Considering a motorbike

[sgtkate]

What happened to those brilliant bikes with a side carriage? That was my first experience of a bike, my uncle took me for a spin and I absolutely loved it as a 5 year old!

 

Never understood the point of a side car...main perk of biking for me was not having to queue as much so getting to my destination quicker. If i'm going sit in the wind, rain and cold then minimising that time is my objective! A side car prevents me from doing that. Also side cars seriously compromise the manoeuvrability of the bike, again a major reason for having one is the utter joy of leaning it right over going into a sharp bend.

[Isabelle]

Never understood the point of a side car...main perk of biking for me was not having to queue as much so getting to my destination quicker. If i'm going sit in the wind, rain and cold then minimising that time is my objective! A side car prevents me from doing that. Also side cars seriously compromise the manoeuvrability of the bike, again a major reason for having one is the utter joy of leaning it right over going into a sharp bend.

 

I suppose they were more popular in the past, you hardly see any nowadays. Using a bike with a sidecar would have been much cheaper for a family on limited income than a car. I remember reading a thread on here about sidecars and someone's father cramming the whole family into one for trips many years ago

[Obelix]

Never understood the point of a side car

 

You can shift more people without having a car licence as often was the case.

 

---------- Post added 18-11-2016 at 13:52 ----------

 

that I am a very safe driver and will not do anything to jeopardise myself.

 

That's not the problem. Its the other idiots on the road that you have problems with, from people not seeing you to idiots who deliberalty block you because they don't like you filtering. The queuing thread above and Petminders attitude is exactly the problem.

 

I used to have a bike, but nowadays I'd seriously have to consider if it was worth the hassle.

[L00b]

That's not the problem. Its the other idiots on the road that you have problems with, from people not seeing you to idiots who deliberalty block you because they don't like you filtering.

I've been in the unfortunate position of experiencing both at once: an Escort van, stationary in a queue of traffic (going straight on), deciding to queue-jump (to turn right) out of the blue precisely at the moment I reached level with its back bumper (I was filtering at, call it a brisk walking pace, but no faster).

 

I had headlight on and hi-vis gear on (and a bright red helmet), and IIRC I was freewheeling at the time (approaching the junction in about 4 or 5 cars' length, light for us was green, but city centre so lots of peripheral things in motion, I was intending to speed up again after the junction) so not very noisy. The guy never checked his mirror once. He just floored it with turning, just as I was levelling with him. But we both had fast reflexes thankfully, so we ended up stopped, with his car at an angle to the queue, and me leaning with the bike (125cc twist'n'go job) against his driver door/window (after my handlebar had taken his wing mirror clean off).

 

Being a very safe driver means sod all I'm afraid, since you're not alone on the roads. And if you're not going to do "anything to jeopardise yourself", then I'd add filtering (however safely) to your list of "don'ts".

Edited November 18, 2016 by L00b

[sgtkate]

I've been in the unfortunate position of experiencing both at once: an Escort van, stationary in a queue of traffic (going straight on), deciding to queue-jump (to turn right) out of the blue precisely at the moment I reached level with its back bumper (I was filtering at, call it a brisk walking pace, but no faster).

 

I had headlight on and hi-vis gear on (and a bright red helmet), and IIRC I was freewheeling at the time (approaching the junction in about 4 or 5 cars' length, light for us was green, but city centre so lots of peripheral things in motion, I was intending to speed up again after the junction) so not very noisy. The guy never checked his mirror once. He just floored it with turning, just as I was levelling with him. But we both had fast reflexes thankfully, so we ended up stopped, with his car at an angle to the queue, and me leaning with the bike (125cc twist'n'go job) against his driver door/window (after my handlebar had taken his wing mirror clean off).

 

Being a very safe driver means sod all I'm afraid, since you're not alone on the roads. And if you're not going to do "anything to jeopardise yourself", then I'd add filtering (however safely) to your list of "don'ts".

 

Someone once said to me it takes 2 bad drivers to cause a crash. For ages I disagreed with them saying if I go through a green light and get t-boned by someone jumping a red light then clearly I'm not in the wrong. It took me a few years on a bike to really understand what they were getting at and it is indeed true. In almost EVERY accident there would have been a way to avoid it if one of the drivers did something different, anticipated, left a bigger gap etc, it's just difficult sometimes to drive in that manner but really that's the way all of us should drive.

[Santo]

What happened to those brilliant bikes with a side carriage? That was my first experience of a bike, my uncle took me for a spin and I absolutely loved it as a 5 year old!

 

Watsonian Squire are still very much in business.

