Why I no longer ride motorcycles

[dcline9163]

Up until about 14 years ago I had motorized 2 wheels since I was 11. So, after 14 bikeless years I got back on the street in December '22. Can it be dangerous? Yep. Is it enjoyable? Yep. I did 200 miles on the bike today. Just like every other area in my life, I try to pay attention and not be stupid. I do my part. I just hope that the boneheads around me do theirs.

I could get some good thinking in riding. Like you said got to watch them others out there

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

There is no doubt about riding being a dangerous sport... so is just about everything you do that is enjoyable. I am well aware of the risks. Over 50 years of riding and I don't plan on stopping yet. I ride aggressive in the sense I try to make people see me. I don't ride fast. Love the curves but at my speed. My chicken strips are always very pronounced when the center is gone. I ride my way not someone else's. You constantly scan and try to guess what others are gonna do. Stay outta Atlanta as much as humanly possible. Like Ken and others here have said... ride like everyones trying to get you. Saturday's ride...

.View attachment 5857781View attachment 5857782View attachment 5857783

Joel2000, you were at TWoS (Two Wheels of Suches) the same day, maybe the same time, as me. I didn't see myself in that pic, but for 20 minutes I sat on one of those rockers on the porch eating a brownie that I bought inside, and listening to the guys to my right talk.

P.S. When I left, on Hwy 60 headed east, very soon I saw a four-foot long tree branch in the middle of the road. Neatly cut on the end, and with green leaves, like it just blew off the back of a landscaper's pickup truck. I'd hate to be the sportbike guy going nearly double the speed limit who suddenly encounters THAT in his anticipated path of travel.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Up until about 14 years ago I had motorized 2 wheels since I was 11. So, after 14 bikeless years I got back on the street in December '22.

Me too. Rode dirt bikes, got a class M license on a dual-sport / enduro Yamaha in the early 1990s.
Didn't ride anything over 50cc engine size from middle 1990s until August 2022, when I got a real bike, an 1100cc cruiser, from a fellow ODT member. It feels good to be on 2 wheels again. And this time without getting muddy or being slapped in the face by tree branches and briars.

 

[Stashtreasure]

I’ve never rode but have cared for quite a few of them at the hospital. To be fair in the grand scheme of things you could die today from a heart attack, stroke, or heck trip over your dog and hit your head, boom game over. The point is be cautious but enjoy life because you never know when you’re checking out whether it’s on the side of 75 or in your recliner watching TV.

 

[joel2000]

Joel2000, you were at TWoS (Two Wheels of Suches) the same day, maybe the same time, as me. I didn't see myself in that pic, but for 20 minutes I sat on one of those rockers on the porch eating a brownie that I bought inside, and listening to the guys to my right talk.

P.S. When I left, on Hwy 60 headed east, very soon I saw a four-foot long tree branch in the middle of the road. Neatly cut on the end, and with green leaves, like it just blew off the back of a landscaper's pickup truck. I'd hate to be the sportbike guy going nearly double the speed limit who suddenly encounters THAT in his anticipated path of travel.

Yea, haven’t been to TWoS for a few years and decided to make the ride up. I ran Hwy 9 outta SandySprings and 60 outta Dahlonega. I was there 12ish and grabbed lunch before heading 180 over to Vogel and back across the mountain and back into Dahlonega and home. It was a good ride.
Waved a ton of scooters around me and let them knee slide the curves. Super great day of riding.

 

[Timber Cruiser]

I’ve never rode but have cared for quite a few of them at the hospital. To be fair in the grand scheme of things you could die today from a heart attack, stroke, or heck trip over your dog and hit your head, boom game over. The point is be cautious but enjoy life because you never know when you’re checking out whether it’s on the side of 75 or in your recliner watching TV.

Agreed 100%. Some of the shenanigans on 60 are a danger to others though. That’s what pisses me off. Younguns got a death wish or something.

 

[Ken Ford]

Joel2000, you were at TWoS (Two Wheels of Suches) the same day, maybe the same time, as me. I didn't see myself in that pic, but for 20 minutes I sat on one of those rockers on the porch eating a brownie that I bought inside, and listening to the guys to my right talk.

P.S. When I left, on Hwy 60 headed east, very soon I saw a four-foot long tree branch in the middle of the road. Neatly cut on the end, and with green leaves, like it just blew off the back of a landscaper's pickup truck. I'd hate to be the sportbike guy going nearly double the speed limit who suddenly encounters THAT in his anticipated path of travel.

Agreed,
Why if I can’t see around the corner I ride stupid slow
And I own some of the fastest stuff on the planet.

 

[Diligent]

Dude did nothing wrong, yellow car turned across the lane right in front of him. He ended up on the curb, tarp on him….. Cops not on scene yet. Happened about 20 cars in front of me. I pulled over, but could do nothing. His full face helmet was on the center line. Edit- Windy Hill Rd, just west of Cobb Pkwy.

View attachment 5852798

I gave it up about 10 years ago, after a close call on I-85 nb and exit 115 in Gwinnett.
I did everything that I could to get away from the hambone coming into my lane, and I accomplished it.
But I decided that this wasn't how I was going to die.
The following week I put a brand new, 2004 Kawasaki Nomad 1600 on Craigslist for sale, and sold it to a fellow from St. Louis.
Riding days are over!

 

[hdsailorman]

The absolute risk of riding on 2 wheels is a no brainer. But the risk / reward formula leaves some of us choosing to ride. Been riding since I was 15 and have owned countless Harley's, bought and sold many "posers" bikes in 2008, 2009 during the GFC. Turned 70 and still ride my "custom" Road King with my wife and solo on my 05 SE Fatboy with my son on a Dyna Glide.
Basic rules?
Ride NOWHERE near Atlanta or suburbs. Only ride north of where I live.
Avoid Freeways when possible.
Ride like I am invisible. Don't ride like a fool.....as I did when I was young!
Eyes like a hawk, planning alternate path for every car I could come in contact with.
Enjoy the spaces where there is little or no traffic....nothing finer.

 

[mfoster]

Never been a rider
Dad always said only two kind of folks ride them——the ones that have had a wreck, and the ones that haven’t yet.
i just always took him for his word.