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Motorbikes are dangerous. Everything that old lady says to you under her breath at the traffic lights is true. Everything your mother said to you when you first got your bike is true.
Do we do it because it’s an inexpensive method of transport? Hell no. Dont kid yourself. Take depreciation, insurance, maintenance cost, protective clothing costs, modifications, all those ….. ‘bits’ that you buy just because its your baby…. my bike would cost me way more each year than the Jaguar in the garage.
Is it because its convenient? If you call not being able to store or carry anything and have to walk around carrying a helmet, jacket, gloves, whilst wearing boots that aren’t made for walking convenient.
I own a Vespa. I can store two helmets in it, it has a shopping bag hook, costs nothing to insure, run, maintain and doesn’t depreciate. It has small brakes, tiny wheels, crappy rubber, no power and yet I consider it safer than my Gixer. The only reason for this is because I cant speed on it and I cant do 115kph around the Mill Point Road off ramp on it, and I cant wheelie it (yet) and the chances are if I come off, I am not going to be going that quick.
I don’t own a GSX-R1000 arguably one of the fastest out of the box bikes on this planet for fuel economy, for parking convenience, to get through peak-hour traffic, to be good to the environment. The thing will go 25kph faster than the highest Western Australian posted speed limit.... in 1st gear..... and get there faster than you can say “two all beef patties”. Is that really necessary?.
No. I own it because of the feeling I get when I twist my wrist on the freeway onramp to merge with traffic and within a fraction of a second I am doing the same speed as the cages. I do it because of the rush when you really nail your favourite corner and are on the gas half hanging off your bike and you leave a big blacky to look at next time. I do it because of the pure unadulterated selfishness of just you and your thoughts. I do it because I am uncontactable and dont have to answer my mobile phone for a little while. I do it because I am sitting on a machine whose mechanical ability is far greater than my talents.. but kriky I am going to have a try. I do it because I am happy to sit at 80kph on the freeway and look at cars (and bikes) that go past and think to myself. … “yeah I can beat him”. I do it because of the feeling you get when you nail a nice wheelie, and I do it because of the comradeship of riding and hanging with my buddies…who cares where.
Do I do it because it’s dangerous? No. Not intentionally. Is it dangerous? Absolutely, undeniably, you bet it is.
Would I go for a ride on my bike tonight if I knew that tomorrow my wife would be widowed or just like our good friend Aza there was a real chance that I could suffer a life changing injury? Hell no I would not. None of us would. But this risk is present EVERY TIME we put our leg over it.
And this is the quandary as a semi intelligent individual that I constantly consider. Every time I get off my bike when I get home and go through the actions of locking it to its wall plate, and throwing the bike cover over it I consciously think to myself “a good ride, Im still intact”.
Just like you guys, I am not going to go through life not doing these things just because there is a high probability of you getting hurt. Some of you may think that when your numbers up, its up. You could go to work one day in a building in New York a few years ago, sit down at your PC and start drinking your morning coffee and someone decides to intentionally fly a 737 into the side of it. The fact of the matter is, the chances of probability of this happening to any of us is low, but if you ride a bike, these chances change… dramatically. The statistics show it. Its undeniable and plain as day. Every time your odometer clicks over one more klm, the sooner one of our numbers is going to come up - small drop or life threatening fall.
Unfortunately, the statistics are also now becoming obvious to us all as PSB forum users. Back when we had 20 registered users, we never knew anyone that had an accident. You would just read about it in the paper, but now there are 400 users and growing daily, the statistics begin to show. We all now either know someone personally or know of someone indirectly that has had an accident. The reality is, as the forum continues to grow, statistics say this will get worse not better.
If we want to continue to do what it is we all enjoy we have to be smarter than regular road users and try to bend the statistics to be a little more in our favour:
Don’t speed on busy roads with lots of cross streets. Look left and right at the lights before you ride through them. Limit the use of your bike if possible for just enjoyment so that you don’t ride in ‘auto pilot’ mode whilst riding too and from work, take your cage instead. Choose your locations for fun carefully. Consider every car you approach as a threat. Consider every car that stops at a stop sign and looks in your direction as not being able to see you. Think yourself invisible. Look for an escape route in every situation and have that locked in ready to use. Always over indicate your intentions. Lane split stationary cars at lights so that your not the meat in the sandwich for that car behind you that isn’t going to stop in time (sorry Jellyback). Keep your distance from people you don’t normally ride with. Wear as much protective gear as the circumstances and climate will allow in order - head, hands, feet, torso, pants. Position yourself on the road where everyone can see you and where you have as much time to react as possible. Most importantly, understand you and your bike’s limits, ride to within them and not someone else’s. If you feel uncomfortable or feel that you are being dragged beyond your skills – Back the Hell Off ! Listen to that voice in your head. The human body has an amazing ability to tell you when you are on the edge. Everyone will wait for you up the road or the next meeting point.
We can’t stop the unpredictable and the real danger we put ourselves in every time we press 'start', but we can sure help improve the inevitable odds.
