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Article- 5 Reasons you should not ride a motorcycle

I feel like this isn't why you shouldn't ride a motorcycle, but more of things to consider before getting a motorcycle.
 
When someone starts trying to pigieon hole bikes by engine size, style etc. that defeats the purpose of advice.

Personally, I think that even a person who might initially be ill-suited to ride, with mentoring, genuine desire to improve and advance one's competence, riding a motorcycle is attainable for most people. There are lots of things that at face value, some people should not do but with optimism, motivation and a sincere effort, overcome adversities that challenge them and become very good at doing those things.

Crashing at 50 mph headlong into a tree is just as bad on a "beginner bike" as it is on a liter bike.
 
The problem is, these are the people that will ride regardless of all the logic recommending they don’t. The crying phrase of this group is “had to lay it down”
 
The Five:
  1. You Lack Self-Discipline
  2. You’re A Know-It-All
  3. Your First Bike Is Going to be a Rocket
  4. You Lack Good Judgment or Spatial Awareness
  5. You Think Motorcycles are Best for Going Really Fast and Doing Wheelies
Didn't most of us tick at least one before starting to ride? We survived because we learned to recognize our faults, understand how they feed risk, and correct them with good skills and habits.

Rather than excluding from our little club 90% of aspiring noobs for their intrinsic human failings, we should accept those bold enough to want in and at the same time promote the process of becoming a proper motorcyclist.
 
DataDan said:
The Five:
  1. You Lack Self-Discipline
  2. You’re A Know-It-All
  3. Your First Bike Is Going to be a Rocket
  4. You Lack Good Judgment or Spatial Awareness
  5. You Think Motorcycles are Best for Going Really Fast and Doing Wheelies
Didn't most of us tick at least one before starting to ride? We survived because we learned to recognize our faults, understand how they feed risk, and correct them with good skills and habits.

Rather than excluding from our little club 90% of aspiring noobs for their intrinsic human failings, we should accept those bold enough to want in and at the same time promote the process of becoming a proper motorcyclist.
Click to expand...


:thumbup

Well said.
 
DataDan said:
The Five:
  1. You Lack Self-Discipline
  2. You’re A Know-It-All
  3. Your First Bike Is Going to be a Rocket
  4. You Lack Good Judgment or Spatial Awareness
  5. You Think Motorcycles are Best for Going Really Fast and Doing Wheelies
Didn't most of us tick at least one before starting to ride? We survived because we learned to recognize our faults, understand how they feed risk, and correct them with good skills and habits.

Rather than excluding from our little club 90% of aspiring noobs for their intrinsic human failings, we should accept those bold enough to want in and at the same time promote the process of becoming a proper motorcyclist.
Click to expand...

I agree with this with one exception and that's the spatial awareness bullet and to add to it, reaction time. I'm not sure either of those things can be improved as an adult and they are pretty darn important. I'm thinking of one rider I've seen numerous times and he just never got better. In my opinion, he shouldn't ride.
 
To ride a bike you do need a certain level of coordination or athleticism that I don't think can be taught and not everyone has it. It can probably be learned to a degree (at least enough to ride safely) but learning it on a bike could be a painful or deadly lesson. You don't have to be an athlete with world class skills but there is some minimum level that is required. If you are an uncoordinated klutz, admit it and take up some other sport to de-klutz before hopping on a bike.

I've often joked that the DMV motorcycle test should include the "rub-your-stomach-and-pat-your-head" test, with stomach rubbing reversal. Anyone who can't do this without too much difficulty or practice is going to struggle with operating the controls, picking a path, watching out for and avoiding danger, etc.
 
I wonder what someone, say, 17/18 just getting out of high school, off on their own and walking into a dealership would think about the article as they see the sparkling new hardware just waiting for them? Think they'd read the 5 reasons and come to the conclusion they don't know everything?
 
Schnellbandit said:
I wonder what someone, say, 17/18 just getting out of high school, off on their own and walking into a dealership would think about the article as they see the sparkling new hardware just waiting for them? Think they'd read the 5 reasons and come to the conclusion they don't know everything?
Click to expand...

I support tiered licensing with some limit on max HP for new riders. Since this is America (constitutional republic based on the recognition of individual rights) and not Europe (nanny state), the reason is to protect everyone else NOT to protect the riders. People are free to do stupid things but not to endanger others. Once a new rider has X number of miles on the beginner bike the HP limit is removed.
 
dmfdmf said:
I support tiered licensing with some limit on max HP for new riders. Since this is America (constitutional republic based on the recognition of individual rights) and not Europe (nanny state), the reason is to protect everyone else NOT to protect the riders. People are free to do stupid things but not to endanger others. Once a new rider has X number of miles on the beginner bike the HP limit is removed.
Click to expand...

