Motorcycles

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

Motorcycles

arbilad · Head Chef

With the rising price of gas, I have thought about getting a motorcycle. But I'm a wimp, and so if I ever do I'll probably get a motorcycle with the trike conversion. I don't like the idea of the road grating my skin as I fall off a motorcycle at 75mph.

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

If you're gonna ride for economical reasons, get a scooter.

Even if a motorcycle gets 50 mpg, overall cost-per-mile is usually higher than a compact car. Tires are much more expensive: My rear tire costs $115 and I replace it about every 6000 miles. Gear for riding in the rain, when it's cold, etc. And I'm always tempted to buy some new custom bit for it.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

Just say NO to Donorcycles...

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

The donors are the squids who ride race replicas in their shorts and flipflops and with no helmet, with their 90lb similarly-attired waif-girl on the back.

The donors are the Harley riders who refuse to wear a helmet or wear one of those non-protective Nazi-style brain bowls and have a badass attitude about riding in traffic.

Then there are riders who are like Roper--full-faced helmet, boots, gloves, tough protective clothing, who ride defensively and will never be a donor, and who will buy his daughter a Ducati for her 16th birthday, and she will ride it to school, park it where all the boys are watching, take off her full-face helmet and shake out her luxurious long brunette hair, at which point some dude will say, "I think I'm in love," to which Miss Roper will reply, "Sorry boys, no rides today," and strut to her biology class. biggrin

TitusTodd · Senior Member

We just had the annual HOG (Harley Owners Group) ralley here. There were a lot of motorcycles running around town. There's a lot of truth to the statement about many Harley riders running around without helmets. The flip-flop, short sleeve and short wearing helmetless crowd are usually riding the import crotch rockets or the custom made motorcycles (at least, from what I've seen around here).

The bookkeeper where I work just lost her 34 year old son to a motorcyle wreck two weeks ago. He had three kids 10 and under. I will say he wasn't wearing a helmet. Still, it doesn't make motorcyles anymore attractive, especially to my wife.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Ooh, not sure how I like motorcycles. thinking....

Nope, don't like 'em.

Horses okay, though.

Hoss Cartwright · Senior Member

Some lady wiped out Sunday afternoon on the curve on the road to our chapel, right by the dead skunk. (You all probably know where that is).

So everyone except me was late for the Board of Review.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

If cars and trucks were outlawed, I'd like motorcycles, but I'd want the biggest one... preferably with a rollcage...

-- Edited by rayb at 22:01, 2007-05-23

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

Ray, I think you'd have a lot of fun and look really good on a Triumph Rocket III. It has the biggest motor of any production motorcyle.

And if that's not big enough, you can get a custom Boss Hoss with a 502 ci V-8 with Holley carbs.

Forget about the roll cage, and go with Kevlar clothes, if your not a "real man" enough to wear denim and leather wink

glumirk · Senior Member

Fiance drives a scooter. An '85 Honda Elite. 80 miles to the gallon! That's also 80 miles to the tank, but still. I'm trying to get him to be a better helmet wearer. I've at least got him to wear it if it's a further drive than between our two houses. I just have this huge fear of not being alive for the wedding.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Anyone ever been to Sturgis?

And btw, the smell of skunk is good luck.

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

I lost 2 friends in high school in motorcycle accidents, neither was at fault, both were wearing helmets.

My nephew was almost 19 when he was in a motorcycle accident while wearing his helmet, riding at the posted speed limit (30 mph) on a residential street. The driver of the van he hit turned left in front of him at a green light, he didn't see the motorcycle... Nephew had no time to react. He died within minutes of internal injuries, from the sudden impact. The first person that reached him (an off duty Police Officer) did so in less than 2 minutes, he was directly behind him and witnessed the whole thing. All my nephew had time to say was; "help me, hurts".

Nephew could not have driven any more defensively than he did. The officer who saw it happen was convinced of that... in fact he said he was barely able to avoid the accident himself and he was several car lengths back. I suppose one could argue that nephew would have died in another way if it was his time, which many in the family believed to be true. That didn't make his death any easier on his twin brother... or change his death from being the result of an accident that would not have been fatal if he has been in a car. At that speed, in a car, he probably would not even have been hurt seriously... Honestly, I don't have anything against motorcycles... I simply hope none of my children want to get one, ever.

Hubby wants to get a scooter for commuting to work (16 mi each way, he works graveyard and misses most of our commute traffic)... I am resisting that idea too...

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

According to DMV statistics, motorcyclists are far less likely to get in an accident than automobile drivers. However, motorcyclists receive much more serious injuries when they do get in an accident than automobile drivers do. So I guess it comes down to which dice you wanna roll.

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

I agree Roper... I just hope my kids never wanna roll those ones, cause I am a worry wart when it comes to my family.

Hubby is a grown man, and we have never had the kind of relationship where I used tears to keep him from doing something that I fear, like getting a scooter... We are still "discussing" his commute options... With the change in my job, we need to cut our expenses on fuel, so it's a possiblity, but in all truthfulness it's not one I will ever be completely comfortable with, it may come down to the lesser of two evils???

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

I think there's some form of temptation unique to motorcycles, specifically targeted to men. MrCoco just isn't feelin' it with his '98 Accord. Let's keep it that way.

-- Edited by Cocobeem at 15:55, 2007-05-25

Organist · Senior Member

My motorcycle was wrecked when my twin brother got hit by a truck. His leg and clavicle were broken, but he has since recovered. My dad was in a crash about two years later and broke his clavicle and leg. He being older took longer to recover. He has since bought a bigger motorcycle. My mom is no longer a fan, because she had to care for both of their recoveries.

I've really been thinking about buying a motorcycle recently. Perhaps it is the stress of studying for my 1st licencing board test in 2 weeks. I've almost convinced myself that I should accept a slightly larger student loan to do this. I keep checking Craigslist.org. I saw this beautiful 2006 blue Honda Vulcan, but that is too much money. If I do buy one, I'll probably have to choose a smaller one.