that for me the potential pleasure of owning a bike was not worth the potential risk of me using one like an ejjiot – which knowing my personality I might well do!

Common misconception that because you’re an idiot/muppet/adrenaline junkie in other forms of life, you’ll instantly go out and kill yourself.

Now, i’m not saying i’ve not hurt myself, because i have, however mostly it was racing and trackdays, not day to day stuff.
Self preservation plays a big factor and instinct.

You (like most) would end up having a few ‘moments’ where you’re in the wrong lane on a tight bend…

But the odds of you buying a bike, going out and killing yourself 3 days later are fairly remote.

ps. not all cyclists or motorists fit “general stereotypes” given than many do its no wonder that many motorcyclists are also complete twunts..

Which part ? the going fast part ? the inconsiderate part ? Overtaking on double whites ?

Common misconception that because you’re an idiot/muppet/adrenaline junkie in other forms of life, you’ll instantly go out and kill yourself.

who particularly cares if you kill yourself because of stupid driving, it is the fact that you’re probably going to affect/hurt other people that is the selfish bit.

who particularly cares if you kill yourself because of stupid driving, it is the fact that you’re probably going to affect/hurt other people that is the selfish bit.

Agreed. So we’re all going to stop doing ANYTHING that might kill us then. Driving, drinking, flying, smoking, using stairs, playing sport, eating out, picking our noses.

In fact I know a bloke that died in his sleep, so I think I’ll stop sleeping too.

🙄

By coincidence, on the way back from hospital this afternoon I was overtaken by an R6 (600cc sports bike for non-bikey people) on the approach to a roundabout. I had spotted him a few seconds before and realised he was motoring. It had started drizzling ie. that horrible slidey time when it’s not properly wet and we bot held our breath as he braked heavily and went round at a fair old lean angle.

We looked at each other and simultaneously said “kin idiot”, especially as he only had trainers, jogging bottoms and jacket on.

Point of the story is that it’s easy to see how car only drivers can get the wrong idea when an experienced rider (and pillion) are worried by how someone rides. In fairness though, this guy was a complete pillock.

Woody – Member
By coincidence, on the way back from hospital this afternoon I was overtaken by an R6 (600cc sports bike for non-bikey people) on the approach to a roundabout. I had spotted him a few seconds before and realised he was motoring. It had started drizzling ie. that horrible slidey time when it’s not properly wet and we bot held our breath as he braked heavily and went round at a fair old lean angle.

We looked at each other and simultaneously said “kin idiot”, especially as he only had trainers, jogging bottoms and jacket on.

Point of the story is that it’s easy to see how car only drivers can get the wrong idea when an experienced rider (and pillion) are worried by how someone rides. In fairness though, this guy was a complete pillock.

Is this “anyone who’s faster than me must be a pillock” ?

Was he riding like he’d stolen it? 😀

No, anyone who rides a motorbike wearing jogging shoes is.

See them all the time, but it’s the no gloves that really makes me cringe.

I have a pair of kevlar armoured jeans for the nice weather, very nice and comfy, but if I was going to crash would rather have a 1piece suit on.

it’s the no gloves that really makes me cringe.

This.

Riding a bike wearing just jeans & trainers (and sunnies) would be really irresponsible then?

France 1979 by druidh_dubh, on Flickr

How a pretend gun can work:

“Going to bed the other night, I noticed people in my shed stealing things.

I phoned the police but was told no-one was in the area to help. They said they’d send someone over as soon as possible.

I hung up. A minute later, I rang again. ‘Hello’, I said, ‘I called you a minute ago because there were people in my shed. You don’t have to hurry now, because I’ve shot them.’

Within minutes there were half-a-dozen police cars in the area, plus helicopters and an armed response unit. They caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the officers said: ‘I thought you said you’d shot them.’

To which I replied: ‘I thought you said there was no-one available.'”

Boom, boom…

See them all the time, but it’s the no gloves that really makes me cringe.

+1, I’d say keeping the fingers and finger nails intact should be a priority in an off. Isn’t picking scabs to only thing to look forward to after having a bit of an off?

Is this “anyone who’s faster than me must be a pillock” ?

No, but anyone who fails to understand the point I was making regarding the risk the rider took probably is!

it’s the no gloves that really makes me cringe.
This.

