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Should motorcycles be illegal?

Should motorcycles be illegal?

  • Yes

    Votes: 1 2.2%
  • No

    Votes: 38 84.4%
  • Chuck Norris holding strong eye contact while eating a banana.

    Votes: 6 13.3%

  • Total voters
    45
I always wondered if it was actually legal for motorcycles to do this? I always wondered about parking too.

Seems like a pretty good bonus to owning a motorcycle if you get to skip traffic and you never have to worry about finding a spot.

Depends on where you live. It's legal in some states, illegal in others - including my state. That said it can be safely done.

I've ridden my entire adult life and for a while when I was a poor just married kid it was my only means of transport. I rode rain or shine, even in the snow. There are risks associated with that but they can be safely managed.

For all that though these days I'll only ride on nice warm sunny days. I've either become more risk adverse as I've aged or I've realized that being cold and wet kind of sucks.
 
I'm getting a Triumph Bonneville, and as I've been reading safety statistics on motorcycles it made me wonder what the good people of DP would think.

You are 36 times more likely to be in a fatal crash on a motorcycle than in a car. The most common reason for motorcycle crashes is they get hit by a car that doesn't see them.

Do you think a 16 year old should be able to buy a motorcycle? Should protective gear (helmets, leather assless chaps, etc) be required? Do you think there should be noise limits on the pipes?

This is a thread all about motorcycles and the law, so post your thoughts.

it's definitely dangerous. i ride in traffic as little as possible. i do ride to work rarely, but mostly stick to country highways.

a couple tips i've learned :

1. always wear the damned helmet. i know, wind in your hair and all, but get a cool looking helmet. i have one.

2. get a windshield. a bee sting at 60 MPH can really affect your ability to ride.

3. take a class. i took one that ate an entire weekend, but i learned at least one critical thing that could save me an accident. i know it sounds dumb, but i didn't know not to hit the brake while navigating a curve. the reason is because the small part of the tire touching the road when you're leaning has to be devoted to keeping the bike upright, not slowing down. i could have screwed up pretty good there.

4. most important of all : when you're at a stop light, flash your brake light. do this every time you're stopped and anyone might come up behind you. a texting teen will not see your brake light, but they have a better chance of seeing your flashing brake light.

5. tires.

6. tires. seriously. sink the money if they are old or bald. they might look good, but they are as hard as a rock. when i restored my bike and finally got the tires replaced, they showed me how hard they were, even though they looked fine. hard tires do not do well on corners.

ok, enough tips. to address the OP, no, i don't think motorcycles should be illegal. however, carry insurance, and keep a healthy fear of riding along with a confidence in your ability. i still prefer riding in low traffic situations, but it's possible to at least minimize risk in traffic. i just try to save riding in a stop and go city like the place where i work as a special treat that i don't do very often.
 
I'm getting a Triumph Bonneville, and as I've been reading safety statistics on motorcycles it made me wonder what the good people of DP would think.

You are 36 times more likely to be in a fatal crash on a motorcycle than in a car. The most common reason for motorcycle crashes is they get hit by a car that doesn't see them.

1.)Do you think a 16 year old should be able to buy a motorcycle?
2.) Should protective gear (helmets, leather assless chaps, etc) be required?
3.) Do you think there should be noise limits on the pipes?

This is a thread all about motorcycles and the law, so post your thoughts.

Ive rode bikes on and off road but i don not have one because im smart enough to know im stupid, lol yes you can quote me on that.

WHat does that mean, it means i KNOW that my adventurous personality and want would cause me to take to many risks and be reckless/careless on a bike. SO there for i simply remove it from the equation and do not have one.

anyway on to your questions about opinions

Do you think a 16 year old should be able to buy a motorcycle? hell no lol
if we are letting minors yes, adults no barring that theres no multiple and studies that say that equipment makes the bake/driver safer to others
yes of course for on street legal bikes there absolutely should be just like a car can have certain lights in certain places or colors because of the distraction. it can be a danger to others
 
I'm getting a Triumph Bonneville, and as I've been reading safety statistics on motorcycles it made me wonder what the good people of DP would think.

You are 36 times more likely to be in a fatal crash on a motorcycle than in a car. The most common reason for motorcycle crashes is they get hit by a car that doesn't see them.

