How to achieve "I've been riding for XX (lots!) years - w/no crashes" bragging status

[uhmeebuh]

A drunk Irishman once said: "There are two types of riders, those hat have gone down, and those that will go down."

Puhlease :hand I never said that! :teeth

 

[250gpracer]

"crash" (bike/rider touches ground).

:teeth So dragging knee and peg at the same time counts as a crash?


Good stuff Gary. More truth than humor in my opinion. Although I don't like the concept of "there are 2 kinds of riders..." being pummeled into newbie heads by more experienced riders, it's relatively rare that a motorcyclist who's logged a large number of miles on their motorcycle not experience some sort of mishap. Or, as in my case, even ones that haven't logged in as great a number of miles :teeth

 

[250gpracer]

under ride yer moto.
do not go faster than the average Chihuahua can run.
contain no testosterone (or very little).
have nothing to prove as a rider.
practice humility often.

I failed all 5 tests! That explains all the crashes. :instance

 

[drizz]

Alzheimer's is great, you never remember hitting the ground :teeth

+1 for alcoholism! ort

 

[drizz]

A drunk Irishman once said: "There are two types of riders, those hat have gone down, and those that will go down."

I've made the same claim about women...

 

[budman]

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Things to do to achieve: "I've been riding for 30 years and never crashed" status on the forums:

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1. Apply "Selective Amnesia", where you don't remember (count) all those times the bike and you ended up on the ground (dirt or pavement), because you didn't get hurt, and damage to the bike was minor.

***got that..but I still remember the pain*******

2. Skip large numbers of years, by not actually owning/riding a motorcycle, during the 30 year period.

*****Well can't claim this one*********

3. Ride only a few hundred miles/year, during many of the years of the 30 year period, to keep the contiguous riding string in tact.

****** There was this one year after a crash*******

4. Never ride when weather and/or road conditions aren't absolutely "perfect".

******This is getting harder************

5. Consistently resist temptation to recognize the potential to "have fun" (speed, cornering, jumping, etc.), when riding a motorcycle.

*******IMPOSSIBLE*************:teeth

6. Absolutely avoid all forms of "recreational use" riding of your motorcycles.

*******recreational drugs work???************

7. Only ride on large super-slab freeways/highways (great for logging big mileage numbers for "no crash" bragging rights).

******* Those are to be avoided to comply with #6******

8. Never participate in any form of organized competition (dirt or pavement) on a motorcycle.

*******Failed again*******************

9. Never ride a motorcycle in the dirt.

******This is tough I have even ridden my Harley off road***

10. Lie a lot and hide behind your avatar, as no one knows who you are in real life anyways (because no one ever sees you riding), so they can't dispute your "zero crash" record.

*****Finally...I can do this**************
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Gary J

How about I buy you lunch Gary..for the smile and wisdom.

:smoking

 

[*VillageIdiot*]

Like a couple people pointed out, why would you put 200,000 miles on a bike if you were not a little bit adventurous. Unless you lived somewhere like Thailand or something.

I would just be surprised that if someone made it a point to ride 6,700 miles a year, for 30 consecutive years, that they would be the type to not push it a little. Maybe like Deacon pointed out, he binned early on and has been able to tack on some time and miles accident free.

I too don't like to hear people preaching what they don't and can't back up. You hear it all the time, don't you?

"I have been (insert activity) for thirty years and you need to be doing XY and Z"

When they are really just talking out the side of their neck or being a parrot.

Damn Mario you sound intelligible.:thumbup what you said.:teeth

 

[b.rock]

you've reached the mojo limit!
I'd like to add "ride like a big pussy when any cars are around" and "quite a bit of luck".
Both apply to me (except for lanesplitting, really).

 

[deaconblues]

I think what it boils down to is, you managed to be sensible, crazy, cautious, and adventurous, not to mention lucky... for 30 years straight.

Motorcycling is all about risk management. minimum risk = don't ride - as soon as you fire it up and swing a leg over, you're gambling that 'nothing will happen'. But at the same time, you know how to manage certain 'expected' events, and how to avoid other certain 'expected' events. the more events you categorize as 'expected', then the more you can plan to either negotiate or avoid.

riding with few or no 'expected events' is leaving yourself wide open. you're not expected to be lucky all the time.... sooner or later, the house wins a hand.

 

[jafo]

:thumbup

 

[JesasaurusRex]

I've made the same claim about women...

:laughing

 

[Joebar4000]

Ride like a knob and you'll die.

Ride like a boring old git and you'll live long enough to be one.



