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Please don't get a motorcycle: A good felon buddy of mine has been out now for 4 years. He slowly built a car repair business, with steady clientele, and got h
by ProllyInfamous 4mo ago
Please don't get a motorcycle:
A good felon buddy of mine has been out now for 4 years. He slowly built a car repair business, with steady clientele, and got his life back on track – including reasonable sobriety and a steady relationship. He and his girl would cruise around often, enjoying their newfound happiness.
Last week he totaled his Harley and his body (destroyed bike, multiple broken bones). Total reset. He now gets PTSD whenever a Harley revvs by passing... physically cannot work.
Please don't get a motorcycle.
- gavinray 4mo agoThat's horrible but also a stark reminder for how quickly life can change for any one of us...
- sergiotapia 4mo agoTrue but a motorcycle is basically 100% given that you will crash and have bad injuries.
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoThere are old riders and there are bold riders... But somehow no old bold riders.
- windowshopping 4mo ago100% given? Lol
- embedding-shape 4mo agoIt's a risky activity, yes, but lets not forget metropolitan areas in other countries are shock filled with motorcycles and most people live their entire life without being involved in any majorly serious accidents.
- estearum 4mo agoYou mean scooters traveling <35mph surrounded by other scooters traveling <35mph E.g. the most common motorcycle in Vietnam is the 110cc Honda Wave with a top speed under ideal conditions of ~60mph. It literally would not be called a motorcycle in the US.
- mothballed 4mo agoFrom time spent living in the Philippines I have no idea what they're even on about. Sometimes I watched the local news and it was absolutely plastered with endless mass death of motorcyclists. Life is just cheap in south east asia so when a gazillion people get splattered on their bike no one thinks too much about it, it's just the risk of doing the business.
- embedding-shape 4mo agoNo, I'm talking about motorcycles traveling ~50mph surrounded by other motorcycles, cars, trucks and whatever else goes on around and in metropolitan areas, even in countries in Europe.
- estearum 4mo agoThe cities that Americans travel to in order to experience quaint and whimsical urban environments? I don't think any city in Europe is as anti-human as your standard American metro, suburb, or small town. Also: European metro areas are full of two-wheeled not-motorcycles, like the Honda above.
- embedding-shape 4mo ago> I don't think any city in Europe is as anti-human as your standard American metro, suburb, or small town. Agreed > Also: European metro areas are full of two-wheeled not-motorcycles, like the Honda above. Not the European metropolitan area I live right next to and travel to/from, they are proper motorcycles, who also travel on the highway, which isn't legal for the "two-wheeled not-motorcycles" you talk about. It's OK to not be aware of how everything is everywhere in the world, no one thinks less of you for that. However, being so confident about something you obviously can't know, isn't as harmless and does indeed make you look slightly weird for being so combative about it.
- coldtea 4mo agoIt's hardly any given. You can just ride properly. In other countries they are a huge means of transport.
- estearum 4mo agoTrue. If you ride properly, then everyone else on the road is not allowed to hit you by the laws of physics.
- coldtea 4mo agoLike how if you ride in a car, or a bicycle, or walk as a pedestrian, then everyone else on the road is not allowed to hit you by the laws of physics. "Oh, but this is acceptable risk" Well, for billions, a motorcycle is too.
- estearum 4mo agoYes same with BASE jumping. Since you walk as a pedestrian, which has risk, it's virtually the same as BASE jumping, which also has risk.
- sergiotapia 4mo agoYou can drive like a saint, you will still get plowed by someone who is dumb, or just on their phone. It's over!
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoNeither of us have health insurance (forty-something Americans -- USA! USA! USA!). My helpfulness towards him mostly knowing he has nobody else to help him (ER already stabilized him post-accident, plus another trip for sepsis). Also, I love dogs. This has been a very terrible and very real lesson in mortality. Wish we had some basic social safety nets for middle-aged unemployables (e.g. single-payer healthcare).
- hollerith 4mo agoIt's only been a week; right?
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoRight; he is fucked up. Girl is now gone, having caught charges herself (stabbed him because he refuses most pain killers and is in a lot of pain right now//ashole). So sad to see; I am walking his dogs; last time I saw him I said "I am just worried that this will make you spin out, again." Definitely helped me continue deciding not to get a motorcycle, myself.
- jeron 4mo agoas someone who just got back from a nice motorcycle group ride: lol
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoStay safe, young grasshopper. You can be the best rider in the world and still have a bad day/week/month/year/life.
- PenguinCoder 4mo agoCan never predict your future. Enjoy what you will, when you can. I was in a motorcycle accident in 2021, TBI, hospitalized for 3mo, induced coma, and rehab for 9 months after. I am back on the horse. It is just a zen and still relaxing time, albeit more anxiety while riding, than before. Thankful I can still ride, and I do.
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoSafest travels. Glad to hear you humped back on 'er.
- qmr 4mo agoYou were in a crash sir. I'm glad you're better. Tenacity.
- coldtea 4mo agoAnd you can be the best car driver and still sway off or have some idiot crash into you head-on or miss a red light...