Do you think a 16 year old should be able to buy a motorcycle? Should protective gear (helmets, leather assless chaps, etc) be required? Do you think there should be noise limits on the pipes?

This is a thread all about motorcycles and the law, so post your thoughts.
As far as I know there are noise limits on all vehicles including motor cycles. A know a lot of guys like loud pipes, though, because it's one more way to let idiot drivers know you're there.


I don't think a 16 yo has any business on a motor cycle except under very limited conditions and they sure shouldn't be driving one. A speed limited moped on side-streets, maybe, but not a motor cycle. They can wait til they're 18.
 
Its a slaughter around here. May be the highest per capita ownership of Harleys in the country. Men who have retired, grow a beard, get tattoos, buy lots of leather, and a Harley. Then on Saturdays the gather at the big Harley shops, so of which also are nightclubs. And similar people come here from all around. It has some nice scenic winding roads around the shell islands and to the Gulf. A fair number of women Harley drivers too.

Harley's handle like crap and probably 1/3rd of the drivers around here also are seniors - 60s, 70, 80, 90 years old.

So when one of those bikers has a situation, they instantly freeze up and lock up the brakes and wipe out into or under the car. Its a slaughter field out their for old folks on big Harleys. However, there also are an unusually high percentage that are 3 wheeler Harleys.
 
No they should not be illegal.

Motorcycles are fine, the people riding them for their own personal safety need to be far more aware of what is going on around them and be very defensive in their driving. They have to learn to anticipate what other drivers in cars or trucks are going to do.

I have had three bikes, and rode them nearly daily during the time of year when riding is possible here (Canada). I had one and only one accident on them, it was at low speed when someone in heavy traffic cut into my lane, and hit my front wheel, perhaps at 4 mph.

Did I take advantage of the performance of my bikes sure (Yamaha FZR 600, Yamaha YZF R1), I may or may not have taken them up to 155 mph on wide open highways with little traffic, or go from 30 mph to 70 or 80 in about a block. I did not do that when traffic was heavy or when I could not see what was coming up.

Motorcycles themselves are not dangerous, it is the rider, or the people around the rider that can be dangerous

As for loud pipes, given that the dopler effect is real, the only people that are really hearing the load bikes are behind them, not infront of them, and that is not going to make drivers that might be a threat aware of the bike. Escpecially if the motorcyclist is speeding. The worst offenders are the straight pipes on customs that hurt the ears of people behind them, if i have to put my window up to cut the noise of the bike because it is painful, it is too loud period
 
1089955_700b.jpgThis is relevant to my choice.
 
The argument for having loud pipes is that it helps save lives. Loud pipes make the bike more likely to be noticed by drivers in cars.... and the #1 cause of motorcycle deaths is people in cars who don't see the motorcycle and run in to him.

Yeah, I've heard this before. All it means is that people can be as creative as they need to be when justifying their pleasures.
 
I'm getting a Triumph Bonneville, and as I've been reading safety statistics on motorcycles it made me wonder what the good people of DP would think.

You are 36 times more likely to be in a fatal crash on a motorcycle than in a car. The most common reason for motorcycle crashes is they get hit by a car that doesn't see them.

Do you think a 16 year old should be able to buy a motorcycle? Should protective gear (helmets, leather assless chaps, etc) be required? Do you think there should be noise limits on the pipes?

This is a thread all about motorcycles and the law, so post your thoughts.

Get one of these.
 

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I'm getting a Triumph Bonneville, and as I've been reading safety statistics on motorcycles it made me wonder what the good people of DP would think.

You are 36 times more likely to be in a fatal crash on a motorcycle than in a car. The most common reason for motorcycle crashes is they get hit by a car that doesn't see them.

Do you think a 16 year old should be able to buy a motorcycle? Should protective gear (helmets, leather assless chaps, etc) be required? Do you think there should be noise limits on the pipes?

This is a thread all about motorcycles and the law, so post your thoughts.

What year Bonnie? I'd love a sixties-early seventies Bonnieville. I learned to ride on English bikes- after I bought a Kawasaki I spent two weeks trying to shift gears with the brake pedal!
 
No it is the fact you are on two wheels, you have less traction.

