Safety Does it scare you?

[Happy Valley]

And now you guys know why our LEAST favorite question is:

"HOW FAST WILL MY BIKE GO?"

Amen to that.

 

[cpuaid]

I had my handlebars come off, chain tensioner caught in my spokes, but the worse accident I had was of my own fault. I turned into a familiar street at a fast rate of speed on my motorized bike as I've done thousands of times before but I didn't realize they had done some recent construction and left over sand had accumulated. I skidded and tumbled, messed up my bike and had the worst case of road rash on the entire right side of my body you had ever seen, and a concussion to boot. It took me almost a month to recover but I never stopped riding to the amazement of my wife and coworkers.

 

[rustycase]

There was a 34 year old guy that lived nearby. He had just bought a new customed Harley. He was taking a ride around 4 in the afternoon, he was only 2 minutes from his house. He was going about 20-25 mph, a 19 year old driving a small Japanese SUV made a left hand turn and hit the motorcycle broadside throwing the guy about 20 feet to the side of the road at the corner. He died within minutes, it was real sad to see this guy sacked like it was nothing. The young driver was saying he hurt his arm, there was no outward display of concern for the now dead man laying there like a dead animal. He just kept rubbing his sore arm. It seemed like he felt no responsiblity for this guy's death. He probably thought this guy was on a motorcycle, he knew the risks. This accident was about a mile from my house, I ride on this wide road with the mb all the time. I read all these stories about other guy's accidents with careless drivers while riding there mb. I hate to think this is so common where I live.

...and Pablo says " and now you know why our least favorite question is 'how fast will my MB go'"...

I got experience riding motorcycles. A lot, to say the least.
No brag, just fact.

I have found riding like the devil, **** bent for leather, has brought me less impact than operating an under-powered, can't hardly get out of it's own way piece of machinery, while my senses have been obstructed by safety headgear and the motorcycle un-noticeable for quiet exhaust pipes.

A warm sunny day, excellent visibility, a mild motorcycle, and slow speed were the combination that led a nice lady to turn left from a stop and drive directly over the top of my motorcycle as I crashed up over her hood and bounced off her windshield to hit the ground. I noticed her looking at me as she drove over me. Her first words were, "I didn't see you."

Of course she didn't. She didn't care. Wasn't interested.
Until my presence stopped her passage.

On a motorcycle of any sort, you are little more than a gladiator on a hi-speed playing field of armored vehicles.
Observation and agility are your prime defenses.
Speed is not near so important as handling and power to weight ratio.

I'm old now.
Chances of someone motoring over the top of me are probably pretty high because I will ride sensibly, and quietly to avoid attention.

My best advice?
Ride it like you stole it!
rc

 

[fm2200]

I read these safety posts to keep myself fully aware of the potential danger. I came close to three accidents in a very short period. My rear tire was missed by inches at an intersection one block from my house. This happened in the summer of 2009 and to this day I still feel fortunate that my defensive move saved me from getting thrown to the ground or worse yet being under the wheels of the Jeep. This memory lives in my head like it happened a month ago. I was not really going that fast, probably 15-20 mph at best.

 

[Happy Valley]

Some NHTS stats:
100 million Americans use bicycles for transportation or exercise.
7.8 million motorcycles were registered in the United States in 2008.
In 2008 there were 697 bicyclist killed nationwide.
In 2008 there were 5290 motorcyclists killed nationwide.

 

[Deleted member 12676]

I used to practice bicycle motocross a lot when young, fell down many times and it was always my elbows/hips/knees that got hurt, never my head.
So it's funny how helmet use is the topic but no one mentions elbow or knee protectors. But I ride amongst crazy ****-driving latinos almost every day and I never wear a helmet. For me, the more protection you have the less alert and careful you are. I don't advocate my philosophy to others, that's just me. I love feeling free more than protected (more than pants, long-sleeved shirt, and gloves).
In Paraguay during the summer (over 105 degrees) I would practice motocross on my KDX200 without a shirt but man did I pay attention! I never fell while doing that.
The hot topic should be what are you doing to cultivate a Zen-like 100% mental awareness of your surroundings so that nothing can surprise you. I think the 6th sense comes in to play many times too where you just "know" when to slow down or give a driver more space.

 

[RdKryton]

I made the necessary changes to make both my Whizzer and my Harbor Freight build safer. Better wheels, front brakes, and helmet. etc
I look at helmets this way.
Helmet = Better chance of normal survival
No Helmet = Gary Busey
It's your choice but.....

Jim

 

[Deleted member 12676]

RC, I like your motto. I ride rather aggressively to avoid these knuckleheads. I don't go slow and wait around for them to shove me off the road.

 

[retromike3]

speed kills?

Thanks to SBP my bike will do about forty miles an hour, But its more a mater of physics. Lets say that you and your bike weigh in at about two hundred and fifty pounds. Now a car weighs a minimum of about three thousand pounds. You are going to lose regardless of your speed. I have seen bikes left behind moms car when she backs out of her garage, going less than five miles an hour and they are usually toast.

If you ride predictably and wear bright clothing(I have a flasher on my pack) then your chances of not getting crushed like a bug are greatly reduced. Be aware and assume all the cars are trying to kill you and will live a bit longer. So you can die of something else.

mike

 

[Happy Valley]

But its more a mater of physics.
mike

Yup Mike, the laws of physics can have greater impact than the rules of the road, lol.

This thread started out with the OP asking about parts failure and MBs being inherently chintzy leading to accidents. IMO it's a fair topic and I'd guess part of the reason for a board like this is to take some of the slope out of that learning curve.

Given that topic the discussion can move from what we ride and how well we build it to how we ride it. To each his own, everybody has an opinion.

But a couple of things I try to remain cognizant of is: There are many lurkers who read these boards and many of them are kids, every kid wants a motor on a bike. Another thing is, when we ride like it or not, we represent the MBing community and because MBs are still pretty rare, how they are perceived by the larger public.

I'm too old to think I'm going to change anyone's mind but I will say I've come to really like the idea of organized MB racing on closed tracks or private land to satisfy the need for speed and building MBs in what might be called the "unlimited" class. It's a great outlet, raises awareness of MBs as an entity and a lot fun for those involved.

When you get right down to it, I don't give a hoot about the level of risk someone decides is right for them as long as it doesn't impact me or someone else who hasn't agreed to take that risk with them.