Why do some motorcyclists drive like they're insane?
 

Last night, Martel and I were driving home about 9pm, across the big four lane bridge that goes over the French Broad River here in Asheville. We're doing about... 60mph (96kph) when this guy on a motorcycle zooms past us.. he had to be doing about 80mph(128kph). Mind you, this is in the dark, with moderate traffic, going over a bridge (if he got hit and flew off the bike there's a good chance he'd fall 60 feet into the river), and he's weaving in and out like a total idiot.

Now, I know that there's tons of people who ride motorcycles and handle them better than some people with cars, but there are also a lot of people around here that drive like crazed, drunken prison escapees. Why? Perhaps some of you with motorcycles can help me to understand the appeal of dying....

Because they like driving their "donor cycles" very fast.

Anyone on a bike at that speed, if they crash, is paste. No two ways about it.

The emergency doctor's I used to work with always told me stories of motocycle crashes... then I saw one. Not going to forget that too soon.

I've seen one first hand.. a buddy of mine.. is no more if you know what I mean.

I ride like sometimes..but it's usually when it's out of the way of other traffic/people. Sometimes you just want to feel the adrenaline. Is there any specific reason? nope.

Because they're immortal and nothing is going to happem to them....

The performance of an average motorcycle is on par with a Ferrari or Lamborgini. Toss an aggressive, inexperienced driver onto a crotch rocket and you have an accident waiting to happen.

I drive my motorcycle fairly fast, I also do it where there is minimal traffic. I'm a complete and total wimp while driving through city traffic. I know that everyone is out to get me. Weaving in and out of traffic is a sure way to die.

On the open road, it's a different story. You'd have to ride a bike to fully understand the the feeling of power and control that you have while riding one. I'm perfectly comfortable passing cars at 80+. I'll only do it where it is safe to do so.

It's the rush. It's hitting the Dames Point Bridge at 140 mph, soaring down the other side. It's the rumble of a Haybusa engine. It's the sublime pleasure of having that sexy man in leathers between your knees. It's the exhilaration of putting your life entirely in someone else's competent, experienced hands and just being. And holding on.

That's why I loved my former life as a pillion. :thumbsup:

I remember going 150km/h on the 404 thinking I was nuts until I saw to motorcyclists fly by me. I bet they were going at least 200km/h.

Honestly I think you have to be at least mildly unbalanced to ride one of those things, so it goes with the territory. I know a couple of my friends who have hit around 140 on them, which is ok when you're surrounded by 1500+ lbs of metal, but seems a little nuts when you're just sitting on about 200lbs of plastic.

135mph and 850# in my case. "mildly unbalanced" and "a little nut's" are much kinder phrases than my wife used.

In fairness, the bike was in perfect mechanical condition, the pavement was smooth and clean (I checked it), no traffic, no wind, and I'm an experienced rider. I backed off when my helmet started giving me problems.

I've had my 600 XR-6R up to about 150mph a couple times.

The only problem with the question you're asking is that it's about maybe 2% of the population or riders, I'm sure almost all riders do some high speed shit. But the kind of rider you're talking about, is a rare breed of fool.

I once had a guy fly by me at 110kph(70mph) in busy traffic on the Gardiner expressway, and then pop a few wheelies! I slowed down and hoped to hell I wouldn't have to witness his crash and dismemberment up ahead.

Stupid? Yes.

Fun as shit? Hell yes.

Everybody dies one day. Might as well make it an awesome death.

I don't ever want to see it happen or come across the results.

EMTs just love hearing that one.


Really, it's just like any other potentially deadly form of entertainment. Gun owners, parachute jumpers, etc. take a lot of similar risks for the payoff of a rush of some kind.

A lot of responsible people have fun times riding motorcylces, while a select few folks end up as visual aids in a driving class. :rolleyes:

A few weeks ago I saw a motorcycle rider on the highway using his cell phone. It's bad enough when people do that in cars, but on a motorcycle? And of course, since he was on the phone, he wasn't wearing a helmet. But could he even hear anything at that speed? And did the person on teh other end just hear wind? Must've been one very important conversation.

This is the proper attitude to take when riding a motorcycle. I once believed the 'live fast, die young' principle, but even then I wasn't stupid. Now that I have something to live for I'm even less so. Do I plan on getting another bike when I can? Hell yes, but I will ride it carefully.

Everybody wants to be James Bond and do the sort of crazy shit they see in the movies. The catch is that in real life there is no second take. On a bike if you fuck up, you get hurt. You die, even, much easier than you would in a car. And there's enough inconsiderate drivers out there that I don't need to take unnecessary risks.

