Motorcycle

[rookie]

I am considering getting a motorcycle. Or at least going through a thought process about it.
What is your honest opinion knowing I am a 38 year old father of two?

[Jean-Paul]

I'm 40 and I want one too. And I'm not even going bald, nor do I have a gut!

Just remember to always wear a helmet. Otherwise, make sure your will is up to date and fill out your organ donor card.

[rookie]

Originally Posted by Jean-Paul

I'm 40 and I want one too. And I'm not even going bald, nor do I have a gut!

Just remember to always wear a helmet. Otherwise, make sure your will is up to date and fill out your organ donor card.

Yeah, I think it is dumb too. But I drive a ton and gas is killing us. But then again a bike wold not be free.

[Deserve]

Originally Posted by Jean-Paul

I'm 40 and I want one too. And I'm not even going bald, nor do I have a gut!

Just remember to always wear a helmet. Otherwise, make sure your will is up to date and fill out your organ donor card.

Even with a helmet this is pretty good advice. Buy a convertible that way you can take the kids with you.

[rookie]

I am not getting rid of my car either way. It is paid for. But I have been considering the bike due to current gas prices and the fact I fill my car up twice a week.

[Tony Soprano]

Get a skateboard. Your family doesn't need to have you paralised if you wreck and break your neck or back.

[Deserve]

I downsized from a truck to a car to try and get more efficient. I've never been a motorcycle guy so I don't really see the allure. I guess it's like being a boat guy. You either want one or you don't. I haven't met to many people in the middle.

[rookie]

I already did the truck to car thing.
And I like my car.

[LisaS]

I'm guessing this is for a daily commute.
How far/how much time each way?
What are the roads like on your proposed route - interstate highway or neighborhoods or city traffic?
Good weather only or all weather riding (including winter rain in the dark)?
Given that you know what kind of idiots frequent the roads/route at the times that you drive - what do you think?

[Bill2380]

old father of two?

That should answer your question.

[rookie]

Crap. I hate logic

[diamondpete]

Hey Rook

I rode a bike here in Japan for over 10 years. In a congested country there is no better way to get around. I have travelled literally all over the country by bike. The best road trip I took was about 5000 km (almost end to end up the east coast around the northern island and down the west coast. It was a great trip.


There is nothing that beats touring by motorcycle!!


except, one thing...

I play catch with my boys, piggy back them, run and jump and do silly thing on the monkey bars, do martial arts with... well you get the picture.

I gave up my bike when we decided to have kids, and do I miss, HELL YES, do I regret it, hell NO!!! It is a small trade off don't you think?

Cheers

Peter

[cycomiko]

Originally Posted by Tony Soprano

Get a skateboard. Your family doesn't need to have you paralised if you wreck and break your neck or back.

if your worried about breaking your neck or back, skateboarding probably is not the best option...

[Phaedrus49er]

You already know my take on it

[gobbla]

If you want it, get it. Odds of actually dying are pretty slim. My brother broke his neck, aunt shattered her leg. Stuff happens. It's a risk. If something bad happens it'll probably be pretty bad. I don't think that's a reason to not do it, but that's me. Get something that your experiance level can handle and make sure it has a windshield.

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by gobbla

make sure it has a windshield.

Provided your head doesn't sit in the slipstream. The windshield designed for my bike is short enough that the top of my helmet sits in the slipstream and vibrates, so I go without the windshield. I'd rather have strong and steady headwinds instead of a violently rattling helmet

Instead, get a full-faced helmet.

[rookie]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus49er

You already know my take on it

I think it is funny the different responses here versus....well you know. The majority opinion here seems different.

[Mike's Girl]

My husband is 36 and i just bought him a suzuki m50 for his birthday

Age has nothing to do with it.

My rules with him and the bike cannot have a sip or drop of alcohol
must wear head gear
must wear jacket and gloves


when you fall the first thing you do is put your hands out... Gravel + Hands = Ouch
Jacket is a must slighest scrape on a nipple or back or elbow ouch!
Head Gear... I didnt up his life insurance policy for nothing

[rookie]

Yeah, i have not even checked into how much my insurance will go up yet.

