Ever worry about a stranger after seeing them on a motorcycle?

[emptysea]

I worry that some of these guys dreamed of riding a motorcycle before they died, but not immediately before.

[Banned_imp]

Hey! I was a bucket list rider (took it up at 65) and its worked out fine (so far, knock on wood), perhaps partially because at 6'1" and 195 pounds even at my age I have some strength. Just don't ride at your limits and use the wisdom you have gained with years and you should be okay.

Poastoak, it can and does obviously work out for some people... like yourself., and I wish you continued good health, and many years of riding. Not everyone is so lucky and I know riders younger than us (I'm 68) that should not be riding at all due to a deterioration of skills..maybe shouldn't even be driving a car lol. I'm sure you know some like that. The accident rates among older motorcyclists is skyrocketing mainly due to men coming back to riding after an long absence and buying too large and too powerful motorcycles. At least that is what I have read.

Then there are guys like forum member Rocky, who at 81 or 82 are still in good health, still active and in command of their mental and physical facilities and still riding. I can't see me living to 81 much less riding then. No one in my family has ever made it to 80. I'm shooting for 70. If I make that, if I'm still doing well, I will raise the bar a couple of years. If my skills deteriorate too much, I pray I have the strength to park the bike.

It's funny my wife and I were out for a ride last weekend and coming towards us were 5 older gray haired riders, no helmets, all on Harley's and she and I both wondered if they were long time riders or bucket list riders.

Poastoak, it can and does obviously work out for some people... like yourself., and I wish you continued good health, and many years of riding. Not everyone is so lucky and I know riders younger than us (I'm 68) that should not be riding at all due to a deterioration of skills..maybe shouldn't even be driving a car lol. I'm sure you know some like that. The accident rates among older motorcyclists is skyrocketing mainly due to men coming back to riding after an long absence and buying too large and too powerful motorcycles. At least that is what I have read.

Then there are guys like forum member Rocky, who at 81 or 82 are still in good health, still active and in command of their mental and physical facilities and still riding. I can't see me living to 81 much less riding then. No one in my family has ever made it to 80. I'm shooting for 70. If I make that, if I'm still doing well, I will raise the bar a couple of years. If my skills deteriorate too much, I pray I have the strength to park the bike.

It's funny my wife and I were out for a ride last weekend and coming towards us were 5 older gray haired riders, no helmets, all on Harley's and she and I both wondered if they were long time riders or bucket list riders.
Yes, there will always be outliers but anecdotal evidence doesn't subvert hard data which as Ferret says shows older riders are making up a larger percentage of accident stats - which is a relatively new phenomenon.

As a young inexperienced rider, superior reflexes, eyesight and strength can make up for that lack of experience and get you out of some bad situations. Conversely, as an older experienced rider you draw on that experience to make up for your deteriorating reactions/skills. If you have neither you are really starting off with a handicap already built in.

Recent example here, local teacher decided to get her motorcycle license at 50 and join her husband and 9 year old daughter on a family trip to the Grand Canyon. On her first ride after the safety course she missed a turn (very easy turn, unknown why she missed it) a mile from home and hit a rock. She lived just long enough for her daughter to watch her die.

At this point I'm hoping to make to 50 riding but take it one day at a time. I no longer take my wife on my bike as the extra is weight is too much. I definitely wouldn't buy a trike but I have ridden a Spyder and it is good option for those that can't stay on 2 wheels anymore but I'm already prepared for that with my sidecar.

[Offroad]

The main thing I think about trikes as I pick my track around holes, tar snakes, gravel etc....With 2 wheels, one track it's fairly easy to avoid most road hazards, but with a trike....you are almost guaranteed to hit that bad spot in the road.

[misterprofessionality]

speaking on bucket-listers, I can't believe how appropriate this conversation was to what I saw just today: On my way back from the grocery store with my wife, i was sitting in the passenger side of her car as we sat in the left turn lane waiting for our chance to turn into our neighborhood. Along comes an older gentleman in the opposite direction, grey hair (guess how i could tell? no helmet), heavy build, riding a large classic-style harley touring bike. it had the full outfit, leather bags, floorboards, front and rear crash bars, huge windshield, all that. as he approached the right turn into our neighborhood, i pointed to him and said to my wife, " that's a bucket-lister right there."

She responds "what do you mean?" as i started to explain precisely what the term means, this guy starts to make his right turn. i could see he was a little unsteady from the moment he started his turn, then his floorboard scraped, he lost control and suffered a very low speed lowside right there in the intersection. I couldn't believe it. pulling over to check on him, he wasn't hurt really but looked extremely flustered and upset. he just kept saying "i dunno what happened...i dunno what happened..." I helped him pick up the bike and walk it off the road. he made a phone call ( i think to his son) and we had a short conversation while he waited. turns out I had pegged him exactly right. he had never really ridden before and this was his first bike, a bike that i now had first hand experience was extremely heavy. He insisted he was fine so my wife and i continued home. afterwards i went back out (actually to put some gas in my own bike) and rode by the spot again to see him and a younger man loading the harley into a trailer.

