Risk Factor

[Jay GTI]

One of my main riding buddies dropped a bit of a bombshell at work today, he's thinking about selling his bike and giving up riding. The reason for this is his brother-in-law has just had a road bike accident and is in a serious mess (might not make it serious).

I've promised him not to try and talk him out of it, there's already been deaths in his family from bike accidents and I can see his point, especially as he's got young kids. I'm gutted, but understand.

On the flipside, I still see dirt biking as a much safer option than riding on the road. I've been in hospital twice from dirt bike accidents and have a permanently messed up back. However, even though I've had serious injuries and I ride at speed through forests on a regular basis, it's a risk that is worth it for the reward. I love riding and when it's kids time for me, I'd like them to ride too.

So what I'm getting to is, how much of an influence is the risk in your riding? Do you consider it and ride as safely as you can, or do you just ignore it right up until when that tree becomes a little too personal? Always in the back of the mind, or pretend it's not there?

I'm probably more of the latter, but just rely on the mortality awareness guys my age grow (38) to keep me semi-sensible. It mostly works and I'm not going to throw in the towel any time soon, just a shame my buddy probably will.

[Geeen]

I'm aware of the risk of riding and have two kids (5 & 7), I don't tend to think about it too much though. My son has MotoGP and IoM posters covering his wall so he is definitely a future kiwibitcher.

[tigertim20]

I reckon it comes down to your philosophy on life.
group 1 says, you only have one life, dont take risks, dont let it end to soon.

group 2 says you get one life, USE IT before its gone, take risks, have fun, how fucked off would you be if you spend your whole life not doing risky things you want to, only to get hit by a bus at 25 while walking across the road?


as far as Im concerned a life is a gift, and you should make the most of it, its not something to be returned in pristine condition, I intend to slide into the grave sideways, totally worn out, smoke billowing from my ears while screaming FUCK! WHAT A RIDE!.

I not long ago had a crash at over 200km - my wife understands and shares my passion, and after knowing I was ok, her first concern was, how much to fix the bike, followed by, 'ok, we can wait to fix my car, get the bike sorted first' - Im very lucky to have a wife who understands, not everybody is, and that is a considerable factor in the process.

If it were me in that situation, Id put the rego on hold for 6 months and park it in the shed - let it sit there. if in 6 months you dont miss riding, then sell it, hope he doesnt make a snap decision he regrets later!

[scott411]

I have thought in the past (normally while staring at a hospital ceiling) about giving up riding, but when the pain goes away the thoughts of how soon i can ride again come back,

I know after a rider was killed at Harrisville that 3 guys i know, that were there that day, never rode again and sold up their bikes,

i wear safty gear, and ride within myself now days (plenty of scars prove I learnt that one the hard way) and think that minimises the risks that are very real,

[CHOPPA]

I never think about it but I dont want to get hurt so I ride with that in mind...

Circuit racing is safer then MX in some ways. I see far less people getting injured but I have seen far more people die

[onearmedbandit]

Life is a fatal accident waiting to happen. Riding at pace on the road is acceptable to me, riding like I'm on a track isn't. And I've got two young daughters, and I live every day with chronic pain and 60% bodily impairment (that's how ACC define losing the use of an arm) from road riding.

[unstuck]

We should ban roads, they are fucking dangerous.:headbang:

[scott411]

I never think about it but I dont want to get hurt so I ride with that in mind...

Circuit racing is safer then MX in some ways. I see far less people getting injured but I have seen far more people die

agreed, when stuff goes wrong on a road race track it can be even worse because of the speeds involved, but it seems to happen much less often,

as someone said above, riding at racetrack speed on the road is just plain stupid, at least on the race track all the idiots are going the same way,

[unstuck]

And of course you should never ride a motorcycle in winter.:nono:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/El7jWBACero" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>:headbang::headbang:

[oldguy]

I under stand the risk its always in the back of my mind when I go out riding, be it on the Road bike riding with friends or the dirt bike on a trail ride, I except that risk, but don't let it stop me from riding, My kids have all grown up and left home, Ive got grand kids now, they are my life now, but my family know how much I love motorcycles, so except it, though every now and then I get asked by strangers, ain't you a little too old to be riding motorbikes.

There is more risk in riding on a public road than on a track, and I think trail riding is a lot more risky er that racing MX, as there are a lot of unknowns on a trail ride.

[BoristheBiter]

Road and track I don't really think about it. Yes I know what can go wrong but it isn't something I dwell on.

