Why don't more performance car enthusiasts ride motorbikes?
Discussion
Personally I'm quite happy if someone who wants to go faster than me passes me. The only time I don't like it, car or bike is if they use a 30 zone to do it or if they then proceed to hold me up for the next five miles.
I do most of my overtaking when traffic is stationary or walking pace tbh.
I do most of my overtaking when traffic is stationary or walking pace tbh.
Xcore said:
I love bikes, but with a young sprog and another on the way It’s just not worth the risk currently!
What's the risk that isn't worth it?Do you leave the house?
Use public transport?
Fly abroad?
Do you just lie in bed all day eating digestives as the big bad world is just too risky?
People saying their wives won't let them have a motorcycle; Is it because their husbands spend all day taking turns looking at their mates arses and end up in empty car parks dressed in leather with other men?
What's with the nodding too? Two bikers go past and they have to acknowledge each other because they happen to share the same mode of transportation. Or is that an addition to the above?
What's with the nodding too? Two bikers go past and they have to acknowledge each other because they happen to share the same mode of transportation. Or is that an addition to the above?
Bikes have never really interested me. But, also, I would want to ride to the same standard as I drive and I know that would take many years to achieve and in the meantime I would be very vulnerable to injury.
And even if that standard were achieved, you're still very vulnerable to a SMIDSY accident.
And even if that standard were achieved, you're still very vulnerable to a SMIDSY accident.
Clockwork Cupcake said:
Bikes have never really interested me.
and we could leave it at that,its a perfectly good answer.but then you had to post .
But, also, I would want to ride to the same standard as I drive and I know that would take many years to achieve and in the meantime I would be very vulnerable to injury.
And even if that standard were achieved, you're still very vulnerable to a SMIDSY accident.
and that just makes you sound a bit wet
LetsTryAgain said:
Xcore said:
I love bikes, but with a young sprog and another on the way It’s just not worth the risk currently!
What's the risk that isn't worth it?Do you leave the house?
Use public transport?
Fly abroad?
Do you just lie in bed all day eating digestives as the big bad world is just too risky?
Esceptico said:
I can understand that your average Joe/Jane, who are not interested in speed and acceleration, would also not be interested in motorbikes. What puzzles me slightly are people that are really into performance cars, yet don't also ride motorbikes. Why not?
Yes bikes are a bit more dangerous than cars. Adjusting for the fact that bikes are ridden much less than cars I think you are about 20 times more likely to die on a bike than in a car. However, the risk of dying in a car is not that high. I know people that have died in car accidents. I know people that have been killed in bike accidents. Yet the vast majority of motorists and the vast majority of motorcyclists don't die.
I have heard comments like "I wouldn't trust myself on a bike". Yet, the most dangerous period to drive a car is when you are eighteen. I never hear car enthusiasts say "I didn't start driving until I was 25 because I didn't trust myself". Similarly I don't know many car nuts who would walk into a garage to buy a Nissan GTR but come out with a Micra "because they didn't trust themselves"!
I wonder whether it is because almost all parents drive, but relatively few ride motorbikes and that if your parents (or your friends) don't ride then that lack of exposure means people don't consider it.
Is class/snobbery an issue? In the past motorbikes were often the only form of transport available and perhaps there was a stigma against them for being "for people that couldn't afford a car".
Or is it that you have to go through training to be able to ride them and as you don't need to ride bikes (if you have a car) then people don't bother?
Is it because you have to wear protective gear? But then I don't see many people refusing to ski because they have to wear ski boots and ski clothing.
I did an access course around 12 years ago, bought a bike, just a basic 500 and kept it in my dads garage just at the time my son was born.Yes bikes are a bit more dangerous than cars. Adjusting for the fact that bikes are ridden much less than cars I think you are about 20 times more likely to die on a bike than in a car. However, the risk of dying in a car is not that high. I know people that have died in car accidents. I know people that have been killed in bike accidents. Yet the vast majority of motorists and the vast majority of motorcyclists don't die.