That's a guy I worry about.

[tommymck]

It sort of surprises me really. Most of the "older folks" around these parts that I come across are actually very technical in their riding....at least the ones I know. And although it's counter intuitive, people around here just seem to get more risk averse in their riding as they age (counter intuitive to me at least because younger people have more to lose.) I'm also a pilot (for fun, not work) and I'd fly all sorts of single-pilot hard IFR in my 20s that I wouldn't dream of doing now.... This in spite of how much easier it is today with technology, and in spite of the fact that I'm way more competent today with knowledge of weather and how to take advantage of the air traffic control system than I was then. It's not that I couldn't do it just as safe today...just that my risk tolerance has gone down.

Having said that, I see no reason why a fit 60-something couldn't safely take up riding. It's not like you need ninja like reflexes to keep a bike upright.

The ones I worry about? Young lane splitters that I see on the roads in SoCal. Get on the 405 between LAX and the Valley any day in rush hour and you'll encounter a couple of dozen young dudes riding between lanes upwards of 40 miles per hour between cars going about 5. And the cars are constantly deciding to try to move lanes whenever they feel like the adjacent lane is moving better. The older guys seem to be much slower, deliberate and safer about it. I've been doing some riding in the LA area recently, and since it's legal, I figured I'd give it a go on my little SR400 that I keep there. If there ever was a perfect lane splitter, that's the bike. Scared the bejeebees out of me. There is just too much unpredictability in terms of when cars decide to move lanes without signaling.

[misterprofessionality]

too true, that's another group that I worry about also. these guys *Think* they're experienced. they *think* they know what they're doing. I gave up lane splitting and even filtering after the third time somebody pulled in between the lanes to try to deliberately wreck me, because they thought it wasn't fair for me to not have to wait in traffic with everybody else. other drivers and dumb, crazy, and inattentive, but most importantly of all, remember that people in cars are *sadistic* too. the guys i see lane splitting, i think, are just one bad day away from learning a real hard lesson.

[the Ferret]

This is a big country with a lot of different circumstances. It would be much easier to be a bucket lister/inexperienced rider where I live in New Richmond, Ohio than it would to be a bucket lister/inexperienced rider in LA/so cal or New York or Atlanta or DC or Chicago or Saint Louis or Miami areas. Heck it's hard to be an EXPERIENCED rider in those areas lol

[MinneapolisCB_imp]

On my way home from work, a Harley was in front of me. Neither the rider, nor his passenger wore any protective gear other than sunglasses. The passenger had a long, perfectly braided blonde ponytail swinging in the breeze. At a stoplight she pointed left and I could see that she had matched her lipstick, fingernail polish, and hair tie with her bandana. She was smiling broadly, rather than gritting her teeth like an experienced passenger. She was so striking, I suddenly looked around for cameras, to see if I had somehow inadvertently gotten myself into a Harley commercial!

I worry that bugs, rocks, blown tires, or other random debris will scar up that beautiful face.


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[the Ferret]

On my way home from work, a Harley was in front of me. Neither the rider, nor his passenger wore any protective gear other than sunglasses. The passenger had a long, perfectly braided blonde ponytail swinging in the breeze. At a stoplight she pointed left and I could see that she had matched her lipstick, fingernail polish, and hair tie with her bandana. She was smiling broadly, rather than gritting her teeth like an experienced passenger. She was so striking, I suddenly looked around for cameras, to see if I had somehow inadvertently gotten myself into a Harley commercial!

I worry that bugs, rocks, blown tires, or other random debris will scar up that beautiful face.


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Another of the freedoms we are afforded in this country.

[MinneapolisCB_imp]

On my way home from work, a Harley was in front of me. Neither the rider, nor his passenger wore any protective gear other than sunglasses. The passenger had a long, perfectly braided blonde ponytail swinging in the breeze. At a stoplight she pointed left and I could see that she had matched her lipstick, fingernail polish, and hair tie with her bandana. She was smiling broadly, rather than gritting her teeth like an experienced passenger. She was so striking, I suddenly looked around for cameras, to see if I had somehow inadvertently gotten myself into a Harley commercial!

I worry that bugs, rocks, blown tires, or other random debris will scar up that beautiful face.


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Another of the freedoms we are afforded in this country.

I completely agree. I also have the freedom to worry about her.


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