Deadly Sins

tx650,

The skills required to ride a motorcycle are not that great. The only accidents that your skills will prevent are stupid things, like dropping the bike while doing a really slow turn and breaking your leg.

So, the missing factor here is attitude. I would suggest that the breakdown is something like this:

1% skill.
90% attitude
9 % Good Luck.

You have to keep in mind that there are two kinds of luck. You cannot have any bad luck when riding a motorcycle. Bad luck is what people with a bad attitude blame when they screw up.

Looking at the breakdown above, you will realize that the 9% good luck takes the place of attitude. Not bad attitude, but imperfect attitude. Nobody is perfect.
 
tx650 said:
Riding a motorcycle is 50/50
50% skill
50% luck
Click to expand...

I might just elaborate a bit more on my percentages and the luck side came one morning I woke up to a surgeon standing over my head.He asked me if I knew where I was and I said F knows.He told me a cage driver decided to take me out last night and he put me back together as best he could,minus a few bits.I was also told that even though I was obeying the road rules and reg,lic and insured wearing a helmet I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He also told me that I was very lucky to have survived as most riders end up down in the morgue.Now back to the skill percentages,well that's all the years of riding in real traffic and weather conditions have given me.I have never attended a rider safe course but I would agree that they are a good move by the gov.If it saves even 1 life then it's all worth it.
Such is Life and shit happens.
 
xschris said:
loud mufflers saves lives!
Click to expand...

\Rant on

All of you that believe this horse$hit, stay the f*sk off the road please!:banghead:

#1 cause of auto/mc collision is the car turning left in from of the mc. Annoying loud pipes are just loud to the back, an ambulance is loud to the front, sirens, lights etc... and the idiots still don't see them.

\Rant off
 
KenN,

Well, I agree with you that the #1 cause of motorcycle accidents is people turning left in front of you. We know why people do that. They are stupid. It is an example of what i was talking about above. There is no amount of skill that can help you avoid running into someone who has given you two car lengths to make a decision. All you can do is put the bike down, and that is not something that you practice on a regular basis, so the first time you do it your skill level will be zero. So, your only hope is to avoid the accident in the first place, and that is all about attitude, starting with the realization that you are a sitting duck and you need to pay attention.

It has happened to me twice in the span of 12 years, and in both cases I will have to admit I had a bad attitude. I was not speeding in either case, but I was going the limit when conditions should have told me to slow down because when there is a lot of traffic, people do stupid things and motorcycles get lost in the traffic.
 
I agree with the attitude part, if you are extremely careful you can avoid a lot of problems. But I will never understand why you would go out in traffic with only one brake on a motorcycle. Those spool hub 21" wheels look cool, but while you are sliding sideways with the rear locked up, you don't look so cool. It's an outlaw thing I guess. I say it's asking for trouble.

#1 sin......only a rear brake on a motorcycle.
 
#10 or something...Putting a car tire on a bike just to get a few more miles.
#13 or so... not keeping your bike in good repair and/or proper assembly of accessories. Those spike air cleaners don't look so cool bouncing down the road...especially if your friend behind you has to undertake emergency manuevers to avoid being struck by it.
 
KenN said:
\Rant on

All of you that believe this horse$hit, stay the f*sk off the road please!:banghead:

#1 cause of auto/mc collision is the car turning left in from of the mc. Annoying loud pipes are just loud to the back, an ambulance is loud to the front, sirens, lights etc... and the idiots still don't see them.

\Rant off
Click to expand...
Yep, I thought I was the only one who HONESTLY stated noisy pipes are heading in the wrong direction. For those of you who believe loud is safety, try pointing your exhaust forward! Otherwise, it's a bad wrap for all of us and like the man said, a nuisance, and don't even get me started on wearing a "do-rag" to protect a Bart Simpson sized brain...
 
tx650 said:
I have said it before and I'll say it again "Loud pipes Save Lives"
How many riders have been wiped out by a cager with the lame excuse "Oh I didn't see you"?
So the next time you get booked for a noisy bike repeat this quote.
Click to expand...

yes loud pipes save lives,( when cagers hear us they start looking for us ) I'll take
paint over tires any day ( just kidding) get good tires first and save up for paint, no front brake cool my last 2 bobbers had no front brakes and stoped very good. I have hit 2 cars stopping in front of me when I had front brakes so whet the hell. I wear a do-rag
to keep the sun off my bart simson head, I been hit by one car I have hit 2 cars and slid over a curb on my side in the rain
and went under a gard rail at over a 100 mph MY dumb ass falt and front brakes did not help in any of them,I say more but I have to go to a dr.app :bike:
 
Just yesterday I was at a 4way stop and a lady waved me on to go then she started to go as I was in the middle of the intersection. I stopped when she slammed her brakes and got off my bike and asked her if she really tried to kill me. I made her cry.
 
"laying your bike down" is a submissive operation, and you are surrendering. I slid 119 feet on my back and ass from 50 mph on a bike I know damn well would stop from 50 mph in less than 100 feet. I did not purposely lay it down (tucked the front under heavy braking) but did learn that throwing it to the ground is surrendering control to inertia. Stay upright, brake your ass off, and maneuver (but don't try to swerve while threshold braking, see above!)

As far as loudness, I'd like to see the set of pipes that are loud enough to get inside the head of one of them freeway gangstas leaned over on the console texting with the stereo dialed up to "stun" You're totally invisible, bottom line. Anyone ever try a time trial on the old Road Rash 3D PS2 game with the level on expert? That's what it is. If you are going to ASSUME anything while riding, ASSUME every last motherfucker on the road wants to kill you. There is a very fine line between paranoia and a high state of situational awareness. Just remember, just because you are paranoid does not mean you are wrong!
 

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Get good tires. I spent less than $10 on my tank paint and it has a mirror finish you can shave in if you like. 3000 grit paper and Mothers #7 polishing compound are your friends ...
 
Pat D said:
Get good tires. I spent less than $10 on my tank paint and it has a mirror finish you can shave in if you like. 3000 grit paper and Mothers #7 polishing compound are your friends ...
Click to expand...

I think I spent $12 on mine (two tone) :D
 

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