Are Sportbikes ( Motorcycles ) Dangerous?

I ride an old Yamaha FJ1200.
Bikes are dangerous but great fun.
You gotta weigh it up for yourself.

 

All motorcycles are dangerous. Like any other sport involving risk, you should go into it knowing the risks. I don't mind risk, but I like to manage my risks. The one I don't like about motorcycles are other drivers. That is pretty much an uncontrolled risk. Not much you can do about it, other than keeping your head on a swivel and driving defensively.

Tom

 

I ride an HD Street Glide. I took the MSF course at the local HD store as well. It's like Tom said about risk. I enjoy the aspect of riding, and having the knowledge of the MSF course, it helps you understand how to better manage the risk involved. I'm a pretty defensive driver anyway, so I just carry that over to the bike. I usually ride with another person, and thanks to our bluetooth headsets we use to talk, we also can help each other with the risk as well.

 

It mostly about wearing proper gear and respecting your limits, isn't it? How many traffic tickets have you had in the last five years? That's usually an indicator of how much additional risk you should assume on the road.

Currently: K75s, Burgman 650. Ex: R60, various Hondas.

 

Of COURSE they're dangerous - isn't that WHY they're fun. I long for a Ducati 1098 or an Aprilia RSV4.

Shouldn't this thread be in FHOP?

 

Well, they certainly get great gas mileage. I assume that's why you're posting this on PriusChat.

But yeah, to me they seem like a combination of the more dangerous aspects of both bicycles and cars.

 

Until they get down around 250 ccs, motorcycles generally get unspectacular gas mileage. (Too much parasitic drag, plus aggressive engine tuning, plus assertive throttle use.) My old Virago 250 did get around 70 MPG, but it was scary on the freeway. With 750 ccs on the flying brick and 650 on the Burgie, i get mileage in the mid 40s, but the ride feels stable, and I can more or less instantly command whatever speed the current situation demands.

 

i had one as a kid, loved it.lost two friends on them tho and gave it up what bothers me is the crazies. they don't obey traffic laws, ride up between the lanes in congestion, pull wheelies on the hwy, and the noisy ones make me want to scream. and i hate the government mantra ' watch out for motorcycles' they should be watching out for me.

 

I ride an '07 Honda CBR600. It's amazingly quick and agile. It even goes 70 miles per hour in first gear (rumor, of course). On a good day, I get 38 miles per gallon. I get 46 easily in my Prius.

For me, the sportbike is for fun. There are a lot of things you miss in the car that you catch on the bike. It makes me a more attentive driver. Plus, last weekend I was able to smell the fresh lavender from the roadside stand as I went by, which I probably wouldn't have had in the car.

 

It isn't the ride, it is the rider.

A scooter, a 250cc, a HD, a crotchrocket: All are the devil's tool in the wrong hands.

Give them all to me. I KNOW what to do!

 

You know, the only thing I find amazing is this thread hasn't been moved yet! WHAT does it have to do with Prius!?

 

no question. same with guns. uh-oh.

 

Motorcycles are quite a bit trickier to ride well than drive a car. 75k miles, owned 8 street bikes and 1 CR250 2 stroke.

Good bike maintenance, proper training, riding at your own pace and skill level, and a healthy fear of what could go wrong go a long way towards coming home safely.

Motorcycle have much greater power to weight than most cars, they are very quick. Sportbikes are dangerous in the hands of someone with no fear and no smarts, or showing off.

I crashed my first year of riding on a CBR600, going down a steep, windy road. did not know how to continue negotiating long left hander.

Once in a turn, no getting out of it. Panic can set in where you think you cannot make the turn, hit the brakes, bike uprights and off the road you go. Like my crash first year of riding. Never crashed again, except down twice same day in the dirt, ouch.

When get good, you learn to play lane position setting up wide going into a sharp turn. Delay turning in, keep your speed up using wide radius early in the turn. Cover the front brake with index finger, maybe trail braking, but keep some throttle. In a left hander, this keeps you closer to right edge of the lane which is scary for newer riders.

when you exit turn, come closer to the inside edge, the apex, then power out with bike more upright.

I recently sold my FZ1 after 7 years this time around. Riding awfully fast on backroads, hanging behind lead of fast group, only riding occasionally. Was time to get out. Bikes take a bit to do right.

don't like my lane position in pic, too close to centerline, lamo lean angle, hah. we have fab roads, lots of riders in SF Bay Area.



anyrate, 'nuff about myself.

 

My R1 got 33 - 39 MPG, CBR600RR about 45 MPG.

When test driving Prius, I joled 'hah, this Prius gets better gas mileage than your bike' to some dude scooting past on a Ducati er somethin like that.

 

This thread, by the way addresses the psychology of what I would guess to be a substantial subset of Prius drivers: older males with a tendency to over-analyze. Next thing you know, somebody will post a graph. I imagine you're going to find a high concentration of general-aviation pilots over 40 among Prius owners, also.

 

True about the pilots. Also engineers.

Tom

 

Yes and yes. Not exactly in love with G2 Pri though. took the bait couple years ago.

Now go back to your G3 room.

 

i have an R1...love the bike it has a powercommander, been geared and piped...my record is 120 miles on a 5 gallon tank:rockon:

 

yes,...but they are EXTREMELY fun and that feeling of riding is hard to replace!!