Motorcycles

Mr_Mxyztplk · #1 11-07-2007, 01:13 PM

I've been riding for 38 years, one statement that has always held true, There are 2 types of riders, those that have gone down, and those that will go down.

keep the shiny side up

Mat Sklansky · #2 11-07-2007, 01:23 PM

presumably you have "gone down". what happened?

tuq · #3 11-07-2007, 01:24 PM

Ugh.

This state doesn't have a helmet law that I'm aware of and I'm amazed to regularly see riders doing 40+ MPH on surface streets without any protection. Hell I went for a nice long bike (bicycle) ride last week and almost didn't go because my helmet's clip was missing, but I fashioned a knot and off I went. The concern as always wasn't about me being dumb, it was to protect me from others.

My brother had a serious wipeout on a slick road in Iowa City, Iowa around fifteen years ago. Countless surgeries later he has a ton of scars on his right forearm but that I know of is lucky that he didn't suffer any permanent nerve damage. He hasn't ridden a motorcycle since.

Maybe I'm just risk averse, and maybe it is a hell of a rush, but I like the security that a few tons of steel and a couple of airbags provides.

As an aside, I could never get through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I got to a certain point and got bored to tears every time. I did enjoy some of the analogies he made related to his bike though!

katyseagull · #4 11-07-2007, 02:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Maybe I'm just risk averse, and maybe it is a hell of a rush, but I like the security that a few tons of steel and a couple of airbags provides.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm with you on this Tuq. My boyfriend doesn't wear a helmet. A lot of riders where I live don't. I think they're nuts.

And that pic that Big Bend just posted, YEOW. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Road rash is gross. I've seen it firsthand and it is not pretty. Even the emergency room doctors wince when they see it.

Big Bend · #5 11-07-2007, 01:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I've been riding for 38 years, one statement that has always held true, There are 2 types of riders, those that have gone down, and those that will go down.

[/ QUOTE ]

Prob true. If this is the day you're gona crash, how much protective gear do you want to be wearing when it happens?

ATGATT

I don't have a problem with motorcycles riding with bad gear, no helmets, etc.. My thinking tho is when they crash and get hurt, they're on their own, tuff luck kid, no govt assistance in public hospitals etc... Let em die on the sidewalk and maybe the next motorcycle rider will get smart and suit up.