The close season is here and already we're into the obscure threads so here's another one. Do we have any bikers on the forum..? Do you have a photograph of your current machine or when you rode motorcycles..? Sadly, the only photo I have is my old tiny avatar. Perhaps you've seen if if you've gone to my membership profile. Yep, that's me on the bike too. Here's a good photo of the identical machine, condition, colour, year, everything. The Honda VFR800Fi comes in blue, green, yellow, but mainly red. Every biker knows they're slightly faster in red.
I have a Triumph Street Triple (new shape) a bit like this but I have the colour coded belly-pan, radiator cowl and flyscreen. Just passed my 1st year of riding without incident.
The only decent motorcycle I had was a Royal Enfield Bullet built in 1958. Sadly I don't have a photograph of it to share.
Do you ride your bike round like most of the idiot motorcyclists i encounter? Always find it funny how there are signs saying think bike when the riders don't even think it! I want a sticker up in my car saying think car! Needless to say i've had alot of incidents with motorcyclists,in fact i had one yesterday where he went on my outside in a queue of traffic and cut in infront of me when i started to pull away! Asshole! I'm sure you lot don't do that though!
I cant believe there are any bikers left. This shocked me: ''In 2011, Hampshire Constabulary dealt with 342 collisions in which a motorcyclist was killed or seriously injured'' That's pretty much 1 a DAY just in Hampshire
On the whole I find motorists a reasonable bunch. There are one or two idiots just like there are one or two idiots on bikes. As both a motorist and a motorcyclist, the main contention seems to be from motorists is that they don't like the way bikers shuffle up in front of them in traffic, when there appears to be no room. A good motorist will always give a biker plenty of room. Remember, by and large, the biker will be out of your way in the blink of an eye, once the chance presents itself. Another contentious issue, always in traffic, is how the biker is able to serenely dive up the outside, while the motorist is stuck. Well, bear in mind that the biker has far, far greater visibility than the car driver. You might occasionally see a biker stand up on the footrests, just to complete the information required to stay alive or to get the info necessary to get out of people's way. Remember, that what is an annoyance to the motorist, could be life or death to the motorcyclist. And I promise you, the vast majority of bikers THINK CAR..!! Why..? Because if they don't they could be dead within moments. Why do bikers ride bikes, if it so dangerous..? There are all these moving steel caged chicanes to bounce off and kill the biker. Well the thing is, when you were young you may have had a bicycle. And when you went downhill it went very fast. Now imagine the thrill is 1,000 times that of the bicycle, and not only does it go fast downhill, but everywhere, if you want it to. It stops like you won't believe, and it accelerates faster than any equivalent car. And for practicality's sake, it's affordable. You get hypercar performance for mere fraction of the prcie. Plus, 45-55mpg. Makes sense..! A bike is right there in the elements too, and when you go round a fast corner or roundabout, getting it perfect gives such an unbelievable buzz - like Saints scoring twice in injury time, to win - every time. I've owned and driven a few very fast cars indeed, in my time. None of them gets near to the thrill of a motorcycle, and not because they are down on performance, in comparison. My old SAAB 900 Turbo 16V could live with many bikes in that department, plus it had all the trimmings to make driving an absolute pleasure. But it still wasn't as pleasurable as riding my bike. Of course, when it's endlessly piddling it down [like for the last 3 months] or freezing, I'd probably rather be in a car. But only just.
Think I am going to do my bike test in the Summer, it's a lot more convenient. Not sure how I am going to get Mrs Q onside yet.
Yes, thank you for that interesting little stat, Godders. It's not as if a motorcyclist isn't aware of such things. And here's a picture of your Royal Enfield Bullet. please log in to view this image
Hampshire has some famous motorcycling roads Sadly, I'm not a motorcyclist as of yet. Hope to be within a couple of years.
I'm a withoutamotor-motor-cyclist? Does that count? Think bike.......I wish people thought 'think bicycle' too. The number of close calls I've had is unbelievable. NB: I do not ride like a tw*t, I cycle in the marked cycle lanes, but obviously people in cars think they're for them too..
Thank you for the photo TSS. That takes me back. I went all over the country on my Bullet and had great fun. There is absolutely nothing to compare with riding a motorbike on the open road in the middle of summer. Pure heaven. As for the cold, the snow, the ice and the rain etc well no thanks I'll stay cacooned in my car.
Good response.The only thing i will say is the majority i have encountered do something that could put themselves in danger,i have seen a few decent ones too but the bad far outweigh the good.Why is it that motorcyclists think the speed limit doesn't apply to them?
I had a little Yamaha YB 100 when I Was about 19. It was missing a washer or something so every time it rained it would stop for a few seconds until the heat of the motor dried it out and then it would go for another 100 yards before stopping again. Then I bought a Chrysler Alpine from a mate for £100. It was two tone (rust and yellow) and I worked out that I was likely to stay a) alive and b) warm and dry in that. I have never looked back. The bike was very cheap motoring mind you.
I used to ride around Soton in the 70`s on a BSA B25 Starfire. My pal had a BSA C15. There used to be a motorcyclist PC called Lucas who used to chase us on his B25 - he didn`t want to book us, only stop us for a chat !
In the same way that many motorists don't think the speed limit applies to them. There's very little difference in the mentalities. The only real difference is that most motorcyclists who think that way invariably have a bike underneath them that can do over twice the legal limit. You have to appreciate that 70mph is absolutely dawdling on a powerful motorcycle. Personally, I find 70mph to be fine, although when I'm pulling out into traffic, from a slip road on a motorway, occasionally I'll give it a few beans to get myself out of the way. 100+mph comes up ridiculously quickly. But as soon as I can, I'm back down to 70mph. I'm just that little bit further up the road and away from trouble, BTW, on the bad outweigh the good issue. You NOTICE the bad biker. You don't notice the good biker. That's why the bad bikers outweigh the good. Even thought they don't, because bad bikers don't last long. I find that if I'm reasonable to motorists they are reasonable to me. Unreasonable motorists tend to receive unreasonable behaviour back, although not from me. I tend to just open the throttle and get out of the way. Generally though, it's a simple thing. Be nice to each other, because otherwise the consequences can be tragic. And that goes for motorist v motorist too. One last point. A motorcyclist in an unprovoked bad mood is an extremely rare event. They are generally having far too good a time.
I have a suzuki gsx-r750 like the following love riding her around the winding roads of the new forest
When I was a young lad in my teens nearly every one of my friends had a motorcycle as even a second hand a car was very expensive to buy. A lot of people just stuck a side car on the side of their motorbike and they could take their wife and a couple of children out. By the time they were able to afford a car they had a lot of years experience as motor cyclists. I would say that probably the majority of motorists had also been motor cyclists at that time. By the mid to late sixties the cost of motoring started to fall and people were bypassing the motorcycle and going straight to a motor car with the consequence that increasing numbers of motorists had not ridden a motor bike. Today the percentage of motor car drivers who have also ridden a motorbike is very small and many motorists do not understand the needs of the motorcyclist and do not make allowances for them and quite often don't see them. This is why so many motorcyclists are injured in accidents where a driver has pulled right out in front of them only to explain later they never saw the motorcyclist.
Fair enough.I myself do treat every road user with respect,mainly because i don't want anyone scratching my car! haha.I also have to say that i do notice the good bike riders,i had one that sticks in my head from a while ago actually,he just sat behind me with a good distance going the speed limit,i was surprised at the time as normally they'd be right on my tail or just bomb past me.Thinking about it i see your point that most people speed,whether in a car or on a bike,i suppose it's just more noticeable because bikes overtake on main roads.
