Thinking about getting a motorcycle

[Kraniac]

To many friends with permanent injury for me to endorse a motorcycle.

And, driven sensibly doesn't mean much to me..You can drive as sensibly as you want but what about everyone else and their sensible driving? Do they always see you..difficult at times.

The equivalent injuries on a Motorcycle can be crippling..little fender bender-guy in the car's fault..broken leg? something else?

[mattkime]

[max]

fromish wrote:
I rode all through college and it was my second accident, again caused by a car that "didn't see me' that convinced me to give up the motorcycle. .

Same here, except it was the fourth one in my case.

People will not see you,

you will be hit,

especially during commuting.

Look at other options....

[Speedy]

Move closer.

[M A V I C]

Speedy wrote:
Move closer.

I only live about 7 miles away.

[Gareth]

M A V I C wrote:
I only live about 7 miles away.

Electric bicycle all the way then.

I live about 9 miles from my work (but the commute is often 10 or 11 miles b/c the "fastest" route isn't the shortest). Takes 40-50 min to drive. Riding a motorcycle isn't really faster unless you're willing to split lanes (I live in CA, so it isn't "illegal", but I don't like to do so on surface streets, which is the entirety of my commute), or if you're willing to do sketchy things like ride in the "bike" lane. Also, factor in the time needed to put on and take off safety gear.

I can ride a regular bicycle to work in 45 minutes on the main streets (which doesn't bother me). Takes an hour if you follow Google's "bike" directions (on smaller streets). I have an electric bicycle, but I wanted to make it go faster so I started to swap out the drivetrain and never finished, but I figure if I rode that, it would be the fastest option of them all. Estimating it would be about 30-35 minutes (it takes 25 minutes in a car when there's no traffic).

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.

[jh]

[rgG]

For your family's sake don't get a motorcycle.
I know a lot of people really enjoy them, but I think they are inherently more dangerous.
My cousin was killed on a motorcycle, and he was doing nothing dangerous or wrong. It is just that when a car, going the wrong way on the interstate, hits a motorcycle going the right way, the motorcycle loses. The woman in the car was not seriously hurt. She was older, confused, and never meant to hurt anyone, he was still dead, at at relatively young age.

I know some will say he could have been killed if he was in a car, too. That is also true, but he would have stood a better chance both of being seen and of surviving, if he was in a car, because he would have had more protection.

If you were a motorcycle enthusiast and didn't have a family, I would say you should live your dream, but if this is just to save a few bucks, I say do something else and save the money some other way.

Just my 2¢ worth

[Numo]

I'd avoid bikes if you can.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

M A V I C wrote:
[quote=Speedy]
Move closer.

I only live about 7 miles away.
I live eight miles from my job (close enough that my commute includes no freeway time) and I commute by motorcycle at least twice a week. In the year since I've started riding again, I've had a few situations that could have gone south if I hadn't been paying close attention to the actions of the drivers in question and reacted in time to avoid the situations entirely. A motorcycle rider really does have to think for everyone with whom he shares the road as well as himself.

Riding a motorcycle is inherently more risky than driving a car. That doesn't mean, however, that it is inherently unsafe. Much depends on how skilled and how careful the rider is.

Personally, where I live and work (quasi-urban area in SoCal) I believe commuting on a motorcycle to be safer than commuting on a bicycle. In fact, just a few weeks ago one of my colleagues was hit by a car while commuting by bicycle. Fortunately, he suffered no serious injury, although he was banged up pretty good.

One other difference between you and me: You have kids, I don't. Not a trivial consideration.