The "Am I stupid AF for wanting a motorcycle" thread.
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Marmac
Molten Core Raider
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You only live once. DO IT! Don't listen to anyone. Be selfish and do what makes you happy. I also want a motorcycle but here in Quebec it's about 1500$ to register your motorcycle plate every year and insurance for a bike is also ridiculous. Basically in Quebec, the government is doing everything in its power to discourage people to ride motorcycles.
I think it would be awesome to have a bike as well. But I have a close friend that is a fireman who spends a lot of time on crashes/med runs. Before you buy one, find someone you know who has EMT/rescue experience and ask their advice.
He said he can afford the kid shit and buy a toy so why not buy himself a bike? I have been riding for over 10 years and the one thing I can recommend without a doubt is get your license through one of those weekend courses where they walk you through everything. I was a big tough alpha before I did it and there was blue haired ladies next to me doing the same stuff but hands down it was the best thing I did.
They show you how to do things right and give you tips and tricks on what to do. One thing I had no idea is that if you simple push down on one side of the hand grips, it turns the bike in that direction. There was all sorts of random shit like that which I found useful. Plus you use their bikes so you can beat them up and even drop it while you learn.
Plus on top of it all, most insurance companies will give you a discount after you go through the training.
zippitydoda
Bronze Knight of the Realm
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Take the Motorcycle Safety Course. It will instruct you how to keep your wounds to a minimum if you pay attention and practice what they teach you.
I have been on motorcycles my entire life. I live in San Diego with tons of people who usually are not the best drivers. I have a Harley Road King Classic and put 4x more miles on it than my car as I believe it is the best way to travel and the easiest to park.
I love motorcycling, wear full gear, and am OK with the punch I do not see taking me out.
I have been on motorcycles my entire life. I live in San Diego with tons of people who usually are not the best drivers. I have a Harley Road King Classic and put 4x more miles on it than my car as I believe it is the best way to travel and the easiest to park.
I love motorcycling, wear full gear, and am OK with the punch I do not see taking me out.
BrutulTM
Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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I was going to get a motorcycle when I was in my late 20's and I went to a motorcycle message board to read up and all I read about was people talking about their crashes, getting cut off by "cagers", hitting deer, etc. It doesn't add up to me. The only way to be safe on them is to drive like a grandma which kind of defeats the purpose and even if you do everything perfectly you can still get taken out by anybody that spills their latte on the way to work in the morning. If you drive in a heavy traffic area it's just asking to get killed. If anything, I'd say get yourself a dirt bike and go fuck around on some trails on the weekend. It's actually way more fun than driving on the highway and has a lower chance of death (although maybe higher chance of injury). It's way to early to have a mid life crisis BTW. If you're going to do something stupid to prove you're not old, at least wait until the kids are grown.
Blazin
Creative Title
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I sold my bike soon after my daughter was born and will gladly buy another when they are grown up. I live in a difficult/dangerous area for riding if I lived somewhere more open and flat providing better visibility I may have kept it even with kids. Obviously you have enough responses here to see that many people realize it is a dangerous activity and if you have family depending on you that has to be weighed into your decision making. My wife is an RN and sees a never ending tide of people mangled in motorcycle accidents. You are likely to be killed/injured by another driver than your own mistake, your being safe isn't going to keep you safe.
Eomer
Trakanon Raider
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I don't think that they're nearly as dangerous as people are portraying them, but you do have to recognize that even a minor accident on a bike can have potentially fatal consequences. I fucked around on a tiny Honda 50cc dirt bike up until I was 6 years old, and then didn't ride anything else until I bought my bro's 2005 Yamaha R6 when I was 26. I taught myself how to drive it, in parking lots and industrial areas. But then I took the safety course, and I was very glad I did. Any asshole can drive a bike in a straight line at 60mph, but handling a bike in a parking lot or traffic isn't something that you will learn on your own without direction. In any case, I've since added a 2011 Ducati Multistrada to my collection, and will likely pick up another one next year. I have never been in any accident, nor have either of my bikes touched the ground. I haven't done a HUGE amount of riding, however, as I don't tend to commute on either bike with any regularity. I do try to do one big, 4-10 day trip each year, and then a few weekend trips and day trips as I find time. In the 7 years I've been driving a bike, I've only put about 25,000km on them. On the other hand, I am not overly cautious in terms of speed on fun roads.
I've got a lot of friends who also ride bikes, and thankfully none have been killed. However a couple that was riding tandem while on a trip to Alaska were t-boned by a car that blew a stop sign, with both breaking their legs (one with a femur, one tib/fib). My brother laid down his Ducati 998 on a twisty, wet road on Vancouver Island because he was following a slow driver too close and locked his front when she braked unexpectedly for no reason. He was maybe going 20 mph. His foot got caught either by the road surface or a wheel, and he ended up with a spiral fracture of his tibia that required a rod from ankle to knee.
So it doesn't take much to go wrong to end up with some serious consequences. But that being said, if you are meticulous about safety and only ride when you can 100% concentrate on the road and traffic around you, personally I think riding a bike can be quite safe over the long term. But unfortunately, you can only control what you do on the road, not others. An accident in a car that would be a fender bender can easily kill you on a bike.
