I've unfortunately seen a few accidents up-close and personal like the youtube video and Randy's friend's where someone runs a red light and hits a bike. The bottom line is that when on a bike you cannot ride into the path of a speeding car or truck regardless of the color of the light or who had the stop sign. I look for moving cross traffic at all times when driving, and even more when riding. I always have in the back of my mind that someone might be running lights, running from the cops, etc... Maybe it's because I do see people run reds or turn left WAY after the light has changed all the time. It's normal to me. If you simply look at signals and then assert your right-of-way on a bike, you are going to be roadkill.

I was joking with MMarsh recently about just letting one of these horse***** drivers in my neighborhood hit the 996 when I have the legal right-of-way, I brake or swerve around them daily. If I wanted to be an A-hole about it, I could get a new car out of it and $$. I would never want anyone to get hurt, but some of these people deserve to lose their insurance and license. If I rode a MC through Koreatown in L.A. just asserting my legal right-of-way and looking at signals and stop signs only, (as opposed to observing actual traffic), I would be in a coma or dead the first day. They don't see you. That is rule #1 on a MC. Once you understand this, staying upright and alive is not such a problem.

The Binelli bikes don't do it for me. Over-styled, IMHO

Yup. Or gross car accidents that happen 1000 times a day in this country where people get t-boned and shattered like a china plate dropped off of a rooftop, burn alive trapped in crushed cars, get decapitated in roll-overs, killed by drunks, etc...

Life is a sexually transmitted, 100% fatal condition. :cool:

I rode a SV650 from 2001-2007 as a commuter and for fun. I always said I would never crash it just was not something that I would allow to happen to myself. Then I allowed it to happen by being too impatient. I recovered, rebuilt the bike, then sold it to someone else who the same day had a major crash on it. I do think that riding MC in today's enviornment of multi-tasking while driving makes it just a matter of time till the big get off happends. Mine was part my impatience and part a driver in a cage multi-tasking (I just wish that cage had not been a Toyota Forerunner). I now have a very young daughter and am playing that "I need a bike to combat gas prices" game. Most drivers have a wreck of various degrees once per 3 years I heard is the average. That once per 3 years on a bike could easily be your last. I agree with what Rick Lee posted below. I also used to always play the I AM TOTALLY INVISIBLE game b/c to be honest to most cage drivers you ARE. Stay safe. Love the bike but my fiscal mindedness would push me toward a Jap bike you get the best of both worlds for half the price.

"Before I even got back into riding about two years ago, I had it drilled into my head that everything is always my fault because, as a biker, I'd be the one to suffer the brunt of the consequences. When I'm in a car, I always have the "their fault" mentality. On the bike, I look at it everything as my fault if it gets to the point of near danger, which I should have predicted and avoided. There's no comfort in being not at fault if you're dead. Some drunk crossing the center line maybe at fault, but he'll likely still be alive."

Aww, nuts. I've been riding since 1974 and haven't crashed one yet. I think it depends on your skill and your excess testosterone level. I have a lot of the former and almost none of the latter.

Having said that, I do see a lot of idiots and incompetent riders on bikes and I don't know how you keep them off the streets. Can't seem to keep idiots out of cars, either. As a nation so dependent on vehicles, as a whole, we can't drive worth a damn.



Motion,

Try a dirt-bike based Supermotard. Something under 280lbs. or so. Sticky tires. Way fun.

JR