After 45 years on this planet and mulling over it for the last 12 years since realising I was in fact an adult and can do what I want (within reason……if the wife agrees that is)  I booked my motorbike CBT at the weekend with the view to doing my full license as the year goes on.

Easy for most, but being riddled with anxiety and high functioning autism (the doctor says, but he’s been wrong before) I overthink things a lot……A LOT!!!! Then the phrase “meat crayon” was used by a mate and the wife keeps asking me if the wills up to date so they might be conspiring against me.

I’m not making a massive mistake here am I? Always wanted to ride a bike, i feel mature enough that I’m not window shopping for Fireblades (although Royal Enfield Himalayans do look reet nice), and I’m always of the opinion that other drivers are all out to kill me at the best of times.

You might die. But then again, you might die of something else at any time. Do it. Enfield Himalayan looks a good leftfield choice, but would probably soon feel a wee bit underpowered.

Do it, it’s great fun.

Another thing – that ‘Meat crayon’ thing isn’t funny. At all.

If you’ve managed to pilot a push bike on the road for 45 years, and you don’t ride it like you hired it I reckon you’ll be fine. Obviously there’s some increased risk over not doing it, but if you lived your life like that you’d never leave the house. And something might fall on the house and kill you anyway.

It is really good fun. I have a bike and I really enjoy taking it out.

As it happens, the sun is out, the roads are dry and my bike is asking for a run to the post office. Just don’t skimp on the safety equipment, it _WILL_ save your life.

Gave in and did mine 3 years ago, CBT then das. Wife has had her motorbike license for years. 2 years ago we took 3 months off and rode across Europe, 2 bikes obvs no-one was going pillion. One of the best things I’ve ever done.
CBT is a fun day even if you don’t take it further

i did my bike licence slightly later in life, about 5 years ago (ive just turned 40).

I rode bikes for about 2 years and now no longer own one (CBR600RR, Husky 701 supermoto, BMW S1000R). Two main reasons were.. 1) i would end up in trouble with the law or 2) i would end up dead.

Having a wife and two children, it was an easy decision to make. I still lust after some bikes and would love a blast now and then, but overall i am better off with them not in my life.

Obviously everyone is different, but from my experiences, it appears road traffic law doesnt apply once you are on a motorbike. High speeds, dodgy moves, thinking you are Foggety/Rossi/Doohan (delete as applicable) are standard mindset.

Having said that, if its a scratch you need to itch, go for it! Just dont be worried about walking away if its not for you.

Two main reasons were.. 1) i would end up in trouble with the law or 2) i would end up dead.

Obviously everyone is different, but from my experiences, it appears road traffic law doesnt apply once you are on a motorbike.

That’s entirely you. The bike will do exactly what your right hand tells it to.

Another thing – that ‘Meat crayon’ thing isn’t funny. At all.

I couldn’t agree more, It’s those types of comments that cloud my judgement on good days

I rode bikes from age 21 to age 40ish. Last bike was a Honda Hornet 900. Gave it up as I’d replaced the motorbike with commuter bicycle for mid week transit to work and with the mountain bike for weekend Adrenalin rush. If you’ve been road cycling your sense of self preservation\road sense will be higher than someone who’s taken up motorbikes at a younger age. I’d guess you’re less likely to ride like you’re invulnerable and consequently you’ll decrease the risk of crashes. If it’s something you want to do sure why not. They’re great fun.

(btw: I consider the commuter bike to be far higher risk on the road than a motorbike)

Do it. You’re old enough and hopefully sensible enough to take a cautious grown up approach to integrating with the traffic. Just take it easy, enjoy the riding and don’t rush.

I bought a bike in Feb last year for commuting (The Corona has pretty much relegated it to garden ornament until now). It is my first bike for 10 years and the first since starting a new family (oldest is 9). Yes, I was anxious and wary initially but fortunately took a sensible approach and bought an older Yamaha MT 03, 660cc single. Its a nice relaxed ride that doesn’t egg me on to do anything foolish. My wife is 38 and wants to get a full licence before she’s 40 and very much going through the same process as yourself.

Best of luck and remember, you only need to pass once, so failure to pass first time is an option.

I’ve thought about getting a (motor)bike licence a few times. Have had mates who have ridden bikes since 16 and they’re still alive. Bunch of idiots as well so not sure how that happened. I reasoned that I wouldn’t get one as I’m bad enough when commuting on the push bike, so give me something with an engine in it and I’d be a right twonk.

