Should I get a motorcycle?

[Anonymous]

OP: it is an excellent choice!

These bikes are so reliable and user-friendly that they were the choice of DC's police dept. for decades. You could not find a better motorcycle as a first purchase.

Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Screams midlife crisis.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't do it. I see how drivers can't even see the motor cyclist coming up unless they are the loud fast speeders. I doubt you would be a fast speeder driver but it seems dangerous. yes, you don't get in accidents often but when you do, it's almost always fatal for motorcyclist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't do it. I see how drivers can't even see the motor cyclist coming up unless they are the loud fast speeders. I doubt you would be a fast speeder driver but it seems dangerous. yes, you don't get in accidents often but when you do, it's almost always fatal for motorcyclist.

This is just BS. Total and complete BS. Numbers that this poster pulled of of their butt.

There were 4600 (roughly) motorcycle accident fatalities last year. And 88,000 injuries. Hardly almost always.

Older riders on big heavy bikes get killed. So avoid the Harley Baggers (they cost 30k plus anyway).

A third of the fatalities involved alcohol. Don't drink.

A large number involved high speeds and super sport bikes (those that can do 180 plus). Don't buy a crotch rocket and don't speed.

Just read a little bit and reduce your risk.

Don't drink and ride your Harley on Saturday afternoon with the rest of your dentist buddies.

Don't buy a crotch rocket and go 120 plus down the freeway.

Pay attention.

Wear a helmet.

[Anonymous]

Hey. I love motorcycles who develop a furious speed. I planned to buy a cool ktm rc 390 motorcycle in a month. I admire this model it looks stunningly beautiful and audacious. I can't wait to get on that bike. Do you think I'm making a good choice?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a great choice, PP. Just make sure you have filled out your organ donor card. Also, you may want to look up Darwin.

[Anonymous]

I'd love to get a motorcycle but they are dangerous.

The greatest danger with motorcycles is that drivers don't see them.
That sounds impossible but there is a real scientific phenomenon that the mind's eye can't see what it does not expect to see. Drivers are expecting to see cars and trucks, but not motorcycles.

Probably the largest number of motorcycle occur from cars making left hand turns right in front of motorcycles.

The two vehicles are approaching each other from opposite directions. The driver of the car sees an open road in front of him and begins to make a left hand turn. What he did not see was an approaching motorcycle travelling at normal speeds. He makes the turn right in front of the motorcycle and the motorcycle broadsides the car usually killing the motorcycle driver.

This happens somewhere in the US everyday. For years I've wanted to buy a BMW touring bike and travel the American northwest and maybe Alaska too. Maybe I will someday, but unfortunately no one just walks away from a motorcycle accident.

So, I want to do it too, but even the safest motorcycle driver get killed in accidents every year.

Tell us if you do it, maybe it will give me the courage to do it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey. I love motorcycles who develop a furious speed. I planned to buy a cool ktm rc 390 motorcycle in a month. I admire this model it looks stunningly beautiful and audacious. I can't wait to get on that bike. Do you think I'm making a good choice?

No, I don't.

Unless you're buying it for mostly track use, I think you'll find that it's just not very comfortable on the street. It's only a single cylinder, so it will have lots of fatigue inducing vibrations. It's far too lightweight to be steady feeling in heavy, high speed traffic - it'll get pushed around by wake turbulence from cars and trucks. It's basically a pure,lightweight sport bike, stripped of anything that doesn't contribute to racing. As such, it's great on a track, but riding it on the street will get old real quick.


A better KTM for street use would be the Duke model line up, in particular the 790 and 1090

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd love to get a motorcycle but they are dangerous.

The greatest danger with motorcycles is that drivers don't see them.
That sounds impossible but there is a real scientific phenomenon that the mind's eye can't see what it does not expect to see. Drivers are expecting to see cars and trucks, but not motorcycles.

Probably the largest number of motorcycle occur from cars making left hand turns right in front of motorcycles.

The two vehicles are approaching each other from opposite directions. The driver of the car sees an open road in front of him and begins to make a left hand turn. What he did not see was an approaching motorcycle travelling at normal speeds. He makes the turn right in front of the motorcycle and the motorcycle broadsides the car usually killing the motorcycle driver.

This happens somewhere in the US everyday. For years I've wanted to buy a BMW touring bike and travel the American northwest and maybe Alaska too. Maybe I will someday, but unfortunately no one just walks away from a motorcycle accident.

So, I want to do it too, but even the safest motorcycle driver get killed in accidents every year.

Tell us if you do it, maybe it will give me the courage to do it too.

Well, life is dangerous. And no one gets out of it alive. So make the most of it by doing the things you dream of doing. No one ever says "I wanna sit in my soulless, safe, Volvo SUV and crawl from traffic light to traffic light on Rt 7 in Tysons every afternoon".

You wanna see Alaska? Here's some advice from a guy who knew ALL about Alaska. Back before medevacs and trauma centers:



"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I will use my time."








This is basically the polar opposite antithesis of the typical cowardly DCUM mindset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd love to get a motorcycle but they are dangerous.

The greatest danger with motorcycles is that drivers don't see them.
That sounds impossible but there is a real scientific phenomenon that the mind's eye can't see what it does not expect to see. Drivers are expecting to see cars and trucks, but not motorcycles.

Probably the largest number of motorcycle occur from cars making left hand turns right in front of motorcycles.

The two vehicles are approaching each other from opposite directions. The driver of the car sees an open road in front of him and begins to make a left hand turn. What he did not see was an approaching motorcycle travelling at normal speeds. He makes the turn right in front of the motorcycle and the motorcycle broadsides the car usually killing the motorcycle driver.

