Riding and Risks.

[chickenstrip]

A simple question.

Does the risk factor involved in riding motorcycles form any part of why you do it?

I wonder how many here would be able to put their hand on their heart and give a completely honest answer to that without caring what others would say about their answer. I even wonder if there will be some who are actually offended by that question, perhaps because it makes them consider that their chosen form of transport is not, and will never be, the safest way of taking to the roads. I think I have seen hints of such reactions here on BCF. But I hope you can be coldly analytical in any reply you give here.

So, to set the ball rolling, I'll give my answer to that question. Yes. Risk is life-affirming. Peering over the edge once in a while gives more meaning to this life, and if motorcycling is my access to that risk, rather than mountaineering, hang-gliding, bungee jumping or whatever else there is in which you can enjoy similar levels of risk, then so be it.

I hope I have learned to control things enough by now that when I take those risks, I'm not involving others in danger, by carefully choosing the times and places in which I "push" things a bit. Or at least, no more than anyone else who takes a motor vehicle out on the roads for the sheer enjoyment of it involves others in any kind of danger. And it's not all there is about riding bikes that keeps me doing it 30 plus years after I first took to the roads. But if I'm completely honest, risk and the associated adrenalin rush is still a big part of it for me.

Let battle commence!
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[rideslikean00...]

I'd say risk is just part of the package. If you have a vehicle that is smaller and more nimble than pretty much everything else on the road the temptation to use it will always be there and not all overtakes will be safe no matter how careful you are. The risks can be part of the fun, sure, but even a safe ride can be enjoyable.
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Previous/Current Bikes
2013 Yamaha YBR-125ED -> 1997 Yamaha YZF-1000R Thunderace -> 2009 Yamaha XJ-6 Diversion -> 2007 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer S2

[garth]

I don't mind the risk if I'm responsible for it, what I don't like is the thought of being seriously hurt from someone else being negligent or inept on the roads.

Time and a place for pushing your limits, that's on the track.

Does the risk factor involved in riding motorcycles form any part of why you do it?

I think I'd enjoy it more if the risk wasn't there, I wouldn't be slow because I wouldn't be worried about waking up dead when I hit that wall.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[Baffler186]

I got into bikes when I was very young, off-road, so the risk was not there when i acquired a taste for two wheels.*

Now, yes, there is somewhat of a thrill in it being more dangerous, but that's not why I ride. I ride because I like bikes and I like going fast sometimes.


*bikes were 125's, in flat fields, not very fast
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Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[stevo as b4]

I just like bikes, both riding them, working on them, and fantasizing over them. Risk is risk and that's all!
I like mountain biking at least as much as riding motorbikes, and often when I go out I ride without a helmet and alone in places like building sites, waste ground, and gravel pits.

I am a worrier though, but riding bikes is not as worrying to me as considering trying to jack up both ends of my car on a sloping drive.

Wish I wasn't such a worrier however as I'm 100% sure I would have achieved so much more in the first 30 years of my life if I just got on with things and stopped thinking about what could go wrong!

[TheArchitect]

For me risk is defined by how in control I am of what ever task I'm doing.

Making a cup of tea is risk free enough, but if you had to do it blindfolded you may end up scolding yourself. That's a risk because you're not in full control.

Point being, when I ride, I feel in control considering all factors before I set off therefore I don't think I'm taking any risks.

When I got knocked off recently it didn't dent my confidence one bit because I knew I did everything right there was nothing I could have done to avoid it.

TL;DR - Risk is defined by how in control you are of the situation you are in.
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GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
MT09 - Almost stolen

[CieL]

[MC]

The risk of getting injured and/or killed does not appeal to me in anyway, and even less so having had an accident and going through all the stress/pain.

However the endorphins released by riding quickly and pulling off an overtake, keep you coming back for more.

If there was a way to make biking safer, it wouldn't diminish the fun factor for me at all, in fact I'd probably be more likely to go for a ride.
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[stevo as b4]

I think if it was a simple adrenalin thing (not likely on a 125! ) Then I would prefer to be on the roof of a 20storey building and climb off the edge with a rope around me that would only let me fall say 20-30feet. I could then shit myself, climb back up the rope and go home to hide on the sofa with a hot milky drink, having had my fix of adrenalin.

I like riding bikes, listening to the sound of the engine, trying to pretend I know what I'm doing, and practicing the foot out cornering mad supermoto style when I'm down quiet country lanes where no one can see me! I even like just looking at the scenery go past like you would on a train.

The only time I like taking risks I guess is off road, where I sometimes say fuck it I can get over that rock or down a steep drop and I'm going to try even if I can't make it.

[chickenstrip]

[biker7]

Sports bikes or big cc's - not for the faint hearted. Adrenaline rush - you bet!
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Swansea area
Fat Bob (2019)

[Wednesday Biker]

When I go out I don't think there is any risk at all.
There is but not in my head there isn't.
I always go out assuming I wont come off.
I like speed but I'm too careful to ever push it or trust others these days.