Ohh yeah. Boils my piss does that. Expensive bike, all the gear, no gloves. I see that a lot

On any bike, I’d put gloves on before I’d wear a helmet. Why? Well, if you fall off you might not bang your head but I can guarantee you’ll put your hand out! I’ve seen someone crash and make a real mess of one hand without gloves. A £10 bargain bucket pair of leather gloves would have saved him. (he was also wearing a metal watch strap which got pushed up his arm and dug in quite badly too)

Agreed. So we’re all going to stop doing ANYTHING that might kill us then. Driving, drinking, flying, smoking, using stairs, playing sport, eating out, picking our noses.

In fact I know a bloke that died in his sleep, so I think I’ll stop sleeping too.

Think you’ve missed the point there, it’s the effects on others that he was referring too

Worst motorcyclist I ever met was one of my instructors

He did kick off day 1 with “all cyclists a **** arseholes and I hate every last on of them”

Most seem decent enough on the roads though, I’m sure the statistics look worse because of the lower safety margin due to not having an armored box around them.

No, but anyone who fails to understand the point I was making regarding the risk the rider took probably is!

Stop it, just because someone outrode you on a damp roundabout doesn’t mean he wasn’t completely in control. Just because you thought he was taking a risk doesn’t mean he actually WAS.

Some peoples abilities are FAR greater than others…

And, some people (irrespective of their choice of transport) are irresponsible idiots. Doesn’t mean they’re representative of their demographic though.

And some people, irrespective of the evidence, still think they’re AWESOME…

I am!

Oh, wait.

Some peoples abilities are FAR greater than others…

That may be the case but we all have to drive to a set of rules and these rules help drivers/riders of all abilities.

The road is not a race track and should not be used as such.

That may be the case but we all have to drive to a set of rules and these rules help drivers/riders of all abilities.

The road is not a race track and should not be used as such

Yawn…. morning… 🙂

God that’s a dull arse way to ride a motorbike though isn’t it.

If i had to ride within the road rules…. well… i wouldn’t have a pair of 150bhp bikes 🙂

Who said anything about using the road as a race track. Just making effective progress and overtaking slower vehicles

Think you’ve missed the point there, it’s the effects on others that he was referring too

Doesn’t dying any other way have an impact on others then?

I (honestly) know 2 people that have both killed a pedestrian. Neither of them we at fault, neither of them were blamed or guilty of ANY offence. One of them shrugged his shoulders and carried on (metaphorically) the other let it ruin his life.

But that’s not the point really, the point is that both peds stepped out in front of a moving vehicle and had an effect on another person. We should all stop crossing the road by your logic.

When bikers arrive behind me I try to make a passing space outside me simply because I don’t trust them. I’d rather have one screaming away into the distance than screaming through the cars back window.
They are more at risk from accidents because they are obviously not inside a car but I’ve seen such acts of reckless riding on the roads your’s you’d have thought they were inside a tank.
It only amazes me they are as FEW accidents as there are considering how some ride. Obviously this is at times a minority however at the weekend especially in the Peak or yorkshire dales, the safe ones stay at home.
Overtaking into oncoming traffic, forcing their way into slow moving stationary traffic by moving up the outside and then pulling in front before slowing does not make me think of them a a good way. Which is why I let them overtake, I’d rather not have to see their accident.

Doesn’t dying any other way have an impact on others then?

I (honestly) know 2 people that have both killed a pedestrian. Neither of them we at fault, neither of them were blamed or guilty of ANY offence. One of them shrugged his shoulders and carried on (metaphorically) the other let it ruin his life.

But that’s not the point really, the point is that both peds stepped out in front of a moving vehicle and had an effect on another person. We should all stop crossing the road by your logic.

Again missing the point, and also not my logic it was someone else’s.

Overtaking into oncoming traffic

This is the bit that usually freaks non-bikers out the most, the reason we do it is this… because it’s safe in our perception. You see what you think is a narrow gap, we see a great big gaping hole we’ve passed through 10000 times before. You think that the cars are along side one another when we pass, the reality is, we’ve passed that car before he met your car, so the gap was greater than percieved.

Stop it, just because someone outrode you on a damp roundabout doesn’t mean he wasn’t completely in control.

