What's to Like about Motorcycles

The first thing to like about a Motorcyle is it's fun.The freedom
and ease to hop on a bike and take a scoot.Personally I find that
motorcycling in full gear is not as much fun.But in the winter or
poor weather it is often a necessity.
The 2nd reason to like a Motorcycle is it's economical and
quicker to get around on a motorcycle than a car.

 

Leaning in turns and acceleration make motorcycles fun for me. I'd much rather ride on a road that winds than one that goes on straight for hours. I got rid of mine a couple years ago, but those two things I really miss sometimes.

 

Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists' risk of a fatal crash is 35 times higher to that of those traveling in cages. (Automobiles and trucks)

 

Which may be why Roy Rogers loved his motorcycle.Maybe not as
much as Trigger { his famous sidekick horse }. But I doubt Roy ever
' got thrown by his motorcycle.
BTW ... Roy did not wear a helmut.Even though many a cop insisted he
might give it a try.

 

One has to assume the risk inherent in an any activity. I try to keep safety at the forefront of any conversation regarding motorcycles, because it's a game of statistics. The more you ride the greater probability of getting your ticket punched in the form of either an ambulance or hearse ride. Therefore, dress for the occasion...wear full gear.

 

I wear full gear everytime i get on my bike. Its interesting to see how full face helmets are not becoming in fashion with harley riders around here. I used to be the only guy i knew of on a harley with a full face helmet.

 

Speaking of riding and safety... good eye protection is a must when you ride.

I learned the hard way, though wasn't expecting to. I was wearing my WORK APPROVED SAFETY GLASSES on the ride home one morning, when something came off the front tire, went underneath my glasses, and into my eyeball. Whatever it was, it caused an allergic reaction which resulted in about 1/3 of my eye being covered in what looked like a giant blister ready to pop at any moment. Steroidal eyedrops did the trick, no permanent damage.

I have to shake my head when I see people riding around without eye protection. Scooter riders are the biggest offenders.

 

I went through a swarm of June bugs with my visor up, no glasses, and was fortunate to suffer no eye damage despite narrowly missing a few direct hits. Even at 45 mph, the little bastards hit you like a small rock. Eye protection is very important.

 

Harley have stepped up from supplying men with mid-life crisis therapy and are producing a little black motorcycle aimed at the laydees market.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-the-little-black-dress-of-bikes-9506987.html

 

Harley riders have more than enough full face attitude to cover their
asinine self.Is my estimation.

 

Well Bully for Willie G and his intuitiveness.Which is geared more for optics
than actual performance.Don't forget most parts on a Harley come from
Japan.Like the wheels,the brakes,the shocks,the EFI and even some
instruments.

 

How about running into a virtual swarm of Harley riders on a nice Saturday
afternoon.That is much more of a given.

 

You reminded me of this episode of Myth Busters -

[video=youtube;VHNBsO-JcW8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHNBsO-JcW8[/video]

The myth was that impact from a bug at high speeds on a motorcycle could kill you. I believe their conclusion was that the myth was plausible. But, they had to take the test to extremes. There's no doubt that a direct hit to the eye from a bug at high speeds could cause you a fatal accident.

 

My wife (transplant coordinator) relies on motorcycles for the majority of the organs needed. She refers to them as high speed job security.

Roughly 40% of all organs are harvested from cycle riders....usually pretty young, and really only the brain gets destroyed.

 

My liver wouldn't be of much use to anyone.

Apparently, motorcycles are known as 'donorcycles' in some circles.

 

From the viewpoint of a misogynistic male writer the Street 500 and Street 750 can be called "ladies" bikes but that really is BS.

They're not Harley cruisers that are basically designed for "two-up" riding with the spouse or girlfriend riding on the back and they're not a Sportster that is basically a factory bobber that is sleek and fast (even the 883 is fast). The Street 500/750's are not candy-ass women's motorcycles. They're a relatively lightweight, powerful, nibble and lower cost motorcycle designed predominately for city riding to appeal to younger riders of both sexes. I'd be willing to wager that single young men between the ages of about 18-25 will be the primary buyers of the Street 500/750 motorcycles and that is the target market that Willie G was probably looking at.

Will women buy them? Of course but that's to be expected but women also buy Sportsters, Classics, Road Kings, and other Harley's as well. Harley Davidson has been actively been reaching out to women for years and that has nothing specifically to do with the Street 500/750 at all.

Some people tend to forget that a 500cc and 750cc motorcycle was historically considered to be a "large" motorcycle and not a "girlie" bike. If a woman wants a "girlie" bike then the Honda Rebel fits that bill far better than the Street 500/750. Personally I'd like to see Harley re-introduce 175cc, 250cc, and 350cc motorcycles like they had in the 1970's again. I just sold my 1976 Harley Davidson SS-250 and it was an exceptionally good small displacement motorcycle that could cruise locally on and off the freeway.

 

First let me say thank you for starting a new motorcycle thread.

