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[North Georgia Hawg]

Fascinating thread. Got me to thinking that not everyone should be a NUDIST, either...

[TinSpinner]

I see the point that is trying to be made here and thought I would inject my observations. PASN YU is right that some people should not be doing certain things, I agree if it is based solely on their current skill set. I have no business trying to fly the space shuttle or do brain surgery because I haven't been trained for either, not to say I couldn't be. If someone had declined us the right to do something early in life because we hadn't acquired the skills necessary to be successful at whatever it was then we would probably all be wallflowers; we have too many of those in our society now, IMO. True, some people have natural abilities to excel at certain endeavors when the rest of us have to work hard at it whether it is riding a motorcycle or writing a book or chewing gum while walking but we shouldn't be denied the opportunity to try or learn something new. I own a contract manufacturing company and have hired people with absolutely no marketable skills but who were willing to learn and over time have turned them into master machinists who could earn a living anywhere in the world. I have also hired journeyman machinists (in their own mind) and sent them packing after a short time because they thought they knew everything and had closed their mind to learning anything new. It all comes down to attitude. I read the referenced thread and was sad to see the few thoughtless comments that may prevent a new rider that wants to learn from actually enjoying himself in the process. That may sound soft to some of you, my employees would never believe I wrote that because I am such a hard ass on them, but I do believe most people have the ability to learn, some just choose not too.

[Shovelhead]

Likewise, I believe we should put forth a petition to ban the sale of Cracker-Jacks nationwide !

[Buy early]

I've spent a good portion of my life trying to accomplish what others thought I couldn't and another portion trying to keep from doing what someone else ordered me to do.

I have a problem with authority, am above average in intelligence (aren't we all), stubborn enough not to quit when I face resistance and sometimes dumb enough not to quit when I should.

I wouldn't want or appreciate someone else telling me what I could or couldn't do. I do appreciate advice and counsel on how to do things better, safer, quicker, or more profitably.

Michael Jordan's high school coach told him he would never be a great basketball player. Guess he was wrong.

I've been wrong a time or three myself when I told someone they couldn't do something. I have always been right more often when I came along side someone and helped them accomplish what they were committed to get done.

The golden rule is never a bad yardstick. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That usually means being more helpful and less critical.

With today's technology, there are fewer and fewer limitations on what even the severely handicapped can accomplish.

My dad was a paraplegic. He worked 4 jobs, put himself through law school, raised a family of 7 kids, became a nationally recognized healthcare specialist, was a state senator, and helped thousands of people along the way. In 1943, when he was hit riding double on a bicycle and paralyzed, many told him he would never amount to anything.

While I agree that not everyone SHOULD ride a motorcycle, I am constantly inspired when I see petite women handling large touring bikes or handicapped veterans figuring out how to shift without a leg or ride without an arm. I expect to move to a trike someday because I am passionate about riding and I may not always be able to ride on two wheels.

All this to say, if you are passionate about riding, you should be able to conquer any obstacle that others might throw in your way. If you are willing to take instruction, practice, fail, and get up again. I'll ride with you any time.

JMHO

[grayghost731]

Im for everyone livin out there DREAM  but take responsability  if you buy a boat learn how to run a boat  If you get a fast car learn how to drive it .  Im tired of seeing these guys buy these OCC style choppers because they look kool and they have more MONEY than BRAINS  and they cant even drive a regular bike let alone a 9ft stretch
chopper  PLEASE     dont get a few beers in you  and think your gonna be kool at a bike rally  you need hours and hours of training  you either hurt yourself or someone else or cause property damage    and we all end up paying for that    what ever you do just practice practice practice  you will get it

[PASN YU]

You have the right to go out and buy whatever you want as long as you're responsible enough to be able to afford it including a motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle is a privilege not a right (at least in most countries) which is the point being made here. I think that everyone wanting to ride a motorcycle should have more training, practice (we all need regular practice) and the requirement for getting an endorsement should be more stringent. I applaud all that have overcome obstacles to ride. I really wish everyone could understand and be able to enjoy what we all feel when riding. But, when there is someone on the road that does not belong there and endangers others including myself, that IS my business.   

NGH, you're right. There are way too many people out there that think they should be nudists that really shouldn't. 

[Wild Card]

I'll have to agree that everyone should not ride a motorcycle, just like some people never can quite get driving a straight shift car and need an automatic transmission so they don't have to think about anything but steering and pushing two pedals.  A bike takes a certain level of coordination,  with all four appendages doing things at the same time (kind of like a drummer), and your brain coordinating that activity along with watching, and listening to, everything around you.  There's also a "feel" involved, IMO, to be really good at riding.  Some people just don't have that in them and can't be taught that.  Given time, and the desire, I guess most can learn to ride, but it's going to take some a lot longer than others.  Everybody is wired a little differently...thank goodness.

On the other hand, someone like me, with a 29" inseam, has no business parking a 980lb motorcycle on an incline where the downhill side is opposite the kickstand, no matter what kind of whiz-diz shocks are on the bike...