[Aoife]

We'll both get around to it one of these days. Most everyone I know who has had a bike has never had an issue with an accident. It's all about handling yourself well and then paying attention to people around you. Accidents happen either because the rider was a shithead, or more often, because the dmv allows stoopit people to drive cars and there's always someone singing deedeedee down the road somewhere. Alertness is your friend.

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by rookie

Yeah, i have not even checked into how much my insurance will go up yet.

Rook, since we're in the same geographic area, my insurance through Liberty Mutual runs me about $98/month (male, 29, unmarried, Charlotte) on a 2005 Harley bought new off the floor, so you're probably looking at less (don't buy insurance before you take a training course with Motorcycle Safety Foundation accreditation--you'll almost assuredly get a discount on the insurance).

[RacerBill]

Originally Posted by rookie

I think it is funny the different responses here versus....well you know. The majority opinion here seems different.

Younger crowd over there, less life experience overall.

Originally Posted by Phaedrus49er

(don't buy insurance before you take a training course with Motorcycle Safety Foundation accreditation--you'll almost assuredly get a discount on the insurance).

My dad -- longtime cycle enthusiast and rider -- swears by this and highly recommends it to all. The safety course is worth it. As Aoife pointed out, there are a lot of inattentive drivers out there busy text-messaging each other.

[gobbla]

x2

I've taken the course 3 times I think and always leave feeling a little more secure than when I came.

[JavaJunkie]

x3 - My Dad and Fiance have both taken it and swear by it.

My Step-Dad has 2 bikes and he's in his 50's. He has his larger touring bike for when he and my Mom take longer trips, and the smaller bike for the trips around town. Casey has a Harley as well and we love riding it around town and are planning a beach ride in a few weeks.

I say go for it. But I'm someone who asked for a Pink Harley for my 16th Birthday (instead I got a 1978 VW beetle and a contract that I had to sign that I would not get a bike til I graduated college) and grown up around bikes my whole life. I also used to refuse to wear a helmet. I didn't think that it was anyone else's business if I died on a motorcycle, plus I'd die happy. I was young. I now have 3 helmets, a pink non-dot approved helmet, a smaller black helmet and a full face pink helmet. GO WITH A FULL FACE HELMET. I honestly never thought I'd say that but once I tried it on, I have been so happy. It is a little hot in the summer, and it ruins my hair, but honestly if yo'ure worried about your hair after riding a motorcycle you're nuts.

I say go for it!!

[diamondpete]

Originally Posted by Aoife

We'll both get around to it one of these days. Most everyone I know who has had a bike has never had an issue with an accident. It's all about handling yourself well and then paying attention to people around you. Accidents happen either because the rider was a shithead, or more often, because the dmv allows stoopit people to drive cars and there's always someone singing deedeedee down the road somewhere. Alertness is your friend.

That is an interesting post, because almost ALL riders I know have at one time or other dropped their bike, or had to bail. I wonder if how you define accident. I agree that the biggest danger is car drivers who fail to see you, don't pat attention and particularly in the spring are not "used to looking for riders". Second I would put slippery surfaces, rain, oil, painted surfaces, to name a few, debris is another.

I am curious about people who ride regularly, have you dropped your bike (doesn't have to be an "accident" but have your dropped your bike, and have you had a few of those OH SHIT moments and missed dying or serious injury by inches?

[LisaS]

my friend had to lay down his RD350 on the shoulder of a mountain road to avoid getting hit by a truck (and tore up most of one side in the gravel)
he also had a "oh shit" moment riding his GL1000 on a freeway on ramp where he picked up a spike in a tire
I seem to recall he had to lay down the goldwing on another occasion but don't recall the circumstance.
He went from weekend rides to commuting on the bike.
He commuted 90 mins each way on the goldwing for a swing shift (3-11PM) rain or shine for about a year. Then he was over the motorcycle thing.