Interestingly my brother in law has had bikes for years, married with two kids. He’s a firefighter so knows the outcome of bike vs car. He rides really safely. About 3 years ago he was taken out by someone reversing out their drive. This was in a residential area and he was sticking to the 30mph speed limit. Bike lowsided on him as he steered and braked to avoid it and he broke his leg. His argument is that he could have been riding his (pedal) bike and be in exactly the same situation and is now back on the bike.

I’m not making a massive mistake here am I? Always wanted to ride a bike

Here’s my 2p.

I did my CBT and DAS course in 2009, enjoyed the course and even the DAS even with it’s bewildering combination of tests and cost, which must be £1000 for lessons and tests by now.

I owned a Motorbike for about 2 years after that, sometimes it was fun, sometimes it wasn’t. Ultimately I got rid, mostly because a nasty MTB crash/injury massively increased the risk factor, party because the above meant I didn’t work for nearly a year and I couldn’t justify having a couple of grand of ‘toy’ laying unused in the garage next to a couple of grand more of MTBs. The planets haven’t really ever aligned since to let me get another, but lets just say the Mrs would be against it.

Will you die? Well yes, one day, but probably not as a result of a bike crash.

Obviously statistics will tell you how much more dangerous motorbikes are compared to most forms of transport, but I don’t believe they tell the whole story and there are certain groups which skew the figures:

Motorbikes, especially loud, fast obnoxious ones attract people who enjoy risky behaviour and a very anti-social attitude. I’ve ridden with, what I thought were level headed people with normal level headed jobs and families who rely on them, who turn into complete Divs when riding a bike. 100mph on an A or B road, 150mph, more? Not unusual if you visit the right roads in summer. It’s not all of them of course, but there’s plenty to choose from, I’ve seen some outrageous shit, and they like to act the victim when their 130mph over-take goes wrong. On a Summer day near Brecon in 2010 I saw no less than 3 Sportbikes and their owners laying smashed up on the floor at different points in about 2 hours, later 100 or so of us stopped in Brecon Bus Station (seems the thing to do) this was considered normal, even funny.

Couriers and Foodies, can ride like they want to die, the speed it one thing, most Dominos riders are limited to 30ish, but jumping lights, jumping pavements, screaming through petrol stations and carparks and other types of anti-social riding is just dangerous, you can cry all you like about “stupid drivers not seeing you” but other road users, even the most aware ones aren’t expecting a kid to arrive at 31mph going the wrong way on a one-way carpark.

Uninsured, helmetless riders on stolen bikes etc pulling wheelies to show off to their 13 year old GFs. I’ve no sympathy.

If you don’t fall into one of those categories, or any of the other high-risk bikes, you will massively improve you odds, it’s still dangerous, but it passes my personal risk to reward calculation and I’ve ravaged by anxiety.

Past that, you still have to be defensive at all times. It will seem like other road users are actually trying to kill you, in fact, some are, well they don’t want you to die per-se, but they think that Bikers who filter / aka push-in should be punished by, I don’t know, swerving into your path. I think if you ever did end up bouncing over their bonnet, or under their wheels, they might feel bad about it, but most will still think it’s your fault. If you avoid them, it’s the normal half-sleep, thinking about what they want for tea types. Their subconscious is busy looking for threats, like other cars, lorries, busies, stuff that can hurt them, it’s not so good at looking for things they might hurt, like Bikes (all kinds) pedestrians, horses etc.

I bike ride on a nice day, on a quiet road is a lovely thing, Motorbikes really are a lovely thing to ride, using your weight to carve around bends and you’re far less cocooned in.

As someone who is pretty risk adverse these days, I probably wouldn’t commute through a town or city regularly, as much as it’s fun to skip queues and easy to park and if I had a desire to get my knee down, I’d stick to a race track, that sort of stuff on a road is stupid.

Look at it this way (this is how I approached it):

You can do your CBT and if it turns out that it’s not for you, you can stop there and you’ve (hopefully) just had a fun Experience Day.

If you like it, you can go towards your licence, at your own pace.

If you pass, then you’ve passed, and you’ve got a bit of a paper that says you can buy a bike tomorrow. Or in ten years.

You don’t have to commit upfront to buying a bike from the outset in order to have a bit of a scamper on one.

Worst case scenario, I give you a cast-iron 100% certain guarantee that learning to ride a motorbike will make you a better motorist. And likely, better road cyclist. To my my mind that alone is worth the price of entry for completing your CBT.

