AutoblogGreen

It's also easier to die on a motorcycle. Florida bugs? Florida rainy season? What a retarded article.

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I'll stick with my Prius thanks. There's something to be said for automatic climate control, comfortable leather seats, and a smooth and quiet ride. Oh yeah, and the airbags and seatbelts are kinda nice too.

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It took about 4 days in the hospital, but I was permanently cured of riding motorcycles.

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Motorcycles and scooters pollute more than hummers. They don't have to live up to the same emission standards. While I love my motorcycle and it gets great gas mileage, I know it has worse emissions than my car.

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It took about 4 days in the hospital, but I was permanently cured of riding a motorcycle.

ABG posting seems to be kinda glitchy today -- I hope this doesn't turn out to be a double post (the first attempt appeared to fail).

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I think this is worth noting. A motorcycle is actually a pretty good blend of thrifty and fun - even this 30 hp bike accelerates you to 60 in 5.7 seconds and returns a 14.6 second quarter mile. For someone like me who would love to have some fun while not lugging around 4000 lbs and a V8, it is a great thought.

Being efficient doesn't have to mean being lame, boring, and unattractive. And, my dad is a cop and has seen countless motorcycle accidents with body parts all over the road, but if you buy one of these things to scoot around town and don't drive it like a doofus, it seems like a great alternative to a scooter or bicycle, because it gets you where you need to go quickly, efficiently, and in style.

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Well from a environmental standpoint - Two wheels have two stories - 1) Older bikes didn't meet emissions standards; however, 2) newer bikes DO meet emission standards.

So that polluting worse than a hummer crap is untrue (as you already probably thought it was, but repeated it anyway). Almost every new bike/scoot from a reputable manufacturer can be sold in California. While there are some exceptions, bikes and scoots are incredibly eco-friendly. Our family shares a modern four stroke 150cc Vespa.

My wife and I ride the Scoot whenever and everywhere we can. Why move two tons of metal when 400 lbs (scoot included) will do nicely thank you very much. Errands that are too far to walk or bike. Plus I now ride the scoot on my commute to work on most days.

If the cagers* would just get off their damn cellphones, pay attention and drive their cars, the roads would be a lot safer for riders and cagers alike.

Riding is fun and uses less gas, emits less carbon and with the modern engines is incredibly clean. With the proper education (take a MSF safety course) and gear (ATGATT**) you can saefly enjoy your "sacrifice" for the environment. I know I do. Try peeling my smile off each time I fill up for $5 (I get ~65 mpg - and that is low for a modern scoot - most get around 80 mpg).

* Term used for Drivers by Riders.
** All The Gear, All The Time - a motto. What you wear is all that will protect you. (So gear up, even on a scoot, because physics doesn't care if you were riding a scoot or bike - a 60 mph crash will hurt).

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Bikes have different emission standards than cars and trucks. They are not held to the same standard.

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"Bikes have different emission standards than cars and trucks."
True, but there are standards.
I think the main thing people forget about this is volume.
Emissions are measured in PPM, parts per million.
That means for a sample of a certain size, say a liter, how many parts of that sample are pollutants?
If you have a 3.0 liter car engine running at 3000rpm, your total exhaust volume is 3 times that of a 500cc bike engine at 6000rpm. So even if the PPM emissions of the 500cc are twice that of the 3.0L, the total emissions are less.

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Scooters need proper training as well, it's just not required.

I love that I can flog my bike and it still gets 35mpg

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I have an older Honda Hurricane - awesome bike, small engine, gets 82mpg and boy is it fun to ride. I completely went through it this winter and rebuilt it from the ground up. I put a newer 500cc engine in it and tuned it for mpg rather than speed and it is a blast to ride. Bikes are as safe as cars - that is, if everyone drives with courtesy and riders wear gear. If I can go over twice as far in a gallon of gas on my bike, how am I polluting more? Even if it spews out more ppm of carbon, it is STILL more economical and "green."

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The Ninja 250 is a hoot. Although watch out for the prices -- $3K is MSRP but its almost impossible to buy one at that price -- dealers make almost no profit at $3K so they're really good at taking on fees. A survey on a ninja forum when I was looking for one showed actual out the door new prices of $3500-$5K. Used prices tend to be higher, too, especially when gas prices are high. Out here in CA it seems like the going price is about $2K for good one regardless of year.

Its a fun, light, small, easy bike, but as with any motorcyce it helps to have training. Take the motorcycle safety course, its invaluable. www.msf-usa.org/

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And after the massive head/spinal trauma reduces you to a persistant vegetative state, your heirs can remove your feeding tube and fight over all that money you saved!

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I have to give these guys credit.

http://lifeisaroad.com/stories/2004/10/27/theDarkSide.html

http://lifeisaroad.com/stories/2006/02/10/darkWingdarksideGoldWingcarTireOnAGoldWing.html

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If you want to survive on a motorcycle, just remember what you learned in HS physics class, "Don't get in the path of large moving objects". I have ridden on the streets since 1975 and never had a serious injury. I almost died in an car several times. Just drive with you brain in gear, not your ego.

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If people are sensible, they're ok. And part of that is knowing when a bike is too much for you. You are far better off with a smaller bike that you can pick up, push around, etcetera, than with a big hog - generally speaking. If you ride a big hog, you should be able to bench press at least 200 lbs 15 times. Learn to handle the bike, and don't go like a bat out of hell on blind curves - you'll be alright. And stay warm. Hypothermia can creep up on you, and if it does, you won't have good judgment.

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In response to the gentleman above who said his father was cop
and got to see body parts on the road after motorcycle crashes,
has he ever seen body parts after a car crash,
if you ride a motorcycle ride SOBER, take riders course, use
split vision high aim steering looking for probelms a mile down
the road, in deer areas go slow, get a loud horn change that
anemic unit out for one that HONKS! don't ride faster than
your garidian angel can fly and have a barrell of FUN.

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