Be safe people. Choose your time.
Deej
Do we do it because it’s an inexpensive method of transport? Hell no. Dont kid yourself. Take depreciation, insurance, maintenance cost, protective clothing costs, modifications, all those ….. ‘bits’ that you buy just because its your baby…. my bike would cost me way more each year than the Jaguar in the garage.
Is it because its convenient? If you call not being able to store or carry anything and have to walk around carrying a helmet, jacket, gloves, whilst wearing boots that aren’t made for walking convenient.
I own a Vespa. I can store two helmets in it, it has a shopping bag hook, costs nothing to insure, run, maintain and doesn’t depreciate. It has small brakes, tiny wheels, crappy rubber, no power and yet I consider it safer than my Gixer. The only reason for this is because I cant speed on it and I cant do 115kph around the Mill Point Road off ramp on it, and I cant wheelie it (yet) and the chances are if I come off, I am not going to be going that quick.
I don’t own a GSX-R1000 arguably one of the fastest out of the box bikes on this planet for fuel economy, for parking convenience, to get through peak-hour traffic, to be good to the environment. The thing will go 25kph faster than the highest Western Australian posted speed limit.... in 1st gear..... and get there faster than you can say “two all beef patties”. Is that really necessary?.
No. I own it because of the feeling I get when I twist my wrist on the freeway onramp to merge with traffic and within a fraction of a second I am doing the same speed as the cages. I do it because of the rush when you really nail your favourite corner and are on the gas half hanging off your bike and you leave a big blacky to look at next time. I do it because of the pure unadulterated selfishness of just you and your thoughts. I do it because I am uncontactable and dont have to answer my mobile phone for a little while. I do it because I am sitting on a machine whose mechanical ability is far greater than my talents.. but kriky I am going to have a try. I do it because I am happy to sit at 80kph on the freeway and look at cars (and bikes) that go past and think to myself. … “yeah I can beat him”. I do it because of the feeling you get when you nail a nice wheelie, and I do it because of the comradeship of riding and hanging with my buddies…who cares where.
Do I do it because it’s dangerous? No. Not intentionally. Is it dangerous? Absolutely, undeniably, you bet it is.
Would I go for a ride on my bike tonight if I knew that tomorrow my wife would be widowed or just like our good friend Aza there was a real chance that I could suffer a life changing injury? Hell no I would not. None of us would. But this risk is present EVERY TIME we put our leg over it.
And this is the quandary as a semi intelligent individual that I constantly consider. Every time I get off my bike when I get home and go through the actions of locking it to its wall plate, and throwing the bike cover over it I consciously think to myself “a good ride, Im still intact”.
Just like you guys, I am not going to go through life not doing these things just because there is a high probability of you getting hurt. Some of you may think that when your numbers up, its up. You could go to work one day in a building in New York a few years ago, sit down at your PC and start drinking your morning coffee and someone decides to intentionally fly a 737 into the side of it. The fact of the matter is, the chances of probability of this happening to any of us is low, but if you ride a bike, these chances change… dramatically. The statistics show it. Its undeniable and plain as day. Every time your odometer clicks over one more klm, the sooner one of our numbers is going to come up - small drop or life threatening fall.
Unfortunately, the statistics are also now becoming obvious to us all as PSB forum users. Back when we had 20 registered users, we never knew anyone that had an accident. You would just read about it in the paper, but now there are 400 users and growing daily, the statistics begin to show. We all now either know someone personally or know of someone indirectly that has had an accident. The reality is, as the forum continues to grow, statistics say this will get worse not better.
If we want to continue to do what it is we all enjoy we have to be smarter than regular road users and try to bend the statistics to be a little more in our favour:
Don’t speed on busy roads with lots of cross streets. Look left and right at the lights before you ride through them. Limit the use of your bike if possible for just enjoyment so that you don’t ride in ‘auto pilot’ mode whilst riding too and from work, take your cage instead. Choose your locations for fun carefully. Consider every car you approach as a threat. Consider every car that stops at a stop sign and looks in your direction as not being able to see you. Think yourself invisible. Look for an escape route in every situation and have that locked in ready to use. Always over indicate your intentions. Lane split stationary cars at lights so that your not the meat in the sandwich for that car behind you that isn’t going to stop in time (sorry Jellyback). Keep your distance from people you don’t normally ride with. Wear as much protective gear as the circumstances and climate will allow in order - head, hands, feet, torso, pants. Position yourself on the road where everyone can see you and where you have as much time to react as possible. Most importantly, understand you and your bike’s limits, ride to within them and not someone else’s. If you feel uncomfortable or feel that you are being dragged beyond your skills – Back the Hell Off ! Listen to that voice in your head. The human body has an amazing ability to tell you when you are on the edge. Everyone will wait for you up the road or the next meeting point.
We can’t stop the unpredictable and the real danger we put ourselves in every time we press 'start', but we can sure help improve the inevitable odds.
Be safe people. Choose your time.
Deej
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