[JavaJunkie]

My dad has never laid his bike down and he's been riding for years. He has friends who have laid them down but no one has been seriously injured. Casey has never had to lay his bikes down either.

We did have an idiot friend who went out one night, got drunk, climbed on his bike, and pushed it to 110 on I-85 and promptly ran into the back of a truck. He survived but he is living in a motorized wheelchair for the rest of his life. Life is about stupid decisions, and he could have been in a car and ended up with the same fate.

[cycomiko]

If you buy gear, make sure its quality. Leather jackets come in many shapes and style, but a lot are decorative rahter than protective. I have seen even expensive jackets instantly disintegrate when hitting the ground. Gloves are similar. Amour is god. Nothing like a nice set of Dianese...

Boots are essential, even better with shin amour, ankle protection and similar.

Do not ride without a helmet, and do not buy a open-faced/half helmet, well, unless you really do not like your chin and would like a new one built one day.

Pants can be essentail. Sure around town, it may be ok to wear jeans, but as speed increases, jeans will not cut the mustard. Dragin Jeans, maybe, but amour is helpful in the knees/shins as well.

Gear should be water proof if you want to ride in all weathers.

Be prepared to crash. Whether you want it or not, sooner or later something will happen. I have known plenty of bikers, and 99% have had some issues, especially when they are noobs.

If you do crash, rolling = broken bones, sliding = road rash, both can be minimized with good gear.

I have had 4 bikes, and 5-6 spills, some minor, grazes etc, others a bit more serious, dislocated shoulder, broken finger, lower spine issues yada yada. two of those where being hit by cars failing to give way, one throwing me 10ft or so, superman style, but my foot dented my bikes engine, so it was slightly cool. The other was rear ended by a steel coffin.

I have seen the results of more major ones, including fractured wrists, black balls (yaaay tanks), whiplash, fractured spine, fractured femur, destroyed pelvis. Havent known any deaths personally, but they happen routinely.

If you are doing it to save money, dont expect a huge saving. Sure fuel can be better, but depending on the bike, you spend more on tires, chains, maintenance, etc. I can spend as much on a front wheel for a sports bike as I do on an entire set for my car, then have to do it again in 2500miles, where as the car is still going for miles.

Then there is insurance, which is often expensive enough to choke a donkey.

But they are cool, and more fun than a barrel full of monkies.

[savg99]

Originally Posted by diamondpete

That is an interesting post, because almost ALL riders I know have at one time or other dropped their bike, or had to bail. I wonder if how you define accident. I agree that the biggest danger is car drivers who fail to see you, don't pat attention and particularly in the spring are not "used to looking for riders". Second I would put slippery surfaces, rain, oil, painted surfaces, to name a few, debris is another.

I am curious about people who ride regularly, have you dropped your bike (doesn't have to be an "accident" but have your dropped your bike, and have you had a few of those OH SHIT moments and missed dying or serious injury by inches?

I'm now 40 and had a bike for several years about 10 years ago. Every spring when the South Dakota weather gets nice (we do have a couple months of riding season) I get the urge to have a bike again.

Then I remember the two or three times, when completely out of my control, my life was put in danger by some idiot not watching in traffic for something that wasn't a car. I never laid it down, but I had a couple of close moments. I took the safety course and like to think I was a pretty good rider, but it was with good measure of luck or grace I survived.

When I think about all the people I see on cell phones today and those close calls, it's easy to talk myself out of the bike again. There are just too many things outside your control on a bike, and the car or truck wins every time.

So chalk me up for no accidents or laying it over, but two or three near death experiences.

[Simon C]

I'd say get a bike if you want to.

Just don't use it for regular transport. Riding it around on the weekend with friends(don't go nuts), outside of heavy traffic will be fun, and should be pretty safe too.

The biggest danger is car drivers, aslong as your not regularly in traffic, it should be fine.