Born again bikers at fault? It's a myth!

[dangerous]

Most Harleys aren't that quick and they have a docile enough power delivery unlike a big sports bike which will have the tendency to lift the front wheel. I'd be more worried about "born again bikers" jumping onto a big sports bike.

same... but they rearly do that tho aye, and ya not quit getting it re the hogleys...

It's such a totally different ride and speaking from the experience of changing over, would say it takes a good 3 months for the mind and body to be adjusted to the different riding style !


But then i've seen it perhaps in the same numbers, sport bike riders in their twenties and thirties who think they're valentino and yet they'll freak mid corner and run off the road or miss something changing ahead and not adapt their line till it's too fucking late

yeah Id agree, Id strugle aswell... mind you its a percentage in the head, I once, thats 'once' took scumdogs super glide out with his missus on the back, road around him on the XN85 dragging it all, had me arse off the seat... ok to the average HD rider that proberly looked so wrong but hey showed it could do it, so its in the head that ya sit back and cruse, pack ya dacks at the 1st corner.

agree the tooth paste tube wearing sport bike riders, however the threads not about then arseing up

[Deano]

Personally I think those riders who are born again on sunny weekends throughout the month of summer are more of an issue, but then you can't prove that either.

What about those that race 8 weekends a year (summer) and ride on the road once a week during daylight savings ?

[Road kill]

same... but they rearly do that tho aye, and ya not quit getting it re the hogleys...



yeah Id agree, Id strugle aswell... mind you its a percentage in the head, I once, thats 'once' took scumdogs super glide out with his missus on the back, road around him on the XN85 dragging it all, had me arse off the seat... ok to the average HD rider that proberly looked so wrong but hey showed it could do it, so its in the head that ya sit back and cruse, pack ya dacks at the 1st corner.

agree the tooth paste tube wearing sport bike riders, however the threads not about then arseing up

It's not ?

The last KB ride I went on the 70+ year old rider that crashed on the GSXR1000 while trying to stay with the young guys on the 600's "was" wearing a spray on space suit.

Saw it happening in the car park before we even left

[Berries]

What about those that race 8 weekends a year (summer) and ride on the road once a week during daylight savings ?

Complete and utter cunts, the lot of them.

[Subike]

This gives us old bugger who have just been riding all these years a bad reputation.
I know Im slower in my reaction times, my eyes are not as good, so meh, got a slow bike so I cannot be as big an idiot as I was before.
still, Im at as much risk as anybody on a bike , I ride a bike......say no more.

[dangerous]

This gives us old bugger who have just been riding all these years a bad reputation.
I know Im slower in my reaction times, my eyes are not as good, so meh, got a slow bike so I cannot be as big an idiot as I was before.
still, Im at as much risk as anybody on a bike , I ride a bike......say no more.

reflects and gives all bikers a bad rep, nothing new

[avgas]

So am i a "born again rider" , at risk because i have the disposable income to buy a large MC

I have never actually liked the term as it assumes as a group of people, they are not skilled enough to ride due to "break" in riding....e.g. being considered a noob

This assumption is wrong. And its wrong as there is no responsibility involved.
"Born-agains" or "youth" don't crash
Idiots crash.

Imagine a news report that said
"Born-again hunter shoots his mate in the bush"
"Born-again butcher cuts off own arm"

An RD350 was just as good at killing you as a ZX10R is..........that fact hasn't changed.
As a skilled biker - people learn some basic safety skills, it separates them from the squids you scrape off the road.
To claim that you lose these skills by having time off the bike is like claiming you can't remember what happens when you stick a fork in power point.

Crashed Born-Again is a Squid. The formula couldn't be simpler. You crash and get fucked up for doing something dumb - your a squid. Age is irrelevant.

[Milts]

To claim that you lose these skills by having time off the bike is like claiming you can't remember what happens when you stick a fork in power point.

This statement is so inaccurate it would put a politician to shame.

Your brain is a 'use it or lose it' system. If you don't do something for ten years, especially something as involved as motorcycling, your ability will decrease. The fact that technology has improved may also make things riskier. Why do you think pilots have to log X hours per year to maintain a valid license? A more risky version of a similar skill set.

Of course that doesn't mean returning riders are less safe than new riders, far from it. But your statement is still hideously wrong.

[Ocean1]

This statement is so inaccurate it would put a politician to shame.

Your brain is a 'use it or lose it' system. If you don't do something for ten years, especially something as involved as motorcycling, your ability will decrease. The fact that technology has improved may also make things riskier. Why do you think pilots have to log X hours per year to maintain a valid license? A more risky version of a similar skill set.

Of course that doesn't mean returning riders are less safe than new riders, far from it. But your statement is still hideously wrong.

Not so wrong, I suspect. You definitely lose "match fitness" and the environment has changed over the years, so some of the learned behaviour may no longer be 100% relevant, but for the mechanics of bike handling I think that if the earlier experience was anything substantial then the learned reactions remain remarkably un-diminished. Riders having had a break are certainly nowhere near as accident prone as either a fresh learner or a much younger rider. I might add that this is particularly true with regards to skills learned young, it seems that for some reason late learning is slightly more easily lost, or perhaps over-written.

[skippa1]

Not so wrong, I suspect. You definitely lose "match fitness" and the environment has changed over the years, so some of the learned behaviour may no longer be 100% relevant, but for the mechanics of bike handling I think that if the earlier experience was anything substantial then the learned reactions remain remarkably un-diminished. Riders having had a break are certainly nowhere near as accident prone as either a fresh learner or a much younger rider. I might add that this is particularly true with regards to skills learned young, it seems that for some reason late learning is slightly more easily lost, or perhaps over-written.

+1 on that

[Motu]

I'm not a born again, but I think I can appreciate the effect. I lived on Waiheke Island for 10 years, I was riding nearly everyday on seal and gravel, riding off road and racing my bike on the dirt track - so not inexperienced. And then I came back to Auckland - I hadn't had to deal with traffic lights, traffic, or 100kph roads for 10 years...I was certainly out of my depth. I wasn't commuting on a bike, just out on weekends, and I was nervous for months...and months.

[avgas]

Your brain is a 'use it or lose it' system. If you don't do something for ten years, especially something as involved as motorcycling, your ability will decrease. The fact that technology has improved may also make things riskier. Why do you think pilots have to log X hours per year to maintain a valid license? A more risky version of a similar skill set.

The 10,000 hour (savant) rule has already destroyed your archaic theory in the late 1990's........
but alas I never claimed that - look at my quote (in your post if you will). When was the last time you did something stupid? (my case was fork in power point, but it could be slamming hard on the rear brake) Have you done it again since? Why?