It all comes down to the 'sure, but that won't happen to me' syndrome, ultimately. People who haven't faced their own mortality will do things that those of us who realize how fragile we really are consider absolutely insane.

I don't think it has anything to do with stupidity, or facing your own mortality.

It's what extreme sport enthusiasts like to do. Fourwheeling wakeboarding motorcycle riding/stunting. All things that I take to the highest level of performance that I can. If you don't do it, you can't talk about how stupid someone is who takes it to a certain level. Legal or not.

I'm sure most of the people know this, but what the hell. The "donor" thing is a myth. A body takes so much damage during a bike accident that most organs are damaged one way or another beyond any use.

/ not a biker

I saw one weaving in and out of traffic at excess of 80+ miles per hour the other day. I was keeping up at about 70 mph when this loud buzzer came out of nowhere, no helmet (not required by law in Indy). As many 18 wheelers as there are on the I69 & 465, I thought he was suicidal. Just plain idiotic.

I see those guys every once in a while, I assume its mostly for the rush of it.

A while ago, I used to want to get a ninja bike. But when I was in Austria, I saw a motorbike accident on one of those curvy alp roads - and that changed my mind about that.

I've never been on a motorcycle. I'm too chicken shit to even get on a big fat Harley.

I think motorcycles tend to attract the more *ahem* adventurous drivers. Those knuckleheads probably drive like that in cars too.

I'm probably going to get a motorcycle sometime in the next year, and I'm an extremely safe driver. I admit, I drive faster than many people, but I get passed my share on the freeway, and I'm as careful and paranoid on the road as anyone I know. I haven't ever been in an accident that was my fault, and the one fender-bender I was in, I was 16 years old and had just gotten my license and didn't yet understand all the ways people can drive like idiots. I treat everyone on the road as if they're psychotic and potentially homicidal. It'll be even more so when I don't have any side impact zones to cushion my fragile bones.

How fast and dangerously I drive is directly proportional to how easily I can kill myself in the vehicle I'm driving. For example: if I'm driving my 93 Buick that goes 0-60 in, oh say... 3 days, then I'm a very safe driver.

If I'm driving a smaller, faster car, my speed goes up. It just sort of happens. I can't wait to see what I'm like on a fast bike.

They drive like that because it's fun. Pure and simple. If I'm going 150 mph and not wearing a helmet and I die, well, at least I won't have to make any more payments on the Ducati I just crashed. (You know, hypothetically) :D

That's flawed. Someone who engages in what's generally considered extreme sports get a thrill while taking all reasonable precautions to keep him or herself safe. If you were riding at 180kph on a closed track like the superbike racers do then I would agree. But on the freeway, weaving in and out of traffic... that's endangering your life needlessly as well as the lives of those around you. I've done things for the rush, but I'll never risk someone else's life just so I can get a thrill, nor will I do something that risks my life more than necessary. A free solo climb is one thing, but you can damn well bet I'm 100% confident I can handle that rock face before I start going up it. I never took my bike that fast and will not take my car that fast in traffic because I can never be 100% about how those around me will react.

Or look at it this way. You wipe out at 80kph, you get a nasty road rash. You wipe out at 180 kph and they identify you with your teeth. You're going to drop the bike sooner or later, so when you do which outcome would you prefer?

my friend and work colleague does this at times.. He does love danger and his attitude to death is 'if it's going to happen then it happens'.
He likes thrills and most illegal things he can do.

Me, I'm safe and sold my motorbike without ever going more than 60 mph!
Wretched coward that I am! :rolleyes:

Like others have said, motorcycles tend to attract more risk takers, and therefore more speeders.
Myself, I am happiest going about 10 over on my big twin far away from traffic on the country roads. Gotta watch out for the deer and critters though.

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Oooh I love motorcycles. My friend owns a Harley Davidson shop. She has two bules (Girly Bike with a Harley engine) We had so much fun on those! Anyway, it's fun to ride around (acting sane) but after a while just going the speed limit can get pretty boring. You start going a little faster, a little more.... and before you know it you're weaving in and out of traffic acting like an idiot. It's a great rush. Defying death.
I've heard people call insane riders organ donors. I don't understand why though because if you fly off the bike when you're acting insane- internal injuries are guaranteed.

I think it's crazy when they're swerving between cars in traffic, if i switched lanes and didn't see one coming.... it would be dead time!

Thats the difference right there.

What's the point if you're 100% sure you can do it? I'd rather push to do things I'm only 50% sure I can do. That's where the real rush is.

No, we don't. No competent gun owner will ever find himself in a situation in which he is at risk of death or dismemberment unless he is being forced by an armed assailant to defend himself with lethal force.

