motorcyclists be careful out there

Going to say something that's been a pet peeve of mine for a while now and it might be throwing gas on a fire but here goes:

The "Motorcyclists be careful" thing is getting really old. 

Most of us are already careful. 

We're so careful that we're watching the six people around us and driving for them too.

We're watching you in your side view mirror to see if you're paying attention to who is around you.

We're watching you behind us, talking on your phone.

We're watching you in front of us putting on makeup.

We're watching ALL of you and noticing how many of you aren't even remotely aware of what's going on around you.

I'm plenty careful, thanks very much. How about YOU be careful and pay attention to your surroundings.

Note: This means the general "you" and not anyone here in particular.

^ I 2nd the motion. 

In reply to Ian F :

You'd never compare an ADV bike to a cruiser/dresser.  That's completely apples and oranges.  The manufacturers are calling these ~475lb bikes middle weight IN the Adv class...

In reply to ShawnG :

Here in Colorado I not only had the pleasure of seeing all the drivers around me do everything you describe but also smell the Mary Jane they were smoking in addition.

In reply to docwyte :

I'll take your word for it. A friend has a big KTM adventure bike.  Fairly sure it weighs a lot more than 475 lbs, although specs on the KTM site seem vague at best.

The quintessential ADV big BMW 1250 GS checks in at 519lbs for 2019. I'm sure all the other big ADV bikes are in that range. 

Nick Comstock said:

The quintessential ADV big BMW 1250 GS checks in at 519lbs for 2019. I'm sure all the other big ADV bikes are in that range. 

 

Now add bags and the entire Touratech catalog...  all of that stuff is a requirement if you're going to ADV your way down to starbucks... 

In reply to ShawnG :

Word. Unfortunately the only way to ride halfway safely is to ride as everybody is out to kill you. Which unfortunately is the case, at least on average.

IME the average driver's awareness of motorcycles varies wildly by states, and despite all the complaints about CA drivers, they are probably more aware due to the filter/lane splitting laws than drivers in seasonal riding states.

ShawnG said:

Going to say something that's been a pet peeve of mine for a while now and it might be throwing gas on a fire but here goes:

The "Motorcyclists be careful" thing is getting really old. 

 

Ehh.  I get where you are coming from, but that doesn't bother me unless it is done in a finger wagging kind of way.  Riding in Chicagoland I have had more than my fair share of near misses, including narrowly avoiding a car that did a u-turn on Ashland across 5 lanes straight towards me while on my V65 Sabre, and a guy who rear ended me on my KTM 620RXc while we were both sitting waiting to make a left hand turn at a light.

I ride (and drive) like everyone is about to do something st00pid, because in many cases, they are.  So I don't ever want to get complacent, and will take every "Heads Up" that comes my way, especially if it includes an example of what happened, so I can try to figure out what steps I can take to avoid that situation.

But when people start suggesting that I shouldn't ride to begin with, that's what gets my dander up.  But in this case, as well, target fixation is deadly, and it is easier to just avoid getting tangled up in a dangerous situation in the first place.

In reply to Cooter :

Agree 100%.

I live in a somewhat rural area, if I lived in the city, I guarantee I wouldn't be riding.

We've got a moto cafe and a couple vintage bike meets that happen in downtown Vancouver and I don't go because I'm not riding 45+ minutes in heavy city traffic just for a cup of coffee. I'd rather go the other direction and have some quiet country roads to myself.

My 865 Bonneville weighs more than my Tiger 800 adventure bike.

docwyte said:

In reply to Ian F :

You'd never compare an ADV bike to a cruiser/dresser.  That's completely apples and oranges.  The manufacturers are calling these ~475lb bikes middle weight IN the Adv class...

Heh. Full of gas and a weekend of gear, my Road Glide weighs twice as much.... 

In reply to Ian F :

KTM 1190R (my last bike) weighed something like 530lbs wet.  That didn't include the pannier racks and panniers, etc, etc.  The 1290 weighs more.  A BMW GS can easily weigh 600lbs wet and outfitted. 

A middle weight ADV bike, in my mind, should weigh more like 400-425lbs.

