No license... an invitation to a :rose.

[EastBayDave]

back in the day you started on a small bike & worked your way up. For me it was a "mini-bike" w/less than 10hp. Later it was a 50cc "Trail bike", then a 70cc, then a 90cc, then a 125cc, then a 350cc, then my first big-bike, a 500cc triple....

If you catch the drift. By the time I got up to the 500cc "big-HP-bike" I had already been thru 7 bikes of smaller power/weight/& HP. I had crashed enough in the dirt that I didn't want to crash anymore; especially on pavement. I was more prone to be careful than blast thru it by then...

Not anymore. Start @ 600 or 1100cc & see if you survive. Maybe that's why we been having so many deaths lately? Hmmm.....? :x :afm199

 

[motomania2007]

I got my first street bike when I was 18. Refused to get a license until i was 21. Ive ridden motorcycles competitively since the age of 5 and was not going to pay over $200 and 20 hours of my life in a classroom learning principles i had known for most of my life. Soon as i turned 21 went to the DMV and got my license no problem. I could see how some might say that "younger riders are more dangerous and therefor are required to take safety courses". But if i am able to go overseas to serve the military and potentially end my life, I have to be 21 in order to go and get my M1? Not in my book.

The most important points to learn for you that are offered in the course are not on the range. They are in the classroom.

You probably still need the classroom portion, even if you have been riding for 20 years because it explains survival in traffic in a way that helps you manage and survive. Not too many people understand the issues as well as they should without formal training.

I find that when I teach the intermediate classes to "experienced" riders, they are often clueless about how to ride a motorcycle and/or how to manage traffic threats.

It is simple, they do not understand what the threats are as well as they should so they do not perceive the threats and therefore, no matter how skilled they might be at riding, they fail to minimize the risks presented by those threats.

Too many people ignore the class at their own peril.

 

[bruceflinch]

^+1

 

[Schnellbandit]

Fast bikes are cheap and it seems the faster they are the cheaper they get. On CL you can get a 130mph bike for less money than the registration fees of a new car. Its extremely appealing just to get one for the thrill of it without bothering to get a proper license or any training.

I rode for over 4 decades and just a few years ago took the safety course when I needed to renew my license, just cause. I learned quite a bit. Over the year we tend to take things for granted and skills are one of them. We get sloppy or because we haven't slid along the road for longer than many people have lived, figure it wont happen to us, not with all the experience we have. Wrong!

The fact is that you never have to speed, ride without regard for others or have the front or back wheel in the air while riding on the road to have the time of your life.

Do the right things, get licensed, take training and ride like its the time of your life, not the time of your death.

 

[budman]

Do the right things, get licensed, take training and ride like its the time of your life, not the time of your death.

BadaBOOM!! :thumbup
I do believe that is the whole point of this thread.

 

[LittleBigGirl]

It doesn't seem like much has changed since 2009, at least from my personal perspective. I am not sure about today's 2017 data, but in 2013 it was still similar in terms of No licenses / no training / accidents and fatalities.

I was just in Road Rider (San Jose) and a young guy was trying on gear. I started chatting him up - he is getting his first bike this weekend. "What kind of bike?" I asked. "Either a GSXR-600 or an R6." :rolleyes

I said, "Jumping all in, eh?"

I just hope that young rider has gotten the training, or checks his ego at the door enough to say, 'Maybe I will just get this Ninja 250 to start...'

So.. a quick statistical fact or two that makes me just say wow.. :wtf

First of all.. sprotbiles make up less than 15% of motorcycle registrations in California, but we make up nearly 40% of fatalities.. does that speak to the ability of the bike vs. ours??

Another statistical hit to the head comes to our having licenses to ride.

- Overall, over 35% of motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes are not properly licensed. But when looking at operators under age 25, 60% are not properly licensed (up from 40% plus in 2000).

When you add both of these up.. sprotbiles with incredible technology and ability.. and us.. not licensed to ride and maybe not trained..I think you will see a tangable correlation.

By getting your license.. we assume we get a little training.. and add that to the fact that many younger folks are likely to climb on the best of the best type of machine and not get their license.. we have a recipe that is making for havoc.

If you don't have a license.. have not received training.. go do it.. PLEASE!!

Riding a bike takes skill, common sense.. and more..

How many would try to fly an F-16 without training????

I would not.. but after being trained.. cut me loose!!

This stuff is serious.. and when you are ready.. it is serious fun.

:smoking