Motorcycles Are Dangerous, so Why the Hell Do I Keep Riding?

[camos]

All of you might enjoy reading this article:

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/ownership/motorcycles-are-dangerous-so-why-the-hell-do-i-keep-riding/ar-AAfJsOx?li=AA8hc8

[Sailor]

Good read but I dispute the title. I don't feel motorcycles are inherently dangerous. It is the car drivers who are dangerous. I was giving an interview on local radio when I was asked that very question. My reply was to ask why climb a mountain? Why go sky diving? Why have a sailboat? Why own a beautiful painting? why listen to music?

[Yammer Dan]

When they get the answer I would like to know!!! I win most scar contests. Til Annie shows up!!!

[djh3]

I dunno if they are reasons, or excuses. But 1-not everyone can ride 2-I can get on, go for a ride and I have to put out of my mind the troubles-worries-thoughts that are bugging me. Why because motorcycling requires us to pay attention to what the heck we are doing at hand. 3-Things just look different when your out in the wind. Yea cow poo and dead roadkill smell worse, but man its just FUN.

[videoarizona]

Amen...

[camos]

A little disagreement on your take, Kerry, motorcycles are indeed inherently dangerous. Starting with taking them off the kickstand they will fall over if not held up. Let one tire lose traction and get into a slide and there is a greater than 95% (just a guess) possibility they will crash. It can't be held against motorcycles that car drivers do increase the risk factor substantially but there is no getting around their influence when riding the roads they seem to claim dominance over. You know, getting out of bed is also inherently dangerous and the danger increases dramatically when leaving your home. It's all a matter of perspective.

 

The article is not really about the danger of riding but about what leads to the enjoyment of riding which is somewhat the same and somewhat different for everyone. The author seemed to capture some of the wonderful feelings attained while travelling a good road through a beautiful countryside. It made me wish it wasn't winter.

[saddlebum]

I am not disputing the dangers involved in riding a motorcycle. I think it is something we are all aware of but accept the risk because it equally involves the other side of the risk. The euphoria and sense of freedom we feel when we ride. There is something about touring and seeing the sights from the back of a motorcycle that surpasses that of cruising in a cage. A modern day version of riding the open plains on horseback. Not sure if its just me but there are many occasions when I am riding that I think to myself will I be one of the lucky ones who gets to ride his entire life without incident or will I be one of the unlucky ones. Either way I am thinking, but I enjoy riding so much. I often finding myself justifying what I do by thinking we do not get to choose how we leave this world but we do get to decide to some degree what we do while we are here. And so I continue to ride even though deep down I know that my logic makes no sense at all since there is an accepted risk involved no matter how you look at it. So for those of us that do enjoy riding may we all remain safe and grow old doing what we love.

[Brake Pad]

you can drown in a 4" of water, if you respect the bike, there is no danger. if your in a hurry, take your car, if your riding to ride, Ride. I ride because I get to hang out with some great people, Like Saddle Bum for instance. and all the nice people here in Mayberry:crying:

[Marcarl]

So that's why I get to hang out with SB,,, I wondered before, but now I have it,,,, Thanks BP

[Sailor]

When people ask me what it is like on a motorcycle I compare it to a sailboat. With a car you get inside, start it and go to your destination with little attention to what is outside. Sort of like a power boat. With a motorcycle you are more like a sailboat. You are out in the elements, you have to read and ride the waves and wind ( road). You have to be aware of, and allow for, weather conditions. You have to be awake and alert because if anything is going to happen it will happen fast. With a car or power boat the destination is the object. With a motorcycle or sailboat the journey is the object.

[saddlebum]

So that's why I get to hang out with SB,,, I wondered before, but now I have it,,,, Thanks BP

Took you long enough to figure out how privileged you are.

[PeteVS]

[h=1]“Life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to undo your belt and *look* for trouble.”[/h]

― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

 

My wife Joanne and I have ridden horses for over 30 years, we have suffered falls resulting in concusions, broken bones and hospital stays. Why do we continue to ride? During this summer I found and purchased a 1999 Honda Helix, only 250cc and no clutch ideal around town,easy for an older rider to handle. So now while I am recovering from major Lumbar spine surgery what do I get for my Christmas present? 1988 Venture Royale - At 71 am I loosing my mind? Not at all, the older I get the more I realize we humans make decisions for emotional reasons, My mind is made up stop trying to confuse me with the facts. I had to have a member of my local AA group get the bike off the horse trailer. If I attempted it it would have fallen damaging the bike and probably me as well. I took MSF training several years ago and have read the book and watched the video "Ride Like a Pro", plan to practice the skills discussed starting with the Helix, then the Suzuki 650 and graduating to the VR. The Ride Like a Pro course is offered in Waldorf Md. and if I am ready will take it this summer (2016) There are only two types of riders! Those who have fallen off their horse and those who haven't fallen off there horse yet.

So to answer the question "are motorcycles dangerous/" We can reduce the risk of injury or death by proper traing, quality personal protective which we actually use.

Reduce but not elimanate the risk, reduce but not elimante the injuries.

"We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last." Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions.