So I'm going to attempt to get my parents to allow me to get a bike. My pros are: Gas- huge money saver school grades (4.2) show that im responsible More fun than my Camry The bike i want to get is only $3,500 I passed the practice test and printed it out I printed out Motorcycle Injury Sats that have a lot of stats going my way I have been driving for a year and have no speeding tickets This bike can only do 90mph and has just 38hp Are there any other way to help me win this case? I think their biggest problem will be the safety aspect. Im only 17 btw
Another thing I didn't mention is that I won't speed. I value myself WAY too much to do anything really stupid.
I'm being hypocritical here, but if you are only 17, then this is the only bike I'd let you ride. http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/cml/images/bmw_c1.jpg
If you value yourself that much not to do anything stupid, then I guess you'll never ask your parents to let you buy a bike..... Speed is a big killer among cars, but with bikes it's basically just that people don't see them and pull out infront of them. Bike accident and injury stats will only go against you in your case. If your parents really love you they will do what's in your best interest and not what they think will make you the most happy. It's no good being happy if you're dead or maimed. Remember responsable people die all the time and it's usually not their fault, good grades, no tickets and good gas mileage will not save you when some idiot not paying attention pulls out in front of you and you can't do anything about that. Sorry for the lecture, you'll probably hear it twice now....
Intersections are where I have the most fear of riding my motorcycle. I can control most of the dangerous variables when I ride out of town on less travelled rural or mountain roads. Even an oncoming car that crosses the center line can be dodged because a bike is so thin. However, urban and suburban intersections can be deadly and you won't likely have enough time to see it coming. Take a look at this youtube video of a hit & run bike accident at an intersection. Warning - graphic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPFiBH_I2-4 I've ridden bikes for 38 years. Mostly for fun. I've never commuted to work on one. My advice is to wait until you can own both a car and a bike. And ride your bike mostly for fun on the weekends.
You make some very good points and I really honestly do appreciate it. All of what you said is true and I can't argue with it. So why do so many people ride bikes? It can't be that bad.
You barely even know how to drive, and do not know how to ride a motorcycle. If you had been driving long enough for the rules of the road to be second nature, you might have chance learning to ride on the street. If you had been riding for years (dirt bikes) so that the operation of a motorcycle is second nature but street rules need to be learned, you might have a chance. But you don't, and if you were mine I wouldn't let you. BTW, you also would have zero chance taking girls for rides, concerned parents would tell you hell no to rides for their daughter.
I have a car also, it wouldn't be just the bike. I would be taking riding classes long before I ever hit the road as well.
It's not the rider that's dangerous, its the surroundings. I wanted a bike too, but realizing others getting killed, friends of friends getting killed just put me in shock, and it just made me not want to ride a bike. I know I would ride with helmet and gear, but still. I think the only reason I wanted a bike was to go short distances. If you take a MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course, they would advise you to bring your parents along, so they can see whats actually going on, and they will give the actual stats.
Have your parents do you a favor and break both of your legs first. You will thank them in the long run..... Take that money and buy a 944....(see my other thread)... It's the unfortunate truth. Kevin S. Orchard Park, NY
I recommend taking the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course. At least by the end of that, you'll know how to ride one, will have a better idea if it's really for you, and will know a lot more about safety. BTW, at 17, I'd recommend a dirt bike instead. I didn't get a motorcycle until I was 25, and it still scares me at times.
If you get a bike get an off road only bike or a non street legal race bike and takes some lessons and go racing. Stay off the street. I have been riding 33+ years and have a large number of motorcycles ( Over 100) but I turned in the street plates to my bikes 2 years ago after seing a guy get killed on a bike. Too much traffic folks on cell phones ect. Also you are too young and your reflexes are not good enough yet and will not be until you are 25.
