are choppers safer?

thanks for the advice guys, i will think about it some more. i do like the look of those supermoto bikes.

just wonder if i am too young to take the risks
 
Brakes on choppers are rubbish compared to those on a sports bike. For that reason alone I would say they are more dangerous.
 
daven1986 said:
thanks for the advice guys, i will think about it some more. i do like the look of those supermoto bikes.

just wonder if i am too young to take the risks
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You've got to go someday - if you've got the bike bug you've got the bike bug, it's no use fighting! Let it become you :D

Re: safety, I suppose they're safer in that they're slow, but then they're more dangerous because not only do they not go, they don't stop or turn either, and it doesn't matter how shiny it is, people will still pull out on you.
 
Gilly said:
How true. I've finally booked lessons.
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:eek:

You're now sort of ahead of me as my CBT has expired. I had planned to sort this out myself over the summer, but my plans are going to **** at the moment...
 
another vote for a supermoto, you can see for miles in traffic which is handy when filtering and less speeding fines etc :p
 
how can you say the brakes on choppers are crap compared to normal bikes, choppers tend to be custom the brakes are only as good as what the person has put on them.

one of my dads choppers has twin discs on the front with 6 pot calipers and a single disc with 6 pot on the rear, if you put them on full your insides come out your mouth.

They arent designed for speed on twisty roads, they're designed for cruising and looking cool, on a well designed and built chopper with a decent engine (like a 1600 s&s ;)) you can easy sit at a steady 100-120mph on the open road perfectly comfortably.

As for safety though, I would never say any bike is safer than the other, how safe you are is mostly down to you and the other people you meet on the road
 
Toker said:
how can you say the brakes on choppers are crap compared to normal bikes, choppers tend to be custom the brakes are only as good as what the person has put on them.
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From what I've seen your average chop weighs a ton and is under braked. Stability under braking is going to be bad though, if the 'chopper' design was optimum for road use you wouldn't see sports bikes on the road.

I'd love to know the physics of having weight so far away from front wheel. Bikes rely on weight transfering to front tyre for braking, but not sure what happens when the weight is so far back away from it... I guess the weight still transfers to a lesser extent, but at what cost, ie, massive fork compression / flex and movement of weight far beyond a normal bike...

One thing I think is correct, without at least 50/50 weight distribution between front and back you are not going to be able to hold a line mid corner easily, it actually needs to be further forward to increase corner ability (thats why bikes with sharp geometry handle so well), though you do sacrifice rear traction and lose stability under power... no chop is going to be anywhere near this :(

Could be wrong though on all of above, but I think it's just a matter of physics and I'm a noob :)
 
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If you want a safe bike you want one of these

(the Trike, not the Blonde)

1erika-trike.jpg


ps i know its not a very good example of a trike, but this google image search just leapt out at me ;)
 
my dad built a trike...got a 6 page spread and centre fold in a magazine :D

it was quite fun, but they arent that safe...fall off forwards/to the side and get run over by the back wheel :D
 
cool thanks for all the replies. the supermotos do seem quite good.

now to find out about lessons :D do you need a bike of some sort to get started or is it like learning to drive?
 
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