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Dead Men Walking

dMw Chit Chat => The Beer Bar => Seriously though ... => Topic started by: Hippy on April 06, 2006, 06:51:37 PM

Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Hippy on April 06, 2006, 06:51:37 PM
I'm doing a college project about motorcycling.

To help my research and to produce an informed outcome i would like to know "why do you ride"?

Also anyone who doesn't ride but watches Moto GP, WSB, BSB, Supersport etc could give a reason to why they enjoy watching it.

Thanks in advance :)
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: BLOOD_THIRSTY on April 06, 2006, 10:21:20 PM
Its a great experience to ride a motorbike, i have a triumph TT 600, It makes me feel such an adrenalin rush on a motorbike , there seems to be alot of freedom, when u have to muscle the bike its great !  Its pretty pants in the wet weather , but in summer it makes the day seem so fresh to get out and ride along the country roads, its very chilling , relaxing if you ride on a sunday morning with not much traffic about,  sometimes its a pain but when u have a good ride it out weights all the bad traffic days.   IF there are traffic jams you can filter through traffic easy , if u watch out for people.  

But now i have to say i miss the bike days , but my bike has been locked away in my garage for a year and hasnt moved, as i have put bodybuilding before it.  Ive had some near missies and its so not worth it anymore.  But on a race circuit , track days its well better.

Watching the motogp has been great over the years since rossi has shown a new level of motorbiking skillz compared to the rest of the riders on there super machines, but this season looks like there finally catching him up maybe?  , its alot more exciting then racing cars, you see alot more action and rubbing of elbows :)  

Watch this weekends action , im sure you will get a better understanding  :P
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Liberator on April 06, 2006, 11:48:53 PM
:withstupid:

Its the freedom and adrenalin thats the key, I just wanted to pass the test to get it on my license back before the new style tests came in mid 90's. But after a week on a 125 on the training course I was hooked.

A good ride will leave you exausted and very, very satisfied.

You have to put your whole mind and body into riding, on track days you really have to work.

When you are on a straight open road with no other traffic about you don't just tune out, you take in all that is around you. In the car there are too many distractions to really notice things with the radio and the fact that you are sealed inside a metal container you can't really feel and smell whats out there.

On a crowded road you have to be able to read minds, everyone is out to kill you, if you think that, then you are more likely to survive. For every 1 decision that you make for yourself you are analising everyone within 100 metres of you and judging what they are thinking and deciding as well.

Track days are very hard work, but its not just a bunch of speed freaks out to blast round a track, it does actually give you more confidence and skills out on the open road. On an average tack day you will probably consume about 7 litres of water to keep yourself alert and refreshed.

If you are driving around a right hand country bend and see a biker on the wrong side of the road and he zips back in before he gets to you, thats not because he's 'an idiot out to kill himself' its because he has been trained to use all the road to judge and make sure he can take the corner safely.

I have done many Cadwell track days and was on the track for a couple of days at Magny Cour straight after the final WSB championship last year and it is a great feeling, you can push yourself a lot more and you know there isn't going to be a tractor coming the other way.

I'm of to Nurburgring at the end of May on a Motorad training course which one of my friends is instructing on.

My bike is currently in bits in my garage because I dropped it just before Chrstmas when I hit a pile of rocksalt on a roundabout. It needs some bits, repairs and spraying before I go abroad.

For anyone who is thinking about it, try it. It's not for some people, but for those that take to it, it takes over a big part (if not a majority) of your life.

---------------------

As for racing and in particular the MotoGP, watch it this Saturday. Watch Rossi and see some of the things he manages to do with it. For those with Sky, watch all of them on Eurosport. You will see three completely different types of race between the 125, 250 and MotoGP races.

In Jerez it was unfortunate that Rossi was taken off on the first bend, but the fact that he got back on and completed the race with no right foot rest or rear brake has got to have a major psycological effect on the others. I don't think he would have won, but he wouldn't have been far off a podium position if not on it. He even got back into the points after the fall. With Rossi in the race and on your tail it makes everyone ride differently makes them make mistakes. He pulls off impossible manouvers and recovers from almost definate tumbles.

The man is a god!

But.......

