Why ride street bikes?

[Liquidsilver]

Diffrent fokes for diffrent strokes, right?

I ride street, track, trail, MX, long cross-country trips, urban riding when traffic is light... pretty much all of it.

I know what it feels like to nail a braking reference point in an apex of a 'bus stop' from way into triple digits, to rub shoulders with a fellow racer while we're both deep into a corner with knees and toes on the ground, to hit a double on a MX track that feels like flying with a buttery landing... or to cruise through a glorious mountain pass... or to just lope lazily down a gravel fire road on a trail bike. I wouldn't want to live without riding.

Yes, it's dangerous, and I've been doing it for about 45 years. I do my best to mitigate risks, but they are there. I try to be considerate of other motorists, and know that I am smaller, harder to see, more agile than they expect... all that.

My view of high-viz clothing: nearly useless compared to a rider's situational awareness and forethought (from a friend that drives fire trucks)
My view of loud horns on motorcycles: mostly a waste of reaction time (unlike the fire truck)
My view of loud pipes on motorcycles: I like to be audible to rural wildlife, but not annoying to all other living things.

I can't stand motorcyclists that treat others like adversaries... that doesn't help anyone.

And finally, I think my most dangerous 2-wheeled activity is riding my bicycle. I'm mostly on bike trails but there are a few public roads between them.

 

[Travelover]

........ I wouldn't want to live without riding. ............

For me, dying wouldn't be the worst outcome, living and wishing I'd died would be.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I will never forget a COPS episode years ago, where the cops referred to those young kids fleeing on bikes "organ donors"!

 

[MossRoad]

... I would drive reckless on the bike (VERY fast), but that's NOT was scared me. What scared me was all the idiot drivers in cars....

I've done crap that could of killed me if it weren't for my skill and knowing my limitations, but the one thing I could NEVER shake is dying at the hands of a total idiot that I had no control over. Riding a street bike made me realize how many idiot drivers there are on the road because I had to notice EVERYTHING me around when riding. Even then, sometimes I would have a "close call". ....

Ahhh..... the attitude of having superior skills on your bike, while doing things on the road that no normal person in a car would expect to encounter and deal with in a split second should you actually screw up.... but that will never happen because of your superior skills as a bike rider.....

Or,

Everyone in the choir is off-key, but me.

I get it. I used to ride a highly modified Yamaha RD400 on the street, and drag race it at the strip on weekends.

In all honesty, I was an idiot, expecting that I knew when it was safe to go 4X the speed limit around blind curves and not expect some unkown object/person to be around the curve.

We can't have it both ways. We expect car drivers to be more cautious, but when no one is looking, we take off like a rocket!

Yes, I gave up riding because of the number of close calls I had with inatentive drivers. I hit the sides of two cars that left turned in front of me, and missed countless others. But I also gave it up, because I realized that I thought I was good enough to go 110 in a 30 zone as long as I could see there were no cars around.....THAT is what'll kill you, or, worse yet, is how you'll kill someone else.

 

[Sigarms]

Ahhh..... the attitude of having superior skills on your bike, while doing things on the road that no normal person in a car would expect to encounter and deal with in a split second should you actually screw up.... but that will never happen because of your superior skills as a bike rider.....

Or,

Everyone in the choir is off-key, but me.

I get it. I used to ride a highly modified Yamaha RD400 on the street, and drag race it at the strip on weekends.

In all honesty, I was an idiot, expecting that I knew when it was safe to go 4X the speed limit around blind curves and not expect some unkown object/person to be around the curve.

We can't have it both ways. We expect car drivers to be more cautious, but when no one is looking, we take off like a rocket!

Yes, I gave up riding because of the number of close calls I had with inatentive drivers. I hit the sides of two cars that left turned in front of me, and missed countless others. But I also gave it up, because I realized that I thought I was good enough to go 110 in a 30 zone as long as I could see there were no cars around.....THAT is what'll kill you, or, worse yet, is how you'll kill someone else.

Let me clarify Moss, I can't think of a time where I got myself into trouble on a bike (knock on wood and perhaps luck) when I was riding faster than I was supposed be. When I drove "reckless" (exceeding the speed limit by a good bit) there were NEVER any cars around. I'm dumb, not stupid LOL that note, the only time I'd push triple digits is on the highway. Driving 110 in a 30 zone will get you noticed VERY quick IMO. Now, on the highway without a soul around is a different story IMO as long as you know where the fuzz sat.