This happens somewhere in the US everyday. For years I've wanted to buy a BMW touring bike and travel the American northwest and maybe Alaska too. Maybe I will someday, but unfortunately no one just walks away from a motorcycle accident.

So, I want to do it too, but even the safest motorcycle driver get killed in accidents every year.

Tell us if you do it, maybe it will give me the courage to do it too.

Well, life is dangerous. And no one gets out of it alive. So make the most of it by doing the things you dream of doing. No one ever says "I wanna sit in my soulless, safe, Volvo SUV and crawl from traffic light to traffic light on Rt 7 in Tysons every afternoon".

You wanna see Alaska? Here's some advice from a guy who knew ALL about Alaska. Back before medevacs and trauma centers:



"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I will use my time."








This is basically the polar opposite antithesis of the typical cowardly DCUM mindset.

Yes, PP, you're a real man. And not at all insecure about the size of your penis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband's close friend just took a motorcycle riding class as part of the journey to getting his first motorcycle.

Shattered his leg during the class and may walk with a limp the rest of his life. Just happened a couple of weeks ago.

I seriously doubt this happened..

I can count on one hand the number of times I ever got into third gear during my basic riders course. Most of the time you're riding around at parking lot speeds. How one "shatters" their leg at bicycle or jogging speeds in beyond me, except that it's a pretty good induction of a bald faced lie.

I don't disbelieve the PP, but I question whether her story is in any way applicable to the subject at hand. Sounds like a fluke to me - he could just as easily done it tripping over his shoelace and falling down the stairs at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't want to sidetrack OP's question but I have a question... If you don't have one but want to get one, how do I pass the driving test? Don't I need one to take the test/get license?

In Virginia, accredited riding courses provide the bikes and finish up with a written and practical exam. If you pass, you are eligible for a motorcycle endorsement on your DL. I don't know about other states, but I'd be surprised if it weren't the same in most jurisdictions that require a motorcycle course at all.

Keep in mind that the classes, while useful, are only the beginning of learning how to safely operate a motorcycle in traffic. Throughout the course I took, the instructors repeatedly stressed that just because we were getting the letter "M" embossed on our licenses, that didn't mean it was a good idea to saddle up and hit the freeway the next day. They strongly recommended starting slow, with short rides around the neighborhood building up to longer and faster rides over time (they also - very conveniently - offered follow up classes to go over more advanced riding concepts).

[Anonymous]

Sign up for a weekend motorcycle safety course- it’s required for a license in DMV anyway. You will enjoy the weekend learning, talking with other cyclists and instructors about safety and spend 16 hours on a bike like the Rebel. After that you can make up your own mind and stop listening to the idiots here.

[Anonymous]

I rode a motorcycle in college and for a few years afterward in the DC area. A couple of thoughts:

- Motorcycles are fairly easy to steal, so make sure to have a safe, garaged area to park it in. I know someone who had his stolen out of his gated back yard while he was at work.

- You will lay the bike down at low speed at some point, possibly even during your MSF course. You'll probably even drop it when stopped at some point (motorcycles are heavy). Unless you are very, very unlucky, it is unlikely that you will shatter your leg and never walk again. Rather, you'll probably have some road rash that may scar (I have some on my ankle and knee). You'll probably also scratch up your bike and potentially crack fairings depending on what you get.

- One of the top things you can do to avoid a potentially fatal crash is ride in areas with less traffic. Even after riding for 7 years, I hated riding in the DC metro area, and usually tried to get out in the countryside towards WV. When I rode around here, I rode extremely defensively (leaving lots of space between me and other cars).

- All this said, riding a motorcycle is a blast, and very enjoyable. It's been probably a decade since I sold mine, and while I don't miss it everyday, I do look back on my riding days with fondness. I know a lot of people who ride, and no one directly who died or was seriously injured (ie. lost a leg). I think it's a perfectly fine hobby IF you are both very careful / attentive, stay away from population centers, and embrace safety gear.

- Last point, on safety gear, buy and use it. Obviously wear a helmet, but also wear boots, jeans or leathers, and an armored motorcycle jacket. Way too many people riding around in helmets, shorts, and T shirts, just waiting to need skin grafts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I rode a motorcycle in college and for a few years afterward in the DC area. A couple of thoughts:

- Motorcycles are fairly easy to steal, so make sure to have a safe, garaged area to park it in. I know someone who had his stolen out of his gated back yard while he was at work.

- You will lay the bike down at low speed at some point, possibly even during your MSF course. You'll probably even drop it when stopped at some point (motorcycles are heavy). Unless you are very, very unlucky, it is unlikely that you will shatter your leg and never walk again. Rather, you'll probably have some road rash that may scar (I have some on my ankle and knee). You'll probably also scratch up your bike and potentially crack fairings depending on what you get.

- One of the top things you can do to avoid a potentially fatal crash is ride in areas with less traffic. Even after riding for 7 years, I hated riding in the DC metro area, and usually tried to get out in the countryside towards WV. When I rode around here, I rode extremely defensively (leaving lots of space between me and other cars).

- All this said, riding a motorcycle is a blast, and very enjoyable. It's been probably a decade since I sold mine, and while I don't miss it everyday, I do look back on my riding days with fondness. I know a lot of people who ride, and no one directly who died or was seriously injured (ie. lost a leg). I think it's a perfectly fine hobby IF you are both very careful / attentive, stay away from population centers, and embrace safety gear.

- Last point, on safety gear, buy and use it. Obviously wear a helmet, but also wear boots, jeans or leathers, and an armored motorcycle jacket. Way too many people riding around in helmets, shorts, and T shirts, just waiting to need skin grafts.

+1 on all of this, especially skin protection. I just cringe when I see women on the backs of bikes in bikinis.

My biking days were in rural New England and it was a blast. I wouldn't have one in the DC area.