If you do get a bike please fill out an organ donor card. http://www.automotivedigest.com/view_art.asp?articlesID=16518
Speeding shouldn't be your first concern, other vehicles hitting you is much more likely to cause your death. {That's what your mother views it as}
Highlow, You are a very lucky young man, to have all these men here who love you and want to see you survive, and buy a Ferrari, when you mature. They are your older brothers, you can bet your life on it! I have ridden almost every state and several countries and I can say this, they are trying to kill you! My Dr. friends call them "Donorcycles!" Riding on the street, is far more dangerous than skydiving and scuba. I would not allow my son to ride a motorcycle because of the very real dangers, all posted before. If they do, they should buy a very large life-insurance policy on your life, because they really don't care about you. I'm sorry this is very blunt, but the truth! Please show your folks these posts. You are fortunate that you have people you don't know, that care very much about you. When you become 21, and Captain of your own ship, with the obligations of a wife and kids. look at it again. Are you willing to lose so much, just to ride a bike? Times are different now and it's not safe, for an intellegent person to risk the odds. Get a decent car for your wheels. Oh yeah remember, they are still trying to kill you! Ciao...Paolo
Highlow, I was in your position when I was younger, I wanted a bike but it was a "hell no" from the 'rents. I got my first bike when I was 23, on my own, and could pay for the bike out of my own pocket. I say, be patient, the time will come, and you'll be wiser and more mature and theoretically less likely to injure yourself. If I had a motorcycle when I was 16 or 17, I wouldn't be writing this message today! A few people have recommended the MSF course. I took it and it made a world of difference. I would consider it mandatory. Two other considerations: Its been said when driving, you have to do 100% of your driving and 50% of everyone else's (in terms of being defensive and paying attention). With a bike, you have to do about 99% of everyone else's driving. Its a dangerous world out there, and a bike has no safety net. Factor into your budget a quality helmet, jacket with back and elbow protection, gloves, and boots. That is all you have to protect you, so quality matters. Otherwise, be patient, keep the dream, and happy riding someday down the road!
My advice to you in order to acheive your desired results would be to: a) forget about the whole thing. Wait until you're out of the house and try to work toward a more exciting car in the meantime. Your time will come. b) keep pushing it. Approach them when they're in a good mood. Continue to show a high level of interest in getting a motorcycle, and continue to do well in school and around the family. c) wait until you turn 18 go out an buy a bike. If they won't let you stay in the house with the bike then either sell the bike or move out. My bet is that they'll let you have it, assuming you continue to show you are a responsible person and can pay for everything yourself. If the funding for this potential bike is your own pocket then your odds of aqcuiring a bike successfully are going to be much, much higher. If you're begging your parents for them to go out and buy you a bike then your chances are much lower unless you have the non-thinking cash-blowing type of parents (from their concerns though, I don't think this is the case). Riding a motorcycle is dangerous, but riding in the car with any 16 or 17 year old driver is probably more dangerous Hell, you could get mugged, hit by a bus, whatever, just walking down the street. Life is dangerous. If riding a motorcycle was certain death as so many would have you believe, then *nobody* would be riding motorcycles. It would be illegal, uninsurable, or so immensely unpopular that the manufacturers could not survive. The majority of motorcycle accidents are single-vehicle accidents. That means rider error. Yes, even in the best case scenario of rider skill, another driver could possibly hit or kill you, but this risk can be greatly reduced by choices in when or where you ride (not riding at night, dense traffic, through lots of intersections, et cetera) as well as using good defensive riding techniques. Still, yes, it is possible to be put into a situation in which you cannot avoid an accident (just monetary or even fatal). If this is a risk you are willing to take, then you will join the millions of other riders who have made the choice to ride.
Dear Mom and Dad, I would like you to buy me a motorcycle. I have been with you now for seventeen years, plus an additional nine months with you, Mom. You raised me from birth, from a tiny baby smaller than a basketball, changed my diapers, watched me take my first steps, and excitedly heard me speak my first words. You bought me clothes, fed me well, and saw me through elementary school, always worried that I would be safe, giving up your time, money, and personal desires in order to give me the best. You taught me to play sports, helped me with my homework, and took me to the doctor and dentist, year after year. As I reached those awkward teenage years, you were patient and understanding with me, as I discovered the young man I have become, learning to become comfortable with both myself and girls. Here I am, now, ready for the world, a strong, healthy, intelligent, good-natured young man. Thank you for worrying and caring all of those years, but I am invincible now. You are past the age of reproduction, and I (and my siblings), your own flesh and blood, are all you will ever have to continue on after you are gone. I know you look forward to some day seeing the fresh and perfect breath of life of grandchildren, and so do I. But that is for the future, and right now, I want to ride a motorcycle. Men with hundreds of thousands of miles of experience driving and years of maturity beyond my age perish in motorcycle accidents, but that can't happen to me; I am responsible, have been driving a year, and am a good student. Those legs you watched take those first steps will not be amputated in an accident, nor will that arm that threw the ball to you; I promise. My whole life is ahead of me, and I won't let anything happen to it. I promise. I know you love me more than anything in the world, and I love you just as much. You have invested your whole lives in me, spent your best years and grew old on my account, and I know all can be lost in an instant; I won't let you down. Please let me ride a motorcycle -- I can't wait, not even until I am eighteen. Please. It's worth it. Love, Your son
I have owned 6-7 bikes, from college on. You WILL do stupid things on a bike...thats what they were designed to do . Wiped out twice...once on the highway. Almost got run over half a dozen times. Rode in the snow to get to college. Popped wheelies in the rain. Pushed the bike 10+ miles when it wouldn't work... Fantastic memories, glad I did it. Would I ever let my kids get a motorcycle? Over my dead body...