Seat swap: New motorcycle means more risk

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ^ | April 15, 2008 | RICK BARRETT

[Global2010]

I was very relieved when my sons Dad sent a picture up to us of his new bike.

It was a 4 wheeler ATV.
Perfect for the old geezer.

[Global2010]

Be very careful on a strange bike, no matter how long you have ridden a motorcycle.

Enjoy.

---

Is that some kind of Man code on advice about women?

[moonman]

Back in 1991, when my two kids hit the teenage years and wanted to ride on the back with dad, is when I sold my bike.

[varyouga]

The study also found that riders of cruiser bikes, such as Harley-Davidsons, who switched to high-performance sport bikes like Suzuki GSXRs were 3 1/2 -times more likely to crash. That's more than double the risk they would have if they had just switched to another cruiser.

Sport bikers, on the other hand, could reduce their crash risks by more than one-third just by switching to a cruiser, according to Progressive.

The headline is wrong. It doesn't say both changes are more dangerous. It says cruisers are safer in both cases. Switching to or staying with a sport bike is more dangerous than staying or switching to a cruiser.

[dblshot]

I can’t believe we have gone this far in this thread without someone saying. “Wear a helmet Dude!”. Too many baby boomers trying to look like Peter Fonda and riding with only a doo rag on are a primary cause of fatalities.

[camle]

tain’t what you wear, it’s how you wear it.

all the so-called safety gear can’t make one a safe rider, and safe rider’s never need it. Helmets are a percentage game - you’re betting that should you have an accident, it’ll be one that the helmet will help, and not the kind where a helmet can hurt - for example tumbling, where the bulk of the helmet yanks the neck more than without one.

now watch the safety nazi’s coem after me ;-)

[camle]

BTW: at a charity run last season, some bike-lawyer group passed out do rags to everyone. ironic?

[Just another Joe]

No they aren’t.

I have to disagree.
The basics are the same, the dynamics are different.

[-YYZ-]

There’s nothing inherently more dangerous about a sportbike - in fact they’re lighter, more manoeuverable, better braked, and have better tires than cruisers, making them better able to avoid accidents. Any bike is only as safe as the rider who’s controlling it. If one insists on railing around corners with knee on the ground, eventually the laws of physics are going to catch up with you. Same for high speeds - if you’re going twice the speed limit and someone pulls out of a driveway or side street into your path, whose fault is it, really?

I ride a bike that is neither sport bike (according to my insurance company) or cruiser. I ride quite briskly at times, and yet I can’t remember the last time I even had a close call or “pucker factor” moment. A lot of it just comes down to expecting everyone else on the road to always do the stupidest thing possible. I drive my car the same way, which is probably why I haven’t been involved in an accident, my fault or not, for about 20 years (and the accidents before that were fender-benders while driving courier in the city).

[HamiltonJay]

I road bikes for years, and a harley for years... I am no 36 years old and gave up my bike a few years ago. No, not any sort of accident, but fiscal reasons at the time.

I used to shake my head when I’d see some guy in his 50s who’d never rode before showing up at the dealership to pick up his new fully loaded dresser or fat boy.. or whatever. Beautiful bikes that I knew odds were very great would wind up road kill inside of a few months. Not because the bikes were any more unsafe than any other bike, just the riders were, completely out of their leagues.

I cannot even begin to count how many close calls I had over the years, where the only thing that kept me from going down was defensive driving, experience and reaction time. On a sunny day like today, where they are calling for 70s and sun, I openly admit I miss my bike... but I also know and can tell my reaction time has slowed, from what it used to be, and I’m in my mid 30s, because of my experience I doubt highly I’ll ever buy another bike just for that reason alone. Guys in their 50s, never been on a bike before and then go buy the biggest most loaded thing they can find are flirting with disaster.

[HamiltonJay]

If one insists on railing around corners with knee on the ground, eventually the laws of physics an oil patch, some sand or gravel are going to catch up with you.

[Kozak]

This is a GREAT way to mitigate our generations effect on Social Security and Medicare.....

[HamiltonJay]

cars were at fault in an accident 85% of the time

If you wind up dead, doesn't really matter who's at fault.. you are still dead... if you ever get on a bike and ride without this thought going on in your head the entire time "Every Vehicle I see is going to try to be where I am." you probably should not be on a bike in the first place.

[hdbc]

I own a motorcycle dealership, been riding for thirty years. My son is in college and wants to run the family business some day. Of course, being able to walk the walk, almost requires him to start riding bikes. Let me tell you, this scares the hell out of me! God-forbid, if anything ever happened to him because of this business, I don’t know what I’d do.

[papasmurf]

A fool and his bike, are soon parted.

[martin_fierro]

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[ScottyinTN]

A new rider really should start out on something small. Unfortunately the only small Harley is the sportster, and that seems to have a certain stigma in Harley circles. So most guys buy a 900lb monster.

Personally, I won’t ride anything I can’t pick up by myself. Bikes can and do fall over.

[FrankR]

"When a cruiser rider switches to a sport bike, the dynamics of riding are profoundly different, according to Stern. "

A lot of it has to do with the rider, as well. More than once I have been cruising (in my car) down the expressway at about 70 mph when - seemingly out of nowhere - a group of 6 or more "crotch rocket" biker zoom by me like I was standing still, and going out of sight in seconds...they're probably doing over 100 mph at the time. Not only does it startle the hell out of me when they zoom by, but they are generallly racing each other.

I used to ride dirt bikes (the motorcycle kind) and learned way back in the 70's that automobile drivers show no concern to motorcyclists and tend to see them more as "bicycles" that can stop on a dime. That's why I bought a trailer back then, just to get me to the woods where I could ride in relative safety.

To paraphrase an old adage, "God made crotch rockets to keep idiots off of Harleys".

[HamiltonJay]

Germany (I believe) has the right idea when it comes to motorcycles. The size of the bike you are allowed to own is directly proportional to how many years experience you have... If you have never ridden a bike before in your life you can’t go walk into a dealership and walk out with a 750lb bruiser.

Now I know this will never fly in the states, but their stages system is a far far wiser approach. You got to work your way up to the big boys.

[RFEngineer]

“now watch the safety nazi’s coem after me ;-)”

It’s either the safety nazis, or the organ donor folks.

Take your pick.