Middle Aged Men on Motorbikes

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Emp_FabEmp_Fab Frets: 24211
Specifically big bore twins with straight pipes and very little silencing.  Every single one of the fuckers just HAS to blip the throttle to attract attention.  "Look at MEEE, I'm still a man!  Don't write me off yet!".

The bastard things are stupidly and unnecessarily noisy to start with, but that's not enough for Mr Mid-Life-Crisis.  Nooo... he can't just ride in a straight line with a steady throttle, he has to blip it to announce to everyone that he's there with an ear-splitting blast of 1200cc of never-actually-used power with the clutch in.

Fucking tools.  You don't see that behaviour from proper bikers on proper bikes, even if they are middle aged.
Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
Also chips are "Plant-based" no matter how you cook them.
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Comments

  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    viz said:
    LOL.
    There is a good argument for blipping the throttle, which is that people tune out a sound if it is the same pitch and fail to tell the direction of it.

    It is why emergency services have sirens that are more than one pitch- you can more easily locate them.
    Blipping the throttle when filtering is smart because it alerts people that you are coming up from behind (oo-err missus).
    I agree that some people do it just to be knobs.

    The real issue here is Emp is just grumpy because he lacks the balls to get back on a bike.
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  • cruxiformcruxiform Frets: 2533
    edited July 2017
    Emp_Fab said:

    Fucking tools.  You don't see that behaviour from proper bikers on proper bikes, even if they are middle aged.
    Definitely not. *whistles* 

    Joking aside, now I'm 48 I get the 'mid life crisis' accusations aimed at me from time to time and I've been riding since the age of 13. I still can't resist hitting the redline in a tunnel though.
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  • vasselmeyervasselmeyer Frets: 3665
    I believe those who take up such an activity in middle age are also known by A&E staff as "organ donors in-waiting". 
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    I believe those who take up such an activity in middle age are also known by A&E staff as "organ donors in-waiting". 
    That is all motorcyclists.
    It is true that you have a greater likelihood of being killed on a bike than in a car but also most motorcyclists don't die on a bike.
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  • hotpothotpot Frets: 845
    Teeth might be a problem.       Old man loses his dentures while riding his motorcycle
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16256
    edited July 2017
    I believe those who take up such an activity in middle age are also known by A&E staff as "organ donors in-waiting". 
    I did my CBT as part of my mid life crisis and it convinced me that all I'd be doing was turning mid life into end of life. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • underdogunderdog Frets: 8334
    Alternatively in middle age they can finally afford the family car they need and the motor bike they had wanted for the last 20 years.

    I always love the mid life crisis digs at people in a nice car on a nice bike, it's more than likely the first time in their life they can afford such a luxury item now kids have grown up, mortgage is paid etc.
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  • vasselmeyervasselmeyer Frets: 3665
    I believe that for every mile you drive, you are 27 times more likely to die on a motorbike than in a car. That seems a high price to pay for "fun". Even if y are the most responsible of riders, it's the other drivers you need to worry about. 
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  • underdogunderdog Frets: 8334
    I believe that for every mile you drive, you are 27 times more likely to die on a motorbike than in a car. That seems a high price to pay for "fun". Even if y are the most responsible of riders, it's the other drivers you need to worry about. 

    You could spend your life decreasing your odds of death, don't smoke, don't drink, don't eat red meat, don't cross the road, don't leave the house even, in the end you still die.

    Each person is different, but you have to decide at what point your life has a chance of being longer but missing the enjoyment of being alive 
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  • Jimbro66Jimbro66 Frets: 2419
    octatonic said:

    The real issue here is Emp is just grumpy...............

    No change there then. I have the feeling Emp writes to his MP a lot.
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  • TheBigDipperTheBigDipper Frets: 4722
    I believe that for every mile you drive, you are 27 times more likely to die on a motorbike than in a car. That seems a high price to pay for "fun". Even if y are the most responsible of riders, it's the other drivers you need to worry about. 
    All of this is statistically true, but, "Whilst we're alive, let's live!"

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  • cruxiformcruxiform Frets: 2533
    edited July 2017
    I believe that for every mile you drive, you are 27 times more likely to die on a motorbike than in a car. That seems a high price to pay for "fun". Even if y are the most responsible of riders, it's the other drivers you need to worry about. 
    Couldn't give a fuck. Life's all about taking risks. I could sit at home pondering all of the possible outcomes of riding a motorcycle or get out there and enjoy myself on my bike. Which I do, and have done for many years. If I was to die on my bike at least I'd be happy doing something I loved.

    I had 2 close friends who died at the ages of 35 and 41 of cancer and of a brain tumour. This (often shit) life flashes by and I'm all for seizing the day. 
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  • ronnybronnyb Frets: 1742
    I've had bikes off and on all my life since passing my test at 17 but I don't think i'll be getting another. Would really like one but the roads are just too congested. I had a head on crash with a car when I was 18, went over the handlebars, hit the windscreen and somersaulted right over the car, landing behind it and walked off without a scratch. Don't think that would be the case now. Whenever you see a group of bikers out together on a Sunday they do seem to be old men. Young lads don't seem to be into bikes any more and I suspect it's the training you have to do to get a licence and the cost of it all.     
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  • chillidoggychillidoggy Frets: 17136
    My mate's an ambulance driver, and maintains that bikers can be segregated into two categories:- Those that have fallen off, and those that are going to fall off.