I try to be somewhere in the middle :teeth

Note on my crash stats:

1st year. No crashes at all.
2nd year. 3. In a month. Then another 1.
3rd year. 5 total (!).
4th year. 1 biggie.
5th year. Nada.
6th year. Nada.
7th year. Diesel spill had me off. Arguable if this was my fault, it was over the WHOLE road.
8th till now (16th year) nada.

Oh wait, dammit! I fell off my dirt bike at 10mph being stupid a coupla years ago. Does off-road count? :teeth

I draw your attention to years 2, 3 and 4... 'A little knowledges is a dangerous thing.'

I spent my first year scared shitless by the bike, then got cocky and pushed the envelope.

You roll the dice long enough and never get a 6, then sooner or later, you'll get a bunch at once.

 

[Melissa]

I failed all 5 tests! That explains all the crashes. :instance

:laughing :laughing :teeth :laughing :laughing

we must go for a ride together some time.
I'll begin and end with you but the middle part might be a solo expedition!!!!

 

[plumber]

I draw your attention to years 2, 3 and 4... 'A little knowledges is a dangerous thing.'

.

I stopped riding for a few years.........I was learning way to friggen much..............:teeth

 

[Holeshot]

Well, shit. We were getting dangerously close to the Lunch Zone but you got me on 8 and 9 and a couple years....

It is interesting to see the difference in perspective that different groups have on crashes. I get the feeling that in racing it is pretty much part of the cost to play. For sport touring riders I get the feeling that it is far more the exception than the rule. I actually like hearing about very long intervals between crashes as I think that for many such a target or goal is at least as useful as nailing a certain laptime. But, when you are both poor and a sissy priorities change ;-)

Come on Jason...is losing a pasajero off the back in a different category?!!!!

 

[iehawk]

I don't think about how long I haven't crashed. I don't like talking about it, because I don't want to sound like bragging. Because I want to stay humble and keep remember that every time I go out, there's always a good possibility that I would go down.

I take it a day at a time. I've survived another day, so far so good.

 

[ThumperX]

Funny thing, I counted little "oopsies" like crashes until I REALLY crashed. There is a difference but how do you define that difference?

 

[vaara]

Funny thing, I counted little "oopsies" like crashes until I REALLY crashed. There is a difference but how do you define that difference?

IMHO, the difference between an "oopsie" and a "crash" is your speed. Anything above 0 mph is a "crash," not an "oopsie."

By that reckoning, I've had 5 "oopsies" and zero "crashes" in my approximately 11 years/90000 miles of motorcycling (much of which took place in busy cities... in the rain... in high winds... in snow... etc.).

So yes, I'm one of those annoying people who occasionally chimes in with, "I've never crashed, nyah nyah." On the other hand, this also means I have to STFU whenever a moto conversation turns to crashing, because I have nothing to contribute.

 

[FickleBiker]

I started riding in 1972, CB100.... I crashed it going into a corner too fast (Lincoln Village behind Mather AFB) and staring in horror at the dirt into which I was destined to tumble, my fault ("target fixation").

I averaged 25,000 miles a year on my bikes, a couple years with a CL360 and/or CB400F as my only means of transportation.

I high sided upon rounding a corner to see an MGB-GT parked in the middle of the road (Salmon Falls Rd.) on my Yamaha XV920S, my bad. I paid for THAT one for a few years ($$$).

In 1990 I sold my Yamaha Vision 550 and went without a bike for the next ten years.... I was depressed, and I didn't know that it was because I didn't have a bike that I was soooo bummed with life (and that damn Graveyard shift I hadda work for a few years.....)

In 1999 I made a come-back, LIFE IS GOOD!, and bought a 2000 XL1200'S', put a quick 40,000 miles on it.

Then I bought a 2001 BMW R1150RA..... and promptly wrecked it with less than 350 miles on it. Stared at that ice/snow in the middle of the road while trying to navigate 'round it, tumbled, and did over $3,000 worth of damage to my new bike, again..... "target fixation".

Still averaging over 25,000 miles a year (with the exception of 1990-1999), riding crazed, riding in all kinds/types of weather........

and I've been lucky.

So what is that.... 37 years minus 9 years, only 28 years. Nope, can't say I've been riding thirty years with no get offs.
:ride
I ride, therefore I AM.

 

[afm199]

I have been riding since 1965 ( or 63 if you count Vespas). I have average a little under one crash a year. Most of them have been on the track. I rarely crash on the street, particularly in the last five or six years, my last street crash taught me a good lesson. Slow down and you won't crash. My days of fast street riding are over. Too easy to get hurt. That deer that jumped out in front of me was the event! Ouch that hurt.