Newspaper Artical

[rod]

This was in the paper and thought it would be good to share. What do you think of it? Ride safe. Rod

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071209/news_1m9bikers.html

[chabicheka]

i agree 100% with the article. we don't like to admit it, but our reflexes slow down quite a bit as we age. it definatly is a dangerous thing riding bikes at my age ( am over 60) ..............................BUT AINT GOING TO STOP RIDING!

[Thom]

lets see ? who owns most of the hot rods ? high powered boats ? private planes ? big RV's ? us old farts ! we have worked our tails off all our lives and now ther saying we are to old to have fun , wrong !! i don't do cruise ships , ball room dancing or aarp , i ride big bikes !

oops just fell of my soap box and broke my hip , anybody got a walker i can barrow ?? :rotfl::stirthepot:

[muffinman]

I agree with the article as well and even though it would not be a popular thing here or anywhere with bikers.I think that a MSF course every 5 years might help prevent some of the accidents.On the other hand if the Cagers were trained to look out for bikers that would definatly make it safer for all motorcycle riders.

Jeff

[mraf]

Good article telling us all obvious interpretations of statistics and growing old. Doesn't change or impact my outlook on life either way. It says that higher accident rates occur within the first few weeks of ownership. DA! Anything new with wheels is fraught with danger. Articles of this sort just verify what we all know but don't like to talk about.

[bongobobny]

The way my wife and I feel about it is when it's our time to die, it's going to happen no matter what. God Almighty controls that. In the meantime we both enjoy riding way too much to quit even if we are in our 60's. Having said that, you can never be too careful on a bike and need to constantly be prepared for anything. We all know the dangers every time we swing a leg over...

[Toyman]

Did anybody but me notice that one of the big problems they identified was the lack of a motorcyclist's ability to stop in time when a car TURNS LEFT IN FRONT OF THEM??????????? Now this is the biker's fault also? Can't believe they wrote that with a straight face!

[Guest KitCarson]

What to say about such articles? I suppose they have some basis in fact. I do know a lot of older men or us so called baby boomer's have never had a bike or had one when a teenager. For a fact my girth is getting bigger each ride, the food is pretty good!!

I think everyone worries too much. I used to be young and did some real dumb things on bikes, had some spectacular accidents. Then one day an Navy Officer asked me if I would teach a motorcycle safety course for about 45 days while we were waiting to be discharged at the Marine Base in Jacksonville. I studied, I watched, I learned, spent as much time learning as I did teaching. I simply learned to be a defensive rider, and still work on that. If a new something like a modulator comes along and I like it.......I will use it.

If a motorcycle safety course is put on somewhere and I find out about it, I will go. I do the speed limit, use the bike for fun, and stay within my limits.

I have rode these wonderful machines since age 25 pretty much steady, only had a 4 month period where I was without one.....I am now 53.

What I am saying is this is a safe sport if you just use a little common sense. Be observant, think about safety, when you get on that machine, realize it can kill you, but keep it in its place.

As for myself.........I love these machines, no I do not want to die for a few more years, I have one last child to get put through college, once she is out and life is started.......hey I have had a good life, much more so than most. Are some accidents beyond our control......yes they are, but not very many.

I do not wish to die........but I also do not wish to grow old and sit in a nursing home. I would much rather bite the bullet on a pretty warm perfect day doing what I like , than sit at home and want to do something but be afraid to because I let some article or fear make me give up something I love. Does this make any sense to anyone? To simply enjoy life, do not live in fear...try our best to be careful.........I mean you can slip in your bath tub and break your back. I love these bikes.......all the articles in the world will not make me give them up. Respectfully Kit

[Jerry W]

Was it just me, or did anyone else read the part that said "he went over what looked like a bush"? Perhaps it wasn't reflexes as much as a case of cranial rectitus. Or in laymans terms he did not see the "bush" because he had his head in his a**. I am thinking he was riding a dirt bike and ran over a bush. Where I come from a bush is not exactly a mobile object.

 

I will admit, I quit riding dirt bikes when I was 50 because I ain't tough enough to ride dirt any more.

[dynodon]

Key sentence in that article for me was that most accidents happen in the first few days or week of ownership.

 

When I got my royale after a 20+ year break, I took nearly a month to get to know the bike a little at a time late this summer. A friend I met online introduced me to a local group, and he and another rider took time to go with me on my first exploratory highway rides. After two months I was allowed to become temporary Ride Captain, and may have that become offical for next year. I am aware of the dangers at all times, and don't hot rod my near 100 hp Yamaha.

 

It helps to have friends look after you and to take your time getting back on the road. Also, I am practicing some advanced safety techniques and my wife and I both will take the MSF course this spring, even though I don't need it for a license like my wife does, we both agree it makes good safety sense.

[Guest Yamahawg]

Okay now im depressed..... Guess I'll have to go for a ride to de-stress.

[WilCruise]

A larger percentage of riders are "old" now - because our generation was one of the first to be comfortable with bikes from our youth. Now as we get older and can afford to invest in a hobby this one comes up more frequently than it has in the past. More riders in the age range... more accidents involving riders in this age range. Then comes the training. The person in the article is representative of many of those our age getting into, or back into riding. They're riding without any significant training. IMHO this is the single most important contributor to riding safely.

 

Those getting into or back into riding, get "formal" training and apply it while you're riding please!

