Alot of ranting about sport bikes considering that the fastest growing fatalities demographics are middle aged riders. Cars shoot by me on the interstate also doing 90 and pass in front of me riding in the middle lane to go from on side of the interstate to the other.

Don't depend on someone elses judgement to keep you safe while your riding.

 

True - and at least the guys on sportbikes are not talking on cell-phones and drinking starbucks while they annoy you.

 

Exactly!

Here in Maryland cars will weave in and out of my lane with absolutely no regard for my safety whatsoever. Idiots on cell phones, azzhats in there utility vehicles doing 80 plus, all daily occurances. The sport bike riders out here seem to be fairly responsible and courteous as far as I can tell. It's the car drivers that are amazingly idiotic, inconsiderate and downright dangerously irresponsible.

Cheers,

Tom

 

It has happened to a lot of us,all the more reason whenever you move around always look in mirrors,I always do.You have to ride like that today with all the traffic.

 

You don't have to like it and it is annoying, but get used to it.summer isn't even here yet, and these idiots will be out in numbers

 

I agree with both of you, I do not like the chit scared out of me when I am on 2 wheels. BUT my post relates to this, IF we are riders, and we DON'T see them coming, what does that say about cagers, who are, for lack of a better word, ignorant of bikes and bikers? Do they see any of us?
I ride "slow" in comparison to prob'ly most of you. Always on my mind. I actually have more Harleys sneak up alongside of us, than crotchers. More often than not, to "look" at a relic rolling down the road. (The bike, not me.) I try to ride as if my scoot is on a string, hold my position in my lane steady, no drifting side to side. My 2 biggest fears, if you want to call them that, are deer and someone in my rearend. I live in my rear view. I want to know who is coming up behind me, and I want to know if I can use a lane for an "escape" zone.
For those of you who "have to" ride in congested city traffic, my sympathy goes out to you. Just driving the cage in that chit drives me buggy the way ppl dart in and out and cut each other off. If we have to get to the "other" side of the Cities, I'll go many extra miles, just to avoid the hassles and danger.
And whether on a crotch or a cruiser, darting and cutting traffic, is a recipe for disaster. Thank my lucky stars, I made it to the "old and slow" stage.
To become old and wise, one must first be young and dumb.
And, yes, I'd LOVE to have a Buell XB12r, Gold and Black, in the stable.

 

What makes you think they have insurance now?

The local dealer told me a lot of these guys can't afford the insurance now so they figure out how to get the bike without insurance. Dealer even said they can get them financed without needing insurance if they can keep the loan balance below a certian level. Last time I checked, Florida didn't require you to have insurance on a bike other than medical coverage if you ride without a helmet. Banks usually require insurance if you borrow money but it sounds like there are ways around that as well.

 

I ride slow on the highway too 70 is my tops, after all is about the ride not the destination.

 

What scares me is that most of this suckers believe a Harley can't swerve suddenly or quickly, so they think that if you have to swerve, they have all the time in the world to get away from you. Most riders believe this even about cars. They don't realize that cars very often change lane slowly exactly to leave this geniuses the time to move over.
Let alone another bike.
A trained human being can react in half a second, and he needs another half a second to get a race crotch rocket to do his bidding. In that time, a rookie like me can swerve from one side of the lane to the other (which is over 3 yards here in Italy) to dodge a pothole.

 

Very true statement. 14 yearsago when Ibought my first Metric, I paid cash. The following year when I bought my second one, I skirted having the need for full insurance coverage at over $1500 per year by taking a personal loan from the bank to purchase the bike. The personal loan had a higher interest rate but it wasn't nearly as expensive as full coverage for insurance. Now that I'm older, I have to admit that I did several things stupidly with those first two bikes; one I didn't have full coverage insurance, two I was too inexperienced to beon a1000 CC crotch rocket, and three I should have been on aHarley in the first palce.If I could find a creative way 12 years ago to get a loan that avoided paying insurance I can only imagine what they have come up with now.