Category Archives: motorbike

Ride a motorbike, become a statistic. I did.

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Stats-Porn for those of you who find such things as fascinating as I do:

Motorcyclist Exposure on Victorian Roads (RSD 457), VicRoads – Final Report, May 2008

I have interest, (a) because I’m in the target demographic, and (b) because I contributed to this survey, all three rounds (through being a NetRider member).

Insights range from the chilling:

Approximately one-fifth (21%) of (unique) respondents (n=1095) reported that they had been in a serious motorcycle accident – one that required hospitalisation – at some point in their motorcycling careers. This figure did not vary across waves.

…to the amusing:

Gender differences in type of (main) motorcycle owned are evident. Some statistically significant differences can be noted; females were three times more likely to own a scooter as males, while males were more than twice as likely to ride a tourer. Females were also significantly more likely to ride a naked bike.

This post brought to you by boredom, panadeine, caffeine and the letter SUGARRRRR!

Updated 16/09: As Heffa points out in the comments, the survey URL was fscked. Grr.

Sliding

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It is quite possible that I jinxed myself with that last post.

“Dress for the slide, not for the ride” – The common motorcyclist’s exhortation is all about not dressing in thongs, shorts and a helmet, because you need to have some intact skin somewhere to take from in order to do skin-grafting.

So, I foolishly took the bike out to go meet friends at the Eureka Tower Skydeck on a day when I knew rain was possible, even likely, and took it to the city, where I has said I would not go, at night.

It should not have come as such a surprise then, to find myself parted from my bike and sliding down the very wet Princes Highway at some 40kph.

Still, I was very very lucky. The sum-total of my injuries are two bruised knees, a kevlar-graze and some stiffness, because my safety gear all worked (my helmet worked in an honorary capacity only, having not contacted anything but my head): My draggin jeans now have a tiny hole in the denim, and my house-keys managed to cut their way out of my jacket pocket. The bike needs a new brake lever, and several of the pre-existing surface damages are a little deeper or a little fresher. That, after all, is why one buys a beat-up old bomb as one’s first bike.

My chief luck, though, was in that I did not actually hit anything but the road. I’m gratified to find that my reactions, while not quick enough to retain control of the bike, were prompt and to the point:

  1. Get up.
  2. Get to a white line.
  3. Check for oncoming traffic.
  4. Locate the bike.
  5. Get myself and the bike off the road, safely.

The really surprising part, in hindsight, is that I had no difficulty lifting the bike or hauling it off the road, a feat of which I would normally be completely incapable.

Still, I don’t think I’ll be riding anywhere for a little while. 🙁 …and I may just try to never ride in the wet ever again: two wheels is little enough traction on a dry road, and helmet visors don’t come with wipers.

Update: I have gotten back on the bike, and it’s ok. I’m a little wiser and a lot more careful, and I have developed a more appropriate respect for the hazards presented to motorcyclists by wet roads. This post is not a plea for help. I’m fine, thanks.

Enjoying wheel depletion

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HJC-CL14For a while there I was having real problems with getting on the bike and really going anywhere. With the recent purchase of some Draggin Jeans, however, I completed my set of minimum protective gear:

  • Helmet (Research suggests that the cheaper polycarbonate helmets are actually safer than the expensive ones)
  • Gloves (Courtesy of E, I have a loan of some light, breathable motorcross gloves and some heaver leather winter-weight ones)
  • Boots (It seemed important to me to get ankle-armor and something sturdy to meet the gear-shift with)
  • Jacket (Again a loan from E: a completely magnificent lime-green leather jacket with all the trimmings)
  • Pants (The aforementioned Draggin Jeans)

This removed my last excuse for not really riding anywhere, so I caught up with brother Heffa and got out there the Sunday before last. Since then I’ve done four decent-sized rides, and have to say: I’m enjoying the hell out of it.

The thing that was keeping me off the road was essentially fear: I’ve read a lot about riding safety, crash statistics and injuries, and was still finding the complexity of the bike a bit overwhelming. What I needed was to just get out there and do it a bit.

After a few initial rides, it is suddenly much clearer to me what all the fear is about: Most people who try to do this are doing it as their first exposure to driving on the road!!! That’s frankly insane. The skills needed to ride a motorbike are moderately demanding; it leaves less margin for error than a car and requires much more constant attention, discipline, etc. Trying to acquire those skills while also coming to terms with basic driving strategy strikes me as a fairly reliable formula for suicide.

…not that there’s an easy way to prevent that: Suppose you’re sixteen and just a born bike-nut. You probably wouldn’t take kindly to the idea that at eighteen, you’ll have to buy a vastly expensive thing called a car and drive it around  for a year or six before you’re even allowed to attempt to ride the cheap, economical vehicle you’re doing all this for in the first place. Draggin JeansThe very likely scenario is that you’ll do the minimum driving necessary to get your license and then avoid cars until you can get your bike; nothing is gained but a lot of frustration and wasted time.

Still, I don’t envy that hypothetical you, nor would I put high odds on your survival. I’m very glad I did it the long way round myself.

Motarbaik!

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I am now officially one of those foolish people who spurn two of the normal four wheels and all of the normal heavy steel armor which are so important to most drivers: I am now allowed to ride a motorbike as a learner!

Never mind that I have no helmet or boots, no actual motorbike, and am yet to obtain my actual physical learners permit, owing to bloodyminded vicroads beuraucratica.

I can happily recommend Motorcycle Motion as a great  place to train for and sit your motorcycle learner’s permit tests.

As to why, there are a few of reasons:

  1. I thought it might be fun
  2. E laiks baiks! I look forward to going touring one day very much.
  3. Money. It takes a lot more of the stuff for fuel, registration, maintenance, insurance and e-tag fees to keep this on the road:
    Mazda 929
    …than it does for this:
    Yamaha SRX 250
    …which is incidentally the same kind of cheap learner-legal bike I hope to soon buy off my brother.

Several people have expressed concern about the safety, or lack thereof, inherent in my doing this. I want to be very clear and very public in stating that my eyes are open. I know very well that motorcyclists are vastly more at risk than car drivers. I do not intend to take any chances, and will not be going anywhere without substantial safety gear. Nonetheless I know that what I am going to do is inherently unsafe. I’m ok with that.

More news will follow when I actually do some riding. 🙂