"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
03/12/2020 at 12:40 • Filed to: Two Wheels Bad, My wife will not be amused
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"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
03/12/2020 at 12:40 • Filed to: Two Wheels Bad, My wife will not be amused | 3
| 29 |
The metaphorical snowball is gaining momentum. I’m really interested in staying married, but circumstances seem to dictate that I test the bonds of matrimony. Hopefully this doesn’t cause an avalanche. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I know this is not the place to come to be talked out of a vehicle purchase, but . . .
Last weekend I decided to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I found that several fit well, and they even had a bike traded in that day that they were pricing well.
Then on Monday a trusted friend tested a motorcycle that a friend of his is planning to sell. A 2005 Suzuki DL650 V-Strom with Givi luggage and 25,000 miles. Aftermarket seat, new tires, aftermarket windscreen, a couple of other minor additions. This is one of two models I would generally consider if I were to buy a bike (the other being a Versys). It was deemed in great shape and a good deal.
On Tuesday I texted a bit with the seller, who wants to sell to me, and will take his time before he puts it on the open market.
Then today I thought I’d see if I could make room in my garage by selling my autocross wheels (and getting some other stuff gone). A guy who races a GTI but doesn’t have dedicated race wheels said that he’d buy them at the price that I named. (I told him to give me a week to make sure that I really want to back that far away from autocross.)
For background, when I was engaged to my wife I took the MSF course and got my motorcycle license endorsement. She was fine with this. After we married I said, “I found the bike that I’m going to buy.” She was no longer okay with it, didn’t want to risk losing me to a crash. So, after 2 decades of accepting this status, I’m expecting the conversation about acquiring a bike to go as well as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! went. I’m willing to deal with that. It helps that a motorcycle takes up a lot less space than a car, which is her other primary concern after risks from riding.
I did get past the idea of the Corvette after taking a vacation and deciding that I didn’t really need an old, extra car in my life, particularly if I was going to do less autocross. My current plan regarding the motorcycle is that I am not allowing myself to buy anything until I’ve at least taken a weekend for camping and retreat. That could be as soon as next weekend (not tomorrow), but it really feels like I’m letting this snowball continue to build inexorably.
Wish me luck in maintaining my marriage (priority 1) and maybe ending up with a motorcycle (priority 2).
Chariotoflove
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 12:46 |
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Step 1: don’t let her see the post about Pete’s crash, under any circumstances.
Darkbrador
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 12:49 |
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LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
> Chariotoflove
03/12/2020 at 12:49 |
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Agreed. I mean, people are in car wrecks all the time, but driving a car is considered an acceptable risk. At least we can look at my brother who has ridden many tens of thousands of miles on his motorcycle without injury.
Snuze: Needs another Swede
> Darkbrador
03/12/2020 at 12:52 |
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The unofficial Navy Military motto!
facw
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 12:56 |
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In 201 7, motorcycles had 25.67 occupant fatalities per 100M miles vs. 0.94 fatalities in passenger cars (or 0.7 for light trucks). So you are looking at around 26x times as dangerous.
Brighammer
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 12:57 |
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Oh man. I hear you on this. I had a motorcycle when I got married 12 years ago. And the wife was cool with it because it was a frame and 3 crates of parts. It made it through 3 moves before I sold it as a frame and 3 crates of parts.
Fastforward 2 or 3 years and I desire one again. But this time I’m also a father.
Right now, until my boys are at least 16, I am allowed to shop for projects if the budget has the room.
The budget has not had the room, as Ive had other priorities (I needed a hiwatt guitar amp like David Gilmour, I needed some custom basses and guitars, I needed to diesel swap my Mazda, I needed to swap an engine into my tractor), lucky for her...
Textured Soy Protein
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 12:57 |
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Step 2:
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LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
> facw
03/12/2020 at 13:04 |
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It just occurred to me that my life insurance may not cover death while riding a motorcycle. Hmm. Buzz-kill.
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facw
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 13:06 |
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Good thing to check out at least...
Aremmes
> Chariotoflove
03/12/2020 at 13:11 |
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Actually, Pete’s crash proves that you can survive a nasty crash if suited up properly. But I can tell you from experience that
wives and logic don’t always mix.
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LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
> Chariotoflove
03/12/2020 at 13:15 |
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Jeez, I missed that post . For such an experienced rider to wreck like that is a bit discouraging to ME, regardless of what my wife thinks. Hmm.
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LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
> Aremmes
03/12/2020 at 13:20 |
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He had on a $2,500 airbag jacket and still had some serious injuries. I would plan on a good jacket, etc., but I wasn’t thinking airbag. It may be “ proper,” but I’d say it’s uncommon.
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Chariotoflove
> Aremmes
03/12/2020 at 13:22 |
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Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. All my wife would see is, if you weren’t on a bike in the first place...