 

Not cheap though.

 

http://www.watsonian-squire.com/

 

Tim, has there ever been anything approaching Mods and Rockers in the Netherlands? Or was that a uniquely British way of having a punch up?

[Obelix]

You might need to point out what the mods and rockers was all about first...:-)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mods_and_rockers

[Santo]

Never understood the point of a side car...main perk of biking for me was not having to queue as much so getting to my destination quicker. If i'm going sit in the wind, rain and cold then minimising that time is my objective! A side car prevents me from doing that. Also side cars seriously compromise the manoeuvrability of the bike, again a major reason for having one is the utter joy of leaning it right over going into a sharp bend.

 

Bikes used to be the poor man's transport so sidecars were popular and sensible additions. Bikes weren't to beat traffic. But then cars got cheap.

 

I've seen Vespas with side cars. They look cute.

 

---------- Post added 18-11-2016 at 15:02 ----------

 

You might need to point out what the mods and rockers was all about first...:-)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mods_and_rockers

 

I'd be surprised if Tim hadn't seen Quadraphenia!

 

I lent it to an Italian friend once. He thought the whole thing bizarre.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Santo

[L00b]

Someone once said to me it takes 2 bad drivers to cause a crash. For ages I disagreed with them saying if I go through a green light and get t-boned by someone jumping a red light then clearly I'm not in the wrong. It took me a few years on a bike to really understand what they were getting at and it is indeed true. In almost EVERY accident there would have been a way to avoid it if one of the drivers did something different, anticipated, left a bigger gap etc, it's just difficult sometimes to drive in that manner but really that's the way all of us should drive.

Does that include the driver of the stationary vehicle that is hit by the bad driver's?

 

You can analyse forensically that 'accident' (big word for a -thankfully- small bump) that I recounted above to your heart's content, I'd still struggle to see how I could have avoided that one entirely, short of deciding to not filter that day, and I'd say I did as much anticipating as was reasonable at the time for the circumstances (stationary line of traffic, lights on green, no traffic in oncoming lane, filtering slowly & cautiously (in case of pedestrian deciding to run between cars, had that a few times), and as made-visible as possible short of towing a brass band).

 

If anything, and perhaps self-servingly, I'd say it was down to my anticipation and alertness, that the bump turned out as inconsequential as it was. Had I been filtering faster (e.g. to try and make the green), rather than freewheeling and getting ready to brake in case it turned orange/red as I got nearer, then I reckon I'd have been sent flying. Either I'd have hit the car at a higher speed and the impact shoved me over the A-pillar/bonnet. Or the car's front offside would have hit my left rear at speed.

 

Then again, had I been filtering faster and 'gassing' a bit, perhaps the driver would have heard the bike's engine noise and caught himself before deciding to start his manoeuvre: such is the component of randomness that also factors in "almost EVERY accident".

 

Your "someone" needs a prescription for some corrective lenses, btw. He or she's got 20/20 hindsight

Edited November 18, 2016 by L00b

[tzijlstra]

Watsonian Squire are still very much in business.

 

Not cheap though.

 

http://www.watsonian-squire.com/

 

Tim, has there ever been anything approaching Mods and Rockers in the Netherlands? Or was that a uniquely British way of having a punch up?

 

You might need to point out what the mods and rockers was all about first...:-)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mods_and_rockers

 

We did have a variety of mods and rockers, my dad was a rocker and cruised everywhere on his Zundapp, which is in fact how my mum fell in love with him .

 

Not seen quadraphenia though, it isn't an era that particularly excites me, much more interested in the late 80s/90s as that is when I grew up, all these old men talking about boring stuff!

 

Having said that, during that era we definitely had very strong subcultures and we very definitely used to have fisticuffs due to that. For my era in the part of the Netherlands that I grew up in it was mainly 'Gabbers' and 'Metalheads'

 

Of course I was 'alternative' and pretended to like Nirvana even though I didn't, I like(d) Gabber AND metal

 

Anyway, on topic -thanks for all your advice. I fully appreciate bikes aren't necessarily the safest means of transport, but I already knew that anyway. I've pretty much made my mind up and come this summer will start lessons towards a full license. Also pretty close on deciding which bikes will be on the shortlist, for those into motorbikes:

Yamaha MT-07, Honda CB650, BMW F800, Triumph Street Triple. All 4 are in the 600-800 range and all four are *supposedly* pretty good for bigger riders with a pretty comfortable configuration for commuting.

 

Of course, don't be surprised if I end up with a Harley Davidson Electra Glide...

Edited November 18, 2016 by tzijlstra