“You’ll kill yoself!”
 

What a downer of a convo...

I just asked some buddies what kind of bikes they rode back in the day. They both told me stories of buddies they either had die on the back of a bike or in one case, my buddy was riding with someone on the back, they wrecked, and the passenger he was carrying died. Both situations involved, in my opinion, waaay too much bike (1000-1100cc crotch rocket in both cases), and the usual case of waaay too much speed.

I’m curious, (1) how many people have tried and regularly try to talk you out of riding? (2) What horror stories do you have riding your Chondas on the road?

Biting my nails,

Dusman

No one has ever tried to talk me out of riding. I get the occasional comments of those things are dangerous and yada yada. I ride my motorcycle like everyone is trying to kill me. I don't intentionally take it to congested areas. I LOVE riding in the country. And with a cell phone in everyones hands now days riding a bike is even more dangerous. I had a guy in a car pass me in the same lane I was in. He never saw me until he was right beside me.

Same here, Haven't had anybody say anything to me. But then a again I've been riding over 45 years and I ain't dead yet. lol. I don't ride in town and stick to country roads and off road. I'll hit the interstate every once I a while but its usually to get to another twisty back road. :D

It never fails, especially when I rode the big bikes.

You have no idea how many times I've heard, "My cousin's, brother in laws, nephews, girlfriends, sister was killed on one of those!"

I just chuckle and say "How'd you get here? Far more people die in cars."

It gets old.

As far as injuries, a good friend of mine got in a HORRIFIC accident a lady pulled out in front of him in North Charleston and he hit her at 60mph on his Harley Super Glide. I went and visited him at MUSC with the other guys at work who also rode, and it was a very shocking moment for all of us. He was in ICU for a very long time. Of course he was riding without a Helmet and in shorts and a T shirt. The biggest part of his injuries were Head Trauma. 2 of the guys were so affected by it that they sold their bikes never to ride again. We thought we were going to lose him, but he pulled through and he is back riding an Indian today. Maybe its because he doesn't remember a thing about the accident. It didn't really make me want to stop riding, I know the dangers but it is who I am and I love riding motorcycles, I've been doing it since I was 4. A few broken bones and scrapes and scratches but I always get back on that horse. Ya'll stay safe.

As I’ve already read, the research shows mostly two major factors causing fatalities: (1) alcohol, and (2) excessive speed.

I don’t drink, and I don’t think a TT 250 is going to be able to get to 160mph. ��

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moto...ates_and_risks

https://youtu.be/X1GvbOhwyCM

Yeah, those two will kill you eventually. I learned respect for my bike young. I put my first bike under a car and I flew over the car for about 30 yards or so. Brush burns and cracked helmet but no broke bones. Woke up the next morning and felt like I had a full body sprain from head to toe. for about a week. Didn't take me long to figure it out not to act like a dumb azz. lol

-I won't go into details but will say i have been significantly injured twice on a motorcycle, both times were 100% my own fault ,so there is no one to blame but me ,

i attribute both to having been " young , dumb,and "invincible " at the time .


That said, I find myself after having ridden more than 40 years actively avoiding freeways and congested higher speed city traffic, i can not recall more Drivers doing more outright stupid things ever , from watching movies on their dash TVs to talking on the cellphone despite that being illegal here, while smoking , and eating a hamburger ,etc.It's like piloting that 2 ton missile at 55- 70 mph is at the very bottom of their priority list ,it's just stupefying - the sad part is pedestrians are doing it too, i actually witnessed a woman get hit by a car she stepped in front of while staring at her phone and texting.,she never even looked up as she stepped into the street, the Driver was in no way at fault .Luckily she sustained a broke leg but was otherwise alright , she could easily have been killed.

Dusman, are you new to riding? I am guessing, but I didn't want to assume. I am relatively new too. If you are, I would consider taking a motorcycle safety class. MSF and Harley offer them. They are a little pricey, at about $200-300, but I think it was well worth the money. One thing I learned was already mentioned. Treat every car like it’s on a mission to kill you.

Where are you planning on doing most of your riding?

I understand your thoughts on being nervous about the drivers out there. I live in rural Nebraska, and when I ride my road bike, I ride it to work. But, it’s pretty rural...more cows than people rural. There are some days when I don’t encounter any cars on my way to work. If I lived in a busy suburb, I’m not sure I’d feel as confident.

One other thing. I was a member on a forum dedicated to the type of road bike I had 2 years ago. I expressed a similar concern with the guys on that forum. I was really new then and had been riding for only a few months. One guy on the forum said something to me that has stuck with me. He said he avoided doing things his whole life, like ride a motorcycle, out of fear. He didn’t want to get hurt. Then, one day he thought about his age, how life is short and how he felt like he missed out on some opportunities out of fear.. He said that one day he just decided that he didn’t want to live in a fear bubble for the rest of his life. I identified with that guy, and what he said stuck with me. I dedcided the same thing. There are many things that are not safe. Skiing and snowboarding are not safe, but I do those sports. People die skiing, but I love doing it. I’m not going to jump out of a helicopter onto the 90 degree face of a mountain...but I will ski within my means and abilities.