Pedrosa is going to be major competition for Rossi and Stoner is going to be in there as well, if Rossi has sorted out his judder problems and is happy with his bike then I think what happens on Saturday may give us more of an insight into what is going to happen. But with everyone trying new things for the 'cc' changes next year it could still bring up a few surprises.

It's going to be a close one this year and I for one don't want to miss a minute.

-------

Well thats my opinion anyway.  :whistle:
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Blunt on April 07, 2006, 12:43:51 AM
My Dad said....

"there's two types of motorcyclists...

those that have had an accident...

and those that are going to"

I had a bike for a couple of years, but the other idiots on the road put me off :(

He was right and I'm glad I packed it in before the inevitable knock on the door & my missus trying to identify my remains :eyebrow:

sorry to be a downer, but I've grown up alot since then and my priorities are MUCH different now

my dad died when I was 13 & I'm determined to not put my kids through that
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: MAD_ness on April 07, 2006, 08:05:23 AM
The sense of freedom you get when you are 16... to be able to be in charge of your own vehicle at that age... the limited speed is a godsend while you get used to the road ...the other "older" drivers who think they have a god given right to the road and not you on your little 50cc fizzer ....

I eventually went up to a brand spanking new 125cc Honda XL .....had that for a year and then had a 250cc RDLC ....thats when I realised there was more fun to be had on 4 wheels.

The thing I do recall is the choice when you gotta go to work on a nice summer day....  car/bike/car/bike..... must admit when I did get the odd nicce summer day ....the bike always won .....

 8)
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: suicidal_monkey on April 07, 2006, 09:21:30 AM
QuoteOriginally posted by Liberator+Apr 6 2006, 10:48 PM-->
QUOTE(Liberator @ Apr 6 2006, 10:48 PM)
you are analising everyone within 100 metres[/b]
:ph34r: ... :lmfao: ... sorry, OT :)
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Thulsa Doom on April 07, 2006, 09:21:37 AM
I used to have a bike (16yrs ago) but it was a poxy 125.
However, it was fun at the time and gives you a sort of free/adrenalin rush/macho feeling (even on a 125).
My bro' and cousins/friends etc all had bikes and you could see the machoism come out whenever they got together to talk about near misses, spills, tank slappers etc.

I gave it up as I kept falling off (mostly softly) and it stopped becoming humerous.

For me I got a similar rush out of fast cars before I decided it was to expensive and dangerous and too likely to get caught.  Least you can pump up the music in a car.

So for me, it was about freedom/fun (and a small bit of machness :blush: )
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Penfold on April 07, 2006, 09:53:08 AM
QuoteOriginally posted by Blunt@Apr 6 2006, 11:43 PM
My Dad said....

"there's two types of motorcyclists...
those that have had an accident...
and those that are going to"

[post=121385]Quoted post[/post]
[/b]


I'm with you

Having buried a good friend 2 year's ago who died in a motorbike accident (moron comes out of a side lane doesn't see him and pushes him into oncoming traffic. Last year another friend spend seven months in hospital as some idiot was doing a 3-pont turn on a small county lane on a blind corner  :ranting:

None of my friends ride motorbikes now which suits me - I've buried enough people I'm close to.

PEN
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: scot on April 07, 2006, 10:14:33 AM
I loved my bike and agree with most of what was said, adrenalin, and the rush of wind in your face u cant beat it. On the downsides its sore when u get spat off/ i broke 6 ribs ,my collarbone in 4 places including an "oblique compound fracture with over riding of the proximal ends" and punctured my lung. It was pretty sore getting on the back of me mates bike for the ride to hospital,couldnt hold on properly. Seeing a bone stick through your skin is kinda surreal.We Got a few miles and I had to conceed and  he phoned his wife to come pick me up  :sad:  I ended up with 14 screws and a foot of titanium bolting a bone graft from my illiac crest (hip) into where my collarbone used to be.
 (http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9677/tn_DSCF0009.jpg)
(one of the screws worked its way out so for a few months I really had a screw loose it was most uncomfortable.)