None of us can make the decision for you. Personally I love getting out on my bike and I doubt I'll ever sell my bikes or stop riding. On the other hand, my brother pretty much hasn't touched his 998 since his accident, it's just been sitting in the garage getting dusty.
I've got a lot of friends who also ride bikes, and thankfully none have been killed. However a couple that was riding tandem while on a trip to Alaska were t-boned by a car that blew a stop sign, with both breaking their legs (one with a femur, one tib/fib). My brother laid down his Ducati 998 on a twisty, wet road on Vancouver Island because he was following a slow driver too close and locked his front when she braked unexpectedly for no reason. He was maybe going 20 mph. His foot got caught either by the road surface or a wheel, and he ended up with a spiral fracture of his tibia that required a rod from ankle to knee.
So it doesn't take much to go wrong to end up with some serious consequences. But that being said, if you are meticulous about safety and only ride when you can 100% concentrate on the road and traffic around you, personally I think riding a bike can be quite safe over the long term. But unfortunately, you can only control what you do on the road, not others. An accident in a car that would be a fender bender can easily kill you on a bike.
None of us can make the decision for you. Personally I love getting out on my bike and I doubt I'll ever sell my bikes or stop riding. On the other hand, my brother pretty much hasn't touched his 998 since his accident, it's just been sitting in the garage getting dusty.
Stupid? no, but I wouldn't advise you to buy one with a baby on the way. Even if you are a careful, responsible rider, you can't control the morons in the cars. One of them doesn't pay attention and YOU pay the price in an accident.
I bought my first bike at age 29. No experience, but took a weekend riding course and was fine. A few years later, when I got married, I sold it. Haven't regretted it even once. Wasn't worth it to me to possibly leave my wife and kids alone because some idiot driver didn't see me on my bike.
I bought my first bike at age 29. No experience, but took a weekend riding course and was fine. A few years later, when I got married, I sold it. Haven't regretted it even once. Wasn't worth it to me to possibly leave my wife and kids alone because some idiot driver didn't see me on my bike.
NeverlosT
Golden Knight of the Realm
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I ride a ton, but I also live in a somewhat rural area with lots of open space and twisty roads surrounding town that are not frequently traveled. I can tell you that if I lived in downtown LA or NYC, I would not own a moto, just too many assholes. I believe that the risk level is all about your level of situational awareness and your comfort with the machine. If you are super comfortable on the bike, and things like shifting are reflexes, not something you have to think about, then you can dedicate all of your concentration on watching for those lousy drivers. Those skills take a while to acquire if you didn't grow up riding dirtbikes. If you give yourself time, and get good at it before you ride in a "spirited" fashion, then you increase your chances of being accident free.
I have been riding for a decade now and will have a bike as long as I am kickin. I say, be honest with yourself, if you are a distracted driver, or just want one for commuting, then I say those might be signs that it is a bad idea, but if you drive very deliberately, and you want one for fun, not just to blindly get from A to B, then I think it is a life changing hobby that is worth the small amount of risk you incur by riding on two wheels.
I have been riding for a decade now and will have a bike as long as I am kickin. I say, be honest with yourself, if you are a distracted driver, or just want one for commuting, then I say those might be signs that it is a bad idea, but if you drive very deliberately, and you want one for fun, not just to blindly get from A to B, then I think it is a life changing hobby that is worth the small amount of risk you incur by riding on two wheels.
Tarrant
<Prior Amod>
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I say get it, you deserve to be happy and do what you want and enjoy just as much as anyone else. Just as everyone else has said, take the course and be mindful that while on it, everyone is out to get you. That's not the case of course but if you drive with that mentality then you'll be okay.
Riding is awesome, don't let naysayers and horror stories dissuade you, you can literally have horror stories from everything in life.
Riding is awesome, don't let naysayers and horror stories dissuade you, you can literally have horror stories from everything in life.
Soygen
The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
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While that's definitely true, you don't really see people asking "Should I drive a car?" or "Should I use a grill to cook food?"
There's a very obvious reason he's asking for advice on this particular subject. Riding motorcycles are inherently more dangerous than many other things. I don't care how aware you are, if you're in a high-traffic(and even worse - high immigrant and old people like Miami) area, it can suck.
Tarrant
<Prior Amod>
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And the mortality rate from an airline accident is much higher then an automobile. To mean doesn't matter if it's less likely, if I crash...I'm dead.
I still fly.
Yes it's more inherently dangerous than a car, no one is arguing this. But it also offers things that a car can't. People who don't ride won't get that and never will. My advice is rent a bike, go through the weekend course and ride for a little bit, see how you like it. If you don't feel that rush and freedom of riding then stick to your car.
I know people who have rode for decades who have never had an accident, I know people who have. There is risk in everything, do what you enjoy, do what you love and live your life in my opinion. My dad rode, I ride and my kids probably will too. -shrug-
iannis
Musty Nester
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Famm
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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There is inherently more uncontrollable chaos on the roadways than a commercial flight. That shouldn't be too difficult to grasp.
Gore:
Tarrant
<Prior Amod>
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Nice post, I enjoy the part where you left out the very next part of my quote that said motorcycles are inherently more dangerous and no one was arguing this, the best.
Famm
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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