- qmr 4mo agoAt a minimum you're belted in surrounded by a cage. More likely you're belted in your cage and surrounded by airbags. Apples to orangutans.
- 4mo ago
- rileytg 4mo agoI’m sorry if i’m missing something… what does this have to do with his story other than addiction and felony? (fwiw i agree regardless, don’t get a motorcycle, lost too many friends to accidents or the following addiction)
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoThe wrecklessness which brings some people into prison, is what brings them & others lusting towards motorcycle culture, often shortly upon release. Something something something anti-social something. I'm just offering real-world advice after witnessing all the broken bones and jerked roadrash upon this tattoo'd convict's broken body. Shouldn't be alive.
- coldtea 4mo agoBillions of people have a motorcycle globally... Some anecdote from a chronically motorcycle adverse culture (US) doesn't mean a whole mean of transport is invalid...
- newaccountman2 4mo agoA fairly large % of those people--I would wager most, personally--would probably rather have cars, but can't afford to.
- sgt 4mo agoI'm a motorcyclists. We usually refer to the smaller bikes as "motorbikes". Two wheels in the west is usually a hobby. In other parts of the world it might be a necessity, they don't do it for the pleasure. A lot of people forget this.
- klibertp 4mo agoProbably depends on the locale. In Europe, riding a moped in a big city is a way to drastically cut your commute compared to driving a car. It's not exactly dangerous when all the other road users are moving at 5m/min, and being able to just skip all the traffic jams is a godsend. By car, my trip to the office was about 45min - it was 15min on a moped, a stop at a shop for some snacks included. And that's with riding speed never exceeding 50km/h. I had two accidents during my 5 years of commuting, and both times I only got minor scratches and had to replace my shoes. Both happened at speeds a determined bicycle rider could achieve, but I suspect I wouldn't be as well protected on a bicycle (both the machine itself and the protective gear tend to be much lighter there than on a moped). If I needed to do that again, I'd buy a model with two wheels at the front, which would have prevented both accidents - though I'm not sure if added stability wouldn't encourage me to ride faster. So it's pretty specific, but if you're somewhere where driving culture is not too cutthroat, the roads can support single-track vehicles, and the traffic rather than actual distance is the limiting factor - owning a bike can be an objectively better option.
- antonvs 4mo agoYou could make a similar argument for bicycles. Apparently the numbers for bicycles are a bit better, even in adjusted terms, but still. They're very unsafe in general.
- zozbot234 4mo agoIt's a lot easier to ride recklessly on a motorcycle than an ordinary bike. I suppose mopeds/motor scooters (especially electric ones) are the sensible middle-of-the-road option.
- andoando 4mo agoI am very risk averse person and I won't ride a bike in LA. In a city with proper infrastructure I would love to.
- aziaziazi 4mo agoThere’s a study demonstrating life expectancy of 3+ years for bicycle Paris commuters (2+ for public transport) compared to cars. They didn’t evaluate motorbike. The effect on physical and psychic health largely outweighs (sometimes to x30) the risk of accidents and pollution disease. (2012, french) https://www.ors-idf.org/nos-travaux/publications/les-benefices-et-les-risques-de-la-pratique-du-velo.html https://www.ors-idf.org/nos-travaux/publications/les-benefic...
- xvedejas 4mo agoI do wonder how much to trust averages on these statistics. I observe that I am much more risk averse than the average cyclist in my city. Perhaps my risk is really much lower, conditional on that knowledge?
- Der_Einzige 4mo agoIn both cases the reasons often come back to the average motorcyclist and bicycle rider abjectly REFUSING to learn or respect road laws. I live in a non-California state and I'm shocked whenever I see a motorcyclist who doesn't illegally lane split, who maintains a standard following distance (ideally 3 car lengths on an interstate), etc. Plus, most of them aren't even good at choosing leather jackets (not enough schotts or even made in Japan actual horsehide, lots of slop non-protective because most of these people are poor from the Harley purchase) and they don't wear proper protective heavy bottoms (i.e. leather/kevlar pants or HEAVY selvedge denim like 25 oz+). Many don't wear helmets because doing so might make them look like "fairies" to their friends in the outlaw biker gang. Similarly, half or more of the cyclists in your average complete streets/walkable cities liberal area either 1. actually don't have a drivers license and are thus oblivious to road laws when they routinely get on the road, 2. refuse to use a helmet/put lights on at night/hand signal when turning, and 3. refuse to use perfectly good empty sidewalks (yes its legal here to bike on the sidewalk) to cycle on when possible. I see this shit all the time, and I understand why they end up as roadkill time-and-time again. Keep winning Darwin awards. My heart goes out to those who legitimately did everything right and ends up squashed anyway, but the myriad number of idiots ruins it for the victims. I actually don't know which makes me more scared to see on the road, a clapped out Nissan/dodge, a Harley rider, or a cyclist. At least the cyclists and nissan drivers are probably young and thus far more alert than the average geriatric who thinks they're so cool for owning the worlds most gaudy motorcycle.
