Filed under: Etc., Transportation Alternatives
Jeremy Clarkson on motorbikes: "You will be killed!"
When Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson was recently photographed riding near his Oxfordshire home on a Vespa, it caused a minor uproar. That's because Clarkson has long had a rather derisive attitude toward two-wheeled conveyances. Seeing Clarkson on a scooter caused some observers to accuse him of hypocrisy. It turns out the reason that Jezza was on a two wheeler had to do with the current situation with fuel prices and the move by many drivers to down size. Being a "responsible" motoring journalist, Clarkson felt it was his duty to investigate the ramifications of the two wheel switch.
So, off he went to take the test that would allow him to legally ride on a scooter followed by a proper on-road evaluation of the Vespa. Clarkson goes on to describe the vagaries of shifting, steering and braking on a two wheel vehicle. It turns out that by Clarkson's calculations, riding a scooter is not inexpensive even though a Vespa only costs £3,499. By the time you add in the requisite leather, helmet, coffin, headstone, cremation, flowers, etc, it gets pretty pricey. It seems the bottom line is that no matter what you do, "you will be killed." Maybe we should just walk.
[Source: Times of London]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 11:58AM (10/20/2008)
I own a kawasaki ninja since 7 years now and i never take it to work because i only ride it in the country and i almost never go in town with it, why risk an accident and its only for pleasure and a ride in town especially for going to work is pain in the a&s. And in canada the riding season is 5 months. Imagine you go to work and it's sunny then at the end of the day it's raining and you are tire... Prefer to die then going downsizing.
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jon 12:11PM (10/20/2008)
doubleyou tee eff. i've been commuting on a scooter in a big city on and off for years now, and i have friends doing the same thing. city riding is so much nicer than country riding because of the low speeds and attentive drivers (relatively speaking). the secret: ride aggressively, take up space, assume everyone on the road is a split second away from doing the stupidest thing possible.
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Woodenbee 1:35PM (10/20/2008)
JC is not a journalist, he's an auto industry stooge, surrogate, salesmen whatever, his show is an infomercial, so he had to scramble to make up something for this gaff. Anyway he's no friend of alternative vehicles as far as I can tell, the best thing he ever did was blow up a corvette with a helicopter gunship, that was cool
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JamesWB 7:54AM (10/21/2008)
No, blowing up the 'vett was was just idiotic.
Does anyone other than total morons take anything JC says seriously?
Sree 5:45PM (10/20/2008)
Atlast The Grand old Jeremy had to buckle down to the Greens and High gas prices.. The guy who would never touch a green car or criticize people who opt for greener options has finally given in on the truth .. how long u hypocrite u could have waited..
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Ernest 12:30PM (2/27/2009)
jeremy, if you don't like a harley, then you just don't understand.
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