In reply to docwyte :

A 950 SE, the paragon of light weight twin cylinder bikes unless you also include the much less reliable Aprilia RXV550, is 400 lbs stock, dry. Most of them are 450 lbs by the time you add fuel, skidplate, hand guards, etc. My 950 adv, with a lot of work in it to make it lighter, is about 490 lbs fully fueled and ready to go. The 790 I weighed was 461 lbs full of fuel, which makes it the lightest ADV bike on the market by around 50 lbs. Most of the 1X90 bikes I've seen go across the scales have been aound 530 lbs ready to ride, with the 1290SA being heavier.

Unfortunately, the days of light, simple bikes are gone now that everything has to have dual disks, a TV screen, full complement of electronic gizmos, and ABS. The only middleweight ADV bikes are single cylinder, i.e. 690, DR650, XR650. To me, those are heavy dual sports, not adventure bikes.

But hey, I suppose that's why there are so many different bikes out there on the market.

I saw on the news last night that S.C. is the deadliest state for motorcyclist.  They blamed it on our weather, totally ignoring we do not have a helmet law.  

In reply to gearheadE30 :

A middle weight bike is something that KTM never built, but should've.  Why they didn't make a 690 Adventure, to replace the 640 Adventure is beyond me.  They basically had all the parts in their parts bin as most of the 450 Rallye stuff bolts right on.

Had what I would call my first actual close call in my six years of daily riding, a half a block from my house with a UPS driver that wasn't paying attention. 

He was driving completely on the wrong side of the road then got over to the correct side as I approached.  But as I got closer he swerved back to the center of the road for no reason leaving me just inches of clearance between him and the parked truck on my right. 

I don't think he ever saw me because he slammed his brakes on as I went by his open drivers door. 

I should have just pulled up behind the pickup truck like I was planning to do when he was driving on the wrong side of the road. But when he got over I ASSumed he saw me.  There was plenty of room and it shouldn't have been that close. But I accept all responsibility for ASSuming he saw me. 

ShawnG said:

Going to say something that's been a pet peeve of mine for a while now and it might be throwing gas on a fire but here goes:

The "Motorcyclists be careful" thing is getting really old. 

Most of us are already careful. 

We're so careful that we're watching the six people around us and driving for them too.

We're watching you in your side view mirror to see if you're paying attention to who is around you.

We're watching you behind us, talking on your phone.

We're watching you in front of us putting on makeup.

We're watching ALL of you and noticing how many of you aren't even remotely aware of what's going on around you.

I'm plenty careful, thanks very much. How about YOU be careful and pay attention to your surroundings.

 

Note: This means the general "you" and not anyone here in particular.

Nearly 1/3 of motorcycle accidents are "single-vehicle." IE the motorcyclist was traveling too fast for conditions and ended up crashing (not road conditions, not weather, just riding too fast). 

I realize most who used to ride or still do, don't have my particular experience. I watched a friend be killed by the same hubris (it was all his mistake, a CMRA champion rider, IE a guy way better than most of us). And I mean LITERALLY, I watched him take his last breaths, bleeding from his head, in a mangled helmet lying on the road....leaving behind a wife and children. 

So don't begrudge people when they worry about your safety. It's because those people care about you. 

In reply to z31maniac :

That's exactly how I look at most of it.

Nick Comstock said:

Had what I would call my first actual close call in my six years of daily riding, a half a block from my house with a UPS driver that wasn't paying attention. 

He was driving completely on the wrong side of the road then got over to the correct side as I approached.  But as I got closer he swerved back to the center of the road for no reason leaving me just inches of clearance between him and the parked truck on my right. 

I don't think he ever saw me because he slammed his brakes on as I went by his open drivers door. 

I should have just pulled up behind the pickup truck like I was planning to do when he was driving on the wrong side of the road. But when he got over I ASSumed he saw me.  There was plenty of room and it shouldn't have been that close. But I accept all responsibility for ASSuming he saw me. 

 Dude, super glad you are ok.

That's madness, but again, glad you're ok.

Scary....