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+--- Thread: Thinking about getting a motorcycle (/showthread.php?tid=183206)
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - N-OS X-tasy! - 09-21-2015
Gareth wrote:
or if you're willing to do sketchy things like ride in the "bike" lane.
That's not sketchy, it's illegal.
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - N-OS X-tasy! - 09-21-2015
Gareth wrote:
Also, keep in mind, that motorcycle insurance might cost you the same or more than a car. Mine certainly does and I've been paying for it for over 10 years. If you're a new or returning rider it could be even more.
That seems odd to me. My motorcycle insurance costs MUCH less than my auto insurance. Granted, I drive an Infiniti G37 and I ride a Suzuki V-Strom 650. Still, I have a hard time imagining it should cost as much to insure your bike as it does your car, unless you're riding one of those big touring machines or an expensive foreign exotic.
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - N-OS X-tasy! - 09-21-2015
rgG wrote:
It is just that when a car, going the wrong way on the interstate, hits a motorcycle going the right way, the motorcycle loses.
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your cousin. That's a horrible story.
To be fair, the likelihood of a car driver being killed in that scenario is almost as great as the motorcycle rider. In fact, I would argue that the motorcyclist would have greater maneuverability than a car driver to enable him to avoid the wrong-way driver entirely.
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - mrbigstuff - 09-21-2015
I'm torn between the two options. There seem to be an equal number of cyclists killed around here in the city to motorcyclists killed in the suburbs. So, it will depend on the roads on which you will be using said means of conveyance. In the city, I have felt quite vulnerable on a bicycle, much more so than a motorcycle that can use the full lane. In the burbs, I feel OK on a moto, and the same on a bike. I also feel like never taking my moto on a highway. I hate it. One false move, and you have nowhere to go and you are going down, and most likely going to be run over.
An equally pertinent point about motorcycles, at least in the city and burbs, is the ability they possess to avoid accidents by dint of their speed: sometimes on a bicycle you just cannot avoid an accident by being too slow. Of course, one can always be the victim in any mode of transport: a person can be crushed by a car on a sidewalk, or a pedestrian hit and killed by a bicycle in a crosswalk (both have occurred here in the past).
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - M A V I C - 09-21-2015
I hadn't really thought about an electric bicycle.
As far as a car goes... I'd probably be about $300/mo in parking and insurance alone. For a motorcycle, I can get free parking. Add to that the price of buying another car, and let's say I got a cheap one for $200/mo. Well, that's $500/mo and I just can't do that. Even the $300/mo is a stretch.
With a motorcycle, I have three commute options:
- Freeway
- State highway that's really just like a city arterial with 40mph speed limit
- Surface streets
It's entirely urban.
I figure a motorcycle would be:
- Less expensive than a car
- Use less gas than a car
- I'd get free parking
- No idea on insurance costs
I will be commuting in the dark and in the rain for a few months of the year. In December, sunrise will occur after I get to work, and sunset will occur before I leave work. On a bicycle, electric or not, that just seems scary. I figure at least with a motorcycle I have a better chance of being able to get out of the way or be seen.
I guess my concerns with an electric bicycle are:
- Reliability. A guy at work has one. He did a ton of research and bought one that was supposed to be more reliable. But even still it had problems. And when it did, it took almost two months for the parts to come in.
- Staying dry. Either from rain and spray, or for sweating. With a motorcycle, a sealed, full face helmet would keep me dry. Plus I could get a suit that covers me and not have to worry about sweating. I don't want to have to take a shower when I get to work, and another one when I get home.
Spending 35-40 minute each way on a bus was a stretch enough. I just will not give up that much of my life sitting on a bus.
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - M A V I C - 09-21-2015
mrbigstuff wrote:
I'm torn between the two options. There seem to be an equal number of cyclists killed around here in the city to motorcyclists killed in the suburbs. So, it will depend on the roads on which you will be using said means of conveyance. In the city, I have felt quite vulnerable on a bicycle, much more so than a motorcycle that can use the full lane. In the burbs, I feel OK on a moto, and the same on a bike. I also feel like never taking my moto on a highway. I hate it. One false move, and you have nowhere to go and you are going down, and most likely going to be run over.
An equally pertinent point about motorcycles, at least in the city and burbs, is the ability they possess to avoid accidents by dint of their speed: sometimes on a bicycle you just cannot avoid an accident by being too slow. Of course, one can always be the victim in any mode of transport: a person can be crushed by a car on a sidewalk, or a pedestrian hit and killed by a bicycle in a crosswalk (both have occurred here in the past).
Yeah, cyclists get killed around here every so often. On the route I take, there's now a "protected" bike lane in one area due to a death. Some of the hills I'd have to go up are long. Sure I might have a bike lane, but I won't be traveling anywhere near as fast as the cars. And going up that in the dark, in the rain... it just takes a driver to not see the white line at all and come over a couple feet for it to be the end - electric assist or not.
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - rgG - 09-21-2015
Are you already a motorcycle rider, or would this be your first bike?
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - DP - 09-21-2015
How about buying an older reliable small car that gets good fuel economy?
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - M A V I C - 09-21-2015
rgG wrote:
Are you already a motorcycle rider, or would this be your first bike?
First bike.
Re: Thinking about getting a motorcycle - N-OS X-tasy! - 09-21-2015
mrbigstuff wrote:
I also feel like never taking my moto on a highway. I hate it. One false move, and you have nowhere to go and you are going down, and most likely going to be run over.
I feel much safer riding on the freeway than on the street. To this day the single biggest cause of motorcycle-related accidents and rider deaths is an oncoming car making a left turn in front of a motorcyclist the driver didn't see. That scenario can't happen on a freeway.
On a freeway all traffic moves in the same direction, a big plus for motorcyclists. The rider's primary concerns in that scenario are watching for traffic coming from behind and making sure a driver doesn't lane-change into him - both relatively easy tasks (which are also required when riding on the street, BTW).
CA motorcyclists have the added benefit of being able to ride in the HOV, which is usually a single lane separated from the rest of traffic by double yellow lines, giving us a little bit of extra space.