So mileage and not something else dictates how much HP the bike can have? I'm betting there are enough riders out there who shouldn't be riding but have enough miles under their seats to make some arbitrary miles test irrelevant.

I do not favor any arbitrary test to limit power on a motorcycle. The perfect limit exists, the brain. A good one can limit how much power is used, when and where. A poor brain isn't going to become a good brain because of miles ridden.

There are new riders who could manage a 100 hp bike just fine and there are seasoned riders who couldn't manage more than 35 hp job.

A 200 hp bike doesn't endanger anyone anymore than a 20 hp does. It's all about the rider.
 
Schnellbandit said:
A 200 hp bike doesn't endanger anyone anymore than a 20 hp does. It's all about the rider.
Click to expand...

You can't have it both ways -- pointing out that young, dumb kids are going to ignore the advice of the article and buy the high HP bike anyway, then proceed to say that high HP bikes are no more dangerous than low HP bikes and claim that it is all about the rider. Your first post implicitly assumes there is something wrong with a 200HP bike in the hands of 17/18 year old kid, namely, the lack of skills to control it.

Your statement is true only if you assume either the 200 or 20HP bike is under control, if not then both are a threat to life and property. It is an indisputable fact that a 200HP bike is harder to control and less forgiving of error than a 20HP bike, especially in the hands of novice.

The gov't can't wave a magic wand and make everyone a model citizen and in a free country they can't ban people from riding motorcycles. But the govt does have to protect people from other people's stupidity and minimize the chance that a rider will lose control while they are acquiring the skills. I think tiered license does this. That some riders can safely start on a 200HP bike is irrelevant because the laws have to be written for what an average rider can do. Its not a panacea and there will always be idiots who do stupid things or circumvent the law but that is why us non-idiots have insurance and the govt has jails.

I suggested mileage criteria on the parallel to getting your pilot's license. In addition to exams you have to have actual seat time to get your license and advanced qualifications to your license once you have it (e.g. night flight, instrument qual., different classes of airplanes, etc). By your standards all a pilot has to do is get licensed on a Cesna then he is free to fly a Learjet because "its all about the pilot" which would be insane.
 
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Schnellbandit said:
A 200 hp bike doesn't endanger anyone anymore than a 20 hp does.
Click to expand...

Wrong.
Especially when that "anyone" is a newbie who has learned nothing of throttle/clutch control.
A dropped clutch/whiskey throttle on a 20 hp bike "might" cause a (little) wheelie and possible drop. Most likely below 15mph.
The same on a 200hp sport bike is going to loop the bike or cover a lot of distance before stopping... for whatever reason.

Schnellbandit said:
It's all about the rider.
Click to expand...
Exactly.
And a newbie hasn't learned the skills yet to be called a rider.
They are still just a participant in a new endeavor.
Just like laying your first bead doesn't make you a welder.
 
Schnellbandit said:
...Personally, I think that even a person who might initially be ill-suited to ride, with mentoring, genuine desire to improve and advance one's competence, riding a motorcycle is attainable for most people. There are lots of things that at face value, some people should not do but with optimism, motivation and a sincere effort, overcome adversities that challenge them and become very good at doing those things.
Click to expand...

You seem to be pro tier above and con tier below. Please explain the difference between the two quotes...

Schnellbandit said:
So mileage and not something else dictates how much HP the bike can have? I'm betting there are enough riders out there who shouldn't be riding but have enough miles under their seats to make some arbitrary miles test irrelevant.

I do not favor any arbitrary test to limit power on a motorcycle. The perfect limit exists, the brain. A good one can limit how much power is used, when and where. A poor brain isn't going to become a good brain because of miles ridden...
Click to expand...


Schnellbandit said:
A 200 hp bike doesn't endanger anyone anymore than a 20 hp does. It's all about the rider.
Click to expand...

200 hp bike will get you in trouble a hell of a lot quicker (which will give the rider a lot less time to react) then a 20 hp bike. In other words, a small amount of throttle twist on a 200 hp bike will get you moving faster and get you to that higher speed quicker then a 20 hp bike.
 
DataDan said:
The Five:
  1. You Lack Self-Discipline
  2. You’re A Know-It-All
  3. Your First Bike Is Going to be a Rocket
  4. You Lack Good Judgment or Spatial Awareness
  5. You Think Motorcycles are Best for Going Really Fast and Doing Wheelies
Didn't most of us tick at least one before starting to ride?
Click to expand...

Most? I can't say.

Me? No.

Mind, not to say that I don't lack self-discipline, or that I'm not a know it all, just not when it comes to motorcycles.

I've never wheelied in my life and, honestly, it has never been about going fast. You certainly don't spend money on a Hawk GT when you could spend it on a Supersport 600 if you want to go fast.

Pre-car, it was about affordable transportation. In hindsight, perhaps it was always a bad idea money wise. But I certainly don't regret it. However, at the time, they seemed like rational, reasonable choices.
 
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