Time to give up the motorbike.

[Trevor555]

Another near miss with someone looking at their bl##dy phone rather than the road.

I reckon it's only a matter of time before someone has me off.

So sadly it's over, 25 years accident free on a bike, but reckon I wouldn't make it to 26

What's it going to take to get idiot drivers to stop texting/messaging rather than looking where they're driving?

[Cold]

I think you have to rev your engine to the redline to make them stop.

[loose cannon]

Unfortunately automated driving with nobody at the wheel which is exactly why the powers to be want it, I gave up motorbikes when I t boned a Car that pulled out on me, fortunately I wasn’t seriously injured but it did put me off ,
I was up for trying again and started looking into buying another bike, then I witnessed somebody getting knocked off, and in the same week an ex colleague died on his r1 whilst his dad was following behind on his gsxr, and I’m afraid that was it for me, I just watch moto gp now in awe of the skills those boys have

[ChilliWhizz]

Ex biker here too....

There is something you could look forward too though, a *Caterham Although you'd still come second against the texting whilst driving brigade in their SUV abominations

(*assuming you don't already have one)

[Trevor555]

ChilliWhizz said:

Ex biker here too....

There is something you could look forward too though, a *Caterham Although you'd still come second against the texting whilst driving brigade in their SUV abominations

(*assuming you don't already have one)

Good call, I was lucky enough to be sent to buy one from a customer, a CSR250.

I'm thinking of getting a trailer and a track bike, anyone else on here do that?

I hear Cadwell park is biker friendly.

[Krikkit]

Trevor555 said:

I hear Cadwell park is biker friendly.

Very much so, great track and plenty of space in the paddock for a car+trailer+bike+accessories.

[dibblecorse]

Trevor555 said:

Good call, I was lucky enough to be sent to buy one from a customer, a CSR250.

I'm thinking of getting a trailer and a track bike, anyone else on here do that?

I hear Cadwell park is biker friendly.

All the circuits are biker friendly .... its their lifeblood for a lot of the summer, never been treated shabbily by any of the circuits, pick your trackday organiser carefully and you wont go wrong, No Limits always my first choice but MSV also run a really tight ship on their days .... completely different to road riding, have to admit once I started doing more trackdays having a sportsbike on the road didn't appeal so I moved to more upright stuff and never get 'on it' on the road anymore .....

Be a shame to give up completely, give it a try, might be worth booking a trackday and renting a bike from someone like Matt at Smallboys and going from there before investing in a track bike, trailers and all that stuff.

Good luck with whatever you do ....

[knitware]

dibblecorse said:

All the circuits are biker friendly .... its their lifeblood for a lot of the summer, never been treated shabbily by any of the circuits, pick your trackday organiser carefully and you wont go wrong, No Limits always my first choice but MSV also run a really tight ship on their days .... completely different to road riding, have to admit once I started doing more trackdays having a sportsbike on the road didn't appeal so I moved to more upright stuff and never get 'on it' on the road anymore .....

Be a shame to give up completely, give it a try, might be worth booking a trackday and renting a bike from someone like Matt at Smallboys and going from there before investing in a track bike, trailers and all that stuff.

Good luck with whatever you do ....

Just to voice an opinion, people die or get seriously injured on track days too, most don't, like people who ride on the road the vast majority get home safe. I think its an age thing, you consider mortality more the older you get.

[moto_traxport]

All credit for going out today.

Sheet ice, idiots who can barely drive 5 miiles of local roads they know are now tackling 300 mile round trips to see relatives, more idiots are driving to the shops frothing at the mouth at the prospect of retail therapy, motorbikes haven't registered on their radars for months if it ever does, all the rubbish ordered in the sales is being delivered today by thousands over underpaid poorly trained van drivers, families are usually highly stressed by Sunday night of a normal weekend let alone after 6 days of 'he said, she said' st3 requiring mucho internet interaction

500 mile round trip for me today (in a car) and the only bike I saw today was being picked up off the floor by a police car and a chap in a Dodge Challenger.

Caterhams et al, despite being awesome fun for a few hours, share most of the disadvantages of 2 wheels and most of the disadvantages of 4 wheels.

If you're staying on the road then keep as far as you can from cars - multi lane carriageways, towns and the muggles.

If you're giving up on the road then get a van or a trailer and enjoy trials / enduro / motox / trackdays / whatever.

