Was on the motorbike yesterday, nudging just over 80km/h in the right hand lane. (80 zone)I needed to go into the left hand lane, so I checked the mirror which showed cars behind me at a reasonable distance. Indicated, then did a quick head check to the left and then changed lanes (no car to the side or right behind me)As it turned out, the car in the left hand lane behind me must have been doing 110-120km/h at the very least. When I was in the left hand lane, half a second later the car screamed past me (also in the left hand lane). And the guy had the nerve to give me the fingerI could have seen him if I fully swung my head around I guess, so I will be extra vigilant these days. Would have hated to be wiped out by such a prick
Had exactly the same thing happen to me.... Except it was slower and I was in a car turning into the left lane and had a bike undertake going very fast and moved into where I was pulling into. He narrowly avoided going off the edge of a freeway overpass. Would of served him right if I had hit him but I would of been upset about my paint job Seriously after seeing all the major trauma Ive seen off a bike I would never let anyone I care for ride one. One of my mates at work reckons the best way to ensure you die young is to smoke and ride a bike. In a collision doesnt matter whose fault it was, the rider will always come off second best.
Read an interesting paper on survival stats A study done in the US found that people who had major trauma (long bone fractures) from bike accidents and got straight back on the bike when recovered, had a 0% five year survival rate. Makes you think. See Ya, Garry
I love life, so the bike will always B there If bikes are so dangerous, and riders have a so called death wish.... then why am I still here?!What kind of statistical and research data can be used to explain how I could have covered close to 150,000km by bike, over the last 15 years ?Aren't full time M/bike riders not supposed to live past 25 years of age?Oh well.... what could it be then?Could it be that I take responsibility for my actions on the road? (...hehe, definetly not!) Ok, by responsibility I mean not trying to blame someone else for my actions!These days I tend to think its your attitude which is what helps you the most. Its anticipating what people can and can't do, and not getting in their way (or by getting out of their way quickly).Take the example of a bike overtaking a car at a much higher speed. This one I hear all the time from full time car drivers! The car driver gets scared when they see and hear the bike go past their side window. They think "Oh my great aunt, where did he come from?!", and "I didnt see him, I could have swerved to change lanes and taken him out"Well, quite a long time before the driver notices the bike going past, the bike rider would have noticed the car getting closer and closer, as he approached it from behind(in a good way!)He would be thinking: "Ok, Im probably going xx km/hr faster than this car, and will soon be going past it. The driver may not (most likely not) know that I will be coming past, and can change lanes into me! Therefore I must be ready for him to move, and get out of his way should I need to"Anyhow.... I just thought I'd mention that its possible to ride a bike and not be a statistic.And another thing about statistics: If the government tells me that the chances of having an accident doubles with going 5km/hr over the speed limit,... how come when I do 180 in a 60 zone(hypothetically speaking, of course) I don't self implode into non-existence? (120km over limit = 24 lots of 5km/hr blocks) (2^24 = 16,777,216) Thats close to 17 million more chance of something bad happening! Do you think I should post here again, if I'm drunk?
:YD ...Bike riders unite....>> ....been riding for 36 years, agree with all you say. I think one of the problems with car owners that do not ride, is somehow they think they are superior, and a bike could possibly not accelerate as fast, or brake as well as them. It is interesting, when some members on this forum have, or desire 300kmh speedos (not that there is anything wrong with that), but Nissan never put a 300kmh speedo as standard (?), as the standard car, would not get there (even TT's). However my bike, has as standard a speedo that reads to 320kmh (not that I will ever take it close, even on a track), because Kawasaki knows it could do that speed, standard. You can post when drunk, just dont ride.:YD :YD GT
I love life =) but you know how much easier it is to park a bike as opposed to the zed?and how cool it is when in a traffic jam, to go to the side of the road and skip dozens of cars :YDBikes are mad fun when you get the hang of them. I remember my first time on the road. Lets just say I took the bicycle path every chance I got and was going like 40, in an 80 zone cause I was scared $hitless haha. Not anymore thoughI'm selling it now though. Its just so much slower than my zed
Hehe... youre right about the speedo thing! If someone made a 500km/hr speedo, how many NA drivers would be queing up? I think they would sell better than the 300km units!(I'm ready for you Jedi. ... come get me)Yeah, a lot of car drivers think that everyone else out on the roads, drives the same way that they do. So if they never go over 50 kays, no one else will be. They then pull out right infront of you, cause they think youre going really slow as well.The whole idea is to be ready for them to come out infront of you. Sort of like "bring 'em on!". Then once they do, you are ready for them, and that makes a BIG difference. Yes, I love life. Thats why there will allways be a big bore sports bike in the garage! :YD :YD :YD =) :YD }) :YD :-Z
Wish I could say the same I used to own a bike, but it just got too dangerous to ride it in traffic, and even though Adelaide has some of the best hills roads for riding that I've ever seen, the ocasions when I found the time for a decent ride evaporated to pretty much nothing. I remember thinking that if I had less than three close calls from cars in a decent ride, then I could consider myself lucky, but when I really sat back and thought about it, that's not very good odds for long term survival at all x( :N( Wouldn't it be nice if all car drivers had to ride a bike at least once per year to gain 'bike experience' - and vice versa. It might just bring the stats down a little bit.
