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A year in review on the motorcycle

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 12:13 am
by Ice Cream Jonsey
Some random thoughts...

Every time I look at a crash video, I come away with the same conclusion: dickhead was going way too fast. A lot of the authors of these videos then get on Reddit and say how they were doing everything fine and they just can't explain it. Funnily enough, I can explain it.

Having gone 15 or 20 minutes at 65 MPH, I gotta say I have no real desire to do that on a regular basis. Living in the city, I don't often need to. I just feel like a jerk when friends that like to drive fast invite me places and I turn them down.

The oil thing in the city is funny. I looked at a video. Changing the oil is simple. I just have nowhere to put the oil. So I may take it to a place anyway.

Love it a lot. I will say that when I took it at highway speeds it made regular street crusing easy as fuck. I never felt more in control of my bike than after expanding my horizons.

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 7:01 am
by Flack
I didn't really understand your aversion to highway driving until I drove on the highway in Denver. If you lived in Oklahoma, you would love driving on the highway. People don't cut you off all the time and try to actively kill you, which is what we experienced there.

If I worked downtown and parking was an issue, I would totally ride a bike. Bikers tend to get a pass when it comes to parking. I was at Walmart the other day and saw this guy driving his bike right up the curb and on the sidewalk and just left it there. Try that in your Volkswagon.

I'll be selling my current bike in the spring. It's too small and I don't have any time to ride it. Between the bike and the money I have saved up I'll have enough to pay cash for the Elio when it's released (fingers crossed) next year. The funny part is, at 80mpg, the Elio will get better mileage than any bike I've owned. Go figure.

It looks like you learned the lesson I figured out a long time ago, that motorcycles are great fun to own when you can ride them when you want, and not so great as a primary vehicle (especially if you live in a place with lots of snow and rain). I'm glad you are enjoying yours and more glad you haven't been killed on it. Here's to another year of fun and no death!

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 6:32 pm
by Tdarcos
When I lived in California, I worked for 3 1/2 years as a programmer for a tax preparer. Her husband was a truck driver for Ralphs Grocery Company of Southern California, and when he went into work he rode his motorcycle. My boss told me how one time he had a nastly fall accident and came out of it with only some minor scrapes, because he always rode with jeans and leather leggings, and, which kept him from losing part of his feet, steel-toe shoes.

After the accident the steel was almost worn through. The outside of the shoe was completely obliterated, and if he hadn't had a steel front cover, he'd have lost some of his toes.

So my recommendation is, at a minimum, always wear closed shoes with steel toes, and if you can, some form of high-friction resistant clothing.

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 8:23 pm
by Flack
My recommendation is to not crash.

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 8:23 pm
by AArdvark
some form of high-friction resistant clothing

THE
BUTTER PANTS
AARDVARK

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 6:26 am
by AArdvark
They make Kevlar riding gear which is lighter and cooler than leather. It's not Fonzie cooler though, which is why I never got any.