It's a fact that a well-ridden bike is way more nimble than any car. Higher power-to-weight ratio and able to dodge through a space the size of a bucket seat.
 
I'm getting a Triumph Bonneville, and as I've been reading safety statistics on motorcycles it made me wonder what the good people of DP would think.

You are 36 times more likely to be in a fatal crash on a motorcycle than in a car. The most common reason for motorcycle crashes is they get hit by a car that doesn't see them.

Do you think a 16 year old should be able to buy a motorcycle? Should protective gear (helmets, leather assless chaps, etc) be required? Do you think there should be noise limits on the pipes?

This is a thread all about motorcycles and the law, so post your thoughts.

Outlaw cages (aka cars) and problem solved.
 
Have you observed any motorcycle racing?

The point raised about traction, number of wheels and contact patch is spot on.

The car has larger contact patches, so can brake later into the corners, and accelerate earlier at the apex, or even before the apex. Top Gear UK has run this test at least 2 times, and by the second or third corner, the car is ahead of the bike and pretty much stays there due to these 2 facts.

But, yes. Those motorcycle racers really do some amazing things on their machines. So do the Ireland TT racers. Now that's pretty nuts. 200 MPH on country lanes.
 
Outlaw cages (aka cars) and problem solved.

Ha! Would be an economic boom as well. Energy prices would plummet, the cost of making goods would decrease, companies would hire like crazy and we'd all be richer for it.
 
What year Bonnie? I'd love a sixties-early seventies Bonnieville. I learned to ride on English bikes- after I bought a Kawasaki I spent two weeks trying to shift gears with the brake pedal!

There's a guy I know has a 2012 he wants to sell. Haha that's funny trying to shift gears with the brake pedal
 
I'm getting a Triumph Bonneville, and as I've been reading safety statistics on motorcycles it made me wonder what the good people of DP would think.

You are 36 times more likely to be in a fatal crash on a motorcycle than in a car. The most common reason for motorcycle crashes is they get hit by a car that doesn't see them.

Do you think a 16 year old should be able to buy a motorcycle? Should protective gear (helmets, leather assless chaps, etc) be required? Do you think there should be noise limits on the pipes?

This is a thread all about motorcycles and the law, so post your thoughts.

Motorcycles should be legal, safety equipment should not be required, and perhaps an upper limit on pipe noise, but bikes should be allowed to be loud in general.
 
It actually is legal (in California) and dangerous as bloody ****.

The reason it is legal is because it's actually safer for the motorcycle to do so in heavy traffic.
 
No it is the fact you are on two wheels, you have less traction.

That's not actually true. There's less in between you and the road than in a car and today's cars will crumple and bend to absorb the energy of impact. You can't have that in a motorcycle, you hit the ground and the ground hits back. But in general terms of manuverabilty, motlrcyes have more.

The majority of fatal accidents to motorcyclists are caused by the driver of cars and their general distracted driving.
 
There's a guy I know has a 2012 he wants to sell. Haha that's funny trying to shift gears with the brake pedal

I imagine British bikes are in sync with the rest of the world now, but they were bass-ackwards back then.
Buddy of mine had an old Indian I spent an afternoon riding. It had a clutch pedal and shift lever and the throttle on the left- talk about making you feel unco-ordinated! Try starting out on a hill with that sucker! Had a leaf-spring front suspension and must have weighed about 700 pounds.
 
The reason it is legal is because it's actually safer for the motorcycle to do so in heavy traffic.

That seems rather counter-intuitive.
 
No, typically the only person harmed in a motorcycle accident is the rider. If they want to take that risk, that's up to them. I'm fine if life insurance and health insurance are more expensive if you own a motorcycle though.
 
That seems rather counter-intuitive.

It's because people don't pay much attention when riding. In heavy stop and go traffic, motorcycles often get plowed over by the cars behind them. It is more dangerous in heavy traffic to have motorcycles queue up with cars and safer to let them split lanes. So many places with large populations and traffic congestion will allow motorcycles to split lanes.
 
I don't think it helps, sports bikes sound quieter ans you still can't miss them. The sound is seemingly more to annoy people than anything.
Ive got Cobra competition straight pipes on my 1500. Yes...they are loud, but more importantly...they get your attention.
 
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