This is something that has always puzzled me, Why do motorcycles seem to attract negative media attention? Every Television season there seems to be at least one sitcom that does the recycled so much that the tires have gone bare story that Motorcycles are dangerous and in the end the star of the sitcom realizes it and sells the bike. Every vehicle whether it has 2 wheels or 18 and is either self propelled or propelled by a motor is dangerous if the person in control of the vehicle doesn't know how to handle it.
Discuss
it probably has to do with the 100% drop rate. you're guaranteed to go down at some point in your riding career...either while a squid or an experienced rider.
it's the numbers game:
what percentage of people ride motorcycles?
how many americans are comfortable with something that is not status quo?
do the match and it reads out perfectly
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
ive yet to see a show like that
^^ Yup.
Motorcycle cops will be the first to tell you it's not if, but when.
Motorcycles are way more dangerous than any other vehicle, don't kid yourself. Cars have seat belts, air bags, bigger vehicles have their heft.
Buying a used $2000 sport bike will provide you with WAY more speed and thrills than you'll ever be able to buy in a sports car 40x's it's price or more.
But most people are simply scared of them. Many men sell their bikes once they get married or have kids. So the sitcoms are not telling some tall tail, because the story line happens in real life. It's more about
Hollywood being out of ideas than anything.
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True, but i do know married people that have bikes...and they ACCEPT that risk. the same way you do when you get up in the morning, drive on the railroad tracks, otr stick your face in a moving blender.
so, yes, there is truth to it--that they are dangerous, but those that do ride accept that risk.
But i also stand by what i said: a minority of the populace rides, and most people are afraid of anything that is not status quo or popular. ergo, they are demonized....
...like tattoos used to be.
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
[quote=Keeper of the Light™]True, but i do know married people that have bikes...and they ACCEPT that risk. the
Including me (married and a rider).
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My best riding buddy is married. His wife rides too, their kids don't seem to mind
Two things add up to neg press.. People who do not ride, do not understand, and do not care to understand, along with hooligans who cannot understand why pulling 100MpH wheelies on the freeway is not OK. That is the image that sticks.. Not the countless thousands of us who leave racing to the track and riding fast to empty roads. Acting like an idiot in traffic will burn that image permanently into the minds of the uninitiated.
Do I ride? Oh yes. Do I ride too fast? Oh yes. Do I play in traffic? No fricken way man, that'll get you a ticket or killed. Do I race? Yes, at the track. Do I actively participate in club events to raise both awareness and the profile of riders in general? Yes I do. I also promote safety amungst other riders. Every rider should ask themselves the same questions.
Let's face it, they are a lot of fun. It's hard to behave when controlling a machine that is as capable as most sportbikes but we must. To save lives, to raise awareness, to promote energy efficient vehicles and to try to save a little on insurance costs.
PAX
Hey, i want to ride, i just (a) don't have the money to spend on a sportbike which i can use *maybe* 4 months out of the year, and (b) have no clue how to ride, and can't afford classes now.
but i don't look at riders as hooligans. I think the Neilson-family WASPs do more damage to society than people who ride bikes.
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
Good points Hahahaha. I wish every rider would ride responsibly but that's just wishful thinking.
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Many men sell their bikes once they get married or have kids. So the sitcoms are not telling some tall tail, because the story line happens in real life. It's more about Hollywood being out of ideas than anything.
Yes but my point is from some of the sitcoms I've seen over the years they just say riding is dangerous without no facts/statistics to back the statment up, The TV wife sees the bike and automatically it's as dangerous as a gun in the hands of a serial killer and insists that the TV significant other or son get rid of it and the episode usually ends with either they have a wreck with the bike and sell it or just get their balls cut off by the TV wife and sell it. The only sitcom I've seen that didn't say something similar was Roseanne. Take Flying for example you take a hell of a risk going up a couple of thousand feet, There are very few scenarios were you live if you crash land but yet it doesn't get as much negative attention in hollywood compared to motorcycle riding. Hell I take a risk riding my bicycle in the Spring, summer and fall, you never know if somebody's going to hit you or not especially on a street where the speed limit is 40mph but everybody drives 50+mph.
spikej wrote:Good points Hahahaha. I wish every rider would ride responsibly but that's just wishful thinking.
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Many men sell their bikes once they get married or have kids. So the sitcoms are not telling some tall tail, because the story line happens in real life. It's more about Hollywood being out of ideas than anything.
Yes but my point is from some of the sitcoms I've seen over the years they just say riding is dangerous without no facts/statistics to back the statment up, The TV wife sees the bike and automatically it's as dangerous as a gun in the hands of a serial killer and insists that the TV significant other or son get rid of it and the episode usually ends with either they have a wreck with the bike and sell it or just get their balls cut off by the TV wife and sell it. The only sitcom I've seen that didn't say something similar was Roseanne. Take Flying for example you take a hell of a risk going up a couple of thousand feet, There are very few scenarios were you live if you crash land but yet it doesn't get as much negative attention in hollywood compared to motorcycle riding. Hell I take a risk riding my bicycle in the Spring, summer and fall, you never know if somebody's going to hit you or not especially on a street where the speed limit is 40mph but everybody drives 50+mph.
I realize what you're trying to say. It's never enough that they just say it's dangerous, but on the TV they'll throw in a wreck for good measure. But that's the media, man. What do you expect? I just read that the bird flu isn't all that dangerous. WHODATHUNKIT? Oh, that's right, me.
