Husband is talking about getting a motorcycle :/

[Bini]

Yeh we've had our share of unfortunate motorcycle stories, too.

 

Several years ago, a colleague of my husband was in a major motorcycle accident here in Salt Lake, and being peeled alive wasn't the worst part - today he is still a vegetable. I remember it was a rough time for his family, especially, the young wife and their children. I think he might be able to move his head but everything else is a no-go. It was really tragic.

 

Ok, not feeling much better about the riding but the discussion always gives food for thought.

[David13]

All right Davidstarfall

I'm glad you mentioned the seamstresses and sewing the motorcyclists back together.

Now, here is a link from a surgeon as to why he rides.

https://books.google.com/books?id=0vgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=surgeon+why+i+ride+a+motorcycle&source=bl&ots=j1A7usHoHg&sig=HnEWuWx1hMqMmfZ9NFFLU_saTkM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1I41Vf7KFOewsAS1kYGQAg&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=surgeon%20why%20i%20ride%20a%20motorcycle&f=false

Well, that is an old one.

The one I was thinking about was in BMW Owners Mag just last summer.  An e room doctor describes why he rides a motorcycle.

I can't find it but also it is copyrighted.  Anyway, he talks about sewing them back together, and going out to his bike to ride home.

There was a young man over here who saw my bike and said he would have one but his mother as an e room nurse wouldn't let him.  I gave them a copy of the article.

dc

[slamjet]

Having ridden a motorcycle for many years (at times exclusively bikes), I can say that it would not be a good idea.  I've gotten smacked plenty of times , hi-sided once and screwed up my knee to the point that I needed surgery.

 

If he does get a bike, at least double his life insurance policy.  While I believe that they don't get into accidents more than cars, injuries and fatalities are higher.  Unfortunatly, I cannot unsee what I've seen.

 

Now this is my experience riding in a huge city so it may be colored differently from others.  In any case, unless you both are willing to take the risk, don't.

[Capitalist_Oinker]

As a lifelong motorcycle rider who biffed it one day, spent three weeks in a hospital and 4 months recuperating, all I have to offer is this---motorcycles are way more fun and way more dangerous than cars or trucks. Any motorcycle rider who agrees with the former and disagrees with the latter has either not been riding very long or is flat out lying.

 

One lovely August afternoon while riding down a gravel road in the middle of nowhere on a KLR 650 I hit something and blew the front tire. Had that front tire been on a car or truck I would have pulled off the road, replaced the tire, and been on my way.

Instead I careened off the road, vaulted over some large rocks, and landed in more rocks with the bike on top of me. A broken femur, broken ankle, and the right half of my pelvis in multiple pieces made me reconsider whether the "fun" compensated for the danger.

I still ride, but nowhere near as much as I used to, and I'd be lying if I said I still enjoy it as much as I did before the accident. I don’t suppose the trepidation will ever subside. 

[Guest MormonGator]

As a lifelong motorcycle rider who biffed it one day, spent three weeks in a hospital and 4 months recuperating, all I have to offer is this---motorcycles are way more fun and way more dangerous than cars or trucks. Any motorcycle rider who agrees with the former and disagrees with the latter has either not been riding very long or is flat out lying.

 

Sorry for your injuries. Yes, I agree they are both way more fun and way more dangerous than cars or trucks, but like you said, they are fun. You can minimize the risk but no matter what they are dangerous. 

 

Still fun though. I'm a Trike guy. 

Edited April 21, 2015 by MormonGator

[jerome1232]

As a lifelong motorcycle rider who biffed it one day, spent three weeks in a hospital and 4 months recuperating, all I have to offer is this---motorcycles are way more fun and way more dangerous than cars or trucks. Any motorcycle rider who agrees with the former and disagrees with the latter has either not been riding very long or is flat out lying.

One lovely August afternoon while riding down a gravel road in the middle of nowhere on a KLR 650 I hit something and blew the front tire. Had that front tire been on a car or truck I would have pulled off the road, replaced the tire, and been on my way.

I've watched an SUV blow a front tire, the driver lost control flipped the SUV and killed everyone inside.

I stand by my stance that bikes are more risky, but the degree is exaggerated.

[Guest MormonGator]

I stand by my stance that bikes are more risky, but the degree is exaggerated.

The risk IS overblown, but motorcycles are still dangerous. I see people buy a used motorcycle, take one riding class then think they can ride across the nation and become a pro rider. That's not how it works. 

 

But you are right. People who think every rider is going to crash and die are wrong as well. 

[Traveler]

Yeh we've had our share of unfortunate motorcycle stories, too.

 

Several years ago, a colleague of my husband was in a major motorcycle accident here in Salt Lake, and being peeled alive wasn't the worst part - today he is still a vegetable. I remember it was a rough time for his family, especially, the young wife and their children. I think he might be able to move his head but everything else is a no-go. It was really tragic.

 

Ok, not feeling much better about the riding but the discussion always gives food for thought.

 

Hmmmmmm - you might tell your husband that you would sleep better and perhaps be more supportive if he took out a $1,000,000 insurance policy naming you the beneficiary.

[Bini]

If I lost my husband or he was left in a vegetative state, the damage has been done, I don't think anything would make things easier.

[Traveler]

I've watched an SUV blow a front tire, the driver lost control flipped the SUV and killed everyone inside.

I stand by my stance that bikes are more risky, but the degree is exaggerated.

 

 

Did you know that if you buy your first Harley after age 50 that you stand a 50 – 50 chance that you will die on it.  But the other side of this is that you will be much less likely a aging burden on your family.

[Traveler]

If I lost my husband or he was left in a vegetative state, the damage has been done, I don't think anything would make things easier.

 

 

My father was in insurance and on his desk was a little cartoon of an insurance salesman talking with a family about insurance and the husband saying, “I do not want your insurance.  When I die I want it to be a sad day for everybody.”

 

Of course money is not the object but it does help to prevent debilitating dependencies.

[jerome1232]

Did you know that if you buy your first Harley after age 50 that you stand a 50 – 50 chance that you will die on it. But the other side of this is that you will be much less likely a aging burden on your family.

That's not even close to true. That age group is the least likely to wreck. That's even with the sharp increase that occurred the past few years.

Edited April 22, 2015 by jerome1232

[Capitalist_Oinker]

I've watched an SUV blow a front tire, the driver lost control flipped the SUV and killed everyone inside.

I stand by my stance that bikes are more risky, but the degree is exaggerated.

 

Exaggerated by some, no doubt. But the danger is real and much greater than that inherent in an SUV. 

 

I know three individuals on a personal basis who died in motorcycle accidents. It is highly doubtful any of them would have been killed had they been driving an automobile. 

It is simply unrealistic to argue that in any conceivable accident a motorcycle rider would suffer less injuries than an automobile driver.

[Traveler]

That's not even close to true. That age group is the least likely to wreck. That's even with the sharp increase that occurred the past few years.

 

Not if your first ownership of a motorcycle happens after age 50.