When friends ask advice to ignore it

[Ribo]

I ask about this here because I'm new to having people ask me for bike advice, as I'm relatively new to bikes myself. Been on two wheels for the past 2 and a half years and watching friends pick it up now, too. But this one guy in particular worries me! On one hand, he's an adult and not my kid or anything, but on the other hand, he looked up to me for advice on the stuff up until I told him to get a safe helmet and jacket. The guy literally asked "why do people wear boots when they ride? I'm just gonna wear my vans..." And I just googled a picture of someone's foot without skin to show him. I even offered to pay for his MSF course because he was like "I'll probably do that eventually, after I'm riding for a while..."

I mostly ride with old guys, the ones who wear all the gear every time, and say things like "dress for the slide, not for the ride" and "I'd rather sweat than bleed!" When I got my first motorbike a few years ago I wanted to look cool, and didn't think about safety, but was lucky enough to have mentors pound that out of my head with these kinds of sayings, and then it really stuck after I laid the bike down the second time.

So this kid wants to buy a $25 spray painted 3/4 helmet off of Craig's list, and wear a denim vest with vans and sunglasses because he sees Instagram pics of guys on choppers doing that. If you were in my position would you continue to beat the dead safety horse, or just wait to hear about his first crash and say "I told you so" when he's the coolest looking guy in the hospital?

Good work caring mate. I think it's very commendable for someone that's been riding for a few years to have the attitude you do and it's clear you have had some good guys around you to keep you with us. I've been riding for 15 years and I can tell you that I'll take advice from anyone cos I've met idiots that have been on 2 wheels for longer than me that take stupid risks and guys like you that have been riding for only a few years that have their head on right. Staying upright and enjoying riding is about being an adult mentally, as well as physically and sometimes you just can't teach that.

Now I ride older bikes I generally ride in a good leather jacket with padding, good boots and gloves. The rest I'm ok with unless I'm going on a long ride then I'll put on protective pants too but it really is a personal choice just like anything in life. I will admit to riding down to the corner store in just a helmet and T-shirt but this is rare and cos I don't do it all the time I'm naturally super cautious. What you generally ride wearing, you become comfortable riding in, and more and more comfortable taking more and more risks.. that's the nature of riding that you have to be conscious of and let the grown man inside your head keep in check.

I communed on sportsbikes in central London for 5 years and I wore full race leathers and full face helmet 100% of the time but back then we'd do 140MPH on the highway which was far less dangerous than navigating the taxi drivers and stock-traders on vespa's when we hit central London.

This kid you're talking about (and I'm referring to his mental age) is going to take a fall at some point. Just do three things - 1-always ride infront of him if you're out together. 2 - hope it's one where he hurts himself enough but not permanently, 3 - ask him now what his blood-type is and store it in your phone. There comes a time when you can only lead by example. No one wants their friends to take risks that they themselves wouldn't - it's human nature - but whether or not it's acceptable to try and stop your friends from doing it comes down to society and accepted norms.. just look at smoking and drink driving. It used to be that no-one would dare stop a friend from getting behind the wheel drunk, cos everyone did it, and frankly there are lots of places in the world where they still do. In my area I get funny looks when I go out on my mountain bike to the store without a cycle helmet and someone once even had the minerals to tell me to wear one - I told them to f*ck-off".

 

[AndrewDoesHair]

Please don't take this the wrong way as I don't know your story but I'm not sure I'd take riding advice period from someone who has layed a bike down twice in a few years. Just wouldnt as they havent really proven they have it figured out either...again dont know your story so not meant personally.

As far as safety gear goes I think a lot of it is relative...there are days I ride with full face helmet, armor and boots, but there are also days I cruise around in a tshirt and loafers. All depends on the type of riding I plan on doing. I'm aware a car can pull out in front of me at anytime but I would wager that every single rider on this forum who has rode more than two years has ridden there bike in the same manner. If your friend is embracing the "lifestyle" then maybe he really only needs basic cruising safety gear. I'd personally try to continue to be a good example and hope he picks up on it over time.

First spill didn't count. It was literally the first time I have ever ridden a motorcycle, maybe 30 seconds into the experience. I was going slow, like 18 mph, and rode over a patch of loose gravel, when my back wheel lost traction for half a second, and the feeling made me panic and just sort of- fall over. My mind was full and busy trying to remember which hand was clutch and which was brake, stuff that becomes muscle memory, but after a whole 30 seconds of riding, hadn't yet. So when something didn't feel right I just stopped thinking and the next thing I knew I was on the ground.

The second spill I will blame a stack of factors, which were ultimately under my control, but I made the wrong choice on at least one of them. I was tired, trying to keep up behind a very experienced friend down a twisty road I'd never been on, and I had been neglecting to repair a sticky throttle that happened to get stuck going into a blind turn. Adrenaline shot up when I realized I was going a bit too fast for that turn, and like the rookie I am, I looked at what was outside of the turn, to see what I was going to crash into if I didn't make it, then of course I went straight to the outside of the turn and bounced up the rounded curb, where there was loose gravel for 15-20 feet before a wall. I knew I'd have zero chance of braking in the gravel, so I just dumped the bike on it's side and jumped off. Was wearing a good armored jacket, boots, gloves, and Arai helmet. Scraped up my hip and knees, got a cool bruise up my whole side, broke my front fender and speedometer, and learned a valuable lesson.

I agree with you that I shouldn't be giving anyone advice, that's why I came here to check with The Counsel of Ton Doers.

I'm not going to tell him anything else about it. If he asks for advice on riding gear again, I'll tell him "you know what I think."

 

[Ribo]

Dude, I think you should give people advice - when it's asked for and people that know you, so long as it's sound advice If you've been riding almost every day for 2 and a half years that a lot more actual riding and experience than I lot of folks I know that claim to have been riding for 6 years but only ride at the weekend or "when it's nice outside".

 

[o1marc]

Against his mothers advice a friend of mine bought a bike and within one week had his first and last accident on a bike. He broke both wrists severely after T-boning a parked car. He was taking it rather well in the hospital until I asked him who was going to wipe his ass for the next 3 months. That's when he broke down in tears. He never rode again.