But don't defend motorcycle riding with comparing it to flying. Flying is the safest form of travel. Flying > Cars > Motorcycles when it comes to safety. I mean your defense doesn't focus on any of the strengths..
Motorcycles excel in insurance, purchase price, fun, speed, gas and comradre. I mean, I go on a ride and if some stray guy or group is also out, they join ours. They're like Insta-Buds. Whereas you pull up to a light with a 1990 Accord and you get Insta-A$shole.
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Cars surround you in metal that offers you protection, Bikes do not. This is why bikes are not as safe as cars. That and people in cars half the time can't seem to see the poor guys on the bikes.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
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But don't defend motorcycle riding with comparing it to flying. Flying is the safest form of travel.
Just to clear it up I'm not talking about flying on jumbo jets I'm talking about single engine planes such as Cessna's and the such that you can own for relativiely cheap compared to the multi person capacity planes. It's only the safest form of travel because it isn't as crowded in the sky as it is on Earth. What I'm comparing is the mortality rate, you could just as easily die in a plane crash as you would in a motorcycle crash however you don't see many TV shows go that angle but I do remember a Home Improvement episode that brought this up.
I understand you point, and it is propoganda (don't believe me, watch the movie "reefer madness" sometime and then tery to tell me with a straight face that the mainstream media at the time doesn't garble facts to push a staus-quo agenda).
Motocycle riding is dangerous, so is driving and flying. However, let me see if i can't push your argument of the context in a different way, Spike:
Agustin: considering what one has to go through for a pilots license...imagine this. picture all of the drivers of your hometown suddenly had pilots licenses, and you all flew to work. How safe would flying be then? Consider that:
To become a pilot, it's pretty riogorous in training, and not many people do it--hence "safer".
To ride a motocycle, you have to have more taining than a car, but less than a pilot, and for the most part that i've seen around here, accidents where the biker is at fault don't happen often--yes, more often than not, the biker will be severely injored because of the lack of protection
To drive a car....well, let's just take a look in the VS. forum, and you tell me, how many complete and utter buffoons that the government lets drive a big heavy car...and how many of them are breeding. How many of them race, drive with cellphones, have REALLY poor vision, and don't pay attention and thus, can endager the lives of bikers?
In spike's defense, most of the shows he's referring to susally show the man getting the bike, the wifer getting pissed, he riding it anyway, he making an mistake, and because of that having a close shave or getting into a wreck, and because of that, sells his bike and all returns to the brady bunch warm soapy feeling of clean goodness that is staus quo....
I would rather see one where some dumb WASP, talking on his/her cell, with screaming kids in the back, putting on makeup or shaving, jotting down notes into their PDA while on the street, ramming their SUV into a biker, killing the biker, and because they proved it was the WASP's negligence, they charge them with negligence, suspend their license, and when they can get it back they have to take a defensive driving course, and their insuranxce skyrockets--plus a lawsuit from the biker's family.
but, there's no justice in the world, the the chances of that hapening are the same as me getting elected pope when Benedict joins the choir invisible.
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
Bottom line, Keeper of the Light and Hahahaha are right.....
The uninitiated don't understand. Until you've ridden on the road, and also seen the other riders on the road you can't understand how dangerous it is. Someone bumps gently into you in your car, fender bender. Someone bumps you on your bike, chances are you are going down. No protection. People don't shoulder check before they lane change. Bikers speed. People misjudge how fast the bike is going, and turn left in front of you. EVERYONE is a threat on the road.
The multitudes of jerk offs in both cars and motor bikes is amazing.
What you need to look at is the number of accidents in cars and on bikes. The point was made that it's not if, it's WHEN. Not 100% true. I've got friends who have been riding for 25 years. Never laid it down. But any 17 year old moron can spend 6000 bucks, get a 600 cc 400 lb crotch rocket and go kill himself with very little training. Then look at the types of accidents had. Motorcycle accidents almost ALWAYS involve some sort of physical injury.
But I wouldn't trade mine for the world..... Because that bike proved that you CAN buy happiness.
How do you like the 599.. Umm 599? My g/f wants a Duc Monster 620 and I figure the Honda 599 is nearly the same bike at half the price (and likely more reliable), it has the F3 engine (pretty solid engine) and a pretty basic design. I doubt there is much that can go wrong, but I'd like some feedback.
PS: I read your profile and all I can say.. OH ya.. I bet my CBR600RR can out handle and out accelerate it..
I know, I know, you meant car.. Heck my bud rides a ZX10R so I know all about the "there's always someone faster" routine....
PAX
well i have never saw a sitcom like u stated but i will agree with the statement of its not IF u go down but WHEN u go down. Myself and 2 other buddys bought bikes this year,
I got a 83 kawasaki 550, and i laid it down my first time riding it while i still had my permit( i passed the cycle test my first try), i was riding in the rain and caught a light and the brakes locked up and put it down at about 35mph. i got lucky but my bike got a couple dents/scratches but i learned how easy it is to go down and how carefull u really have to be on a bike.
One of my buddys got a 99 suzuki bandit 600, he had dropped it a couple times but the last time he wrecked it the throttle stuck open and he put it into a gaurd rail on the expressway, although the bike was a total loss he walked away luckily only with a broken arm and some scratches.
My other buddy got a 06 yamaha fz6, he had dropped it while putting his foot down at a stop and he slipped on some rocks and dropped it only breaking a mirror.
You really do have to be carefull and understand the risks when riding motorcyles, but it can be one of the funnest things to do.imo
Im selling my bike in the spring. Im too young and stupd, and i can at least understand that.