[Freebird]

Very good point and well said. It caused me to reflect on my own riding experience. I started riding when I was 14 years old. Never had any kind of training, no safety courses, didn't even know how to shift the gears and work the clutch. I just got on a bike and figured out how to make it go...and then go FASTER.

 

I rode for many years after that and have owned a lot of different bikes of all brands and models. About 15 years ago, I took about a 2 or 3 year break from riding. When I started again, I had moved from California back to Texas and when I swapped my drivers license back to Texas, they missed adding the motorcycle endorsement I had had since I first got a license when I was 15. So, it was either take the written and drivers test or take the safety course in lieu of the driving test. I decided to take the course and am very glad that I did. It helped me to be more observant and to break some age old bad habits. I later took the advanced riders course just because I wanted to and am glad that I did that also.

 

I recommend the course to anybody and everybody, regardless of how long you have been riding.

[Guest MotorCycleRadio]

After reading the article it brought back a memory. My Great Grandpa fell off the mule and broke his arm when I was a kid. Most of the grownups said he was too old to be riding that mule. He winked at me and said; "I'm getting more hugs from good looking women". The complete lack of responsibility of the cage drivers in our country is a crime. Just a month ago here a local delivery truck ran into a police car on the inter-state, in broad daylight, the emergency lights were flashing and the highway department's HUGE flashing arrow showing to change lanes was flashing. The truck drivers response; "I didn't see it"! He was NOT CHARGED for any violation. When are we going to start getting these idiots off the road? I almost got killed by a drunk driver that passed out while driving a few years back. He ran into the back of me. Guess what? It was his 5th DUI conviction. Thanks for the turn on the soapbox.

[Guest MotorCycleRadio]

SRI, I forgot to tell you, the police officer in the squad car was killed by that truck driver. He was a friend of mine through "ham" radio.

[utadventure]

I read this article last night and thought there was something wrong about it. I figured out what it was this morning.

 

First of all let me say, I'm one of those that took a 25 year break before returning to riding and I support safety and rider courses. The author of this article did his job, he got a reaction. If you want to prove something, all you need are the right statistics!! Of course the percentage of all accidents has risen in the 40+ age range, the percentage of motorcycles owned by over 40 riders has grown (median age of motorcycle owners is 41, was 27). If you look at the number of accidents per capita by age group, I think you'll find that the younger riders are still more likely to be involved.

 

While we may have slower reactions than we use to, we are probably less likely to hod rod and showboat and get ourselves in stupid situations.

 

 

Alright, I vented and now pass the soap box to the next contestant.

 

Dave

[duke]

While we may have slower reactions than we use to, we are probably less likely to hod rod and showboat and get ourselves in stupid situations.

 

I agree with utadventure. Actually I agree with all these posts. I have seen a lot of MC accidents and most, if not all, were young riders and speed.

 

We more (as my doc puts it) mature persons, do tend to drive more conservatively.

 

Life is precious, isn't it.

[rod]

When I put this up I thought I would get a few replies. Here is what I took away. There are more older riders now...no kidding, new/returning riders get in more crashes...really? There are lots of us here that have ridden all our lives and are over 50 and never had a bad crash. Some is luck but I think most is defensive driving and experience reading traffic. Bikes are bigger and faster and we know that and exert self control better than when we were 20. Practice and training will go a long ways to keeping you safe but stuff still happens no matter if you are walking down the street, in your car, sitting at home or riding the bike. As for me I will ride and watch out for the other guy. Ride safe Rod

[Condor]

I think the biggest problem is that when you get older the body starts slowing down and the synapsis don't fire like the used to, but...... the brain still thinks the same way we did back when we were immortal. Heck, I still think I can still stuff the ball, can play above the rim with a 36" vertical leap, am stronger, and can outplay most of the pro-hoop guys today. Not....!! But I think I can.... It's knowing my limitations that keeps it in perspective. When I picked up my first VR, 2 1/2 years ago, it took me a whole month before I felt confortable, and those riding skills I'd had, after a 10 year haitus, started to return. Even now when I ride I keep my head on a swivel, and think every cage is going to pull out in front of me from a side street, or make an oncoming left hand turn in front of me. Those two incidences are the major cause of fatal MC accidents. I've come to the conclusion that if you daydream on a bike long enough....you will die.

[BoomerCPO]

In any case where stats/numbers are concerned someone with experience can make those numbers dance on a head of a pin and read exactly what the Author desires.

 

We all know that age slows down our reflexes somewhat.....this is where skill,experience,and proper training kick in for us older riders.

 

Your mileage may vary......

[Stoutman]

All I know is that when I'm old enough to need a walker it had better have good brakes, cause I ain't slowin' down until the very last possible moment....

[BoomerCPO]

All I know is that when I'm old enough to need a walker it had better have good brakes, cause I ain't slowin' down until the very last possible moment....

 

:rotf:

[Princess M]

Does this quote cause any extra concern for any of our members, of any age?

 

“A 280-pound guy falling off his bike is not the same as a 180-pound guy falling off a bike. Their abdominal girth is so large, it makes them have a lot of respiratory problems,” Velky said.

[Condor]

Does this quote cause any extra concern for any of our members, of any age?

 

“A 280-pound guy falling off his bike is not the same as a 180-pound guy falling off a bike. Their abdominal girth is so large, it makes them have a lot of respiratory problems,” Velky said.

 

I'm going on a See food Diet.................

[wild hair 39]

guess i will just put more polish,on the bike,watch more T V,and hope altimmer,sets in so i don.t remenber,what a great time i am having,but till then,

on the road again as willy would say