Scooters and motorcycles? Bueller? (Riverside, Crest: dangerous, safer, moving)

[djmcdevitt]

I moved out here to LB one week ago. I hate cars and since parking is a nightmare anyway, I thought I might get a scooter or motorcycle. To my surprise though, and in spite of the gorgeous weather, I have noticed only about 3 motorcycles, and zero scooters. Is there a reason for this? Is everyone just too intimidated by the California drivers?

Also, knowing how rampant bicycle theft is, would it even be prudent to leave such a vehicle unattended around town? (Even a small scooter is quite heavy, but it can be hoisted or rolled into the back of a truck.)

[adr3naline]

I've posed this question to randoms at least 15x in the past 3 months. I race supersport and thought my move to SoCal would bring tons of canyon-carving street fun, but seeing a motorcycle on the road has been a rare sight. I now understand why.

The general consensus seems to list Intimidation as the largest factor. I don't blame them, the city is a moving parking lot of perpetually late drivers frantically rushing to their destination...and that doesn't exactly create awareness of smaller vehicles, or pedestrians. The fact that few drivers in LA understand that lane-splitting is not illegal, goes to show how little LA really understands about motorcycling.

I suggest against a scooter. You need enough power to get out of your own way and away from the inattentive/aggressive drivers. Maybe get a $100 bicycle and cruise congested streets, splitting traffic, to give yourself a feel of what it's like and see if you want to make the leap.

[Nerdlord]

I see motorcycles on the freeway every day. I used to ride from 2005-2010 until I sold my bike and moved out of state.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

I've posed this question to randoms at least 15x in the past 3 months. I race supersport and thought my move to SoCal would bring tons of canyon-carving street fun, but seeing a motorcycle on the road has been a rare sight. I now understand why.

The general consensus seems to list Intimidation as the largest factor. I don't blame them, the city is a moving parking lot of perpetually late drivers frantically rushing to their destination...and that doesn't exactly create awareness of smaller vehicles, or pedestrians. The fact that few drivers in LA understand that lane-splitting is not illegal, goes to show how little LA really understands about motorcycling.

I suggest against a scooter. You need enough power to get out of your own way and away from the inattentive/aggressive drivers. Maybe get a $100 bicycle and cruise congested streets, splitting traffic, to give yourself a feel of what it's like and see if you want to make the leap.

Go up to Angels Crest on the weekend and you'll see large groups of guys fully decked out in leather jumpsuits on Ducatis screaming up and down the mountain. And then on your way back you'll always see at least one being scraped off the side of the road into an ambulance.

Same with commuting. I commute 25 miles on the 5 every day and see dozens of motorcycles "sharing lanes". But also see at least one down per week and saw near miss last night when a pick up truck changed lanes just when a guy on his bike was speeding between. I road for a little while here but the risk outweighs the reward for me especially now that I have a kid

[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

Go up to Angels Crest on the weekend and you'll see large groups of guys fully decked out in leather jumpsuits on Ducatis screaming up and down the mountain. And then on your way back you'll always see at least one being scraped off the side of the road into an ambulance.

Same with commuting. I commute 25 miles on the 5 every day and see dozens of motorcycles "sharing lanes". But also see at least one down per week and saw near miss last night when a pick up truck changed lanes just when a guy on his bike was speeding between. I road for a little while here but the risk outweighs the reward for me especially now that I have a kid

Yeah I drive Angels crest and definitely see the concentration of bikes. I think the OP is asking why you don't see more bikes in the urban areas, considering the traffic, weather, and legalities of lane splitting.

I'd be interested to see the ratio of motorcycles to cars in LA, compared to mid/large cities across the US. I'm with the OP, it just feels lower.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

Yeah I drive Angels crest and definitely see the concentration of bikes. I think the OP is asking why you don't see more bikes in the urban areas, considering the traffic, weather, and legalities of lane splitting.

I'd be interested to see the ratio of motorcycles to cars in LA, compared to mid/large cities across the US. I'm with the OP, it just feels lower.

I agree that I don't see them as much in city around LA. Like I said I do see plenty commuting on freeway. And I think you see more when you get away from LA into the IE, Riverside County and OC. Maybe because it's a little less congested there?

[djmcdevitt]

Yeah that's what I meant is that they don't seem near as prevalent as they were back in the Phoenix area where I'm from, and Phoenix has far worse weather conditions than LA. I know bikes are always gonna be dangerous, but are they more dangerous here?

And how about a little "around town" scooter? I may look silly but if I keep it off the highways, I should be a lot safer. Though I might be fooling myself.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by djmcdevitt

Yeah that's what I meant is that they don't seem near as prevalent as they were back in the Phoenix area where I'm from, and Phoenix has far worse weather conditions than LA. I know bikes are always gonna be dangerous, but are they more dangerous here?

And how about a little "around town" scooter? I may look silly but if I keep it off the highways, I should be a lot safer. Though I might be fooling myself.

You'll see some Vespas where there are hipsters. I've seen a fee people on Honda Grom on streets and ebikes are getting a little more common