunter S. Thompson has a great passage on the thrill of motorcycles:
“Months later, when I rarely saw the Angels, I still had the legacy of the big machine – 400 lbs. of chrome and deep red noise to take out on the Coast Highway and cut loose at three in the morning, when all the cops were lurking over on 101. My first crash had wrecked the bike completely and it took several months to have it rebuilt. After that I decided to ride it differently: I would stop pushing my luck on curves, always wear a helmet and try to keep within range of the nearest speed limit … my insurance had already been canceled and my driver’s license was hanging by a thread.
So it was always at night, like a werewolf, that I would take the thing out for an honest run down the coast. I would start in Golden Gate Park, thinking only to run a few long curves to clear my head … but in a matter of minutes I’d be out at the beach with the sound of the engine in my ears, the surf booming up on the sea wall and a fine empty road stretching all the way down to Santa Cruz … not even a gas station in the whole 70 miles; the only public light along the way is an all-night diner down around Rockaway Beach.
There was no helmet on those nights, no speed limit, and no cooling it down on the curves. The momentary freedom of the park was like the one unlucky drink that shoves a wavering alcoholic off the wagon. I would come out of the park near the soccer field and pause for a moment at the stop sign, wondering if I knew anyone parked out there on the midnight humping strip.
Then into first gear, forgetting the cars and letting the beast wind out … 35, 45 … then into second and wailing through the light at Lincoln Way, not worried about green or red signals, but only some other werewolf loony who might be pulling out, too slowly, to start his own run. Not many of these … and with three lanes on a wide curve, a bike coming hard has plenty of room to get around almost anything … then into third, the boomer gear, pushing 75 and the beginning of a windscream in the ears, a pressure on the eyeballs like diving into water off a high board.
Bent forward, far back on the seat, and a rigid grip on the handlebars as the bike starts jumping and wavering in the wind. Taillights far up ahead coming closer, faster and suddenly – zaaapppp – going up past and leaning down for a curve near the zoo, where the road swings out to sea.
The dunes are flatter here, and on windy days sand blows across the highway, piling up in thick drifts as deadly as any oil-slick … instant loss of control, a crashing, cartwheeling slide and maybe one of those two-inch notices in the paper the next day: ‘An unidentified motorcyclist was killed last night when he failed to negotiate a turn on Highway 1.’
Indeed… but no sand this time, so the lever goes up into fourth, and now there’s no sound except wind. Screw it all the way over, reach through the handlebars to raise the headlight beam, the needle leans down on a hundred, and the wind-burned eyeballs strain to see down the centerline, trying to provide a margin for the reflexes.
But the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, and no room at all for mistakes. It has to be done right … and that’s when the strange music starts, when you stretch your luck so far that fear becomes exhilaration and vibrates along your arms. You can barely see at a hundred; the tears blow back so fast that they vaporize before they get to your ears. the only sounds are wind and a dull roar floating back from the mufflers. You watch the white line and try to lean with it … howling through a turn to the right, then to the left, and down the long hill to Pacifica… letting off now, watching for cops, but only until the next dark stretch and another few seconds on the edge…the Edge… there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The other – the living – are those who pushed their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came time to choose between Now and Later.
But the edge is still Out there.
https://www.hdforums.com/articles/t...son-hells-angels-a-strange-and-terrible-saga/
I have a couple of friends who had accidents on L.A. freeways, but luckily it was just some broken bones.
Hunter S. Thompson has a great passage on the thrill of motorcycles:
“Months later, when I rarely saw the Angels, I still had the legacy of the big machine – 400 lbs. of chrome and deep red noise to take out on the Coast Highway and cut loose at three in the morning, when all the cops were lurking over on 101. My first crash had wrecked the bike completely and it took several months to have it rebuilt. After that I decided to ride it differently: I would stop pushing my luck on curves, always wear a helmet and try to keep within range of the nearest speed limit … my insurance had already been canceled and my driver’s license was hanging by a thread.
