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I think there is an approximately 0% chance that this won't end in tears. My first clue was the fact that the banner ad on their Facebook page features a picture of a Hayabusa.
Note to wannabe "sharing economy" entrepreneurs: just because you CAN create an app and sign up a few guinea pigs as riders and passengers, doesn't mean you SHOULD.
As if anyone is going to let strangers ride their Hayabusa =D
I wouldn't let them ride my Ninja 250, and that's a beat up workhorse. I bought it with rash on one side and proceeded to even it out by lowsiding on the other one.
Wait, does 'ride share' mean letting people share the same vehicle (a la zipcar for autos), or does it mean giving a person a ride (a la Lyft, as seen on Conan)? Either way, sounds like a bad idea to me.....
Wait, does 'ride share' mean letting people share the same vehicle (a la zipcar for autos), or does it mean giving a person a ride (a la Lyft, as seen on Conan)? Either way, sounds like a bad idea to me.....
Mike
Actually, I think you're right. It means Lyft, not Zipcar. Slightly less dumb, but I don't like riding two-up with friends either. Generally I scare the crap out of anyone on the back anyway, so I can't see that working too well. I don't even ride that fast, but if you're not used to a bike leaning more than 30 degrees (from vertical), people freak out, which is the last thing you want leaned over. Again, not really much lean angle, but it feels like it if you're not used to it. Even a Road King can do a 30 degree lean angle, although not much more.
Cruiser riders just do everything wrong. Note the upper torso fighting the turn making the worst of what limited lean angle the bike already has. Sigh.
Yes, they're offering people a chance to ride b***h on total strangers' bikes for money.
Their whole pitch focuses on the fact that motorcycles get through traffic faster than cars do, but that generally only happens when riders (a) use the HOV lane or (2) lane-split and weave through traffic.
Which I do all the time one-up on my V-Strom, but the idea of doing it with some random person on the back (who might never even have been on a bike before) strikes me as, shall we say, not the brightest.
I know there are moto taxi services in London and elsewhere, but this ain't London.
Yeah.. no thanks. A person has to understand their role as a passenger (and not weigh two tons) before I ever let them ride with me. A paying stranger who weighs 200+ pounds and has never been on a bike before probably won't.
I think it's a great idea. It's unusual, and would need to be run with unique requirements as this paradigm shift is coming no matter what! Yet a new industry such as this carries with it since attention to detail and safety, as all the posts i read above have some merit.
First, in the flavor of passenger/customers... there does need to be weight restrictions, along with equilibrium, blood pressure and other health related warnings, disclaimers and WAIVERS.
It's a big conversation and my comments here are basic and not meant to be all inclusive.
Pilots should also pass a test. Those who cannot or do not have the historical experience of taking riders whom have never been on the back of a bike simply should not be able to participate as a pilot.
Those more seasoned pilots, or those who are more apt to or have had the history of green passengers and have developed the muscle memory for handling different types of passenger ignorance as far as weight shifting etc... Would do just fine.
I am one of the latter type of pilots who has decades of taking people on their first ride as well as taking passengers who were scared to death from having a ride with other pilots who were not as seasoned or whom did not format their riding style for green passengers... To the point where these passengers swore they would never get on the back of a bike again and subsequently, after a ride with me... They have found comfort and excitement and a new found appreciation for two wheeled experience's.
So, The comments so far do indeed have merit as does the whole premis of this platform. I think it is worth continuing.
I considered doing something like this jokingly after I started picking up my MIL from work on my bike. Still though wouldn't the passenger need to have a helmet with them to be law compliant in CA? If every question was answered on this and it was a model that made sense I would consider being a Spyke rider with my F650CS. I think it'd be kinda fun and an excuse to go out and ride more.
I think there is an approximately 0% chance that this won't end in tears. My first clue was the fact that the banner ad on their Facebook page features a picture of a Hayabusa.
Note to wannabe "sharing economy" entrepreneurs: just because you CAN create an app and sign up a few guinea pigs as riders and passengers, doesn't mean you SHOULD.
Will they have T-shirts that read "If You Can Read This The Spyke Fell Off"?
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