[chickenstrip]

Thinking about those who say they enjoy the adrenaline rush, but would prefer there to be no risk - surely if there were no risk, and you rode often enough, you'd get no adrenaline rush? Ok, if you bungee jump for a couple of times, you get that kick. But if you do it every day, surely you'd lose that as you get used to it? Because you know there is no risk, or at least, if everything is set up properly and professionally, it's minimal? The risk in riding bikes fast is always going to be there though. You can armour up, you can confine it to the track. But people still get killed or seriously injured doing it.
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[mattyfattyboo...]

I'm not interested in getting hurt, it doesnt thrill me. I know some people like it, me and a mate have very different thoughts about a trip out on the bikes. I like a ride, give it some stick and I like to push myself a little but not at the expense of my life or limbs, my aim above everything else is to arrive at the end, ideally the right way up. While until recently my mate liked to see how close he could get to death as many times as he could along the way. If he got to the end it's a bonus. He has chilled out a bit of late, hopefully that will continue into next season. It's all well and good saying 'yeah yeah I'd rather die doing something on my bike than from cancer' but in reality you'll want to have a decent run first, not aged 24.

Personally, if there was no risk I'd be happier but thats life, nothing is I guess. I accept the risks and do as much as I can to minimise them.

[Wednesday Biker]

If I get any buzz its opening it up on straights.
Proper straight line merchant me
In my younger days things were different but now I don't find myself riding anywhere near as aggressively.I can sit behind cars for miles now.Never used to.

[notbike]

I don't enjoy the risk factor in motorcycling. I enjoy the ride itself.

But here's a train of thought.. Assuming there was no risk factor in riding, you couldn't become skilled at riding, or the opposite would be true in that everybody would be at the maximum skill level possible. It'd just be easy to be the best rider by default because you wouldn't have to be worried about pushing any limits, because there are no limits. For limits to exist there needs to exist consequences of going over those limits, and when you eliminate risk, it means you're eliminating the probability of attaining a consequence by going over a limit. So by having no risk, you have no limit because there are no consequences because there is no risk of consequences. Anybody could then push their bike and their ride to the maximum attainable skill level.

Anyway the risky stuff is not a part of riding that excites me in the least, and I try my best when I'm not being a dick to reduce my risk as much as I can. Nobody should really look forward to "How many near misses can I have today!" even if you do get a buzz out of surviving a near miss/crash.

[chickenstrip]

[Old Git Racing]

You asked for a simple answer, then for me it would be no. But I don't think its as simple as that, as Joe Simpson said it's hard to explain.
I've climbed to quite a decent standard in my younger days both on rock and ice. I've ridden bikes for 40 years non stop virtually and raced bikes to a championship winning standard but the risk factor has never been a motivation or a reason for doing either.
This is the conundrum because obviously there is risk (3 people have died at meetings I've been at and I even got rescued off Cairngorm one time so risk is evidently there.
For me the risk is part of the calculation and is accepted as such, therefore it isn't really a risk. For example Over a race season I would budget for 5 offs, 3 helmets, bike bits etc. 2 my fault, 3 being brought off by others and this is how it usually panned out. Pretty risky? Not to me, more inevitable if you want to win so the risk is accepted and dismissed as part of it.
The motivation for me was winning, getting better and faster, the adrenalin comes from that.
On the road I ride in a way that most people I know and ride with sometimes would consider to be way too fast and risky. Not to me it isn't. I'm in control, the risks have been calculated accepted and put out of the mind in order to fully concentrate on the task at hand - blatting the shit out of my 999 and feeling the flow.
I've tried to give a completely honest answer. To me risk isn't life affirming, overcoming fear of it is. Step over the edge a few times instead of peering over and accept the consequences of your actions.

OGR
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2022 Tiger Sport 660 2019 Street Twin 2003 K3 gixxer 1000 1998 Srad 600 track hack

[Minty]

I do it to get into ladies panties and now I am in them, they feel great.
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My fingers smell of your mum.

[MC]

[Commuter_Tim]

Occasional adrenaline rush. (Admittely that is sometimes due to dickheads trying to wipe me out, so yeah I guess the risk is part of it)
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The above post is most likely nonsensical.

I ride a Bandit 600... badly.

[Iain.]

[UncleFester]

Risk schmisk.

Do enough miles on anything / in anything you're statistically more likely to have some kind of accident. Doesn't matter what you're in - there's usually something bigger / heavier / more dangerous. Then it comes down to luck and nothing more.

You can make your own luck by looking out / being careful/ not being where you shouldn't / making good decisions. I don't think that riding a bike is necessarily any more dangerous, how you choose to ride, where you ride and when you ride make the difference.

Much like now .. i'm off work until the new year, I want to go out on the bike but my head says it's cold / greasy and people are driving like cnuts so if i want to go out ... it's the car and the bike can wait until i can enjoy it again.

I guess ultimately it comes down to whether you have to ride or not - I don't and I took my test with that in mind, for me it's a fun thing only.

TL;DR - fair weather fun biker and no interest in pushing the shit weather skills
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2017 Z1000SX

[chickenstrip]

[Teflon-Mike]