Stick it in the shed for 4 months, wait til Spring and possibly change where, what and how you ride.

[Trevor555]

moto_traxport said:

All credit for going out today.

If you're giving up on the road then get a van or a trailer and enjoy trials / enduro / motox / trackdays / whatever.

Stick it in the shed for 4 months, wait til Spring and possibly change where, what and how you ride.

Thank you for your posts everybody, some good advice there.

I just nipped to the shops as it's so much easier to park two wheels, the roads are ok here.

I get a few near misses like any other biker, but this is the second time a driver has nearly gone into the back of me because they're looking down into their lap.

I'll try a track day in the summer, see how much fun that is.

I wonder if the government will tackle this problem of phone usage, or devise a way they can, I hope so.

[Rubin215]

I've barely ridden in the past few years, despite my love of everything motorcycle.

I lost three mates within the space of eight months, including actually being at the death of one of them with my job.

I lost another mate this summer, one of the best riders I knew and a really good bloke.

Three out of the four were someone else's fault, I don't know much about the fourth.

Kind of changes your perspective on things.

[Trevor555]

Rubin215 said:

I've barely ridden in the past few years, despite my love of everything motorcycle.

I lost three mates within the space of eight months, including actually being at the death of one of them with my job.

I lost another mate this summer, one of the best riders I knew and a really good bloke.

Three out of the four were someone else's fault, I don't know much about the fourth.

Kind of changes your perspective on things.

That's awfully sad, not surprised your perspective has changed. I worked on Traffic for a bit so I can relate to how you feel.

Having talked to the missus today I'm now feeling relieved that I've made a good decision, she does worry every time I go out.

I'll miss it like I do snowboarding, crikey I'm getting too old for all the fun stuff.

[Birky_41]

I gave up road bikes for 10 years for similar reasons and my complete disregard to the law

I'm now back on the road but like already said I've gone upright and started doing track days last year

Very different hobbies but they allow you to enjoy each much more

In the 10 years off I did buy a Caterham style car. It was a BEC and was about 300 brake per tonne so good fun but they are delicate to bikes and need good up keep

I broke mine a few times despite constant maintenance and quality parts so went back to 2 wheels

[majordad]

I've never biked but have a huge respect and admiration for them and always go out of my way to let them by. Know all about their bikes too. Butzi Porsche noted that as well.

[Berty3000]

Rubin215 said:

Three out of the four were someone else's fault, I don't know much about the fourth.

I'm interested in this conversation. I just recently started riding.

When you say it was someone else's fault, was that 100%? Like, if some moron who is pissed or on the blower suddenly swerves into oncoming traffic and hits the motorcyclist, I'd say that's 100% the other person's (not the rider's) fault.

But what if a dopey driver pulls out at a junction, not noticing the motorcyclist, but the motorcyclist was going too fast and was quite well camouflaged in his snazzy black gear? Whose fault? 60/40? Or somebody weaving in and out of lanes on a motorway at 90, so that the average dopey driver doesn't notice them? Again, 60/40?

Point I'm making is, if a biker makes his or her own luck and rides in a careful and considered way, always thinking for the dopes ahead and behind him, and behaving accordingly, how dangerous is biking? Sure, you can't rule out the absolute fk wits who end up ploughing into you on your side of the road, but those are surely rare.

It may be that I look like a bag of ste on a bike, and have been very lucky so far, plus my dorky high viz vest and being too nervous to go really nuts, but I've got the impression that most people have been fairly respectful towards me so far. The odd prick who is too close behind at points, and I'm not in London or commuting yet... Just wondering, how dangerous is it if the biker does all he can, within reason and without destroying the fun, to stay safe?

Edited by Berty3000 on Thursday 28th December 23:37

[Ilovejapcrap]

Interesting thread.

I’m a biker myself and a women I’m seeing is using hers as only means of transport. Currently a scooter but just passed her test and getting what we would call a propper bike.

She’s more interested in its use than speed etc so is looking at A2 size bikes ( smaller less weight etc)

Do we think the engine size relating to speed etc makes a difference?

I’m basically saying riding at slower speeds more for commuting no massive overtake 80 in a 60 etc.

Do we think that makes us less likely to be a statistic?

[majordad]

I saw a woman last week park her car and open the door without looking. A deliveroo cyclist was passing in a marked cycle lane and only for his quick swerve he'd have been a gonner. Thing is she never saw him, even after the miss, she just walked without noticing into a shop for her fags. When I pointed out what she'd just done all I got was a snarl. I guess the same or worse happens to bikers every day.