Heres my wandering screw
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3194/tn_DSC_0070.jpg)
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Anonymous on April 07, 2006, 10:22:17 AM
QuoteOriginally posted by ThePENDRAGON@Apr 7 2006, 08:53 AM
Last year another friend spend seven months in hospital as some idiot was doing a 3-pont turn on a small county lane on a blind corner :ranting:
[post=121436]Quoted post[/post]
[/b]
It's sad when friends die, especially when they are young, I've lost a few as well. However, to be fair, it is the drivers responsibility to drive at such a speed as to stop in the distance he can see. Yes, the guy could have picked a hell of a lot more sensible place to do a 3 point turn but it could just have easily been a child with a horse or a tractor that your friend ran into - country lanes are like that :(
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: JonnyAppleSeed on April 07, 2006, 10:24:10 AM
Had too many friends get killed by / on bikes to ever get one

You can be the best rider in the world but its the rest of the muppets on the road that will get you at some point   :(
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: suicidal_monkey on April 07, 2006, 10:32:59 AM
QuoteOriginally posted by scot@Apr 7 2006, 09:14 AM
Heres my wandering screw
eek. What are they screwed into? I'm not very good at reading x-rays. Is that loose screw/bolt sort of moving upward into your neck? *shudders* hope you're nice and mended now!
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: scot on April 07, 2006, 11:04:58 AM
QuoteOriginally posted by suicidal_monkey@Apr 7 2006, 09:32 AM
eek. What are they screwed into? I'm not very good at reading x-rays. Is that loose screw/bolt sort of moving upward into your neck? *shudders* hope you're nice and mended now!
[post=121446]Quoted post[/post]
[/b]
They go into what should be my collarbone but is a part of my hip grafted in, it was up to just under my Adams apple before they removed it. Its no problem now just stiff/ache y noo n again specially when its cold. The surgeon said he felt more like a panel beater than a surgeon that day. I count myself very lucky as  he told me a few millimetres more i would have put a shattered bone end through an artery and prolly woulda bled out at the side of the road,a Robert Peel fracture seemingly. The bikers amongst us will understand this but the rest may shudder,,when i got to A+E they were gonna cut my jacket off i dont think the Dr. liked being sworn at!!!! I took it off meself but it was a tad on the sore side so i let them cut the t shirt off,it was ruined with blood anyways  :wub:

Another point one word that strikes fear into the heart of any biker


volvo
 :woot:
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Carr0t on April 07, 2006, 11:19:45 AM
Is it true that if you're in an RTA you have to pay for the ambulance trip to the hospital (and then claim it back off the insurance if it wasn't your fault)? One of my mates had heard this, and after coming off his motorbike proceeded to get a friedn to take him home, where he removed his jacket over a broken arm and 2 broken ribs, removed his trousers and boots with a compound fracture in one leg, and then put on jeans, a t shirt and trainers to go to the hospital. Claimed he'd come off his bicycle going down a steep field. Needless to say the doc was dubious he could do that much damage on a bicycle in a field, but there was no way to prove otherwise.

I'm obviously not the biking type. I woulda just let them cut it all off :narnar: I'll stick to me bicycle I think.
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Whitey on April 07, 2006, 01:11:17 PM
I've had a few bikes: LC 125, LC250, GSX600F, ZX6R, CBR600 and loved riding them all.  It's the freedom it gives you and the excileration/adrenalin rush, the problem I had was that I couldn't go slowly.  I was always going around at over 100MPH and knew that sooner or later I would lose my license or my life.  As we had started a family I couldn't be that selfish and sold the bike and bought a Porsche 911.  It was still fast but I could sit at lower speeds and not feel like I had to floor it, I also had more chance of surviving an accident.  A few months ago I slowed down further by changing to a Mazda RX8.
I'll be buying a Punto next  ;)
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Doorman on April 07, 2006, 03:32:19 PM
I wasn't going to add to this thread because it would be a negative addition but...
My wife was hit by a Yamaha R6 who's rider was getting an adrenalin rush. This happened is August last year and she's still not right. Bikes are great, speed is great, adrenalin is a great drug but not on the roads for God's sake! Roads are not sports centres, they're for getting places. Go to track days.
Title: Why do you ride a motorbike?
Post by: Benny on April 07, 2006, 03:55:47 PM
I've always wanted a bike. My main stumbling block is that fact I'd need a bike and a car. Sod riding in the winter.

SO if someone wants to set up a business where the road tax can be split between the two as can the insurance, then I'd be in.

I've ridden before and it is, in my opinion, more direct. You get more feedback from what you are doing and the travelling becomes a part of getting there.

I sound Butlins.
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