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Anyone else quit riding motorcycles?

#61
This is a personal observation.

If a conservative does not want a gun he does not buy a gun.
If a liberal does not want a gun then no one should have a gun.
If a conservative wants to wear a helmet he makes a personal decision to wear one.
If a liberal wants to wear a helmet then every one else has to wear a helmet
 
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#62
Jim Campbell said:
so because you feel that way everyone else should....brits are not allowed to do a lot of things for their own good....that's why the empire decided to go their own way
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I probably worded that badly. I think people should be allowed to do what they want. However in my opinion riding without proper safety gear is just stupid coz no matter how good a rider you may be there are shed loads of idiots on the road and the safety gear really does work. While you may feel more free with no helmet in my opinion it aint worth the risk.

I agree there are loads of stupid laws in this country forcing people to bubble wrap themselves.
 
#63
etoncrow said:
This is a personal observation.

If a conservative does not want a gun he does not buy a gun.
If a liberal does not want a gun then no one should have a gun.
If a conservative wants to wear a helmet he makes a personal decision to wear one.
If a liberal wants to wear a helmet then every one else has to wear a helmet
Click to expand...

Although strangely enough; if a conservative doesn't like drugs then no one should have any and he'll spend millions in making sure they don't.
 
#65
I can think of five friends that ride motorcycles. Four have had incidents over the last couple of years. One was only minor, two came off in a big way and the fourth one is dead. As much as I like motorcycles, I just won't go there now. They are dangerous enough as it is without the increasing traffic loads and the worsening attitudes of drivers. It seems that even if you ride sensibly, someone else will bring you unstuck. I'm sure they are great fun to ride, just not really worth it IMO.

The funny (or not so?) thing is that the fifth one who has so far been okay doesn't take the other guys accidents as any warning. He seems to have gotten a false confidence about the whole thing and just puts it down to his 'mad awesome riding skills'... I call it luck :P
 
#68
Jefenator said:
Anyone else get out of motorcycling and feel OK about it?
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Here.
Got my femur shoved through my hip socket and leg tied into a pretzel in 1971(IIRC) when a pickup truck turned into my left leg(oncoming traffic, didn't see me). 3 months in traction, 2 operations, a re-break, infection, permanent hole in my leg, and traumatic arthritis in my left hip(pin still in the socket part) forever.

I did buy 2 totalled bikes and put together one good one when I still had a half cast just to ride again and not be afraid of it. I can do it but it's not the most intelligent thing to do. I value my hands(i.e. playing music) and being able to walk.

The FIRST thing you do when going down is put your hands out/down. Gloves or no, I'll pass. My hands provide too much to put at risk and give idiots a chance to destroy them.

JC
 
#69
I am selling my Harley Dyna. I had a Yamaha 360 as my first bike, sold it and bought a Yamaha 750 tripple, then traded that in on a new 1985 Maxim. That was a fast bike. I lived in Arcadia Fla, we would go to Sarasota its a flat straight 52 miles. You can close your eyes and go. I would do 135 with me and 120 if my wife was on it. We moved back to Michigan and I remember there was a little Alfa Romeo who wanted to race and we were just going over the Mackinaw Bridge. I did 115 over that bridge. Just crazy ass stuff when you are young and think there is a big S under your shirt. I now have a Dyna and am selling it. I don't drive over 65 and give myself a lot of room but my issue is people who drive like crap. They cut me off and don't watch. The stats here are that you are 35 times more likely to die on a bike and most of that is from other car drivers not watching out for you. Believe me I don't want to sell.
 
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#70
I sold my Heritage Classic softail back in '93 because I needed a new roof put on the house I had just bought. I was toying with the idea of a new Fatboy last year, then I saw the prices. At 67, I guess I'm over motorcycles now.
 
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#73
Low Rider & Me 2.JPG
It makes me sad, but I can - and do - respect everyone's decision not to ride, for whatever reason(s). For you, they are perfectly valid ones. However... for me, they are not. Been riding practically every day since I got my first bike in late June of 1967. Have I been down a time or 3? Yes, I have; sometimes it was my stupid fault; sometimes it was somebody else's. And yes, I have a metal piece or two inside. Is it more dangerous to ride now than it was back in the day? Maybe; but, the bikes - especially the brakes and tires - are much better now. Still, I have to agree that people sure seem stupider. I certainly wouldn't want to ride my first bike ('57 AJS 250) in Las Vegas today... But, I have no intention of stopping, until I just physically can't ride any more. And, if the reason is because I'm dead? C'est la vie...:cool:
 
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#74
I started riding at 18 and I'm still riding at 54, though not nearly as much. I'm okay with taking the bike around town running errands or on the open highway, but I won't ride to work because of the rush hour traffic. Traffic didn't used to bother me that much but there are a lot more cars on the road than there were 20 or 30 years ago.

edteach said:
you are 35 times more likely to die on a bike and most of that is from other car drivers not watching out for you.
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To some degree it's car drivers not seeing bikes, but a lot of it is also impatient bike riders speeding and weaving through traffic. At least here in SoCal. I make a special effort to watch for bikes, but sometimes, you check your mirror to lane change, see that it's clear, and signal. Then as you start your lane change, out of nowhere comes a speeding bike. I'm not sure what DOT statistics show, but based on my personal observations, I believe the majority of accidents involving a car and a bike are the biker's fault and it's due to speeding.
 
#75
What an appropriate zombie thread!

I gave up riding from when I got my driver's license and could drive a car until about 20 years ago. I have been on the bike as much as possible since. During that time off, I rode a bicycle quite a bit, and then figured out that a motor made it faster and meant I could get places sooner than riding a bicycle. Which lead to bad behavior, which lead to the race track which let to me understanding that the difference between 100 mph and the speed limit was a ticket, not much of a thrill. Up to a point. I have been down. It's an inherently unstable vehicle that relies upon a fallible human to keep it from falling over. It also relies upon avoiding manhole covers, slick paint, sand in corners, and all that. I armor up like I'm going racing even if it's a trip around the block, but it's still what I do. My body has crashed well so far. There's always that next time that takes me out, and I know that. But, I can't see giving it up. I fully understand those who don't ride for a variety of reasons, but I ride year-round, no matter the weather. Snow and ice is the limit, not cold, rain, heat, or anything like that. It's just what I do, kinda like playing bass. There's no deep philosophical reason, just happy habit.
 
#76
I quit riding almost 30 years ago. Before that , I rode more than drove a car. Full choppers most of the time. Think Peter Fondas bike in Easyrider. Mine was black instead of chrome and hopped up quite a bit. My solution for not getting run over was simply to be going faster than the cars were. That way , all I had to worry about was me not running into anybody. I gave them up cause I just got tired of riding. Recently Seahag (my lovely wife) got the urge to ride and bought herself a bike. I got on it a couple of times hoping the thrill might come back , but it didn't. Just didn't do anything for me. She's got a couple of friends to ride with so it's all O K.
 
#79
edteach said:
going over the Mackinaw Bridge. I did 115 over that bridge. Just crazy ass stuff
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Yeah, that's pretty crazy. That bridge is scary at 55. Especially with the wind.

I'm at a crossroads about selling my bike. My left shoulder has been injured for a few years and it hurts to ride more than an hour or so. I barely rode at all the last couple of years. I got my bike out last week and rode it to the store, I miss it. I'm thinking I will try it again this summer and if it hurts too much to ride, I will be done. :(
 

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