I’ll try and keep this short. A quick mental count tells me that I’ve ridden motorbikes in 14 different countries. Tens of thousands of miles. This is BY FAR my least favourite place in the world to do so.
That’s my experience.
If I were to ride bikes in the UK again I wouldn’t do so without, as willard says above, good quality clothing and a helmet-cam ON EVERY RIDE.

Worst case scenario, I give you a cast-iron 100% certain guarantee that learning to ride a motorbike will make you a better motorist.

Absolutely this.

Not only are Bike tests far more difficult to pass than driving tests (most people doing a bike license are already experienced road users and the pass rate is/was lower).

It will make even a good driver a more considerate one.

good quality clothing

As a corollary to that,

Whenever I used to pop to the shops in jeans rather than leathers, I felt so very badly exposed and vulnerable that I was pootling about like I had the little man with a red flag in front of me. I have an underactive personal safety gland at the best of times but how these young Horaces rip about on mopeds wearing a tee-shirt and shorts and no gloves I cannot fathom.

I swapped motor bikes for MTB  maybe 25 years back and TBH, I never once think I made a mistake.

Edit: I agree with the sentiment about making you a better motorist, It certainly will, but if you already ride a cycle on the road, you probably don’t need the experience, you’re probably better than most drivers are already.

Not only are Bike tests far more difficult to pass than driving tests

It’s not even that.

Learning to drive a car they teach you ‘mirror, signal, manoeuvre.’
Learning to ride a bike they teach you to actually look for things.

And these skills are directly applicable back in the car, but it’s almost into the realms of victim-blaming; riders get taught how to look out for cars, drivers don’t get taught how to look out for bikes.

Eg, how many car drivers do a ‘life-saver’ check before turning left? I do, thanks to my bike training. This would surely avoid shitloads of left-hookers with cyclists if it were taught when learning four wheels.

good quality clothing

Always wear gloves.

Also, it turns out that when you have no fingerprints you can’t lift a glass – it just slides through your hand. And fingerprints eventually grow back.

Apart from that, I’ve been riding motorbikes since passing my test in 1978. I survived 4 years as a motorcycle despatch rider (in the days before email). I don’t do many miles these days, mainly because if I have spare time for a ride I’ll take a bicycle. But I feel really uncomfortable if I don’t have a motorbike in the garage.

Obviously there’s some increased risk over not doing it,

These things can be quantified David Speigalhalter’s work involves measures risk in ‘Micromorts’ – a one in a million chance of being killed as a result of an activity or event.

a day serving in the armed forces in Afganistan and 200 miles of travel by motorcycle are both 33 Micromorts-

Compared to ‘not doing it’ –

Activities that increase the death risk by roughly one micromort, and their associated cause of death:

• Travelling 6 miles (9.7 km) by motorbike (accident)

• Travelling 17 miles (27 km) by walking (accident)

• Travelling 10 miles (16 km)<sup id=”cite_ref-howard_25-0″ class=”reference”>]</sup> or 20 miles (32 km) by bicycle (accident)

• Travelling 230 miles (370 km) by car (accident) (or 250 miles)

• Travelling 1000 miles (1600 km) by jet (accident)

• Travelling 6000 miles (9656 km) by train (accident)

• Travelling 12,000 miles (19,000 km) by jet in the United States (terrorism)

The thing is theres a big difference between how likely something is and how much we worry about it – people are more anxious about their flight than the drive to get there and while safety as a cyclist is a very much on our minds and lips and very frequently a topic of conversation her… it doesnt vary too wildly from the risks of travelling on foot.

I know lots of people who have bikes, I would say 90% of them have had relatively serious crashes.

I also know a guy who rides motorbikes for the police and he says he would no longer ride a non police bike on the road. His argument is that he has been nearly killed plenty of times by drivers whilst riding a highly visible bike with blue lights flashing. If drivers are that bad that they can’t see a police bike, then non police bikes don’t stand a chance.

Final point, my wife worked in A&E for a long time and won’t allow me to have a bike,

I still want one though.

You will not regret it

I did the same just over a decade ago. No harm in just giving CBT a go, if you don’t get on with it then it’s not bad value as a day out.

I think risk is much reduced if you avoid regular commuting, or just being in a hurry. I also picked my riding mates carefully and tended just to go out alone anyway. I viewed it as a fun variation on how I used the roads – at the time it turned trips like visiting my parents or visiting an office an hour away from a boring slog in the car to something quite fun. Used the Woolwich ferry to get from N to SE London and out to Kent just because I could zip to the front of the queue and always be on the next one.