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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    edited July 2017
    cruxiform said:
    I believe that for every mile you drive, you are 27 times more likely to die on a motorbike than in a car. That seems a high price to pay for "fun". Even if y are the most responsible of riders, it's the other drivers you need to worry about. 
    Couldn't give a fuck. Life's all about taking risks. I could sit at home pondering all of the possible outcomes of riding a motorcycle or get out there and enjoy myself on my bike. Which I do, and have done for many years. If I was to die on my bike at least I'd be happy doing something I loved.

    I had 2 close friends who died Imagine being the sort of person who doesn't do what they want because of fear.at the ages of 35 and 41 of cancer and of a brain tumour. This (often shit) life flashes by and I'm all for seizing the day. 
    This.

    The 27x thing is only significant when you know how likely you are to die in a car accident.
    If it is 1 in 1,000,000 then the chance of dying in a motorcycle accident is 27 in 1,000,000.
    I'll take that- it is still pretty unlikely.
    If it is 1/1000 then on a bike then it is 27/1000- or 2.7%.

    The other thing is you can do an awful lot to mitigate your own risk by not doing stupid stuff- blind overtakes, ignoring maintenance, riding with group of bikers who take risks.
    You can avoid riding up the arse of cars and you can filter at a reasonable speed so you aren't rear ended by someone on their phone.
    You can slow down in the wet and not ride when it is below 3 degrees.
    The statistics include people who do all this stuff.
    If you aren't one of them then you have a better than average chance of not dying.
    You can do advanced riding qualifications too.

    The 'you have to worry about other people' thing is a bit of a myth too- well, you DO have to worry about other people but there are ways of avoiding accidents as well, no matter what someone else does.
    It is called riding defensively.

    When I ride I am always expecting drivers to do dumb things.
    They mostly don't but when they do I know I have it covered.
    Could something still happen?
    Sure, but that its true of anything.

    The other point is I can't imagine being the sort of person who doesn't do what they want because of fear.

    I'd be curious to see the mortality statistics for alcohol compared to motorcycling though.
    I don't drink (not because of the risk of death, just because I don't like it) but I do ride.
    Would be interesting to compare the mortality statistics of someone who doesn't ride a bike but does drink.

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  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700
    @Emp_Fab
    The 2 questions of the day are
    1, what bike have you ordered
    2, when is it arriving

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

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  • DominicDominic Frets: 16014
    Emp_Fab said:
    Specifically big bore twins with straight pipes and very little silencing.  Every single one of the fuckers just HAS to blip the throttle to attract attention.  "Look at MEEE, I'm still a man!  Don't write me off yet!".

    The bastard things are stupidly and unnecessarily noisy to start with, but that's not enough for Mr Mid-Life-Crisis.  Nooo... he can't just ride in a straight line with a steady throttle, he has to blip it to announce to everyone that he's there with an ear-splitting blast of 1200cc of never-actually-used power with the clutch in.

    Fucking tools.  You don't see that behaviour from proper bikers on proper bikes, even if they are middle aged.
    I am one of those but I have ridden a Harley since 1982 .By the way it's 1620 cc .........1200 sportsters are for the ol' ladies
    you shouldn't make those kind of comments - some MC brothers might take offence unless you had the nerve to go down to your local clubhouse and voice them . Never mind the older men ... I hear some of the younger Prospects tend to get easily excited by that kind of talk but I wouldn't know myself.
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  • hywelghywelg Frets: 4302
    I take exception to being called  a tool. I rode bikes when I was younger and now I'm old I have another one. All through my midlife crisis I tried to play guitar in various bands and gave up.

    So I will keep blipping the throttle on my 1700 parallel twin just to remind people of my presence, though if I detect a whiff of obliviousness I will also sound the VERY loud horn. I will eventually fit louder exhaust pipes too...
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  • Emp_FabEmp_Fab Frets: 24211
    Note I'm not complaining about anyone on a sensibly silenced motorbike.  We have had the technology for many years now to not damage people's eardrums with exhaust noise, but for some reason (attention seeking), people choose to buy these ear-splitting things that scare the crap out of people, children and animals.

    I don't believe the bollocks about blipping the throttle to make others aware that you are there for safety reasons.  I rode bikes for twenty years and if I ever needed to make anyone aware like that. I used my horn; the device fitted specifically for that one purpose.  Had I ridden something that could break windows at tickover, I'd still have used my horn.  Jesus, these twins are so loud at gentle throttle openings you'd have to be deaf AND wearing headphones not to be aware there was a bloke with too much money and a yearning for his youth in your vicinity.  No need to blip the throttle at all - unless it's to "show off".

    The incident that sparked me to rant was some tool this afternoon doing it on a straight road doing 30.  No other cars, no junctions, just a little dick with a loud bike who wanted some attention.

    Aren't there laws on noise ?  There used to be.
    Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
    Also chips are "Plant-based" no matter how you cook them.
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