Why not be a power ranger ?

Flukester · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:37

Fellow motorists

Ok, this is a sensible question... loads of people here love motors, mainly cars, nothing wrong with that don't get me wrong. Was wondering how many of you have thought about getting a bike but decided against it ?, have thought about it but just put it off till 'later' ?, or plain dismissed the idea as something they would never do ?. Maybe some of you have tried one and decided it wasn't 'for you' ?

Reason is, as a biker I can't see why anyone would not want to own one.. even if it is sat in garage most of year.

plus points -

- faster than you could possibly imagine
- costs peanuts for beyond supercar performance
- nothing can give you the buzz of pushing a sportsbike hard (IMO)
- what traffic jams ?
- you'll want to go out and just ride for no reason other than riding on a sunny day
- relatively cheap on fuel
- cheap tax
- something thats easy to 'tinker' / 'fettle' with when your bored

negatives -

- get wet / cold in winter (though you could run a car in these months)
- perceived as dangerous and can be if inexperienced rider
- you may want one but wife won't let you
- on a mile for mile basis probably more expensive to run than a car on larger machines
- having to wear power ranger costumes, leather can sound scary to those insecure about sexuality lol
- getting pelted by flying insects
- easy to out ride your capabilities and end up in a hedge or worse

Life is really short and summer is coming, why not give something new a go, you may LOVE it

(in fact I can guarantee you will)

paradigm · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:39

For the simple reason that I'd end up killing myself/being killed.

It isn't worth the risk.

Your negatives also don't list:

arriving at your destination in the most restrictive and useless clothing in the world
inability to carry anything
not being seen by car drivers

bloodiedathame · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:41

Shhhhh stop telling people about our biking secret!!!!

Flukester · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:45

paradigm said:
For the simple reason that I'd end up killing myself/being killed.

It isn't worth the risk.

Your negatives also don't list:

arriving at your destination in the most restrictive and useless clothing in the world

inability to carry anything

not being seen by car drivers

I think the 'being killed' bit is understandable, but it largely depends on if you can trust yourself not to ride with throttle pinned all the time. The small risk is well worth the fun you'd have I rekon.

I think 75% of the time I'm in full leathers, I'm not going anywhere in particular other than going from A to A via somewhere random so it's not a problem

If I am going somewhere where I'm not gonna be on bike I just ride slow and wear jeans / normal clothing.

I use a rucksack for carrying stuff.. have also once carried a 19" TFT on fuel tank when I was desperate

. Can get full change of clothing in rucksack if needed...

Sagalout · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:46

paradigm said:
arriving at your destination in the most restrictive and useless clothing in the world

inability to carry anything

not being seen by car drivers

Number 3 I agree with. Numbers 1 and 2 highlight the difference between owning a bike and a car. With a car, its all about getting somewhere - the car is just a means to do it, and if you can have a nice car it makes the experience better. A bike is all about the actual journey - the destination is just an excuse for the journey.

paradigm · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:46

Flukester said:
Can get full change of clothing in rucksack if needed...

Awesome, if you want the douche-bag look. But if you want to wear a shirt/suit/anything linen when you get to the other end, it'll look like you threw it through a hedge.

Dup · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:47

I had one, I love it and I didn't/don't need the practicality plus I didn't really mind the two winters I rode through.

The minus side is I live somewhere where I cannot dry store it and I would be worried about it getting lifted regardless of security measures I could use to teather it to the ground. So, until I have a house with dry storage It'll just be a dream for now. I do have the added benefit of being 23 with plenty of time to get to that point though. I should maybe apply myself to my work and try get there sooner

bloodiedathame · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:48

I used to wear a suit to work under my leathers.

Wicksta · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:49

Flukester said:
- perceived as dangerous and can be if inexperienced rider

That's a pretty bad way to think really, no matter how experienced you are there will always be situations you might not be able to predict with much worse consequences for a biker than a car driver. I do miss having a bike sometimes but I don't think I'll ever get one again after a mate died in 2002.

