Motorbikes

[gallego1968]

correction. He used to ride motorbikes.

Only beacuse i have just solt but wait till nest year when i get the Honda VFR 1200 Mk2.

 

[evilclive]

Same here. Particularly the ones on scooters. There's a lot of them around my area. I don't know what they do to them to get that sound, but it annoys me like nothing else can - horrible, whiny, high-pitched droning that drills into your skull.

No doubt the owners of these vehicles and their mates are impressed: 'hur hur hur I gone dun a big noise hur hur hur!'

I don't remember having any problems with motorbikes, nor with scooters apart from the noise some of them make.

2 strokes can be quite manky, but I believe they're not allowed any more. Following a stinky one up a steep hill isn't pleasant though.

 

[Dragonwight]

Aah... good days. I remember thrashing my fiesta 1.1 along there as a lad.. I am sure I even got as fast as 35mph at one point

You had a 1.1 that was power! :-) I had a 950 in orange! ah the good old days.

 

[Glover Fan]

2 strokes can be quite manky, but I believe they're not allowed any more. Following a stinky one up a steep hill isn't pleasant though.

You are insane. The smell of a 2 stroke engine is on the boundary of orgasm inducing IMO.

I have a motorcycle licence and used to ride one regularly. I also own a car and do 40,000 miles a year +, I also cycle heck of a lot.

All are populated with idiots which account for 10% of actual users in those particular disciplines. It's a sad fact of life, but one unfortunately that we all have to put up with.

Motorcyclists and "US" have more in common than most people would understand, it's just a shame both parties don't seem to get on too well, though from reading this thread most motorcyclists have a much more pleasant outlook on their fellow two wheeled amigos than the other way round.

You should feel sorry for them, they don't get to choose whether to wear a helmet or not. (Opens can of worms).

 

[cd365]

You should feel sorry for them, they don't get to choose whether to wear a helmet or not. (Opens can of worms).

I don't wear a helmet on a push-bike but would not consider going without one on a motorbike!

 

[Glover Fan]

I don't wear a helmet on a push-bike but would not consider going without one on a motorbike!

Why? Whats the difference? Hitting you head at 50mph is going to hurt the same on either mode of transport.

 

[Rebel Ian]

Why? Whats the difference? Hitting you head at 50mph is going to hurt the same on either mode of transport.

You must have stronger legs than me. Even on my expensive road bike down a big hill I've only managed to get to 47mph on a pushbike. 50mph is rare.

 

[2Loose]

Can I mention that a motorcyclist colliding with a ped or cyclist is also very likely to come off and hurt themselves, where a car driver may not even notice the collision.

That vulnerability is something that gives all two wheeled users some common ground.

 

[Norm]

Why? Whats the difference? Hitting you head at 50mph is going to hurt the same on either mode of transport.

The difference is firstly the law and secondly 50mph is way faster than I've ever cycled but merely approaching the first gear-change point on the motorbike.

 

[cd365]

Why? Whats the difference? Hitting you head at 50mph is going to hurt the same on either mode of transport.

I have fractured a few speed limits on my motorbike and I wouldn't feel safe without a helmet on.
I have never so unsafe on my pushbike that I felt I needed a helmet. Plus I don't feel that a cycle helmet would give me much protection - but that is another argument!

 

[brockers]

If it weren't an offence, I wouldn't even wear a lid when riding my motorbike if I were just popping down the shops, as I rarely get to go above 25mph. I've come off once in 300,000 motorbike miles, and that was doing 10mph in Covent Garden, when my shoulder took the impact.

 

[swee'pea99]

There are very few animals on this earth as dangerous, unpredictable and downright stupid as a 19 year old boy full of testosterone. It is also 100% immortal. Combine that with a machine that can do 0-60 in four and a half seconds that can be bought on McDonald's pay (so long as you live with your mum) and you have a recipe for problems. Most older bikers are very safe: competent, considerate and careful. As others have said, it's mostly the sub-250cc's you have to watch out for.

 

[Raa]

A big problem with M/Cs IMO, is that there is no requirement for them to have catalytic converters so they tend to be mingers!

Can anyone think of a more anti-social form of transport than a 2-stroke scooter with a noisy exhaust?

 

[Glover Fan]

Trust me, i've been to more funerals of people aged over 30 due to motorcycling related accidents than I have people my own age and trust me I don't take any pride in a statement like that!

Over and over again it has been proven that "born again bikers" are equally as dangerous to themselves, you know the type, passed back in the 70's when the motorcycle test consisted of going round the blocks a few times (this is true, as it is how my dad passed his bike test in 1973) and then buying a Honda CB250.

Leave bikes for about 30 years.

Then buy the latest Suzuki Hayobusa 1300CC capable of speeds of up to 200mph, without any sort of training of any kind. My Dad exactly this and fortunately he is still here today but he will tell you himself that I was far capable (not necessarily safer, you know no sense of fear and all that) on a 600cc bike 3 days after my 17th birthday than he ever was when he bought a Honda Hornet just after his 50th.

I found your post insulting, written without thought or any sort of compassion and tarnished a whole age groups of bikers of a certain age because of some sort of predjudice you may have towards the motorcycling fraternity. As minority roadusers within the realms of cycling we should be mindful of how we speak about other minority groups.

BTW, yes I was a d1ck when I was in my teens, but like i've said i've seen people with more money, sense and age do exactly the same and worse.

 

[swee'pea99]

I'm sorry if you were insulted. I certainly have no prejudice against the motorcycling fraternity...or anyone else for that matter. I ride a bike myself. I simply wrote what I see.

I'm sure what you say is true - about returning bikers also being at risk - but IME it is primarily the young who are the problem - to themselves as well as to other road users. Like the guy who pulled a wheely past me today, on a narrow residential street lined with parked cars. Crazy. 99 times out of 100 he'll get away with it. Then comes #100.