- qmr 4mo agoHave you ever been on a motorcycle? Closest feeling you can get to flying and a helluva lot cheaper. Bike costs are line noise, (cheap!) planes I fly are better part of $200 an hour. I get what you're saying though. Barely been on bike since latest baby and wondering if I should just sell them for now. As much as I miss riding and wife misses riding with me, if the worst were to happen, yikes.
- estearum 4mo agoMotorcycles are ridiculously fun but yeah, if you have anything in your life worth preserving or sticking around for, it's statistically a pretty awful decision.
- ProllyInfamous 4mo ago>Motorcycles are ... statistically a pretty awful decision. This has been my favorite sentence (so far) in this discussion – whatever one's opinion is on motorcycling. Capital 't' Truth. ---- Thirty years ago, my mother gave me some small amount of money to NOT ride a motorcycle on roadways until after she died. Being young and broke, I took the money. stopped riding. After she died, I had aged just enough to realize that I didn't actually want to ride motorcycles on-road, anymore. Even after decades of wanting to... Somehow mama-up-there knew I'd eventually grow up, and it only cost her a few hundred dollars [to not have to witness my motorcycle accident (while alive, nor ever from-above)].
- ProllyInfamous 4mo ago>Have you ever been on a motorcycle? Absolutely. Broken bones, and all. ---- >wondering if I should just sell them for now >if the worst were to happen, yikes Listen to yourself, Papa. ---- It's a young (dumb) man's game.
- Waterluvian 4mo ago> Closest feeling you can get to flying I’d say this is a strong case against getting one for anyone who has struggled with addiction. In my experience a part of the constant battle is a difficult relationship with sources of stimulation.
- jusgu 4mo agoif you do, I’d recommend taking motorcycle safety courses on a regular cadence in order to practice your skills. even if you’re a regular rider it’s great to learn the limits of your bike and do emergency maneuvers in a controlled environment there’s lots offered near the bay area (where I’m from) and they don’t cost that much for what you’re getting in return
- arealaccount 4mo ago[dead]
- odiroot 4mo agoGet a motorcycle. Definitely don't get a HD though.
- mgambati 4mo agoHD riders are known for not using decent safety equipment and that bullshit open helmet or none. A freaking motorcycle with 300+ kilos moving ate highway speeds or more.
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoHe had a fully-enclosed helmet, was wearing leathers and boots, and has years of experience. Was legitimately sober (I talked with him right before he left). One hand now looks like a grimreaper's bones, sticking out from blood-caked jerkybits. ---- Certainly speed was a factor but isn't that why ya'll ride?
- mgambati 4mo agoWell, I don’t speed. Had a accident once that made me learn the lesson.
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoMay your rides continue Perfectly.
- HNisCIS 4mo agoMotorcycles aren't invulnerable 3 ton steel tanks but the stats and anecdotes are deceptive. They're really not that bad if you're not a moron, even if you're mostly worried about other road users. The stat are wildly bimodal. ~30% of deaths involve drunk riding ~30% of deaths involve not wearing any helmet (let alone full face ECE 22.06 rated ones or any other gear at all) ~30% of deaths involve someone with no motorcycle licence. These aren't all mutually exclusive obviously, rather the Venn diagram probably looks rather...circular. The issue isn't so much everyone trying to kill you, you can fix a lot of the visibility issues and you have some additional options if someone is about to hit you. The problem is that two wheels make for a VERY dynamic system and you're managing two different brakes with weight shifting between two wheels based on your inputs. To that end ABS and TCS are absolutely huge, IIRC something like >60% safety improvement. Tldr don't buy an old retro bike with no safety systems and ride it drunk without a license or gear, you'll continue to pad the numbers.
- ProllyInfamous 4mo agoI absolutely love statistics – be careful with inferrences, though. This rider (I described above) was ~sober ~helmetted (fully faced) ~licensed
- komali2 4mo agoWell since we're doing anecdotes, I'm a sober, fully helmeted, geared rider with 8 years and tens of thousands of miles under my tires. I've had two incidents: 1. I fell over at a stop sign on a canted hill while stopped because the rented Harley was so fucking big. I immediately returned it and will never ride a Harley again, those things suck. 2. I stupidly stopped just before the crest of a gravel road because I couldn't determine the best path (should have just trusted my tires and picked one), started sliding backwards. Rather than spin my tires and risk shooting off, or slide backwards into the unknown, I just tipped over and rolled off the bike. No injuries either times. No at speed near misses. I have a simple rule: if I'm not 100% sure, I don't do it. A pass, a light, an intersection, when in doubt, I slow down, or stop, or hang out where I am in a lane. Maybe one day I'll get taken out at a stop light or something random like that but the joy that riding has brought me I just can't give up. Exploring the world on a motorcycle is just amazing. All activities come with risks. Motorcycling is up there but so is rock climbing, kayaking, rafting, hiking, bicycling, swimming - all activities I personally know someone who has been severely injured doing. You take precautions but you gotta live.
- deleted 4mo ago[deleted]
- sirsinsalot 4mo agoI ride. No way in hell I'd ride in the US.