So it was always at night, like a werewolf, that I would take the thing out for an honest run down the coast. I would start in Golden Gate Park, thinking only to run a few long curves to clear my head … but in a matter of minutes I’d be out at the beach with the sound of the engine in my ears, the surf booming up on the sea wall and a fine empty road stretching all the way down to Santa Cruz … not even a gas station in the whole 70 miles; the only public light along the way is an all-night diner down around Rockaway Beach.
There was no helmet on those nights, no speed limit, and no cooling it down on the curves. The momentary freedom of the park was like the one unlucky drink that shoves a wavering alcoholic off the wagon. I would come out of the park near the soccer field and pause for a moment at the stop sign, wondering if I knew anyone parked out there on the midnight humping strip.
Then into first gear, forgetting the cars and letting the beast wind out … 35, 45 … then into second and wailing through the light at Lincoln Way, not worried about green or red signals, but only some other werewolf loony who might be pulling out, too slowly, to start his own run. Not many of these … and with three lanes on a wide curve, a bike coming hard has plenty of room to get around almost anything … then into third, the boomer gear, pushing 75 and the beginning of a windscream in the ears, a pressure on the eyeballs like diving into water off a high board.
Bent forward, far back on the seat, and a rigid grip on the handlebars as the bike starts jumping and wavering in the wind. Taillights far up ahead coming closer, faster and suddenly – zaaapppp – going up past and leaning down for a curve near the zoo, where the road swings out to sea.
The dunes are flatter here, and on windy days sand blows across the highway, piling up in thick drifts as deadly as any oil-slick … instant loss of control, a crashing, cartwheeling slide and maybe one of those two-inch notices in the paper the next day: ‘An unidentified motorcyclist was killed last night when he failed to negotiate a turn on Highway 1.’
Indeed… but no sand this time, so the lever goes up into fourth, and now there’s no sound except wind. Screw it all the way over, reach through the handlebars to raise the headlight beam, the needle leans down on a hundred, and the wind-burned eyeballs strain to see down the centerline, trying to provide a margin for the reflexes.
But the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, and no room at all for mistakes. It has to be done right … and that’s when the strange music starts, when you stretch your luck so far that fear becomes exhilaration and vibrates along your arms. You can barely see at a hundred; the tears blow back so fast that they vaporize before they get to your ears. the only sounds are wind and a dull roar floating back from the mufflers. You watch the white line and try to lean with it … howling through a turn to the right, then to the left, and down the long hill to Pacifica… letting off now, watching for cops, but only until the next dark stretch and another few seconds on the edge…the Edge… there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The other – the living – are those who pushed their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came time to choose between Now and Later.
But the edge is still Out there.
https://www.hdforums.com/articles/t...son-hells-angels-a-strange-and-terrible-saga/
antony
Hall of Fame
My back starts to get sore very quickly
travlerajm
Talk Tennis Guru
I think you can buy virtual reality setup that would feel just like riding a real motorcycle, only without the risk of suddenly becoming a quadriplegic vegetable.
Appreciate the posts guys. I am definitely a poser like @Mongolmike was talking about. No real point in getting a bike if I’m just being a poser.
mmk
Hall of Fame
While riding through the mountains in Colorado many years ago I had someone in a truck on the opposite side of the road deliberately aim for me in a wide turn., laughing while he did it. I went down, fortunately I was on the uphill side of the road, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this. Another time while at a red light at an intersection of two 50 MPH roads I heard a loud squealing as someone slammed on their brakes behind me. I really thought I'd end up getting rear-ended and pushed into the cross traffic, but the car ended up in a field next to the intersection, having done at least a 180, maybe a 540. In both cases I kept riding, but gave it up once I got married.
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
FRV4 in two months:
Sudacafan
Bionic Poster
It all depends of what your wishes are.
Mongolmike
Hall of Fame
My first bike was a Yamaha Virago. A work buddy wanted to take it for a spin, said he "used to ride all the time". First u-turn in the parking lot he made, he fell over. He did not die.
Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
I had a friend, a very gifted middle distance runner who was just about to break into the international level. He got hit by a bus, his mobike crushed one leg and that was the end of his career.
LuckyR
Legend
Did he pay for the cosmetic repairs?
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Omg
Azure
G.O.A.T.