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Chariotoflove
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 13:24 |
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It should make you pause, just long enough to consider the dangers realistically. That’s what grownups do, and it’s what makes for a safer rider.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Brighammer
03/12/2020 at 13:40 |
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Pending fatherhood ki lled all of my risky activities, including motorcycle riding, SCUBA diving, and hang-gliding too.
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Brighammer
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/12/2020 at 13:45 |
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Its weird though. If things hadn’t played out like that I don’t know of I would have gotten into building tube amps. Which is also semi-risky. I’d never taken the punch that 400+ DC volts gives before that, nor been the direct cause of a breaker tripping...
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Brighammer
03/12/2020 at 14:07 |
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T here’s perceived risk and actual risk. I’m sure there aren’t enough people building and being killed by tube amps to even calculate the actual risk. Since you are probably the only person she knows doing that, the perceived risk is essentially zero.
My wife didn’t think hang-gliding was too risky until a friend of mine was paralyzed in a crash. It’s another of those activities which doesn’t capture enough data to estimate the true risk. One estimate puts the risk of death at 1 in 116,000 flights. The risk of death due to pregnancy is 10.3 per 100,000. Are these comparable? Perhaps. The units of time don’t match, the potential pool of participants don’t match either. Would that stop me from pointing out that it’s riskier to get pregnant than go hang gliding? Maybe...
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Brighammer
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/12/2020 at 14:10 |
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Haha totally. In any equation the Brigham Factor(that's me) needs to be taken I to consideration. That is, I'm half an idiot and think I can figure anything out. I'm sometimes right...
Jim Spanfeller
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 14:54 |
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Step 1: get a balloo n. Step 2: write “air bag” on balloon with sharpie and inflate. Step 3: tape “air bag” to motorcycle/corvette/whatever fun vehicle you want to buy and tell her that it has an air bag and is therefore safe. At the very least, she might think it’s funny and humor diffuses tense situations, right? Bear in mind, I’ve never been married...
Nom De Plume
> facw
03/12/2020 at 14:56 |
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Oh you’re in Texas? That changes things considerably. I’m going to agree with your wife having highly valid and readily present concerns depending on where in TX you live and where you will be riding.
Maybe rent a bike on your next vacation and get some safe low pressure miles in.
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facw
> Nom De Plume
03/12/2020 at 15:00 |
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Think you replied to the long person, since I’m not in Texas and don’t have a wife... However I can say that when I was in Houston, I certainly got the sense that drivers would have no issues with running me over when I was cycling (Austin was much better in that regard) , and I’m not sure motorcyclists would do much better there.
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Nom De Plume
> facw
03/12/2020 at 15:18 |
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I was replying through you to LTO, is he in Texas?, about the futility of riding down there. I should have phrased it “Oh, he’s in TX.”
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> facw
03/12/2020 at 16:00 |
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Cycling there wasn’t too bad when we stuck to the bike paths, residential streets, rural roads on the outskirts of town, and feeder roads (early Sunday mornings only).
The approach on a motorcycle is a bit different. The trick is to always be moving faster than traffic so they don’t hit you from behind, never spend any time in anyone’s blind spot, and always be on the alert for people turning left in front of you.
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LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
> Nom De Plume
03/12/2020 at 17:06 |
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Nope, I’m in North Carolina. There is no way I want to ride a motorcycle in the urban areas, but I would plan to ride on the country roads locally and in the west (Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherahola Skyway, etc.).
I have bicycle commuted into the Charlotte urban core, and the irony is that I would generally not intend to motorcycle commute.
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Nom De Plume
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 17:27 |
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Ha, I’d stay off the popular twisties for a while.
Riding back and forth on a stretch of deserted country road very conservatively is good for getting your head and body into the same groove. Have just enough idea floating through your head it isn’t distracting. Thinking ahead type ideas so when a big juicy bug splats across your vision or a deer jumps out you are only doing things that would save your life.
In the latter case avoiding a highside and making the decision to lay the bike down or actively pursue evasive maneuvers. Laying the bike down is often not necessary. Nor is crashing in any way shape of form. Wary and wily riders live longer and so do their bikes.
If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 18:36 |
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Yay I got a mention! I somehow get none despite being one of the OG crew.
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If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 18:38 |
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Try to t est the waters with a large scooter first, methinks.
bob and john
> LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
03/12/2020 at 22:11 |
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many 10s? I had 600K miles of accident free motorcycling under my belt. I didnt just hope on a bike yesterday..
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LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
> bob and john
03/13/2020 at 06:51 |
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Of course you have lots of experience, but using my brother as an example is helpful to me because my wife actually knows him. The "we" in that sentence was referring to me and my wife. While I don’t think he is over 100,000 miles of riding, I may be wrong.
I hope that your recovery is off to a good start, and I’m glad that you had such good gear to protect you.