But, be safe and Ride defensively.

I have never had anybody outright tell me I am going to kill myself on a bike. Of course, my mother would rather I didn't ride, but she also knows her own child well enough to understand that I am a risk taker by nature, but not a stupid one.

Have I had close calls? Sure. If you ride a bike, you will eventually be in a scenario that will scare you a bit. You would be amazed at the number of people that tried to ride, but gave up after their first close call.

Now, I have had some conversations with non-riders about how dangerous bikes are. The funny thing is, if you eliminate all factors that are well within the control of the person on the bike, then the risk is only slightly higher vs. that of a person driving a car.

If all else fails, bring up the fact that 47% of all motorcycle fatalities involve a car/truck, while 34% involve "speed."

Have I done irresponsible things on a bike on a public road. Sure I have. Do I do it very often? No. The real issue with big fast bikes, like my VFR, is that it is very difficult to not go fast. If I hammer on the throttle of my VFR for a few seconds I am well past 100mph, and since the bike is so stable at that speed, it doesn't feel dangerous at all. In fact, my Hawk at 70mph is more scary than my VFR at 140.

a study i read the other day had some surprising conclusions! 30% of the accidents the control group had were rear end collisions....speed plus not paying attention or looking far enough ahead of you past the cars directly in front of you. most death related crash over 30 mph the helmet didnt save the riders life. intersections either controlled or uncontrolled were 70% of the wrecks. i ride 4 or 5 times a day and every day someone either pulls out in front of me or over into my lane with me there. lot of folks get mad but it doesnt help anything i just go with the flow and know they are going to do it. folks are in there own little world today. case in point i was in a parking lot parked in my truck and a car was backing out of a parking spot and another driver was coming down the lane. driver backing out was cautious cause he couldnt see till he got out a certain distance. the driver coming down the was in his own little world like he was the only person that existed and didnt even see the drivers rear end coming out. came within a foot of hitting him and he still didnt realize it just looking around oblivious...had other things on his mind. i see them in walmart taking up the entire lane while looking at the bread... no one exist but them! being prepared for the idiots takes some of the fun out of riding but no enough to quit!

It was a rainy night in 1975 on a night in January... It was about 10 and I just felt like I wanted to get out and take a ride... so I went out to my buddy's house and he went to bed early... so I decided to go back home... on the way home a plumber's truck ran a stop sign and T-boned me .. No broken bones just a few scrapes... I was lucky...



I have also been run off the road a few times... people pulling in front of me... I have always looked and I pay attention.. closely...



Today... My wife doesn't allow me to tag it for the street... but I am ok with that.. .. I enjoy the trails so much better... don't have to worry about someone banging in to me and tearing up my bike...

I was on my 2013 TMEC 200 Enduro, with the 17/17 street tire setup. I was 2 1/2 blocks from my home, in the outer lane of a dual left turn lane waiting for the arrow. My street was the second one on the right which is why I chose the outer lane. A large Yukon pulled up in the inner lane. A woman was driving, who I swear looked at me. The arrow turned green, I started my turn, and next thing I know, Yukon is in MY lane forcing me into curb (there is no room for parking and very little room for a bike, so the curb is 'right there'). A firetruck was pulling up to the red light going the opposite direction of the street I was turning into. Three of the firefighters told me they saw me fly in the air doing a flip--I don't recall how I flew. I just remember big, dark blue wall of vehicle forcing me to the curb, me taking my left hand off the handlebars to bang on said, blue wall, but curb came up, and I do recall flying and landing hard on my right side. When I realized what had happened, right shoulder had a very familiar pain from back in '83 when I was 13 and broke my left collarbone--twice in 4 weeks (once on my bicycle, and when I was pretty much healed, 4 weeks later to the day, I rebroke it on my skateboard--both times were hairline fractures, but they hurt like heck). I was wearing a helmet even though it was a nice day and I debated not wearing it, which was good because one of the firefighter witnesses said I landed on my head! They treated and stabilized me for a possible neck injury, and an ambulance took me to the hospital which was exactly a mile away. My ribs were hurting at this point, but they only took xrays on the shoulder which confirmed a right clavicle hairline fracture. It is hard to describe clavicle fractures, at least hairline ones, but it is weird. I equate it to that weird 'gross' feeling you get when someone runs their nails down a chalkboard, but manifested as a pain localized in the shoulder. My right arm was painful and swollen, too, which became more pronounced as the week wore on, and my ribs still hurt. A week later, when I finally got to an orthopedic doctor who took x-rays, it was confirmed that I had a break on the end of my elbow, which was missed by the emergency room doctor, and the orthopedic doctor said my rib or ribs were probably broken, but since they don't do anything for ribs, it couldn't be confirmed, and he didn't think it was worth the cost of x-rays (which put a few hundred more in my pocket when it came time for the settlement, lol).