I used to drive a two wheeler (vespa)- have fallen twice. Helmet actually saved me the first time. My head hit the pavement skirting. The next time I was manoevering a turn and the road was slippery since it had been raining all night. Luckily both weren’t too serious. The first one took me 6 weeks to heal completely, especially my shoulder which I couldn’t lift. The second gave me a sprained ankle.
I've known a few guys that have enjoyed joining motorcycle clubs and going for long rides. they likely did it for the social aspect, being with friends as the motorbikes do beat them up.
Don't know anyone personally that has died riding a motorcycle but know of a couple people that got injured badly. Thinking about it, an older girl that used to live next door to me and I was told worked at ESPN as a reporter was in a terrible bike accident resulting in her foot being amputated. Bad enough but that's the worst motorbike accident I've heard of, of those I've known.
I take that back. Just remembered that the son of my grandfather's sister died in a motorcycle accident. I guess the two of them were close. grandad had two daughters and always wanted a son. It was joked that his sister's son had become his adopted son. That death happened a long long time ago. And sadly that sister passed away yesterday, but not from a motorcycle crash.
Don't know anyone personally that has died riding a motorcycle but know of a couple people that got injured badly. Thinking about it, an older girl that used to live next door to me and I was told worked at ESPN as a reporter was in a terrible bike accident resulting in her foot being amputated. Bad enough but that's the worst motorbike accident I've heard of, of those I've known.
I take that back. Just remembered that the son of my grandfather's sister died in a motorcycle accident. I guess the two of them were close. grandad had two daughters and always wanted a son. It was joked that his sister's son had become his adopted son. That death happened a long long time ago. And sadly that sister passed away yesterday, but not from a motorcycle crash.
Mongolmike
Hall of Fame
No, ripped the grip a little and bent the clutch lever a little, but that was the last time I ever let people "Oh, can I take it for a spin?"
guanzishou
G.O.A.T.
I'm just thankful that I never had an accident in my 7 years of motorbike riding in my third world country where the traffic is atrocious.
My brother had an accident... he only grazed his jacket. No body injury.
My classmate had a very bad accident... He was travelling along an empty ring road at night, but there was a temporary concrete barrier on the road with no reflecting tape whatsoever and he crashed on it at full speed. He broke his leg.
My classmate's father who was our high school teacher got run over by an oil tanker truck and sadly passed away.
My brother had an accident... he only grazed his jacket. No body injury.
My classmate had a very bad accident... He was travelling along an empty ring road at night, but there was a temporary concrete barrier on the road with no reflecting tape whatsoever and he crashed on it at full speed. He broke his leg.
My classmate's father who was our high school teacher got run over by an oil tanker truck and sadly passed away.
Last edited:
Everyone dies.
Question is.....have you lived?
Not many road miles for me, as I always had a car and was always the driver. Maybe 20,000 road miles, including 50 Sunday Morning Rides...the real one from Mill Valley to Pt. Reyes Station, 12 AFM road races, and 200+ AMA and CMV motocross races.
One tib/fib, one fib/greenstick tib, one greenstick femur, 3 collarbones, and a handful of ribs.
Now 73, still ride my roadbike 33 miles every other week, windsurf, windfoil, and wingfoil 5 days a week.
Can't surf anymore.
Question is.....have you lived?
Not many road miles for me, as I always had a car and was always the driver. Maybe 20,000 road miles, including 50 Sunday Morning Rides...the real one from Mill Valley to Pt. Reyes Station, 12 AFM road races, and 200+ AMA and CMV motocross races.
One tib/fib, one fib/greenstick tib, one greenstick femur, 3 collarbones, and a handful of ribs.
Now 73, still ride my roadbike 33 miles every other week, windsurf, windfoil, and wingfoil 5 days a week.
Can't surf anymore.
PURETENNISsense
Professional
Everyone I know that rode a motorcycle for a period of time has metal in their leg now.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Before i bought my first car, i drove a Kinetic Honda. One night, 11pm returning from office, slippery bend, scooter slid, i fractured a collar bone. It's a bend on which trucks go speeding.
I couldn't get up.
