Page 1 of More people should use motorbikes!

Since the temperature up here in Newcastle reached double figures (just!) and I am on a day off, I figured I would take my little bike out for a longish ride instead of just the little 3 mile commute it is getting each day.

For the last couple of hours I have been pootling along the coast in the glorious sunshine. Not a lot of traffic about, and the roads were bone dry.

I started to get a bit chilly, so came home. I am now sitting here with a numb @rse and a big stupid grin on my face.

I know there are a few bikers on this site already, but can I recommend to anyone that isn`t a biker but is considering it, go and do your CBT, then get yourself a motorbike in time for the summer!

Bit of a pointless post, but I like to share! :D

Don`t think of yourself as an ugly person. Think of yourself as a beautiful monkey!

I agree wholeheartedly
They are a definite answer to congestion.
More incentives for people to use them is the answer.
I believe they get into London free/reduced rates,which is good.
Let them use bus lanes as well,I say.
Covered parking with lockers for jackets/helmets would be good as well.

Unfortunately,DLAM,your average car user views motorbikes as `death-traps` or `noisy and smelly` etc.etc.etc.
I`m always amazed that the motorcycle industry still only sells within itself.
They`re quite happy to preach to the converted.
They need to push the convenience and downright fun of motorbikes to motorists.

I once heard someone moaning about a bus journey taking hours.They said they couldn`t afford a car.The same journey on a cheap moped/bike would have taken half an hour.Why didn`t they consider one though ?
I dunno.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 2nd February 2005, 13:55

On my lowly SR125, I can get between 70 and 100 mile to the gallon, so it works out as about 5p a mile give or take. Road tax is £15 and Insurance is £200. There`s no way that public transport could ever come close.

If CBT centres became more accesable instead of always being dingy looking and stuck at the back of trading estates, I`m sure more people would try it and get the taste for it. (And even if they didn`t, seeing the road from a bikers point of view would improve their driving skills ten fold!)

Quote:
`noisy and smelly`
Sadly, my bike is both (but that`s why I like it) :D

Don`t think of yourself as an ugly person. Think of yourself as a beautiful monkey!

The perception that bikes are inherently dangerous is the main hurdle,I think.
I know it`s rubbish.
You know it`s rubbish.
Every day you pick up papers saying people are killed in car crashes,yet cars don`t get labelled with the same brush.
Perhaps people assume that even the most trivial bump/scrape on a bike will result in serious injury,which is rubbish again.
I`d love to see more people on bikes but,at the same time,it may lose part of it`s appeal if every Tom,Dick and Harriet has one,especially given the woeful standard of driving they`d be taking with them.
:/

Quote:
Unfortunately,DLAM,your average car user views motorbikes as `death-traps` or `noisy and smelly` etc.etc.etc.
Unfortunately the buggers only notice you after they have JUST driven OVER you.

Just a thought.....

Having worked for a while in an `artificial limb` fitting out cente for the NHS, the stastistics prove that loss of a leg is down to the four most common reasons in the UK.

Older people:- Smoking and Diabetes (ie, poor blood flow).

Younger people:- Unfortunate Accidents and MOTORBIKE CRASHES.

Don`t start with that tabloid style nonsense Corrach
Accidents can happen in loads of ways.
I dare say a fair few young people have lost limbs in car accidents,yet people don`t go shouting "CARS KILL" from the rooftops.
Do you know more people are killed riding horses than motorcycles every year ?
Probably not.Yet again though,you don`t see "HORSES KILL" being bandied about.
I would also suggest that young people who have lost limbs in motorcycle accidents have done so because of a lack of proper protective clothing because,kids being kids,they would rather `look cool` in jeans and trainers.

Motorcycling doesn`t need,or want,sensationalist rubbish like this. >:(

This item was edited on Thursday, 3rd February 2005, 16:25

Normally I do not bother repling to such talkback, so this is my last message on this subject, no matter what you write.

This is not `tabloid rubbish` but FACT, I worked there for three years and lost count the number of bikers in for an artificial leg. It is a harrowing experience to see young people & their families having to go through this, but at least they survived.

It is well known that the risk of accidents is far higher on a bike than a car, so more people should NOT use motorbikes, but at the end of the day its their decision.

Quote:
It is well known that the risk of accidents is far higher on a bike than a car, so more people should NOT use motorbikes, but at the end of the day its their decision.

Let`s look at the facts.
You worked in a place where you treat specific injuries which can often be associated with motorcycle accidents.
So your judgement is clouded.
If all I worked with were people with piano based injuries,I`d probably be convinced pianos were dangerous.
If all I worked with were people involved in airplane crashes,I;d become convinced flying was dangerous.
Clouded judgement.

It is also speculative nonsense to suggest that you are at a greater risk of an accident (which is what you said) on a motorbike.
You are at greater risk of injury if involved in an accident,but you are no more likely to actually be in an accident.

Quote:
If all I worked with were people with piano based injuries,I`d probably be convinced pianos were dangerous

I do and they are - Steinway Grand crushed my hand!!

Also ride a bike (1100cc) and also can`t abide the `Motorbikes Kill` bandwagon. Its my choice to ride so fcuk off. ;)

Badboybez

In Madness You Dwell