Husband wants a motorbike

[Tiamaria86]

Husband wants to get a motorbike. He has always wanted one to be fair but I hate them!

AIBU to be so against it. I'd be worried sick every time he was out on it!

They’re called donor bikes for a reason

Get him an organ donation card....

Even my DS10 calls motorcyclists "organ donors". They're bloody lethal.

I wouldn’t appreciate being told no by my husband if I wanted a bike.

He's an adult. He doesn't need anyone's permission. My husband had a motorbike for 15+ years, and it was fine. It would never have occurred to me to try to stop him - everyone needs hobbies, and actually it was also really convenient for his commute.

My husband was like this. It became clear he was going to do it, so I had a choice. I decided to join them rather than beat them, and I got my own licence and my own bike. If he’s set on it, you need to decide if you can deal with it, or not. If you give him an ultimatum be prepared to act on it. But he’s a grown man who has his own mind.

I’d feel the same. My parents were both into motorbikes and in their younger years were in, and witnessed multiple accidents. Theyre not worth the risk IMO

Make sure he has decent life insurance is about all you can do

For what it's worth I haven't told him no. He would be using his own money and obviously he is an adult and can do what he wants. I have told him how I feel about them though.

Get decent life assurance and personal accident insurance - life-changing accidents are more common than outright fatalities. And make sure he has a will, POA and that you know all the details of finances etc - then if anything does happen, you will be prepared (and hopefully never needed)

It's something that happens in mid-life, they are known as "born again bikers" for a reason! What put at least one person I know off was working out cost per use - add to gather the costs of buying, maintaining, insuring, taxing, feeling for a year, and the be honest about actually how many journeys he would use it for - ie not to work, not when any of the family were with him, not in bad weather ... depends to some extent whether his social group are also bikers, if not, you can add going out with mates to that last list.

Fuelling not feeling!

Probably not the best time of year TBH, but mental health benefits are recognised.

Not unreasonable to be against him wanting one but he’s also not unreasonable for wanting one.

My husband wanted a motorbike. My son wanted a motorbike- so we all got motorbikes and now ride together. I wad dead set against them but its tge best thing I ever did!

It's a scientific fact that motorbikes are awesome. if he rides sensibly and defensively then the chances of an accident are much reduced. Bikes do what you tell them to, unlike horses which can hurl you off its back causing paraplegia just because it saw a leaf.

YANBU I feel the same about them. My DDad recently sold his and I was so relieved about it.

My husband has had bikes since he was 14. He's got 3 at the moment. Most of the times, it's the other people on the road who are dangerous ,not the biker themselves. My DH is a safe rider,but every time he goes out on his bike, he comes back telling me about some idiot who has nearly knocked him off or pulled out in front of him.

I would be suggesting as much mitigation as possible - advanced safety courses, MIPS helmets, proper leathers, airbag. And making sure you're on top of insurance as someone said.

I loved riding around on my Dad's motorbike when I was a kid. It's some of my favourite memories with him. The nice rides, and the funny fails, like when I forgot to close my visor, let go to do it on a motorway and fell off into a ditch. Had to run down and meet him at a services 😂

I don't have one as an adult because I've got a (totally unrelated) spinal injury, which means it'd be a bad idea for me, but if I decided I wanted one, I don't think I'd take kindly to my husband deciding that I couldn't have one.

Everything is a risk. You choose which ones you're happy to take. In my experience, the enjoyment of a motorbike is absolutely worth the risk; which you minimise anyway.

Would you be against him buying a horse?

An airbag on a motorbike seems an insane concept, does it not just give the rider a boost as they go flying through the air after crashing?
It'd be a deal-breaker for me OP. I wouldn't want to be married to someone who'd do something so dangerous, so he'd be welcome to buy the bike.

Yes they are dangerous, but if he is an adult who knows the risks then back off, i say

The airbag is actually an air vest. It deploys as you leave the bike and inflates around the rider. It's not attached to the bike in any way.

Do you have kids? And very very good insurance?

That's wild, thanks, I didn't know that.

The airbag isn't attached to the bike (unless it's something like a Honda Goldwing, but I doubt he's going straight to one of those as it's the motorcycle equivalent of a Rolls Royce Phantom)
The airbag is a system that you wear like a lifejacket. When it detects a collision it inflates incredibly fast and offers pritection to the torso, spine and neck. There a video on them here: https://bering-moto.com/en_GB/page/airbag-protection-motorcyclists