The no BS novice guide to motorbikes (Version 1).

Why do it?

The answer to this is different for every person you ask. For me it represented a challenge to be overcome and a large payoff at the end. The challenge was to be able to ride a bike well without getting hurt in the process. The payoff is that motorcycling is simply the best 360 degree freedom and speed rush you can get.

I say 360 degree because unlike any other vehicle you travel on or in theres nothing around you in your way as you look about on your bike. To see a 360 uninterrupted moving panorama is by itself an amazing and unique experience. Unlike a car where you are shut off from the world in your steel and glass cocoon, on a bike your are IN your environment. Drive down street and smile at people, smell the flowers of a garden or freshly brewed coffee as you ride past a market.

And then there is the speed.

Now again, people ride bikes for different reasons. For me, I like going fast an I'm not sorry about that. If you too, like going fast then bikes might just be your new best friend.

I particularly liked the feeling of twisting my right wrist on the throttle, hearing the engine roar, G-forces building as you accelerate on a mountain road then lean the bike over and hang off the side on the inside of a sweeping bend before twisting the throttle on again. It's a lot of fun. This is very different feeling to how it feels to round a bend in a car. I say this having owned a number of sports cars before getting into bikes.

As far as bang-per-buck goes on performance nothing beats bikes. It’s not even worth comparing cars to bikes really but people still like to. That’s ok. Jump on youtube and watch car vs bike videos. They get boring pretty quickly as it’s not a fair fight.

If you didn’t know already a 20,000 sports bike without any modifications will 9.9 times out of 10 easily see off all manner of Ferraris, Lamborghinis as well as your brothers mate who has the fully worked car with XYZ done to it.

In fact a 15 year old sports bike that now costs only 5000 2nd hand will see off most quick cars on the road as well.

It’s all about power to weight at the end of the day and that’s why bikes win and will always win. A bike is basically all engine and not much else. They are all about moving you quickly and efficiently from A to B carrying minimal amounts of gear. Cars, by design, need to do a lot more than that. They need to have room for the kids, and the shopping and the flat screen TV you just bought so you can watch sport in full HD glory after your long shitty day at the office.

Maintenance Cost

If you like speed and you want to go the fast car route it is hideously expensive unless you do all your own work which often requires a lot of space and expensive tools.

However as a bike enthusiast on the other hand it is relatively easy to modify and maintain bikes in comparison to cars. As someone with pretty modest mechanical skills (my main profession is IT) I was able to: Change oil, brake pads, modify suspension settings, fix tyre punctures, change a clutch, change out suspension, and even re-map an ECU using a custom cable and downloaded software and ECU maps provided on a bike forum. Nothing is more satisfying than giving your bike a bike of a tune-up (or upgrade) and then hitting the road and feeling the increased performance as a result.

The elephant in the room (its dangerous)

Bikes are not dangerous. At all. Falling off them and hitting things is however very dangerous. And it’s not how fast you are going by the way, it’s how fast you stop (This is why Moto GP guys can come off bikes at 200 KPH and still be ok).

Don’t fall off and hit things or have things run into you, you will be 100% fine.

Hang on what a stupid statement to make? Perhaps but the wording is deliberate to illustrate a point. Here’s why. It is possible to ride a bike very safely. Extremely safely in fact. It’s just whether or not you want to do it or feel you need to.

The biggest thing determining your safety is, in order, your awareness of your surroundings, your ability to respond accordingly to your surroundings (i.e. control and position your bike), your skills / ability to respond to events, the gear you are wearing when you come off.

Here’s an analogy for you: If you jump on a pushbike and pedal furiously through a crowded shopping mall missing people by inches whilst wearing nothing more than a g-string it is likely that A) you will come off the bike B) Your going to hurt yourself in the process C) It’s going to make the news.

The truth is you have an amazing amount of control over your risk on a motorbike. Simply by keeping your eyes open to potential risks and positioning your bike accordingly you will almost always have a good time on your bike. I won’t go into it at length here as it is a massive post in itself but suffice it to say, YOU are in control of your safety a lot more than what anyone who DOESN’T ride thinks.

For years I was put off bikes by the horror stories. Everyone has one. That’s fine. Listen to the stories and determine that, that’s NOT going to be you (that’s if you care about such things and if not you probably have masochistic tendencies in which case you will have a great time). Learn to ride properly. Get your skill level up so that when something happens you can handle it. Practice emergency braking. Wear gear that’s appropriate to the sort of riding that you want to do.

There is alas a small (less than 1% chance) that despite all your best efforts, shit happens to you. This is the price of riding a bike. Determine if it’s worth it for the benefits. Once you decide that, "fuck yes it is", just go out and have fun!

(n.b. Thanks for reading... it's my intention to update this post and add more as time permits... lots more to share re: bike buying tips, gear guide, types of bikes guide, social stuff, good weblinks etc.)