For Dirt I tend to think more about hitting the trees if it all goes wrong so I don't go flat out.
I think that might have something to do with doing more damage to myself off road more than on.

I enjoy it too much to care about the consequences.

[Ride it till the red]

Have not once ever considered giving it up. Have considered changing the way I ride a number of times but that hasn't seemed to work either. For me it's on or it's off, half measures result in crashes because the bike isn't working the way it should be and your concentration isn't at the same level.

I've had a few injuries, but comparably (touch wood) I seem to have less majors than the guys around me. Maybe that's riding within myself whilst still riding on the edge or maybe it's just plain good luck, either way there's always more than enough close calls to keep things in perspective.

That said, I don't have kids and my partner and family have known for many years that this is a part of who I am. If it wasn't dirt bikes it would be something else equally as fast/ stupid

[ducatilover]

And of course you should never ride a motorcycle in winter.:nono:

How did he not see that coming?

[takitimu]

It's a real issue, my employers are less than amused with my riding, when I was in the UK my contract specifically excluded me from motorsport :), good luck getting that through again.
My take is I get training and have good safety gear. Then I try & ride with a bit of a safety margin, but that is more out of respect for how hard the ground is when you hit it than a conscious decision to ride safe, I have found that if I ever think about staying safe or someone rags on me about it, it hurts, 'cause that's when I fall off hard, generally it's staying safe by trying to keep the bike upright & me still on the bike that works, that and the odd high speed spill to remind me that whilst the handling on modern bikes is great, they don't make up for stupidity.

[motor_mayhem]

Pastrana and Steinberg are still alive, they're the measure of what you can get away with.



Na jokes.
- I definitely say commuting to and from work is the most dangerous riding I do, though given I don't ride on the road for recreation any more and don't track race so those categories don't apply. I switched from a gsxr 750 to the 525 EXC because I thought the temptation to speed would otherwise eventually catch up with me.
- I think my safety gear for off road is better, mostly because when you have a crash on the road there's more speed and large moving objects involved so you're pretty much stuffed anyway, top of the line safety gear or not.
- I'm not skilled enough to ride fast off road so the crashes I have are seldom more than bruising.

The thrill of riding and rush of competing is too much for me to look away from let alone walk away from.

Yesterday's entertainment - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crkYssbNyY0

[caseye]

I kind of hope that the OP's friend doesn't see this thread for a while as it will influence his decision one way or the other.
I've lost good mates who ride.None actually while riding in recent times.
Others have crashed and not been hurt too badly, but come away with a deeper understanding of WHO else becomes involved when they crash on a road.
I wish that they and the many others who have crashed on road didn't have to have that crash to learn the lesson but I guess some of us just don't learn any other way.
Bottom line, ride your own ride, think of who's in the car or on the bike coming the other way around the next bend and most things will take care of themselves.
Accidents do happen but most of them can be avoided with a bit of good management.

[onearmedbandit]

- I think my safety gear for off road is better, mostly because when you have a crash on the road there's more speed and large moving objects involved so you're pretty much stuffed anyway, top of the line safety gear or not.


Yeah good point, like why would you want decent quality kit on the 'off' chance you might only slide and tumble, or say hit something that would have been survivable with a back protector or quality leathers with armour in them. Pffft. Fools.

[Shadykiwi]

Good thread. I went through this 2 years ago. After breaking 13 odd bones over 2 years I was looking at selling the bike. The injuries were having a negative impact on others like my children and partner, (Off work, cant play ect ect) let alone myself. I decided I still wanted to ride but needed to look at reducing the injuries. One of the best things I did was getting myself fit and strong. Not just a few jogs once a month, but daily exercise and 3 x Weight sessions a week. This has been ongoing since my last break (2 years) and Im glad to say, not one injury since. Not only has it helped with injuries but its also resulted in faster riding and most of all Im enjoying it so much more. Cant even begin to tell you's how much its improved my general life as well. I know with riding things happen, but we can minimize the risks with good gear, maintenance and fitness.

[MSTRS]

We should ban roads, they are fucking dangerous.:headbang:

Huh?? Roads aren't dangerous.
Some of the prats using them though....

