For old buggers (40+) only. Youff piss off.

[Ixion]

TPTB seem to be running a concerted campaign to denigrate "older motorcyclists". Reckon they're a bunch of wallies that can't ride. Ca killing of themselves all day long, if they are to be believed.

Now , as an "older motorcyclist" myself , I reckon TPTB are full of it.

So, to sound the water, here's a wee poll.

FOR MOTORCYCLISTS AGED 40+ ONLY.

How long between injury crashes ?

An occasional crash over a period of decades is just a fact of life. I'm interested in the average "between crashes" period. Take it over the last 20 years if the last one was lost in the mists of time.

I've specified injury crashes to leave out the "Kickstart lever up the trouser leg at the traffic lights" stuff. Use your common sense.

[PirateJafa]

You bastards raising my ACC levies.

IMO compulsory euthanasia for everyone over 35.

[rwh]

Oops, sorry - I voted on the front page, where the age restriction isn't specified. Still, only a couple of years to go. Yikes.

Richard.

[SARGE]

You bastards raising my ACC levies.

IMO compulsory euthanasia for everyone over 35.

great,, cmon over ... i havnt been euthanized in years...

[Blackshear]

Oh whoops, how do I delete my post?
I is under the age limit.

[Elysium]

I see we have some runners here

[Ixion]

Uh, raod bikes, public road. Not interested in track stuff or hooning round paddocks.

[idb]

Hmm, two prangs in 25 years...both in the last four years though!!!
Therefore one every 12.5 years.
Lies, damned lies and statistics!

[Mystic13]

I've had no injury crashes on motorcycles. Bruised ego though.

Plenty of slides and loss of control.

Clipped a truck in a passing move just past spaghetti and had a violent tank slapper at about 100kmph.

Been for a slide across from the left hand side of the lane I was in to the far side of the other lane going the other way at over 100kmph. You have to love the gyro effect.

Dropped bikes 6 times.
2 x in the drive without me on.
1 x in the drive with me on where I sacrificed my leg for the fairing.
1 x on Woodcocks, very slow speed. My wife and I spent a couple of seconds sitting on the road.
1 x on a small sprinkling of metal at low speed before I was married. Possibly viewing a distraction.
1 x St Lukes where a car slowed then didn't give way. An emergency stop leaned over. Stopped in time but couldn't hold up the bike on the lean and dropped it. Cars continued to whizz past while I picked it up.

That's about it. Then off road a fair few more drops. I feel pretty safe on a bike and when all goes wrong I tend to trust the bike will get me through. My wife is not a fan of the big slides. She's the worlds best pillion though and just sits there through it.

I did have an ACC claim for eating Hubbards cereal. A few years back Hubbards produced this cereal that was causing a few broken teeth.

So unlike Pirate and his mates we're pretty safe.

I do think the roads are probably in the worst condition and tar bleed is *&%$ dangerous.

So no injury crashes.

[MikeL]

Have had a motorcycle licence since 1967. One injury crash. But I did go for some years without riding at all, so I'm not sure of the statistical significance...

[Hitcher]

ACC only knows about one of my offs.

[TomJ]

For what it's worth I did not start riding until moved here from the UK. Too much traffic to think about it there. Now love it and have 2 years without crashing. Love riding and agree that older riders get the 'midlife crisis' label and are then generally scorned in the media

[paturoa]

Fecking years ago, but lady luck has been on my side a couple of times with cages driving in a coma.

[Ixion]

Good point. Use "years with a bike" for the riding period.

It's rough and ready , and not statistically valid -because those with "good " records are likely to be proud of them and vote, those with "bad" records won't. And the ones with really bad records can't vote, cos they're dead

But hopefully I can turn round on TPTB and point out "Here are X riders over 40. And their average is they crash only once every Y years. That hardly matches your allegations, does it?"

So don't get hung up on the statistics, just use y' common sense.

Best of all would be to poll Ulysses, cos they is REALLY REALLY old. But I don't know how to do that , cos they mostly ain't compter literate.

[rickstv]

I almost didn't vote, "don't know, never crashed". cos bloody Murphy has a long reach.
Rick.