It doesn't matter for you. A motorcyclist standing still at a traffic light could be hit by an 18-wheeler driven by an unlicensed, untrained monkey on PCP and would still be held responsible for the accident.

On Labor Day, I was driving in Colorado from Nederland to Estes Park up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The road is essentially a mountain pass: steep, long, winding, with rocks on one side and valleys on the other. It was a beautiful sunny dry Colorado day and I enjoyed the sights. And so were many other people on the road. But I saw more than a few bikers who weaved in and out at 60mph on these roads, even if they couldn't see more than about 1/4th of a mile ahead of them. What the hell were they thinking??

Most of them weren't wearing helmets either. Seriously, that is just lame. When I'm on my bicycle, I always wear a helmet. It's saved my head a few times too (although I can't say the same for the scars I have in various places).

Sorry,


But I was the one wearing a helmet.
(My house is within 3 miles of that road, I drive it all the time)

really? they must all live around atlanta then, because I see them every single solitary day driving around 285 I75 and I85 :confused:

A big group of those "rare breed of fools" live in Jacksonville. They disbanded their group for numerous reasons, but one of those being that the 5-0 had a task force out for them. My ex-'busa boy got his up to 210 mph on I95 outside of some eeney weeney towns in Georgia. The whole group of them got busted in the same area a few months later... he got a ticket for 145 in a 55. Heh. I laughed. But it's a daily occurence around here.

The idiot that really pissed me off was riding 45 mph looking backwards at me, waving frantically and making circles around my car trying to get my phone number because I was kind enough to change lanes and let him pass. Sheesh. We were in a school zone, for cripes sake! I love it when the guys at the stop lights gun an engine, pull a wheelie or acknowledge the hand signals when I've seen a copper out. But, man, watch out for the kids. Those are the ones that give riders a bad name. I've seen cagers on large and busy roads lately that will take out their frustration with riders that are riding responsibly, but quickly, by swerving close to them or trying to race. Two of them now have dents in their doors from a well placed, steel-toed boot. And I cheered.

Hint: No matter how many mods on your Fiero, you cannot outrace a Hayabusa. Or a Vespa, for that matter.

Weight of Hayabusa: 408 lbs.
Weight of a Fiero: 2600 lbs.

If a guy on a Hayabusa pissed off a Fiero enough, I doubt a steel toed boot would stop much. They'd have a dent, but it would likely be a person-shaped dent..

Nah, it was boot-shaped. And he was about 2 miles behind the 'busa when he realized what had happened. :D It was pretty dang funny. One of those "Wtf?! Why I oughta... wait, where'd he go?!" moments.

Cagers rarely want to damage their own vehicles, so most will swerve closer, but not make impact to protect their pretty paint jobs. Often in hopes that the rider will swerve and lose ground, making their car look faster than the bike. At least around here.

I just want to thank you for that... I can't add anything, because MSD said it all.

On the note of bikes, while I am positive it is a thrill, I simply wont do it. In a car, I love driving fast, but I just cant imagine one little fuck up on a bike...

And I do have a serious thing about taking other peoples lives in your hands unless you absolutly have to. A thrill is not absolutly have to. In traffic I drive pretty much by the rules. On a back road, you'll find me driving much faster, but I never leave my lane, and the entire time I'm looking for what could fuck me over.

I didn't say anything about competent gun owners. My point was that some people take stupid risks no matter what they are doing. Sometimes, those stupid risks are taken when the possibility of death is high.

No disrespect intended toward gun owners or parachute jumpers... Those are just two things (like motorcycle riding) that popped into my head when thinking about fun things that can easily turn deadly if you're a stupid risk taker.

Personally, I had always wanted a bike. I thought it would be a big thrill, you know, going fast, zooming around, that kind of thing.

What sobered me up was when I was working at the hospital here in Asheville, we got a 22 year old in the ICU from a motorcycle crash.

22 years old. My age.

Broke both ankles, one kneecap, both femurs, shattered pelvis, perforated colon, internal bleeding, three broken ribs, two dislocated shoulders, broken arm, insane amounts of road rash, and brain damage.

He had a wife and a 1 month old kid.

Now, I know a lot of you keep to the "fuck everyone else, I'm doing what I want when I want to and none of you fuckers can stop me!" attitude. That's ok, that's your thing. But to me, when you have responsibility at home, a wife and a kid to take care of, or friends that love you, or parents that love you, well....

if you take those kinds of risks then you're being a bigger shit than you ought to be.

The logical answer would be that they're insane motorcyclists. :D