As to why I own and ride it's all about the sensory experience. The wind, the smells, the sounds, the flowing of the motorcycle down the road and even the occasional rain is all a part of the sensory experience.

I did chuckle at the "ease to hop on a bike and take a scoot" comment. It probably takes me 15 minutes more to take the Harley than it does to hop in the car and go. Extra clothing, chaps, vest, often the jacket, a "do-rag" before the helmet goes on, and finally the gloves just to get on it for a "quick" scoot. Of course, because of all this, when I lived in Florida I had a 50cc scooter and now that was quick. Slip on a 1/2 helmet, gloves and off to the bar at the beach for a rum drink with a little umbrella (just one) and some crab cakes.

 

Will a normal-size man FIT on it? My 5' mother has a Suzuki Savage...it's not a "ladies" bike, per se (650cc thumper), but the low seat & close bars means it's very crowded for anyone taller than 5'5". (I'm more crowded on it than on a 250 Nighthawk.) My wife wasn't comfortable on it...if anything, her long legs had her more cramped than I was. (She was also unimpressed with the thrashy, underpowered engine.)

 

My first bike was a 500cc Honda. More than enough power for a beginner, and enough power not to get too bored with it advancing to an intermediate stage of riding skill. The only issue was weight. At highway speeds it tended to get squirrely being buffeted by passing trucks. The issue I have with a bike being labeled as suited for "girls," is that a male beginner rider will opt for a larger displacement ride right off the bat. Reason being he doesn't want to be appear like a wimp. Never mind what others think, a mid-displacement is what you want for a new rider.

 

We expected my Harley dealer to receive on yesterday but Harley notified the dealer of a "supply chain" problem and it didn't show up. Below is a video of an independent review of a pre-production Street 750 that's informative. They referred to it as being "compact" and that has both advantages and disadvantages. Good on city streets but not all that good for touring. Comparatively speaking it is slighty smaller than the 883 Sportster in both size and displacement but the Sportster is not a small motorcycle for an average size male by any standard. At 5'9" I won't actually know the answer until I test ride one but it probably wouldn't be an optimal bike for a semi-fat older rider. LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OePbG6z78v0

As I mentioned I'm buying one for a chopper project but that really changes everything about the ride of the motorcycle with the switch to a spring mounted seat, forward foot controls and different handle bars providing a more laid back rider position plus the reduction in weight that will improve performance.

 

I couldn't agree more with the last statement and, if fact, believe new riders should learn like I did starting out with very small displacement motorcycles. My "first" was a tiny Yamaha 70 many years ago and I worked my way up on incrementally larger motorcycles from there. I was fairly well experienced by the time I saddled up on a "large" motorcycle (Z1 Kawasaki) in the 1970's. That doesn't imply that a person needs to start out as small as I did and, in fact, by late brothers grandson (my "whatever" nephew) is getting his M/C endorsement and I'm thinking of buying him a CCW Heist (below) to get his riding experience on. As I recall it uses a 250cc engine.

 

Very true. My 500 continues (on occasion) to scare the (*)(*)(*)(*) out of me as I push it to our mutual boundaries. Just when I start feeling a bit bored, when I get a bit more confident, I open the throttle a bit more... and that little engine shows me that it can produce more power than I'm capable of handling in certain situations.

In my opinion, a lot of guys 'graduate' to larger displacement engines far before they've tapped the full potential of their previous bike.

 

Get him a Johnypag!

 

Are you saying it's more economical? Because I've run the numbers and you would be shocked, it's not. At least not moreso than todays modern cars getting 45mpg.

You might wonder how it's not. Well, simple. Let's take the first 40,000 miles of a motorcycles life and a cars life.

Motorcycle: Gets 50mpg
Car: Gets 40mpg

Motorcycle: Needs 4 sets of tires in 40,000 miles
Car: needs no tires

Motorcycle: Needs 2 sets of brakes in 40,000 miles
Car: needs no brakes

Motorcycle: needs at least 8-10 oil changes in 40,000 miles
Car: needs 4 oil changes

Motorcycle: Needs 8 air filter changes
Car: needs 1 air filter

While a motorcycle might be cheaper to drive from one place to another short term, long term, it's not cheaper to ride a bike than drive a small car. You must ride for the love of the ride, not perceived fuel savings. Because increased maintenance costs negate fuel savings quickly.

 

an 883 is fast? I guess it's all relative and what you use to base the comparison. I don't consider any stock v twin a "fast" motorcycle. Heck, hop on a lil ole 636R and tell me the 883 is fast.

You don't buy a V Twin for it's speed, acceleration or to run through the "twisties".

I think it's neat that mfr's are making bikes that "fit" (looks around to see who's reading) the body of the fairer sex. More women now want to ride vs being a passenger and to hump around a 600 pound bike can be a bit much. How much power is really needed to accelerate a 120-140 pound rider without passenger to 75 mph? And let's face it, the same bike which might be comfy for a 130 pound person standing 5 foot 4 won't be comfy for a 6 foot, 185 pound person