Hopefully my kit car will replace most of the things I miss when i finally finish it.

paradigm · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:49

a.hay said:
I used to wear a suit to work under my leathers.

Don't you then arrive sweaty and uncomfortable?

Fireskull · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:52

I wear smart trousers and shirt for work and have no problem with creases in my bag, its all about the right folding

rsatd · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:52

Flukester said:
- get wet / cold in winter (though you could run a car in these months)

Don't agree with that that much, the only part of me that does get wet and cold are my hands. Suspect that if you got a fair few miles, its a different story, but then do suspect a car would be nicer anyway.

And when I used to use it to get to work (Now I live 15minutes walking from work, so much nicer), carrying a change of clothes in a backpack was easy. If you are good at folding things, can fit it into a tank bag.

paradigm said:
*Snip*

That is because like me you suck at folding things.

Gaygle · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:52

What happened to Helpimcrap is a perfect example of why i wouldn't ride a bike. The injuries he's sustained are terrible and you may well say that similar injuries can occur if you drive a car, but the likelyhood of it happening is far less. It doesn't matter how experienced you are, if someone decides to pull out on you or if an animal runs out in front of you etc you're going to get hurt in some way or another.

Car's are just safer - however bikes offer epic excitement for a small cost.

Flukester said:
Life is really short

Lets not make it any shorter

uber soldat · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:55

paradigm said:
For the simple reason that I'd end up killing myself/being killed.

It isn't worth the risk.

Your negatives also don't list:

arriving at your destination in the most restrictive and useless clothing in the world

inability to carry anything

not being seen by car drivers

This and also when it rains you get soaked=not fun.

paradigm · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:55

rsatd said:
That is because like me you suck at folding things.

No, I don't, but thanks for attempting to think you know me.

You simply cannot put a suit in a rucksack, lunge around on a bike, and expect it to come out of the other end in anything other than a mess.

rsatd · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:56

I keep saying if you wear actual waterproofs you do not get wet...

Dup · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:57

paradigm said:
No, I don't, but thanks for attempting to think you know me.

You simply cannot put a suit in a rucksack, lunge around on a bike, and expect it to come out of the other end in anything other than a mess.

You're just being arsey becasue you don't like bikes. That or fancy your fancy suits too much. Jebus. No need to excrete all over the thread becasue other people have managed to get a suit from A-B on a motorbike i na condition they are happy with.

paradigm · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:57

rsatd said:
I keep saying if you wear actual waterproofs you do not get wet...

Alternatively, having a roof and four wheels means that you don't get wet, you don't need to wear water tight clothing (and thus don't sweat to death), you can carry things, and you don't slide off the road.

I know which I'd choose in the rain.

Dup said:
You're just being arsey becasue you don't like bikes. That or fancy your fancy suits too much. Jebus. No need to excrete all over the thread becasue other people have managed to get a suit from A-B on a motorbike i na condition they are happy with.

Or, you are all being too lenient because you like bikes. This is a thread trying to convince non-riders that they should ride, thus what I say is what you should try and coax me around, not simply tell me I'm wrong.

I like bikes, but I'd never have one whilst I actually have to work, because it'd either never get used, or I'd be too inconvenienced.

Spike_UK · 17 Mar 2009 at 11:59

Everytime I get passed by a biker while I'm sat in traffic I always say that I'd like to get one.

I wont though because I am REALLY clumsy. I WILL kill myself on a bike. I have no doubts about that.

kaiowas · 17 Mar 2009 at 12:02

Flukester said:
I think the 'being killed' bit is understandable, but it largely depends on if you can trust yourself not to ride with throttle pinned all the time. The small risk is well worth the fun you'd have I rekon.

Doesn't matter how careful you are, there are plenty of idiots out there who will try to kill you. Statistically big metal cages are proven to give much better protection against such idiots than a bit of cowskin does. Overall it's a risk I don't believe to be worth taking.