I have heard comments like "I wouldn't trust myself on a bike". Yet, the most dangerous period to drive a car is when you are eighteen. I never hear car enthusiasts say "I didn't start driving until I was 25 because I didn't trust myself". Similarly I don't know many car nuts who would walk into a garage to buy a Nissan GTR but come out with a Micra "because they didn't trust themselves"!
I wonder whether it is because almost all parents drive, but relatively few ride motorbikes and that if your parents (or your friends) don't ride then that lack of exposure means people don't consider it.
Is class/snobbery an issue? In the past motorbikes were often the only form of transport available and perhaps there was a stigma against them for being "for people that couldn't afford a car".
Or is it that you have to go through training to be able to ride them and as you don't need to ride bikes (if you have a car) then people don't bother?
Is it because you have to wear protective gear? But then I don't see many people refusing to ski because they have to wear ski boots and ski clothing.
My dad in his wisdom came round for lunch and asked me at the table if I could move the bike as he needed to get some things out of the garage.
That was the point when my wife found out about it.........
So she gave me an ultimatum, I could either keep the bike and give up flying, or sell the bike and keep flying. I sold the bike but I had some great fun in the 4 weeks I had it.
Incidentally she hated bikes, her best friends boyfriend was killed on one in North Wales 30 years ago.
Clockwork Cupcake said:
If you think that I have any interest in being "manly" then you are rather mistaken about me.
but you then kind of made it sound like you did but were a bit worried about some stuff..
so a bit wet.
you see?
Kierkegaard said:
What's with the nodding too? Two bikers go past and they have to acknowledge each other because they happen to share the same mode of transportation. Or is that an addition to the above?
We choose to nod to each other in acknowledgement that we have something in common, we've both found a source of freedom and exhilaration that people who don't ride bikes will never know.
Safety pure and simple is the reason most people, myself included, who have a performance car don't have a bike. The Government statistics make grim reading:
Casualty rate1 per billion vehicle miles:
Car occupants Killed 2 Seriously injured 21
Motorcycle users Killed 114 Seriously injured 1,789
- Motorcyclists account for less than 1per cent of traffic each year, but 19 percent of fatalities. They are therefore considerably overrepresented in accidents, more so than any other road user group.
-The risk of death for a motorcyclist is at least 57 times than that for a car occupant.
I live on the Wales/Shropshire/Cheshire borders and in the past ten years have seen three fatal motorcycle accidents. Because we drive in North Wales a lot we would be able to give a tour of accident sites where we have seen ambulances or bike wreckage on our weekend drives. I like the idea of bikes but everything I see suggests that it's not worth the risks I accepted as a teen/early 20's rider.
Casualty rate1 per billion vehicle miles:
Car occupants Killed 2 Seriously injured 21
Motorcycle users Killed 114 Seriously injured 1,789
- Motorcyclists account for less than 1per cent of traffic each year, but 19 percent of fatalities. They are therefore considerably overrepresented in accidents, more so than any other road user group.
-The risk of death for a motorcyclist is at least 57 times than that for a car occupant.
I live on the Wales/Shropshire/Cheshire borders and in the past ten years have seen three fatal motorcycle accidents. Because we drive in North Wales a lot we would be able to give a tour of accident sites where we have seen ambulances or bike wreckage on our weekend drives. I like the idea of bikes but everything I see suggests that it's not worth the risks I accepted as a teen/early 20's rider.
Being more serious yes
Safety is huge bikes are massively more dangerous and its not a hide in a bubble mentality if you choose not to take a risk when the stats are per above posy
Performance fast cars are closer to bikes now than ever and theres less need tp get a bike to experience speed. Sure you can argue the speed is far more intense on a bike but the fact is a fast road car and a fast road bike are pretty much the same pace A to B on a clear stretch of b road now. That was not truw 20y ago.