It’s mostly been parked up since I had kids but that’s not really about risk rather a lack of time and opportunity. A couple of free hours on a sunny weekend is a precious resource and I’ll usually pick a MTB ride instead.

I’m in the same boat and did my CBT a few weeks back. It was a good experience on a load of levels.

Good luck getting any DAS training though, everything is booked up until August at least.

I will add my bit bikes are fantastic fun until it goes wrong, I’ve never mentioned this on the forum before, in 1986 I was heading home after a shift at work clear night good visibility, I was not seen by a van who pulled across my path I was on a straight road, que months in hospital and a paralysed arm.

I always thought bikes meant broken bones or death, I could live with either, living with one arm for 30 odd years has been a total pain in the arse, let alone all the nerve pain that goes with it.

As said it should make you a better car driver as you are more aware of everything on the road, I thank the NHS as I’ve had my moneys worth out of them.

If you want to ride do your CBT then get yourself on track days all the fun without the idiots trying to kill or mame you at every turn.

Then the phrase “meat crayon” was used by a mate

Not much of a mate then.

I enjoyed my time on motorbikes (my first motorised transport encouraged by both parents at 17). You won’t believe how tired you can get after a long day out at 70mph.

Decent boots, gloves, jacket and helmet will up the budget somewhat. Have fun.

My advice would be to do more training than the minimum. DAS teaches you to pass the test. it does NOT teach you how to ride properly. I have had a bike license for 40 years but hardly ridden for ten. I would take training before I rode again

Also remember to cost of the kit – a decent set up of protective kit could be £1000.

All very good advice here, as usual.

Certainly do the CBT – it’s good fun and you’ll quickly know if motorcycling is for you.

As a biker, you’ll have to compensate for everyone else’s incompetence. But sadly accidents can still happen.

But if you’re riding for leisure you can pick the times to go out and choose quieter routes. I find biking has positive mental benefits. It’s a great chance for some solo time and because you need to concentrate, all of life’s other crap is banished to the back seat.

You might as well do the CBT and your licence. I did it and found it very rewarding. I didn’t ride very much after but it’s nice to know I can if I want.

At the moment the risk/reward ratio doesn’t feel quite right for me, so I don’t ride a motorcycle. It might change though, who knows.

Regardless it’s a fun learning experience.

Some good replies already.

Personally I hung up my leathers nearly 20 year ago when I lived in the UK, I just couldn’t trust myself or other road users any longer and it got to the point where just about every ride out included a near miss of some type, and some near death misses! And yes, it hurts when you fall off, even with the right gear, broken bones take time to heal, especially when you have pins in etc. I’d say every biker has fallen off, some lucky and some not, even lost 2 friends to early in life.

I got my full bike license when I was 18, before a car license, then went on to Proddy race on the track for a couple of successful year, flippin loved bikes but I know myself and the roads are no place for me.

Have been more tempted in the last couple of years with a 20s flat tank BSA, AJS etc, and now living in Southern Sweden the roads are light with traffic and drivers look out well for bikes. Plus maybe I’m now older and wiser? Then again!!!!!!

This may be the important point… I ride in Sweden and, with the exception of the bigger cities, there is a lot more road than traffic. It is also really cold in winter and my bike goes away for a large part of the year, so I only really get to ride it when it is, generally, warmer, sunnier and dryer.

When I had my first taste of bikes in the U.K., my ex-wife saw me come back from the ride with his huge grin on my face and immediately told me that I could not have one. In a rare moment of concern, she likely was right in thinking that the younger me would end up dead quite quickly. Here and now, twenty years later, that risk is very different. People are still dicks when they drive, but there is a lot more cycling, a lot more acceptance of cycling and, generally, a better level of driving. I still watch what peoples’ wheels are doing in town and don’t trust cars though.

I don’t do many miles these days, mainly because if I have spare time for a ride I’ll take a bicycle. But I feel really uncomfortable if I don’t have a motorbike in the garage.

Same here. Currently it’s a trials bike, road registered, which I may or may not adda longride seat to for pootling locally.