[Trevor555]

Ilovejapcrap said:

Interesting thread.

I’m a biker myself and a women I’m seeing is using hers as only means of transport. Currently a scooter but just passed her test and getting what we would call a propper bike.

She’s more interested in its use than speed etc so is looking at A2 size bikes ( smaller less weight etc)

Do we think the engine size relating to speed etc makes a difference?

I’m basically saying riding at slower speeds more for commuting no massive overtake 80 in a 60 etc.

Do we think that makes us less likely to be a statistic?

I'm sorry, I'm not going to be very positive about this, a shame as I love bikes.

I now feel it's become too dangerous and it's only a matter of time before the worst happens, mobile phone usage, drivers getting more aggressive, terrible potholed roads, less Policing on the roads so people are getting used to driving just how they like.

I've had 25 years of accident free biking, from 125cc scooters up to various Ducatis and a wheelie happy 1200cc bandit, so I'll try and offer you some advice.

Most of my "fun" riding was with other Police officers, I wont say they're all angels, but we did all try to ride half sensibly, very little filtering, only very clear overtakes, and road positioning goes a long way to getting other road users to know you're there.

Get out with other experienced bikers as soon as you can, watch their changing road positions, learn to get yourself seen by other road users and that'll go a long way. It's when I did this I learnt the most.

And teach yourself "self preservation" no good being in the right if you're the one in hospital, expect people not to see you, try to make eye contact with all drivers at junctions, you'll often see when they haven't seen you, slow down and expect them to pull out if you haven't made eye contact.

And this is the BIG one, before you go for an overtake, look in your mirrors, don't take it for granted no one will be going for that same overtake coming from behind you, a very, very, common cause of fatal bike accidents. And when you're overtaking cars, expect them to NOT check their mirror as well before they pull out for their overtake.

That's my little bit of advice, but I'm sure there's loads of experienced bikers on here who will add some more.

But for me it's now over on the public roads, mostly because of my two near misses from people looking at phones who almost drove into the back of me.

Edited by Trevor555 on Friday 29th December 01:08

[Plastic chicken]

I guess I could call myself quite an experienced car (& truck) driver: over 40 years and over a million miles, and when I got my bike licence I used that experience to good advantage.

I try to adopt a 'what if?' philosophy when out & about. What if that parked car opens a door? What if that guy at the junction doesn't see me? What if that driver doesn't see me overtaking etc etc. I try to have a plan B in place in my mind ready for when the unexpected happens; always thinking ahead; always trying to take in everything around me, front, sides & rear, taking in the visual clues that other drivers present e.g. eye contact, speed, road position & so on.

The more you drive, the more you get a sense of what's going to happen: you can almost predict what somebody else is going to do before they do it. I can't remember the last time I had to brake hard to avoid a situation, because I was already slowing down, anticipating the stupid manoeuvre.

I plan to give up biking next year, not because I've ever felt particularly at risk, but because I've simply got fed up waiting for a decent Scottish summer, and I'm ashamed to admit that I only did 100 miles this year! The bike deserves to be used, not sitting in the garage like an expensive ornament...

[Birky_41]

Plastic chicken said:

I guess I could call myself quite an experienced car (& truck) driver: over 40 years and over a million miles, and when I got my bike licence I used that experience to good advantage.

I try to adopt a 'what if?' philosophy when out & about. What if that parked car opens a door? What if that guy at the junction doesn't see me? What if that driver doesn't see me overtaking etc etc. I try to have a plan B in place in my mind ready for when the unexpected happens; always thinking ahead; always trying to take in everything around me, front, sides & rear, taking in the visual clues that other drivers present e.g. eye contact, speed, road position & so on.

The more you drive, the more you get a sense of what's going to happen: you can almost predict what somebody else is going to do before they do it. I can't remember the last time I had to brake hard to avoid a situation, because I was already slowing down, anticipating the stupid manoeuvre.

I plan to give up biking next year, not because I've ever felt particularly at risk, but because I've simply got fed up waiting for a decent Scottish summer, and I'm ashamed to admit that I only did 100 miles this year! The bike deserves to be used, not sitting in the garage like an expensive ornament...

This ^^^

Its how I always ride (and drive to be fair)