Tough choice. Distracted drivers are making is more dangerous for all of us. Every time I pull up next to someone texting I unload on them..I truly don't understand why people are so stupid.

 

May I ask a question? How many Harley's go down due to a blow out? I was told by a State Trooper, most of the time it is a sport bike. After, they have smoked the rear tire.

By the way, I noticed a rear tire on a metric bike that was bald as it could be. No way would I even push that bike home, much less ride it.

I understand that this gentlemen picked up a nail. But, I believe most Harley riders replace their tires when needed. Other words, Harley riders take care of their investment.
Thanks for your answer.

hyper

 

Hi,
Personal decision to say the least and I think all of us would respect that. I live in Long Island, NY. There isn't one day that I ride that I don't have a close call. Just part of a dangerous sport which is usually no fault of our own. After having two bad accidents in 20 yrs. I offer this advice (which I didn't listen to, LOL), there are other ways to still be a part of the sport you love. Just use your imagination. I personally chose to still ride after an accident that put me on life support. With no memory of the accident I slowly weened my way back onto the bike. I preety much just limit the times I put myself in rush our situations. I also find as much enjoyment in working on my bike and my freinds bikes as I do in riding which takes care of the winter months. I hope you find peace with your decision whatever else you choose to do in life.
John V.

 

My wife had a kind of blowout on her 883 this summer. She had stuck a piece of metal in the tire and it had lost so much pressure that the tire separated from the bead and lost all the air pressure as she was taking a 90 degree turn. She rode onto a gas station parking lot and we plugged it, so it was not big deal, but it scared her when she suddenly dropped so low the folded kickstand was scraping and she nearly went down. Didn't scare her out of riding, of course.

EDIT: I was just thinking about all the nice "respect your choice" and such comments - if a man tells me he's too scared to do something that men, women and children do by the millions daily, I honestly don't respect that and I'm not sure why I am supposed to say that I do. Anybody have an idea why we're supposed to say we respect his decision and other nice things?

 

I wish you the best, and thanks for wishing me well. IMO luck, good and bad, plays a part in riding and live. I wish everyone the best of luck. Skill can get you a long way down the road, and I think I know how to ride, but I know I'm lucky to be alive.

 

The couple that went down here the other day were on a Sportster. From the picture on the local newspaper website it was clear that the rear tire had plenty of tread. No idea how old though and no mention of a cause of the blowout. The driver was a big guy and some a-holes on the commment side tried to imply this caused it among other stupid remarks.

 

Good luck to you. I've only been riding a few months and your concerns are something I didn't fully comprehended before I got on my bike. However living with a chronic illness, I've learned to tone out negative aspects of my disease. It's very easy to dwell on the negatives to the point you feel helpless and become almost incapacitated.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

My wife was the same way. Funny thing is that I would always wear a helmet and she never would. She was very upset that I sold the bike. I felt double nervous with her on the back. I have 3 kids at home and it made me very nervous with both of us on the bike. She just didn't get it until all 3 of my kids told us that they were very happy that I sold the bike because they would worry so much when we went out. My kids are 20, 18 and 16.
My 72 year old dad still rides a Harley but he lives up in the mountains. They don't even have a stop sign or street light in his town. He can go out on his Harley and ride the mountains and the twisties and not even see a car for the entire ride. Thats the kind of riding I could get into. I live on the coast in Connecticut and there is a ton of traffic. My buddies and me would travel inland where there are much less cars but the problem is it took 45 minutes of riding in crazy traffic before you got to the good stuff.
Thats where all the accidents happened.
My buddies are putting the hard court press on me getting another bike.
Its funny, almost all of the 20+ guys I rode with all share the same attitudes.
They have that live fast, drive fast, you can't take it with you attitude. Most all of them feel that when its your time to go its your time to go and there is nothing you can do about it so you might as well go out and have fun. None of them wear helmets, none of them obey the speed limit and they all seem to have a care free attitude when it comes to riding. Some of them have gone down, some of them have been hurt bad. It doesn't deter them. To them, the stuff inbetween the rides doesn't matter. When its riding season its all about the rides. Its a lifestyle to them. It was a hobby to me and in my head it became too dangerous. I really think that if I had nobody depending on me I would still ride but I can't take the chance with my wife on the back and 3 kids at home. Who the heck would throw out the garbage if I was gone?
Thanks for the nice words guys. I am not going to miss riding much but I will miss my riding buds because really the only time I saw most of them was when we were riding.
I did buy a nice Stage 4 supercharged VW Corrado to work on over the winter and take to cruise nights and local car shows once in awhile and I am getting new windows for my house so my beloved Harley went to a good cause. I always need something mechanical to work on. I also might start repairing Harley's on the side. I really do love the old EVO's.

 

It is your decision and no one can say how you should feel. If it is in your head to quit then that is what you should do. Better to be ahead of the game than to lose. I think the San Diego accident has many thinking about what can happen when they ride. No one seems to care enough about cell phone users to do anything about them. Sure they pass laws but what good are they if not enforced? Good Luck to you in what ever you do.