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!

Voluntary organ donors, they call them in my country.
My husband (75 yo) had one thirty years ago and still says it was the most enjoyable (and dangerous) stuff he did.
Depends on OP's husband's attitude.

I think the question is how would he behave when riding a bike?

I rode a MC, my OH rode a MC as did my Ddad, DadIL, brothers & sister. Even my Dmum was known to have gone for an illicit ride back in the day!
Between us we have a couple of centuries of experience and none of us ever came to any harm other than a few bumps & grazes. Being in bike clubs however we all knew people who were killed or injured and just sometimes (although not exclusively) it was down to their (inappropriate) behaviour.

Riding a bike itself is not inherently dangerous, it is how you ride, how you dress, how aware you are of your surroundings, other road users, conditions & wildlife (a friend of mine was killed when a dear ran out in front of him).

Have to admit that the roads are not the places they used to be, even my OH (who hung up his helmet a couple of years ago after 45yrs as a daily rider) said he does not miss it at all.
I have not had a MC for a few years now but hanker for getting back on one however us who are a bit short in the leg are massively restricted on the MC we can ride, I have never found a suitable one over 500cc that I could safely straddle.

My husband has 3 motorbikes (Adventure, dirtbike and 90s retro racing thing) and is currently looking for another.

I go on the back of his Adventure bike all the time and love it. He's 50 and been riding for 34 years.

Life is for living

Agree. I want to start but I'm a short arse. So husband suggested a Honda grom 125.

It’s the other motorists that put me off and not just the fact that he only used it 10 times in four years.
In the end I persuaded him to get a (decent) sports car, instead, so we could both enjoy it.
He’s not looked back!

Unless you’re comfortably off he might find the insurance crippling. My dh did when he wanted a bike so he didn’t buy one.

I was a big biker and a motorcycle instructor.
They legally need training these days.
Statistics show most accidents caused to bikers are by car / lorry drivers not seeing the biker... so being alert is most important.
Protective reflecting clothing always.

They make leather bike suits with airbags inside them. In a crash, they inflate before the rider hits the ground. Absolute genius bit of kit.

Imo, motorbikes are not intrinsically dangerous, but a safe rider needs far more alertness, better peripheral vision, better reading of the road etc than all but the very best car drivers.

The late Mr Lakie rode bikes regularly for 44 years, including a few years as a bike courier and spells where he was doing a 50 mile motorway commute daily. Apart from a couple of spills when he was learning, he only had one accident, when a car pulled out as he was passing it, and never had another in his remaining 40 years. His brother, who used to race a bit and do track days, has a similar safety record.

If your DH isn't a twat, is a skilled and alert driver, is prepared to do a Bikesafe or similar course, and the money isn't an issue (bikes and all the gear are expensive), I wouldn't try and stop him. But if he's like my friend's DH, who got done for doing 130 in a 70 on a notoriously dangerous stretch of dual carriageway, then he's clearly not cut out for being a decent motorcyclist and shouldn't even think about it.

Assuming you’re in the UK OP. Does DH have a motorcycle license?
Has he ridden before?
Does he know the steps to get a license?
How is he as a car driver? Patient, in no rush ?

Has he looked at the prices of bikes these days?

Is heading into the winter the best time to be spending money on a bike?

They are fun! We go all over Europe on the big bike

I have the best level of protection gear to stack into my favour but ultimately all of life is a risk, you have to weigh up whether it's a risk worth it for you. I would remind you that plenty of more risky hobbies

Just get good insurance. And make sure you have fun doing what you enjoy too.

I should also add the the motorbiking community is such fun, our club has kids (obviously they don't ride) through to elderly former riders on mobility scooters, everyone is welcome. Lots of camping, drinking (not if riding!!!) live music etc.

s
will tell you the numbers about death on a motorbike. Only death, not paraplegia or worse. Going 6 miles on a motorbike carries the same risk of death as going 15 miles on a cycle: 1 in a million. So a 600 mile m/c trip gives you a chance of 1 in 10,000 of dying. Doing 6,000 miles in a year: 1 in 1,000.

My husband rode motorbikes all of his life without any issues. He loved his bikes and his rides and I knew he was as safe as he could be around other road users.
Of course I worried about him when he went on long journeys, etc but I would never have tried to stop him.
His biker friends rode his bikes as part of the cortege at his funeral.

sanityisamyth · Today 13:16

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

I'll reiterate what others have pointed out: bikes and riding are not inherently dangerous, it's everyone else on the road. You do need to develop a 6th sense for what other drivers will do and it'll make him a better car driver.