I think everyone interested in good driving habits should ride a bike for at least a year or two. I have been riding for 20 odd years(road) and m/cross between 13-16yoa. When on my ZXR750 i had, i rode it hard but sendible, no accidents but plenty of near misses mainly due to the "car" driver being a dill and driving like mr magoo! On a bike its like being 100% aware of your surroundings(almost 300 degrees) 98% of the time because you do not want to come off and die! I constantly scan everything...even drivers hands going for the indicator etc. In a car however, a lot of drivers are more concerned about listning to the right radio station as they have little at risk except there hip pocket. :x my 2 cents worth. BTW...fastest ive been on the bike for a considerable length of time(not just a peak reading) was 230kmh and at that speed for several minutes is a rush with near tunnel vision resulting! (done on a deserted long country road early morning for the non speeding do gooders out there)
While they are gaining experience....>> Make them all spend some time driving a truck in heavy traffic. I'm constantly amazed by the way people happily cut trucks off pulling up to lights and expect them to stop like a car, or try to dive under them when they swing right to make a tight lefthand turn.
I'm not going to sleep tonight.. All this talk of riding!! The complete rebuild of my '94 ZX7 is just a couple of weeks away. I've been waiting for my baby for nearly a year. Hoping for 110-130 RWHP when its done. It makes the Z seem like a pussy cat.Riding is all about attitude, if you assume every car has a dumbass not paying attention, and not using their mirrors, then you're ready for their acts of stupidity and right 90% of the time. I've been riding nearly everyday for the past 5 years, on city roads, in traffic, and have kept it sticky side down. The closest calls have been either my inattention, or dumbass drivers, or both.Two guys I work with got their L's last year. They thought of themselves as motogp riders after riding each weekend for 3 months (aka weekend warriors). They crashed within weeks of each other, one guy put his shiny new CBR into a round about at 70kms, the other took his shiny,not so new CBR, for an 'offroad adventure' at a popular cycle spot. Both were very lucky with just severe bruising/abrasions and concusiion. Neither ride anymore, becuase 'bikes are too dangerous'.Natural Selection? Some people are just born dumb, or unlucky... sorry about the rant, I'm all excitable at the prospect of getting my 7 back
The problem is One accident and your toast (at a decent speed anyway) no AC no CD player, loud, uncomfortable, and Ive hit some pretty decent pot holes in the Z that would most definatly throw a bike rider.I am a little bias against bikes as both me and my father have lost 5 combined friends to motorbikes, 3 of which were decapitations (recover from that) not that its impossible to die in a car, but I prefer 1.5 ton of metal around me, seat belts, and a crumple zone.It is certainly possible to be lucky and never crash on a bike, however bike riders are usually some of the worst drivers for speeding (not all) and the ones that pop wheelies are just crazy.Its not a generalisation on all bike riders, and if you must drive a bike please just do so carefully, remember as well as you can control your bike, you cant control the people driving around you.for the record I always give trucks full space, anything bigger than me is the boss I also did motocross for a number of years, so ive been on plenty of off road bikes, and owned quite a few :YD thats where I get my bike fix from
At the very least... every learner driver should have to do the "rider safe" motorcycle introduction training course prior to getting there car license. The experience would make a world of difference to their education.
If I could do my job on a bike I would and I did do this for 4 years or so with no car at all most of that time. Bike riding gives you a great idea about dynamics of speed and suspension a real idea what idiots are out there, , and an excellent idea how invisible you are to them. Can't come up with a rason why this isn't a good leason to learn though.......Bikes are good mmmkkkaaaaay?
