Easy riders out of control

[Jabez]

Hi All

Did anyone see this story in the NZ Herald on Saturday?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydispl...bsection=world


More Bike bashing......

[Wenier]

remember they are talking about british riders not NZ although it might b happening here to?

[riffer]

Of course being only 37 I don't fit into this group so I can only look on disapprovingly.

tut tut tut naughty bikers.

[Two Smoker]

It is starting to happen in NZ too though........ I have seen it at Cyclyspot and Holeshot, where 45-55 yr olds are getting onto VTR1000's.... i watched one guy on a VTR1000 hope on start it up, then select first gear without pulling in the clutch Then i watched another guy on a VTR1000SP that could bearly fit over his gut to reach the handle bars and had extremely bad handling skills.......

There definately needs to be relicencing and further training courses and the like.... As for doing 290kmh in resedintial, thats just fucking stupid.......But getting knee down and pulling wheelies...... depends where it is......

[duckman]

I thought the media were supposed to be impartial ???

[Jabez]

Having just turn 40, I also don't fit into this group… But then I have been riding since I was 15, with the exception of a 4 yr period, so I guess I have enough experience to handle a sports bike!!

[riffer]

Actually you do have a point TS. I was a bit wary getting back on a bike last year when I got my fizzer. After all it had been 15 years and I was getting onto a 100hp bike. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to it and now I'm thinking its not so fast, maybe I need something with a bit more grunt.

I would hope that the bike shops can help riders who haven't been on them for a while. Shops like TSS have their club250 rides which would be a great way to be reintroduced to riding for those away from it for a while. It seems a bit dodgy that these shops are just selling hi-po sports bike to anyone with the cash, but then again, they're in business to sell bikes aren't they?

Trouble is, the kind of people that buy the bikes. Maybe its a mid-life crisis thing - I don't really know.

But asking for relicensing course for those getting back onto bikes for a while is possibly a good idea - then again I reckon we should have to sit our licenses every ten years (bike AND cage) to really be on top of our skills.

After all, my father still doesn't use indicators FFS. But they didn't have them on cars when he started driving. How many other cage dwellers are there around with that kind of mentality?

Let's get everyone taking refresher courses....

[Slim]

Trouble is, the kind of people that buy the bikes. Maybe its a mid-life crisis thing - I don't really know.

I think it's actually an available disposable income/kids have finally left home/doctor told me to take up a hobby to de-stress kind of thing.


I also agree with the article.

And you all noticed that it appeared in the World News section, right?

[Hooks]

Well I'm nearly in the age bracket but without the income !! I got back onto my EF after 13 years off and it felt like a whole new world. The bike was the same but the attitude was tempered with the fact that I have 4 kids to look after.....so I don't do anywhere near the same antics as I used to. I can still give it plenty when I feel the need but I am more aware of where I can and can't get away with it. There are plenty of good roads around that offer a fun ride without having to resort to excessive speed....well around the 130kph mark anyway !! I still get a buzz out of getting right over on a corner and getting the line right while still retaining enough to get out of trouble if a wayward cage enters the frame !!
I think that maybe a refresher test and an insurance company intiative similar to the one they took on performance cars might make the idiots think twice....if costs more because they are on a bike that they haven't had the correct training to ride then maybe they will either do the training or downsize their sights to something more manageable.

[RiderInBlack]

Read some of our Threads. This is happening here in NZ, and not just the "Old Buggers". Most of the rides I have been on has at least one hoon (sometimes that's me as I try to keep up with the other bikes). It does not seem to be age related, it just there are more riders riding in their 40+es now. It's no long a young man's hobby.
Most of the young riders I know ride harder than myself, so I don't think the increased Bike accidents can be blamed all on the older riders.

[James Deuce]

I thought the media were supposed to be impartial ???

On what planet?

[Cajun]

the average rider age has rather high, due to the fact jap car imports, the major section of people getting in to bikes are people over 40's getting back into it after 20 years off.

I mean there aren't really many people around the tauranga area my age that are in to motorbikes that i know off, tons 40+, alot in 30's but not a great deal in the 20's.

It just the laws pretty much make it hard for younger people to get bikes as well as price, you go see how much car you can get for the same price as a okay 4 cylinder 250cc motorbike. you can get alot of car for your buck.

But personally, i never liked cars, always loved bikes, i do 95% of traveling time on a bike, only the odd time i drive a car.

[duckman]

On what planet?

Sorry - that post should have been dripping in Sarcasm!!

[MikeL]

An interesting article which raises some serious issues, but again we have a problem determining exactly what the extent of the problem is. The fact that the bike-riding demographic is now strongly skewed towards the older (40+) age group means that more older riders will inevitably kill or hurt themselves, but unless you have detailed statistics including length of riding experience, courses done, etc., how can you draw valid conclusions? My gut feeling is that there are probably quite a few older guys with fast bikes, slow reaction times and limited experience. But from my Ulysses rides I would also observe that the majority of older riders are slower and more careful than the average 20 or 30 year old. Whether they have more bins per kilometers ridden is impossible for me to say. My own record (1 per 50,000 km so far) is pretty meaningless as a statistic.
Common sense though would suggest that a compulsory retraining scheme sould be beneficial and I for one would not have considered it unreasonable if it had been required. Before I started riding again a couple of years ago, my previous experience had been with bikes from an era when anything over 250cc was considered a big bike.

[vifferman]

remember they are talking about british riders not NZ although it might b happening here to?

Yes, while the bulk of the article was lifted from some British publication, there was a sidebar from Auckland (?) Ulyssses club saying the same thing was happening here, which is why they were training "born again bikers" to ride more betterer.

It is starting to happen in NZ too though........ I have seen it at Cyclyspot and Holeshot, where 45-55 yr olds are getting onto VTR1000's....

Guess what - I am 45. And no - I don't have a fat gut, and I have had my training wheels off for quite a long time. "I didn't get to where I am today without knowing how to ride a VTR1000..." Be careful with your generalisations, Dude!
Apart from a short break, I've been riding for 30 years, ride every day, do most of my own work on my bikes, and - like many other over 40 riders - don't fit the stereotype the media is trying to portray here for a bit of sensationalist "journalism". (I use the latter term in quotes, because as a professional writer I object to the sloppiness and lack off research such drivel betrays.) Yes, there are the 'weekend only racer types' who are in it for an adrenaline rush, just as there are those who want to buy into an image which is more exciting than their weekday persona. But there are also some (like me) who simply enjoy riding too much to give it away.