Convienence obvious points here as mode of transport to transport things and move others around particularly when raining
Safety is huge bikes are massively more dangerous and its not a hide in a bubble mentality if you choose not to take a risk when the stats are per above posy
Performance fast cars are closer to bikes now than ever and theres less need tp get a bike to experience speed. Sure you can argue the speed is far more intense on a bike but the fact is a fast road car and a fast road bike are pretty much the same pace A to B on a clear stretch of b road now. That was not truw 20y ago.
Convienence obvious points here as mode of transport to transport things and move others around particularly when raining
dvshannow said:
Performance fast cars are closer to bikes now than ever and theres less need tp get a bike to experience speed. Sure you can argue the speed is far more intense on a bike but the fact is a fast road car and a fast road bike are pretty much the same pace A to B on a clear stretch of b road now. That was not truw 20y ago.
How many motorcyclists say they ride for the sheer speed? The speed is fun, but very secondary to......The “experience” of riding a bike.... That is an even bigger gap to modern cars compared to cars of 20 years ago.
LarsG said:
I did an access course around 12 years ago, bought a bike, just a basic 500 and kept it in my dads garage just at the time my son was born.
My dad in his wisdom came round for lunch and asked me at the table if I could move the bike as he needed to get some things out of the garage.
That was the point when my wife found out about it.........
So she gave me an ultimatum, I could either keep the bike and give up flying, or sell the bike and keep flying. I sold the bike but I had some great fun in the 4 weeks I had it.
Incidentally she hated bikes, her best friends boyfriend was killed on one in North Wales 30 years ago.
At least this guy is honest.My dad in his wisdom came round for lunch and asked me at the table if I could move the bike as he needed to get some things out of the garage.
That was the point when my wife found out about it.........
So she gave me an ultimatum, I could either keep the bike and give up flying, or sell the bike and keep flying. I sold the bike but I had some great fun in the 4 weeks I had it.
Incidentally she hated bikes, her best friends boyfriend was killed on one in North Wales 30 years ago.
His wife won't let him.
Better than making up a half arsed excuse/reason like many other posters.
Fair play.
Weso said:
LarsG said:
I did an access course around 12 years ago, bought a bike, just a basic 500 and kept it in my dads garage just at the time my son was born.
My dad in his wisdom came round for lunch and asked me at the table if I could move the bike as he needed to get some things out of the garage.
That was the point when my wife found out about it.........
So she gave me an ultimatum, I could either keep the bike and give up flying, or sell the bike and keep flying. I sold the bike but I had some great fun in the 4 weeks I had it.
Incidentally she hated bikes, her best friends boyfriend was killed on one in North Wales 30 years ago.
At least this guy is honest.My dad in his wisdom came round for lunch and asked me at the table if I could move the bike as he needed to get some things out of the garage.
That was the point when my wife found out about it.........
So she gave me an ultimatum, I could either keep the bike and give up flying, or sell the bike and keep flying. I sold the bike but I had some great fun in the 4 weeks I had it.
Incidentally she hated bikes, her best friends boyfriend was killed on one in North Wales 30 years ago.
His wife won't let him.
Better than making up a half arsed excuse/reason like many other posters.
Fair play.
Hungrymc said:
dvshannow said:
Performance fast cars are closer to bikes now than ever and theres less need tp get a bike to experience speed. Sure you can argue the speed is far more intense on a bike but the fact is a fast road car and a fast road bike are pretty much the same pace A to B on a clear stretch of b road now. That was not truw 20y ago.
How many motorcyclists say they ride for the sheer speed? The speed is fun, but very secondary to......The “experience” of riding a bike.... That is an even bigger gap to modern cars compared to cars of 20 years ago.
It’s not just about speed. For me it’s that feeling of threading a set of bends together well, the feeling of being at one with the bike, feeling every ripple and bump, riding a bike quickly is just so much more involving and satisfying than it is in a car.
In the real world on a normal single carriageway road, even the most modern fast cars won’t be anywhere near a fast bike. They just don’t have the manoeuvrability or size of a bike on their side. In a straight drag race there are some cars that will keep a bike in sight or through a set of twisty bends they may pull out a gap but the bikes ability to find a gap to overtake where the car can’t will soon see the bike disappear.
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