To start with he will only be allowed to ride a 125 motorbike and will have to pass his CBT test which is an online theory test and a practical one which is not easy nowadays gone are the days when you passed one test and could ride any size bike , then he has to wait a certain amount of time before he can take his MOD 1 which goes to a 500cc bike , so by the time he is up to the big bikes he will or should be a competent rider, we have a 7ft Honda cruiser and i love being on the back of it, OH Has been riding bikes 54 years

@LakieLady "If your DH isn't a twat, is a skilled and alert driver, is prepared to do a Bikesafe or similar course, and the money isn't an issue (bikes and all the gear are expensive), I wouldn't try and stop him. But if he's like my friend's DH, who got done for doing 130 in a 70 on a notoriously dangerous stretch of dual carriageway, then he's clearly not cut out for being a decent motorcyclist and shouldn't even think about it."

This is it. Motorcycles are capable of accelerating like nothing you've ever experienced (even a fairly middle of the road one like the SV650 I had, which would do 0-60 in about 3 seconds) however, just because it can, doesn't mean he will, and being able to get out of a situation quickly can be useful. In any case, the first stage is the CBT on a 125CC bike (max speed 60 mph) which gives you the go -ahead to ride on the road with an L-plate.
After that would be the DAS which if he passes he'll have a full license, but this is more involved that the car test as it includes a test of manoevres / slow speed riding, etc to test fine control. That would be on a 600cc bike, which sounds like a lot but I found this much more comfortable than the 125 as it's heavier and feels much more secure.
There's more to it than L-Plate > Hayabusa > Mortuary.

We've had that knock on the door from the police in the middle of the night saying to get to the hospital asap. I hate even the sound of motorbikes now and know just how dangerous they are. It's not even the rider it's other people on the roads that don't see them.

My Dad taught me that when I'm riding, I should assume that (i) i am invisible and (ii) other motorists are all total fuckwits. It absolutely makes you a better car driver, in terms of awareness and anticipation. I honestly think everyone should do it just for the experience.

Urgh. This is so tricky I would be devastated if my DP got a bike but you obviously can't tell him 'no'. I would tell him how you feel and appeal to him to change his mind and hope he did.

Speaking as a former motorcyclist with over a million miles under my belt (just not got a bike at the moment), my advice is let him but insist
a) he only ever rides his bike with full leathers which have armour and inflatable airbag, as well as bright/hi viz colours, ditto bright helmet. You have to assume other road users will not see you. .

b) he only ever rides his bike with leather gloves with knuckle protection
c) he only ever rides his bike with proper motorcycle boots with ankle protection.

Whatever the weather. No matter how hot and sunny. Even if a short jorney. No sleeveless anything. No shorts. No bare hands. Makes me cringe when I see it.

My worst injury was the very hot sunny day I decided to jump on the bike in shoes, not boots, for a 2 minute trip, and through no fault of my own ended up skidding down the road on my ankle. Luckily I had my leathers on, just wish I'd bothered with my boots!

He could also, after passing test if he hasn't already got his bike licence, take www.rospa.com/safety-training/on-road/motorcycle-training-courses/rospa-advanced-motorcycle-test

Hollowgast · Today 16:15

My Dad taught me that when I'm riding, I should assume that (i) i am invisible and (ii) other motorists are all total fuckwits. It absolutely makes you a better car driver, in terms of awareness and anticipation. I honestly think everyone should do it just for the experience.

Yes! My instructor said to me (gulp! 30 years ago!)

"That Audi coming off the roundabout is indicating left, what does that mean?"

Erm, he's leaving the roundabout?

"No, it means that his indicator light is working and he wants you to move onto the roundabout and kill you."

ah yes i remeber my EH wanting a motorbike too! what it did take a bit longer to realise was that he didn't actually want a motorbike... he wanted a divorce!

Playing rugby and horse riding is as dangerous as riding a motor cycle. Lots of thing are more dangerous in fact but you don't hear people telling a rugby player they are organ donors. He's a grown man, if you can afford it and he's not going to neglect his family as a result then I don't see why you should object.

Tht's a great question; I had that on my first ever driving lesson, my 17th birthday. He asked "Look at this car coming from the right. He's indicating into our road, what does this mean?"
The correct answer was "the bulb works". Nothing else.