I went back to work a month later as I worked as a civilian worker at the state prison complex, and they didn't allow injured employees to work directly with inmates. I ended up eating up all my sick and vacation time, although I was paid for them in the settlement. Bills came to about $10k in total, and insurance gave me $24k, plus my own policy through Geico gave me a free and clear $2k which was unexpected. I never got a new bike, and rode the damaged one with things bent back straight, for the next 11 months when it was finally too dangerous to be commuting at 55 to 65 on the heap, lol, and I bought myself a used (in perfect shape with 1100 original miles) 2004 TGB 151cc scooter which I commuted on for the next 2 years. If I sleep on the arm in a weird position, my right arm/shoulder hurts for the next 2 or 3 days. It hurts as I type this... :lmao:

These stories remind me of the best advice I was ever given when it comes to riding on the road. Always ride like you are invisible and nobody knows how to drive.

I guess I'm in the clear. I only excessively speed on my way to get alcohol.

I'll try not to write a book but..

When I was 15 I wrapped a KX 80 around a tree 30 feet in the air. My helmet cracked from front to back and I peeled it off like an eggshell. I remember laying on the ground looking up at my bike in the tree for a second and then it fell on me. I pushed the bike off, rolled over and tried to get up but my right leg felt like jelly and I lost consciousness. I woke up in the hospital and found out I had shattered my right femur, doc said it was like picking out little pieces of gravel. So they replaced it with a metal rod and lots of plates and pins, and 4 weeks later I was walking albeit painfully.

When I was 18 I had a Yamaha Seca. I caught my gf in bed with a couple guys, I threw my helmet through her window and left her and it. I then proceeded to the liquor store and bought a fifth of Jim Beam and chugged it down. I then went to my buddy's apartment complex and beat up and body slammed some random guy that didn't deserve it. Cops were called so I headed home the 11 miles and there was a hairpin curve right before my house. I came into the curve at 100mph, broke the speed down some and leaned it far as it could go. The bike slid out into the oncoming lane and stood up just in time to hit a Subaru wagon full of Mexicans head on. I woke up in the hospital 2 weeks later with a Dr telling me they were gonna have to cut my left leg off above the knee and my left hand was now crippled. Never mind all the new plates and pins they had to put in and I had tore my aorta because my heart had slammed into the front of my chest cavity. If it had been any worse I would've died instantly. I also had countless broken bones but amazingly my head was fine even though I wasn't wearing my helmet. So after 4 months in the hospital and 21 major surgeries, followed by 6 months of physical rehabilitation I could walk again and regained some of the use of my left hand. Didn't think I could ever ride again but 2yrs later my buddy Rooney convinced me to try.

A few years back I was on my KZ 650 and an old man in a red F150 pulled out right in front of me in broad daylight and I could've swore he looked right at me. I swerved around the rear of the truck but my handlebar caught his tail light and the bike went down. Me and the bike slid side by side on the pavement for a remarkable distance and time lol. But thanks to my helmet and leather jacket I was unscathed, the sidecase and stator didn't fair as well so that was the end of that bike. And the old bastard slowed down but never stopped.

So don't drink and ride and as Motocheez says pretend you're invisible and none of the other drivers can see you. I do drink beer and ride my quads on my trails, but there better not be anyone else back there unless they're with me.

There is a reason I only ride "Dual Sports" out on public roads... it gives me several more options to "get the hell out of the way"!

Everywhere I look is now a potential way "to freedom!"

I have lost count of how many times I had to split lanes (still illegal out here!), hop sidewalks, and a few times I even had to ride down and up a few ditches/medians to keep myself out of harms way... a couple times I did those acts in front of a cop whom needed to have a few words with me... flat out told them "I only ride like that to potentially save my life from a distracted driver" (that is now long gone)

Lost a few friends over the years, mostly due to them riding too fast for their protection used (one friend would barely put on a helmet when he went out on his turbo'd liter bike... RIP)

Keep your head on a swivel and remember you're invisible...

I bought my first dirt bike in 1976 and been riding ever since. Fortunately the worst that happened to me was hitting a deer on the way to work. I was wearing a helmet but no gloves, guess what always hits the ground first? My hand looked like it hit a belt sander, which is exactly what the road is. I was also wearing a tee shirt so my back and elbows looked like it too. I never ride w/o gloves and a jacket now.

