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There have been three people hurt or killed on bikes we knew as acquaintances this past week. One I am not exactly sure what happened, but he lost control and hit a tree. I don't know if he was doing something wrong or not, the others I know did nothing wrong. They were doing it all right, wore helmets rode safe and a car pulled out and took them out.
My wife and I were riding over to one of the keys off of Englwood fla. this past weekend, we like to take the back way to avoid as much of the traffic from the snow birds,they make it hell to drive. In Fla you either have over 70 who should not have a DL or 16 who also should not have a DL turning in front of you or almost driving into you. We had 2 incidents that gave us a bit of a shock. An Octogenarian that turned and stopped dead in the road making us vear around him and 16yo who decided to cut traffic and cross when there was no such room to do so, both almost causing an accident.
My question is has anyone ever decided as much as you like to ride ever thought about giving it up due to the idiots on the road? More and more people at least here in Fla. Many who should not have a DL.
After 35 years of riding an eclectic mix of bikes with no major accidents i noticed in the last few years an increase in close calls from distracted drivers or drivers looking but not seeing. I decided to hang up the helmet and get into sports cars instead,in my case a Miata. I discovered some nice advantages to the little roadster, one being you didnt have to go through the process of suiting up with all manner of clothing like long pants,boots,gloves,leather jacket and helmet, just jump in the car with shorts,tshirt and sneakers.
Another advantage is i could now drive with a cup of coffee at the ready
Music
A/C and heater
complete weather protection which extended the driving season a few months.
Biggest surprise was having just as much fun as i did on the bikes, the thing is like a luxury gokart.
Heres my little beauty, http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g156/jambo101/Miata/gap2_zps00f3f923.
Its 6am on a weekday and i've just driven all night from Tampa and will be off to Montreal after a nap and some fun in the twisties,this type of long distance driving i would never consider on a bike.
I ride sport bikes and no longer ride on the street. Track days and club racing only for me.
At some point I'd like to get into adventure touring which is mostly off road. Of course, you still have to get to the trail somehow and I will be very cautious during that leg of the journey.
So to answer the OP's question, no I am not ready to quit yet. But do I ride on the street anymore? No, to dangerous!!!
Location: In a perfect world winter does not exist
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I just gave up my motorcycle yesterday. It had been on my mind for many months. I might come back to the sport later with a scooter instead. I live in a traffic hell city, there is simply no way to ride them in a sporty manner. Many rides, I would ride it the same speed and manner as a Honda Civic so whats the point to all that performance. Plus gearing up in so much was a pain often.
I used to ride & loved it but I noticed that I was riding less & less every year and also that I was raising the temps I would ride in. When I first got my bike I would ride in 32 degree weather etc but by the time I quite I would only ride if it was mid 70's. Along with my lessening the riding times I did get tired of almost every other weekend during the summer months hearing about a motorcyclist being severly injured or killed so it did kind of push my decision to sell my bike. I only had two near issues- one was an older person went to change lanes and almost hit me and the other was teenagers the pulled out onto my lane & I had to go to the shoulder but them I actually kicked the side of the car as I cussed them out.
I rode for about 8 years and it was fun & I do not regret any bid of it but I guess I got "it" out of my system as I don't really have as strong as a desire as I used to about owning a bike.
I've been riding my DR650 every other day since getting it back in July. I don't really see myself giving it, or any of my other two wheeled toys up any time soon. Maintenance is quite easy after taking time to read the various manuals and watch the videos, and the fuel economy could never be beat.
With my main profession still being truck driving, it's always a nice thing when I could head out for a trip on a vehicle that doesn't have 45'-53' of extra BS swinging behind it.
Seems like many of the reasons for giving up have to do with kids and wife,. etc
Luckily I'm too unattractive to ever get into that, but after my first lay-down, even sisters, brothers and close friends were giving me the riot act over why I'm riding that thing. I'm still bruised up on my left leg and I'm gimping about, but I'm not letting a mishap on a patch of gravel put some fear into me
Only thing I'm going to throw some money at now is some additional protective gear. Preferably the type that doesn't make me look like a cop trying to quell a riot.
Pink, yellow, or even some neon orange body armor, unlike the abundance of fascist black.
Seems like many of the reasons for giving up have to do with kids and wife,. etc
Luckily I'm too unattractive to ever get into that, but after my first lay-down, even sisters, brothers and close friends were giving me the riot act over why I'm riding that thing. I'm still bruised up on my left leg and I'm gimping about, but I'm not letting a mishap on a patch of gravel put some fear into me
Only thing I'm going to throw some money at now is some additional protective gear. Preferably the type that doesn't make me look like a cop trying to quell a riot.
Pink, yellow, or even some neon orange body armor, unlike the abundance of fascist black.
Aerostich makes some great protective gear, either the Roadcrafter or Darien, non leather but waterproof. I road across PA once in pouring rain and stayed dry. The ballistic nylon is almost as good as leather. The stuff is pricey though and looks a little funky when you get off the bike but it's sort of a fashion statement of it's own :-). Plus which is more important, looking good or protection?
The catalogs also have a lot of other items for riding and commuting on a motorcycle, some stuff can be found elsewhere for a better price though. There's other companies out there you can find on most bike sites, First Gear, Joe Rocket, etc.
Aerostich makes some great protective gear, either the Roadcrafter or Darien, non leather but waterproof. I road across PA once in pouring rain and stayed dry. The ballistic nylon is almost as good as leather. The stuff is pricey though and looks a little funky when you get off the bike but it's sort of a fashion statement of it's own :-). Plus which is more important, looking good or protection?
The catalogs also have a lot of other items for riding and commuting on a motorcycle, some stuff can be found elsewhere for a better price though. There's other companies out there you can find on most bike sites, First Gear, Joe Rocket, etc.
I'll go ahead and check those out while I'm lying here in bed with my leg elevated.
The DR650 is pretty good for getting to those out-of-the-way, ghost town locations I'm always trying to find. Rather quiet, gets in and out of places in a pinch, and less of a bore than a lifted pickup or Jeep for the same thing.
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