[ktm84mxc]

Injuries are just part of our sport you can manage the risks by choosing the sport you can lessen the risks in eg
Trials riding the speeds are very low only 1 rider at a time on a section etc
Vintage motocross no big jumps, natural terrain, less intense more fun day attitude
Adventure rides and planned events/safaris low key events with the fun factor
Bucket racing cheap fun form of circuit racing
Motard racing just stick to the standard unmodefied classes, a adventure bike can be used with a wheel change
I've been competing for over 30 yrs in off-road events and have seen only 5 deaths and 3 of these were from heart attacks from riders senior in their years, bugger I'm at that age now. http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Pornstar]

I not long ago had a crash at over 200km - my wife understands and shares my passion, and after knowing I was ok, her first concern was, how much to fix the bike, followed by, 'ok, we can wait to fix my car, get the bike sorted first' - Im very lucky to have a wife who understands

Cripes man, whats she got you insured up to? "here ya go, bikes fixed, have another go":lol:

[tigertim20]

Cripes man, whats she got you insured up to? "here ya go, bikes fixed, have another go":lol:

Im not insured at all - she's worth a fair bit though. an attitude like hers though, Id rather keep her around, fuckall chance of finding another one like her.

[p.dath]

I am risk adverse. I don't like pain. However risk can be managed.

It starts before I hop on the bike. I put on enough gear to try and mitigate the pain from things going wrong. I try to keep the bike in good condition to limit the chance of me needing to have more skills than I have to recover from something going wrong.

It continues on as I ride. I try to be observant of the road conditions and other road users. I try to take responsibility for ensuring my own safety. I ride like a nanna so that I feel very comfortable on the road.


I can't see me giving up riding.



On another note, I have read that one's reaction to risk is based on your "risk experience". If you do something risk, and something bad happens as a result, you build "risk experience" which tempers your actions next time.
Unfortunately if you do something risky and NOTHING bad happens your risk experience does not get built, and you are likely to keep doing the same thing, or taking even greater risks.
So the trick is to see risks for how they really are - and not how your mind perceives them.

[rustic101]

Interesting thread and very thought provoking.

Everything in life we do has an element of risk to it and is not dependant on the activity itself. Whether that be eating a sandwich, drinking water, crossing the road or riding a bike. Each of these activities have killed someone.

If we worried about everything that could or might kill us we would have a bloody boring life. Potentially when death did/does come knocking would wish we had 'lived' a little more. Don't get me wrong, from my perspective it's not about living each day like its your last but enjoying what we do regardless of what that is and applying an assessment to everything thing we do to minimise the risk's. The rest as they say is in the hands of the gods.

Put a mate down not so long ago and his service was about celebrating his life rather than how sad his death was or would be. One old guy at the service said 'I should have never waited to have a bucket list'...

Yeah things we do are at times dangerous but that should never stop us from trying or doing it.

[Pornstar]

Im not insured at all - she's worth a fair bit though. an attitude like hers though, Id rather keep her around, fuckall chance of finding another one like her.

Good Shit man.

[Jay GTI]

I kind of hope that the OP's friend doesn't see this thread for a while as it will influence his decision one way or the other.
.

He's not on here, so no issues with that.

Some very interesting responses, thanks for the posts. Obviously we all know there's a risk in our hobby, perhaps more so for the roadies (us dirt monkeys get more injuries, just less severe), but I'm in the camp with most, I don't live my life by the "what if". In fact my moto is "you've got to die of something".

Still gutted he's hanging up his helmet though, he's a good mate and a good rider. His choice though.

[eelracing]

Still gutted he's hanging up his helmet though, he's a good mate and a good rider. His choice though.

Sad to hear and I spose it's for the best as riding a motorcycle and questioning why is the first sign that your riding day's are numbered.
Maybe further down the track the spark might be reignited,who knows eh.

While the thought of quitting will never quite compute here,the enthusiasm has waned now and then but learning new things can keep that interest keen.
And it does'nt have to be about pushing your limits type learning...hell leave that to youngbloods who are at best borderline psychopaths who can't make the connection between danger and it's consequences .

At the moment i'm struggling to think of a good reason to hang on to my roadbike because i've basically lost the enthusiasm to take it out for a blat...it's overkill on any backroad and tedious on over policed main roads,so that just leaves trackdays which are few and far between.I'm actually leaning towards the recently discounted Husky SM630 which is a first for me.

Motorbikes when you boil it down are essentially about fun...if you lose that then your divorcing yourself from choice in the first place.

[ducatilover]

Motorbikes when you boil it down are essentially about fun...if you lose that then your divorcing yourself from choice in the first place.

Sell the Gixxer and get something more fun? Better yet, I'll ride it while you make your mind up

[cambocambo]

I realize that I am not bubba stewart and most of the time ride within what I am capable of and when I push those limits I am careful about where I am and what is around me, have had plenty of offs but only bumps and bruises. I also ride with a good helmet and neck brace.

I just recognize that I am riding for fun not to be a world champ.