Thankfully, a couple stopped and got me up, hailed a three wheeler to get me to hospital and parked my scooter at a dhaba nearby.
Barely a month later a guy in my team had an accident on a mobike, head was bleeding, it was mid-day. No one helped. He drove with bleeding head to Apollo hospital and passed out and the gate. But all well after a day or so.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Riding scooters are super convenient especially in huge traffic but there is always more risk. I always prefer car to scooter because of safety even if car parking and maneuvering in traffic can be difficult.
Mongolmike
Hall of Fame
You ride, you risk. Same as anything risky or dangerous. You have to personally balance risk vs fun/enjoyment.
A co-worker sky dived all the time. Sounded fun, so l signed up for beginner class at his jump field. Everything went fine. I was concerned that I would do everything right, but was not afraid. (This is with a static line for first 3 jumps, not the piggyback cr ap they do now... which is really, really lame imo...but....)
End of the day, l had an amazing time. No problems, sky diving is a beautiful experience, and that was from only 3000 feet! Can't imagine what it would be like from 10k.
Anyway, end of day, as much fun as it was, l could not justify the risk factor. And l am a risk taker, speed seeker.
Yes, there is a backup chute, but as simplistic and maybe unreasonable as this sounds, l felt my control in a sky diving situation was not enough, and the risk was pretty definitive....death.
On the other hand, on a bike, l had more input in a sudden situation, and the risk outcome was much broader.
Risk vs reward....only you should decide, and there is no wrong answer. Debate? Sure, but ultimately...hey, live your best life as you see it. For some people, climbing more than 3 steps up a step ladder is more risk than they are comfortable with. Ok, what ever...
A co-worker sky dived all the time. Sounded fun, so l signed up for beginner class at his jump field. Everything went fine. I was concerned that I would do everything right, but was not afraid. (This is with a static line for first 3 jumps, not the piggyback cr ap they do now... which is really, really lame imo...but....)
End of the day, l had an amazing time. No problems, sky diving is a beautiful experience, and that was from only 3000 feet! Can't imagine what it would be like from 10k.
Anyway, end of day, as much fun as it was, l could not justify the risk factor. And l am a risk taker, speed seeker.
Yes, there is a backup chute, but as simplistic and maybe unreasonable as this sounds, l felt my control in a sky diving situation was not enough, and the risk was pretty definitive....death.
On the other hand, on a bike, l had more input in a sudden situation, and the risk outcome was much broader.
Risk vs reward....only you should decide, and there is no wrong answer. Debate? Sure, but ultimately...hey, live your best life as you see it. For some people, climbing more than 3 steps up a step ladder is more risk than they are comfortable with. Ok, what ever...
USMC-615
Hall of Fame
Grew up in the 70's on Honda XR-75's, Suzuki RM-125's/250's, Yamaha YZ-125's/250's/490's, and Can-Am dirt bikes. Rode dirt bikes hard until the mid-80's. Have had one Honda street bike back in the mid-80's and have zero interest in ever having another street bike. My life's worth a little more to me and my son and daughter than some damn fool talking, texting, rapping, or tapping on a cell phone or just not paying attention in the least, and oblivious to all else.
Edit -- I've seen my share of dead friends and whatnot form bike accidents...enough to last me a lifetime and then some.
Edit -- I've seen my share of dead friends and whatnot form bike accidents...enough to last me a lifetime and then some.
travlerajm
Talk Tennis Guru
Last night, I’m driving home on busy business district arterial, getting dark, just after sunset. This posse of 4x4 ATVs with no lights starts snaking in and out between cars, cutting cars off, switching lanes, nearly getting run over because the drivers couldn’t see them very well as they were so low to the ground. Darwin Award nominees.
Subway Tennis
Legend
Sudacafan
Bionic Poster
This is not the first time you report something like this. I am starting to think that motor vehicles in general have issues with both your driving and pedestrian activities.
Sudacafan
Bionic Poster
Rappers should not use bikes.
Subway Tennis
Legend
guanzishou
G.O.A.T.
I rode motorbikes for 7 years in a terrifying traffic condition of my third world home town. I'm just thankful that I didn't have a single accident.
