Posted on 04/16/2008 3:49:32 AM PDT by BraveMan
Whoever coined the phrase "it's just like riding a bike" probably never switched motorcycles.
Even experienced riders can be wobbly on an unfamiliar bike, according to a recent study from the Progressive Group of Insurance Cos., a motorcycle insurer.
Progressive reviewed nearly 2 million motorcycle insurance policies over a five-year period and found that riders who switched to different types of bikes were nearly 70% more likely to crash than riders who kept the same bike.
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.
"We want experienced riders to know their risks so they can take extra precautions when they replace their bikes," said Rick Stern, a Progressive motorcycle insurance product manager who is also a rider.
New riders, by far, are still the most likely to crash because of their lack of riding experience.
But the study showed that riders unfamiliar with their current motorcycle, regardless of riding experience or the type of bike, were more likely to be involved in a collision.
"As a motorcycle rider, the data feels right. We certainly had enough data to feel confident that what we were looking at was real," Stern said.
The study looked at insurance policies where the policy holders had at least a year of riding experience. Age wasn't considered a factor, but many sport-bike enthusiasts are younger riders.
When a cruiser rider switches to a sport bike, the dynamics of riding are profoundly different, according to Stern.
"You can twist the throttle on a cruiser and go pretty darn fast, but your front wheel stays on the ground. If you twist the throttle that much on a sport bike, crazy things can happen," he said.
Even riders who successfully complete motorcycle safety classes are likely to crash if the bike they buy is much different than the one they learned on, said Rick Breuer, owner of Learning Curves Racing, a Milwaukee riding school.
"They take classes and do really well on a 250-cc (small) street bike and then go out and buy the biggest Harley they can possibly find. I expect them to almost fall down immediately just because of the differences in weight and because they don't have the respect for those giant bikes," Breuer said.
There's nothing inherently more dangerous about large motorcycles. It's the rider that makes the difference, said Mary Donovan-Popa, owner of Motorcycling Enterprises Inc., a Milwaukee riding school.
"Every bike has its own personality. Unless you familiarize yourself with that, you are looking for trouble," she said.
Older riders also are at a high risk of accidents, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
In 1997, for example, 19% of motorcyclists killed in the United States were ages 40 to 49. The figure had risen to 23% in 2006, the most recent year for which data was available, according to the NHTSA.
For the 50-to-59 age group, the total was 10% of motorcyclists killed in 1997 and 18% in 2006. In the 59-plus category, the figure was 4% in 1997 and 7% in 2006.
Why the changes? Much of it can be explained by a growing pool of baby-boomer motorcyclists, including those returning to riding after years out of the saddle.
In Wisconsin, there were 24 motorcyclists ages 45 to 54 killed in 2006, the most of any age group. Of the 712 people killed in motor vehicle accidents that year, 93, or 13%, were motorcycle drivers or passengers.
Anyone can benefit from practicing the basics on their bikes, Stern said, including low-speed riding, turning, shifting and higher-speed panic stopping.
Especially with a new bike: "It's a good idea for riders to take it out for a couple of shakedown cruises in a parking lot before hitting the open road," Stern said.
These are what I refer to as dynamics.
What you refer to as dynamics I refer to as basics.
I call it, "Head on a swivel".
Rich Urban Biker. You know, the orthodonist who grows two days of stubble and thinks he’s a biker bad-ass on Memorial Day as the throws his leg over his $20K machine with 20 miles on it.
Check.
Usually riding in a pack all wearing $1000 in Harley sanctioned clothes trying to look different while all looking the same. I live out in the country on some great bike roads. These guys come through all summer. I wish they would leave the mufflers on.
Todays sport bikes are pretty suicidal. It’s almost impossible to obey the law on one. Anything more than just cracking the throttle and it’s “Hang On”. Very, very different from a cruiser. You better *really* know how to ride if you’re going to use what it’s got.
A bike has two wheels.
Blah blah blah.. so many words, thoughts, statistics....... :-)~~~~~~~~~~~
Slide the keyboard away,
put the beverage down,
gear up,
saddle up,
push the start button,
slide the kickstand,
back it out of the garage,
set the radio to “scream” level,
adjust your sack,
kick it down to first,
look both ways,
........ lets ride!!!
I’ve never had any problems switching motorcycles - ya just have to pay attention!