Where I would have the issues is when other cars were around me and I was driving what everyone would consider "responsibly".

That said, I NEVER weaved in and out of traffic as I see some of those on "crotchet rockets" do. Plain stupid IMO as one mistake move by a car and you could very well end up dead.

Per the guy who thinks I'm on a soapbox, apologies, not certain how to answer that comment. I gave up riding due to clueless car drivers, and actually having to work a funeral years later where I knew the family made me ask the question.

 

[blackdog2086]

First off, I agree with everyone who's previously posted. Nobody else can decide for you what is or isn't an acceptable risk. I would never try to convince someone who is against road riding that it is something they should try, nor would I tell someone that enjoys it to give it up.

I'm in my early 60's and have been riding since I was 10 or 12 (first dirt bikes then road at 16) and I have lost friends and known many others that were injured including myself. I stopped riding in the early 90's due to life getting in the way. When you're raising a family with limited spare time and even less spare income a motorcycle collecting dust in the garage is a luxury that has to go. I retired (twice) recently and the idea of riding again started to grow.

A year and a half ago I purchased a street bike and since then it has become my favorite way to spend my still limited spare time. I'm much older and hopefully but probably not much wiser than when I was originally a rider, but I'm definitely more cautious. I wear all the gear and only ride back roads in good weather when I know traffic will be light or non-existent. I notice everything when I'm on the bike and it's actually made me aware of how inattentive I can sometimes be when I'm driving my car. I pay attention to road surface conditions, every drive or intersecting street, clumps of trees that could suddenly produce an animal in my path and so on. I also know that having said that there is absolutely no guarantee I'll be heading home at the end of my ride. I am cautious because I know I could be seriously injured or killed at any given moment that I'm riding. Car drivers are isolated from everything (including reality) meaning they just don't have any fear of consequences for making a mistake or error in judgement. If they thought they could be hospitalized in an instant for reading a text or playing with the radio while they drove, the accident rate would drop drastically.

Don't think I'm putting all blame on auto drivers and not cyclists, as that is definitely not the case. I've seen bikers exceeding both safe speed limits (not the stupid posted ones) and their own ability on numerous occasions. I've also seen riders wearing shorts, tennis shoes and t-shirts (or no shirts) while they act like they're on a lap of the isle of Man.

Most of the implements and many of the tools I own could sever limbs or worse in the blink of an eye. I try to use that lump of grey matter that God provided me with to minimize the dangers and allow me to continue my trip into grumpy old manhood.

Life is full of risks and it's usually up to us to pick and choose the ones we consider acceptable.

 

[Streetcar]

Is it legal in California to ride lane lines or just edge line. If lane lines are legal to ride, who is at fault if motorcycle hits car changing lanes

 

[Sigarms]

Is it legal in California to ride lane lines or just edge line. If lane lines are legal to ride, who is at fault if motorcycle hits car changing lanes

I use to run (and ride a road "pedal" bike) pretty much every day at home during my high school years, 12 months a year. My mom explained to me that cemeteries are full of people who were right. Point being when you're on the road and not in a car, even if you're right but dead, you're still dead, so don't be on the road acting like you have the right of way.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have failed to see some bikes recently. Maybe it's not clueless drivers. Maybe it's the nature of the driving beast, coupled with a vehicle that can easily hide behind the wide Post/Pillar of a modern vehicle. I guess, having a pillar big enough for a bose speaker, is more important than visibility.

I saw too many bikes on the weekend, all out making a terrible racket. The law should put an end to that. I hardly think that the bikers are making friends with that behavior.

 

[ericm979]

Is it legal in California to ride lane lines or just edge line. If lane lines are legal to ride, who is at fault if motorcycle hits car changing lanes

It's legal to share lanes in California. Fault in an accident is determined like it always is. Drivers in CA expect lane sharing motorcycles on urban and suburban area freeways and multilane roads. Many move over to let them by. Generally the right side of the leftmost lane is the lane sharing section. The CHP published guidelines on safe lane sharing: http://lanesplittingislegal.com/assets/docs/CHP-lane-splitting-guidelines-California.pdf