Ah! So you did miss the point.
I have absolutely no problem that someone is a better/faster rider than me. For a start I was pootling along the road in my car in no particular hurry.

The speed this guy was going was totally inappropriate for the conditions ie. fast approach to a wet greasy roundabout which was busy, followed by going round at a speed which meant he was cranked well over, not exactly getting his knee down but not far off it and to cap it all, the roundabout is the first ‘corner’ after a petrol station 1/2 mile away.

Slightest patch of diesel and he’d have been on his arse and neither myself or GF had any desire to pick up the pieces on our day off!

I haven’t read all of this but picked up on the angle of motorists’ perception of motorcyclists’ actions due to not having ridden.

I was fortunate that, when I was 16, the young could afford motorcycling and consequently have had a lifetime’s pleasure from it.

Others have not been so lucky and nowadays the tyro tends to be middle aged and they undergo training, often beyond the legal requirement.

I would say that, almost without exception, the biggest effect of this is, partly through riding and partly through observing properly the actions of other road users as motorcyclists generally do, the realisation of just how poor a car driver they have been over two or three decades.

Would that all road users got this eye-opener.

TandemJeremy – Member

Who said anything about using the road as a race track. Just making effective progress and overtaking slower vehicles
Fine if you are doing so safely and legally but that’s not what some on here are championing.They are real bad boys.
By way of balance to my earlier post relating my encounters with motorcylists I was behind one last night whose riding was exemplary,legal and safe (which is more than I can say for the idiot in the Ford Focus behind me).No idea who the motorcylist was but I’ll wager it certainly wasn’t PeterPoddy.

I learnt to ride a road bike as a courier in London, filtering through traffic is now second nature. To be honest back in the mid 80’s there was only one rule I obeyed religiously and that was dont go the wrong side of traffic islands. Why that one I dont know, maybe one of the old hands at Vanguard warned me about it. There was less traffic but but one really mad thing we all tried to do was hit a ton going down Haymarket. That and the embankment was like a racetrack on a Friday evening.

I do agree that making forward progress on a motorcycle can freak out car drivers but the antics of some bikers is beyond belief.

you may know my riding buddy, Crust,

By the time you even react, my bike is 100m up the road.

Maybe that’s what the irish guy (in my link above) always thought.. only when his bike was 100m up the road he was left dead against the rockface.

He went to pass two cars and the car in front of him pulled out and knocked him into the rock face. If you pass 3,4,6 or more cars at once,at which number of cars does it start getting dodgy as far as being so much faster/getting past quicker than the car at the front of the pack can swing out on you goes? I feel more vulnerable passing 3+ cars at speed after reading of this local accident. Passing one car in front of you at speed with no junctions up ahead would obviously be pretty much fool proof but a tourist with a row of cars behind them,rather you than me,weeksy!

Ideedy, my mate used to goad me about how much faster his rb5 was round the bends than my vtr1000. Ans if we were ever out then there was always bends that he would pile round. Had to sit him down and explane that cornering round blind bends on a motorbike is a whole different ball game to doing it in a car. Once you are leaned over in a corner,there is not much grip left in the tyres for braking yet I still see bikers ragging it like they are on a track. Moral is th are other road users, try and think about them now and then.

For the fast boys on here, this is the bike for you:

I’ve not seen any of the bikers saying THEY are the fast or dangerous ones. Just slightly more agressive than some of the Sunday bimblers who’ve posted.

No idea who the motorcylist was but I’ll wager it certainly wasn’t PeterPoddy.

Well seeing as I have a broken ankle in a cast right now, no, it probably wasn’t.

See, you pass judgement on my riding whilst still, basically, knowing jack shit about it

Offer still open to anyone wanting to come out for a ride……

countzero
what tyres for norton hardtail? 🙂

…and what padded shorts!?

See, you pass judgement on my riding whilst still, basically, knowing jack shit about it

I base my judgement on what you have said in this thread.Apart from your sensible comments about overtaking you have in several posts openly boasted about breaking the speed limit and are dismissive of everyone who questions this.

what tyres for norton hardtail?

According to my old man; round, black and hard enough to outlast the bike…

A bit like bikes when a kid, who ever thought you’d need to change a chain?