I've been riding that way since 1948 - when you assume that everyone sees you, is when you get crunched.
The very same sentiment applies to cars, planes, boats, and trains, Judge. Perhaps we should all just stay home and live in plastic bubbles? But then the formaldehyde would get us, affecting the lawsuits and the “unsupported next-of-kin” that your comment presupposes EVERYONE has, etc...
Somehow I've never considered bags, trailers, sterio / intercoms, and flags to represent "biking".
(They do seem to be quite popular over in the local retirement community)
On the other end, what spooks me the most are the high revving, race worthy, rice rockets, on what must be the most wonderful tires ever devised, being ridden down the freeway by a bunch of teen agers who don't know how close they are to their own limits. It hurts to learn those limits (but easier to deal with at 18 than at 55).
Note; the twins down the street got new Suzukis (?) last year; they were both wearing road rash all over that shiny paint within about 30 days...now I only see one of them riding in or out.
As to "new bikes", any time you ride ANY different bike or pick up your own bike after a winter lay off, you've got to feel your way (back) into it.
BLAHAHAHAHAHAHA Best post all day!
:)
Why the Hyosung? Kawasaki just launched the new Ninja 250 and it’s great looking.
You mistake me...
I am a biker
I have no problem differentiating between
living in fear, and being cautious
I have no problem with accepting the consequences of my behavior.
The comment was a response to comment #33
Sometimes, the legal aspect of fault may be
important, after death. For myself, I don't care
I must walk my own path
I must accept the consequences of that walk
I got one GREAT BIG WAKE-UP CALL when I rode the Buell for the first time. Lofting the front wheel with an angry twist of the wrist, lofting the rear wheel with firm grab of the right lever; that first ride left me literally shaking. It had been twenty years since I’d ridden a sport bike. I was taken back by how much the bar had been raised.
It’s entirely plausible to me that an experienced cruiser rider could be easily overwhelmed by the performance of the current crop of sport bikes. They’re a whole lot more sensitive than the bikes of the ‘70s & ‘80s. They’re much more demanding to ride than your garden variety cruiser.
The bikes that were giant killers back in the day are slouches compared to today’s full-on rockets . . .
Ah, ha - I see what you mean. My first three bikes were Harley’s back in the late 40’s and middle 50’s. The late 50’s and early 60’s I was into sports cars. In ‘64 I got back into bikes and have had one or more all at all times since.
One Harley 1200cc Sportster in the 90’s that had some engine and suspension tweaking, all of the rest were/are foreign makes.
Smoothness is the answer, even when you’re bombing around on the back roads and wringing the bike out. There’s nothing like an adrenaline rush. >:-}
I finally broke down and got my endorsement last year via a motorcycle training course, as I had been riding for years without one, but the State of Washington instituted a new $1000 fine and impoundment if you didn’t have one. Plus I had heard to many horror stories about guys dropping their bikes during the test and figured that the $250 course was cheaper than repairs to my Springer.
We had about 8 people in the course and two of them dropped the little trainers, but amazingly everyone passed. I say this as there were 3 people that should never go any where near a motorcycle, including the 2 that dropped their bikes.
I also have known the instructor for many years and even he said a much...
It was a pretty scary thought and still is to know that these people may be out there riding today. These folks all had just purchased new bikes but had zero confidence in themselves when they started the course and even less when they graduated....
A Tee shirt at Sturgis.
If you don’t limp, you ain’t sh*t.
That said, throwing a leg over any one of the latest crop of litre sized sport bikes is not for the faint-hearted; they reward sloppiness and indiscretion with copious amounts of pain. My Buell Lightning, an also-ran compared to GSX’rs, ‘Busas, and ZX12’s, is stomach-turining eyeball-flattening hellaciously fast. An errant whack of the throttle will get you into trouble in a hurry; a super-sized panic grab of the front brake lever only compounds the trouble you're getting into.
The enticement to crank it up is there in spades. A deft touch is required to pull back from the brink of disaster; not an easy feat when your line is spreading out towards the guardrail or gravel shoulder . . .
“So most guys buy a 900lb monster.”
Ducati Monsters don’t weigh 900lbs! (really they don’t!) :)
I don’t think Harley makes a “monster”. Monstrosity, now thats another story. (ok I’m kidding!)
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