Some pretty scary stories here that could have been me, but what saved me was roadracing. Once I realized how fast I could go on a track there was no point to even try that on the street. I ended up selling my street bike and just racing for 10 years. Now I ride on the road but am very careful, riding like everyone is out to get me. But you won’t see me like those idiots riding big heavy cruisers with ape hanger bars. That the worst riding position if you need to avoid something, and they look just like a bug that’s about to get splattered on a windshield. Ironically the best street bikes are sport bikes and SMs, something that’s super mobile in the event you have to take evasive actions.

The best training for riding on the street (and racing) is dirt bikes. Only on the dirt can you learn by instinct how to control a motorcycle that’s out of control. Crashing is part of the learning process which is a given on dirt, but that’s generally pretty safe of you have the gear. Still the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done on 2 wheels is woods racing (enduro). Going 40 mph bashing bars off trees leaves zero room for error. I’ve seen some guys get pretty messed up. Nope, I’d rather high side going 80 on a race track again than do that.

Dress for the slide not the ride. I also started out riding and racing dirtbikes, and didn't get my first street bike till the infamous Seca at age 18. It was basically a super bike at the time (what was my Dad thinking?).

But I was a little off in the head to begin with. There was a long and extremely steep gravel hill out past the grave yard. At 10yrs old I would put my 10 speed bicycle in top gear and pedal as fast and hard as I could down it, then 3/4 of the way down the hill I would crank the wheel sideways to dump it because I wanted to learn how to crash and roll. And I might do this 5 times in a row lol. But it was very beneficial. I learned to tuck and roll, get away from the bike, and never tense up too much.

I was doing all this in preparation for my future motorcycle racing career which eventually came to fruition with lots of hard work on the farm and begging and pleading lol. I think anyone trying to get a motorcycle license should have to spend atleast 6 months on a dirtbike.

Been driving for 20 years now, got my motorcycle endorsement a year after I got my driver's license. I've got as many, if not more, miles on 2 wheels, as I do on 4 wheels. I've been involved in 4 accidents, all while driving something with 4 wheels, all accidents not my fault, and 1 time sent to the hospital. It's a game of odds, but I'm a lot more vigilant on a motorcycle than I am in a car. I ride like everyone is out to get me, and it has saved my butt on more than one occasion. I'm not a speed freak, and I don't drink/drive, probably has helped me along the way. *Knock on wood*

My first source of transportation was a Honda 350.. 1974... I have had 2-350's.. 1 454.. and a 550... all CB Hondas... When that truck ran the stop sign and T-boned me, I was glad I was wearing a good thick coat.. wearing Dingle boots and Levi's and gloves...I had a brand new Blue and silver helmet on that I had just bought... when I hit the pavement I guess my helmet hit first and the helmet cracked... I spun around in the street... and I saw the truck trying to sneak off without stopping... but people saw what happened... he eventually told the police that I hit him... lol.. because I hit the pavement so hard I lost the feeling from my waist down for a few hours... broke alot on my bike... I had the high rise handlebars which they were bent... clutch and grips were tore up... shifter was bent .. signal lights were broken... the list went on... the insurance company fixed it... I just wanted my bike fixed ... got it back and all I heard was..

"You're gonna kill yerself" I learned then that I was invisible...

So many of your quotes speak to me on a spiritual level

ha ha…

when I was 32 my wife and her parents thought it was time I grew up
and sold my bikes..... I did have a broken arm at the time from a little
incident from a KDX175.. but that's no reason to sell the bikes...

I still have bikes and not seen her for near 30 years.... you lose bitch...lol
and her dumb ass parents are now worm tucker..

bad mistake... you or my bikes.... you will lose every time..


..

I always tell people trying to advise me how "dangerous" motorcycles are, please look out for motorcycles more.......because YOU car drivers are what is killing us.

pete now i got to know what a worm tucker is????

tucker = food



..

Advice from people who probably look at their phone and text etc.. while driving isn’t something I’m interested in. It seems 8 out of 10 drivers have a phone in their hand.

I know a guy who hit and killed a young lady a long time ago, his phone was shown to be active at the time of the wreck. He went to prison for a good long while, gets random hate mail from what obviously has to be her parents but I guarantee you he is hurting on the inside all these years about it every bit as much as they are.


When I was young my own father had racked up 4 DWI’s before a judge finally threw him in a short jail stay for the 5th one. I personally believe it should be a mandatory 6 months for the 1st offense. They arrest you, you bail out the next morning and come back later to bargain for lesser fines at the hearing. Small price to pay for what can way too easily cost some innocent person their life. When I hear guys bragg about their drunk driving routes or 1/2 stumbling to the car which is about every night here since I’m downtown I can only cringe.

Cell phones and alcohol are the 2 worst things to ever happen to the roads.