DUH...

So, since I'm a drummer, I'm a natural rider, eh?  No wonder riding skills came so natural to me!   

[Talon]

Yea, my wife is one how should be a passanger not a rider. In tense situations she tends for freeze instead of react. This is my wife's bike after she popped the clutch, to much gas when trying to pull out in traffic from a side street. She was ok, but you should have seen the fence she went through! 

[Hugh Janis]

The Bill of Rights promises me Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. If that pursuit finds me at an HD dealership fulfilling all obligations for ownership and licensing MYOB!  I don't remember, but I'm pretty sure my 1st steps were wobbly and I fell and got hurt. Thank goodness there was no one around then telling me my inexperience in walking was a danger to myself and others and I should take a class or not be allowed to do it on my own.

[PASN YU]

You were capable of hurting people when you first started walking? You must've been a big kid.  Common sense would apply here. Riding a motorcycle and walking as a baby are apples and oranges. Yes, the bill of rights does afford you all of those rights but it does not afford you the right to infringe on others life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness by being a menace to society on the road because you don't know how to ride a motorcycle. Again, riding a motorcycle is a privilege, not a right.

[Hugh Janis]

Bottom line is, you can't legislate stupidity. Idiots will always always be around removing themselves from the gene pool.

And actually, I have a twin brother so it really is "apples and apples". I knocked him down once and sent him to the Dr with a concussion.

[Hank Hankerson]

In the immortal words of Dirty Harry Callahan, "A man's got to know his limitations."  "I've seen guys crash before they got off the dealer's lot, and even saw one instance where it was immortalized in print in the local newspaper, with the guy not only crashing but also doing several thousand dollars worth of damage to a dealership employee's car."

Jerry

I was one of those dealership employees whose car was damaged due to an inexperienced rider.  A lady bought a 100th Anniversary 883 Hugger and pile drived it right into the rear bumper on my '98 Metro no more than 5 minutes after the paperwork was signed.  Cost her a front brake lever, rear brake pedal, right mirror, right rider peg, handlebar, and right grip.  Granted her insurance took care of it and they gave me $700 for the bumper.   ...I loved that Metro....

[HUBBARD]

Over my years of riding, I've been down twice.  First time was bad, second time was real bad.  Both times excessive speed was involved, the second time Ol' Hub was bubble-blowin' drunk.  That said, both dumps were my fault, over-riding my ability.  What I have learned over the years is I must always look where I'm going on my Motorsickle, not where I am.  I don't daydream when I'm riding either, as I try to give my undivided attention to the situation at hand.  At my age, it appears I have to focus more on what is directly in front of me.  I very seldom take my eyes off the road when I'm riding.  Most of us think we're invincible on a Motorsickle and can ride our way out of any situation.  I've stretched my riding ability to the limit numerous times, but I've been very lucky in knowing where the line is.  I tend to want to show-off from time to time making sparks fly off the floor-boards, and coming out of a broadside slide, but I must constanly be aware of my abilities.  Sometimes, our abilities are put to task where cages are involved and we have to be aggressive, or crash.  Ol' Maudie don't know where she's going.  That's totally up to me.  I try not to put the Ol' Girl in a position to hurt Ol' Hub.  Riding is always progress.  Never perfection.  Always an experience.  Hope we all have many more, with the "Shiny Side" up!  There endeth the lesson.  Later--HUBBARD   

[faceracer]

Gotta stick my 2 cents in here. I have always felt it would be very helpful for people to learn to ride off road before on road. There you can worry about yourself and develop the reflexes and skills of riding before you have to worry about kids, bicycles, dogs cell phone and text drivers as well as all the road hazards you face all the time sand, gravel, tree limbs, garbage etc...... In Japan they take a driving test for up to a 350cc bike and a much harder skill test for over 350cc bike lic. I think that is fare and really isn't that about making a safer rider? Who is most likely to get hurt?: The rider. Maybe we should all band together and open a national riding school where we prepare riders for the wild and crazy open road? JMHO! 

[grayghost731]

Gotta stick my 2 cents in here. I have always felt it would be very helpful for people to learn to ride off road before on road. There you can worry about yourself and develop the reflexes and skills of riding before you have to worry about kids, bicycles, dogs cell phone and text drivers as well as all the road hazards you face all the time sand, gravel, tree limbs, garbage etc...... In Japan they take a driving test for up to a 350cc bike and a much harder skill test for over 350cc bike lic. I think that is fare and really isn't that about making a safer rider? Who is most likely to get hurt?: The rider. Maybe we should all band together and open a national riding school where we prepare riders for the wild and crazy open road? JMHO! 

I like it your rite when i was growin up everybody in the hood would find a feild and make a dirt bike track hone your skills  on mini-bikes or dirt bikes work your way up     funny thing is same kids that could not drive a bike back then  still seem to have mishaps now and blame everyone else ROAD WAS WET,TIRE BALD, YOU CUT ME OFF etc SOME PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE ON TWO WHEELS.