I did my test about seven years ago, late thirties. I haven’t ridden much in that time really. I want to love it, but I have accepted that I don’t.
My issue is that biking is supposed to be a fun way to spend a couple of hours on a sunny afternoon, but it is riddled with anxiety.
Every time I’m driving in my van and something happens, the thought of happening whilst on a bike is then on constant replay.
In recent months –
A pheasant smacking the front of the van, and several close misses on a particular stretch of road.
A foreign camper van meeting me on a blind bend on the Black Isle, on the wrong side of the road. Mrs Frenchie nearly went through that giant Hymer windscreen, I stomped the brakes and ABS sorted us both out.
A wheeltrim spinning off a car which hit a pothole coming towards me, like slow motion as I could only watch it bash into the side of the van.
Add to that general gravel patches, diesel spills, etc, means I end up trundling along on the motorbike getting frustrated.

I guess that’s the fundamental issue really. Motorbikes are awesome fun when going fast, in a similar way that bombing down rad gnar trails is. The cost of mistakes on the moto, whether your own or others, is potentially huge though. A 13KG MTB VS a 250KG+ falling on your leg?
Going slow n safe is just boring on a motorbike IMO, but going slow n safe on a MTB is still fun due to the phsical benefits and connection to nature.

TLDR
Do it, scratch that itch, but be prepared to find you don’t enjoy it if you are a 40+ thinker and especially a father.

I still regularly commute into London, used to be on a variety of biggish bikes now on a 250 scooter (which seems to be just as fast on my commute). Had more close shaves and crashes on my fixie than on the bikes, in fact not come off the bike for nearly thirty years.
All that stuff above about speeding and riding like a dick, that’s not the bike that’s the rider making a choice to ride like a dick – it’s not an involuntary action, it’s not compulsory.
Do the cbt, get decent kit and always earplugs ride sensibly, get further training and you’ll be fine.

Obviously statistics will tell you how much more dangerous motorbikes are compared to most forms of transport, but I don’t believe they tell the whole story and there are certain groups which skew the figures:

+1 how, when, where and what you ride will have a massive impact on your safety. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve done some stupid things on a bike but in nearly 40yrs of motorcycling I’ve never owned anything remotely race rep & never enjoyed group riding, which I’m sure has helped keep me relatively safe. Take it easy & enjoy the ride.

Obvious to say I know, but so much of this could apply to ‘push’ bikes and road cycling. We’re not all just getting old, it seems the common consensus is that conditions have got a lot worse – are people just worse drivers or is it simply the volume of traffic?

it seems the common consensus is that conditions have got a lot worse – are people just worse drivers or is it simply the volume of traffic?

All of the above.

As above, I haven’t ridden a bike on the road in 10 years now, even the change between then an now is noticeable.

From just a fun point of view, the world has changed, there aren’t really quiet times on the roads anymore, well not unless you really like early starts. There are still quiet roads, but you have to go looking for them.

People have gotten meaner, I don’t know if it’s the stress of modern life, more insulated cars or whatever but lots of people will go completely nuts at the slightest inconvenience.

As for the roads, they seem less bike friendly, to me anyway and certainly locally, as road designers are squeezing more capacity out of existing networks with more and more complex roundabouts with unusual designated lanes and lots of odd junctions that put a merge in turn after a set of lights which turn some people into complete dicks.

I’ve never owned anything remotely race rep & never enjoyed group riding

I’ve only owned three bikes, and one of them (last bike) was a CBR400, and it was at the same time; the most fun, and by far the least useful and perhaps most dangerous. But like you, I only ever rode with one or two close friends, neither of whom (like me) were remotely interested in group rides. The whole point of bikes for me was the solitude/freedom. Mixing riding with cars and a whole bunch of other bikers of who you have no idea how they ride in traffic just seems like an accident waiting to happen.

There are very few things I enjoy more than riding bikes.

I do the whole gamut of motorbiking.

My first love is motorcycle touring, its the one thing over COVID I have really missed, I just love it. Ride some amazing roads in stunning scenery then stop for the night and enjoy some great food and a couple of beers.

I also do track days, mainly European ones as I find them less stressful and less full of people who turn up and think they need to make the most of their one trackday a year.

I have an Enduro bike too that I go green laning on, I love this because its new to me and I am learning. There are deffo some crossover skills from mountain biking.

The one thing I don’t really do it much riding around where I live. I am not one for a trip to the local biker cafe. Mainly because the main one is only about 10mins down the road, so does not seem much point in getting the bike out for that.

So my advice is try it, see if you like it. It does have the possibility to open up a whole new world for you. Its not for everyone, but for some its one of the most amazing experiences.

Its the closest thing to flying without flying 🙂