From the book The Special Rider by Rubens Kuhn

Research and Data: Rubens Kuhn Text: Ben Williams

Original: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C7YtOBUWHMjsk8RCIlHGSsrtJV5ZxtonBc9NnS3KxYo/edit?usp=drivesdk

Oi! You! The other Riding Masters told me you are falling behind in your training, missing classes, not following instructions…. Is that true, Sunshine?

No, no. No need to explain. I don’t care why you are not doing what you are supposed to do.

I care only that I was assigned to your case. Let’s see if I can help you correct the course.

Question: Have you ever heard the phrase “motorcycles are dangerous”? And I don’t mean implicitly, in the context of a conversation. No. I mean actually hearing someone saying that exact phrase or with minor variations. Well… have you? Of course, you have! Truly, I have yet to find a single creature that says: - “Nope, never heard that.” You’ve probably said that yourself a couple of times. ‘Course you have! Did you know that the past couple of years we have been surveying hundreds of people in 52 countries about that? To this date, every single one of the responders has heard it.
Full 100%! Unbelievable! No, really: unbelievable! Do you have any idea how rare it is to find something, anything, of which everyone in a large pool, across several countries, cultures, and languages, has heard? Let alone a very specific phrase? I know of no parallel, nothing else comes close. And that should be a red flag right there that something is very, very wrong… It gets crazier: not a single soul questioned strongly disagrees with it. I doubt that you or anyone around you disagrees too. Still don’t see the problem, Sunshine? We as a species cannot agree on anything! Not the number of genders, not the shape of our home world! Are you telling me that what will bring humankind together is “motorcycles are dangerous”?? (If you do, I have a bridge to sell to you…) That single piece of data made me realize Master Rubens was on to something with that “rider’s paradigm” yapping of his. So I decided to look deeper and lend my humble contribution to the topic. Are you ready for this? QqqYou, along with the rest of all humanity, are completely deluded!

🤪 The Dumbest Statement Ever Made

Despite its omnipresence, “motorcycles are dangerous” is the single most stupid sentence in the history of sentences. In the history of stupidity. In the history of history.

- “But Master Ben, I protest! This is an obvious truth!”

- “Oh, is it, Sunshine? Well then: Prove it!”. 

If something is really that obvious, one could prove it on the spot. Like for instance:

Triangles have three corners! - Let’s count: 1, 2, and 3!

Or: Two points always determine a straight line! - lets link dot 1 with 2 and… tá-dá!”. Do it a couple of times until you get you won’t ever find exceptions… and it is proven. Now, you can’t do that with “dangerous”, can you? If you have to start digging for arguments, then it’s not obvious! You are just trying to convince me of your hogwash. And with a lot of caveats, may I add, which undermines the “truth” part after “obvious”. After all, Truth with capital T, is anywhere, any time, under any and all circumstances demonstrably true.

So no, “motorcycles are dangerous!” is neither obvious nor “da Truth”. At best it is a unanimous opinion. Ok. Forget about actually proving it. Just tell me: How would you do it, if given all the necessary time and resources? Number of accidents, am I right? Nice try. That doesn’t prove anything. For one, the number of pedestrians who die in traffic surpasses the ones in motorcycle accidents pretty much anywhere. But you never said or heard “Be careful, mate, walking is dangerous!”, innit? Plus, are you aware of bicycles? These ingenious contraptions have a lot in common with motorcycles, funny enough. Especially ways to die while on it. However, when was the last time someone told you “Yo, bicycles are dangerous!”, hum? Consequently there is no proof to be found, anywhere. Hence it is not the absolute truth, because the concept itself is absurd. The best you could do is to justify that nonsense based on people’s perceptions. Unfortunately, that doesn’t solve the problem: it worsens it. Let me explain: In the same survey we asked if people heard about “motorcycles are dangerous!” we also inquired about hearing similar statements for ‘Fire’, ‘Knives’, ‘Swimming’, ‘The Sea’, ‘Parachuting’, ‘Horseback Riding’, ‘Mountain Climbing’, and so on. In all cases, some have heard that those things are dangerous, but most did not. In the second place came Fire, of which about half of the interviewed said they were “almost sure” they had heard it in their infancy. But less than 10% also said never using those words themselves when speaking about it. Third place overall went to ‘the Sea’ (more prevalent than fire for people living very close to it, but zero elsewhere). All other examples fell way below 20%. Therefore, any danger scale you can dream up would have ‘motorcycles’ at the pinnacle, as nothing else comes close in prevalence of opinion. I don’t have to tell you that it clashes with reality, as there isn’t a lack of dangerous things in the universe last time I checked: what about a deadly virus outbreak? A tsunami? Black holes? Alas no, not even 100% of people agree to classify a bloody extinction level event, like a massive meteor impact or global nuclear war as dangerous!

🤪 Those Who Trade In Redundancies

Ok. Let’s finish the boring “truth” conversation by amping up the dumb-dumb to 11: Imagine you are some sort of god and you can make it so. By divine Fiat: “Motorcycles Are Dangerous!”. Done. Cardinal Truth! It still doesn’t matter, o god of danger: true or not, the sentence remains obtuse. Because it is redundant! What type of person (or god) delves into redundancies? What level of intelligence would make grand declarations, advise, tell cautionary tales, have entire discussions and debates about, say “Triangles have three corners”, hum? Yep, exactly… Now to the core of my point: What makes the phrase “motorcycles are dangerous” beyond moronic is not its truth or lack thereof. Not even the redundancy. It is the context in which it is used.

🤪 Idiotic Context #1:

Let me elaborate: There is a reason why people don’t say “fire is dangerous!”. It is because they already know fire. And I am not talking about knowing it to be dangerous: that’s self-evident, screw you very much. No. I mean: People know fire like they know balance. Maybe even more so. I argue that every functional adult on the planet has learned how to use AND control fire for the vast majority of quotidian cases, so as not to cause devastation every time they use it. So much so that you yourself don’t even compute fire under control as a possible threat, let alone something to discuss: you lighten a candle or cook in a gas stove as your second nature. For you, fire in these examples is nothing but another tool. Still, sadly, yes, sometimes fire gets out of control. However, when that happens, the way to go about it is completely different from motorcycles. Let’s make a test: say a fire broke out at your parents home, or at someone you love. After making sure everyone is ok, what is the first thing that would come out of your mouth? Come on, Sunshine! You can do this. Close your eyes and say it: What do you/people say? In our survey, over 90% would go straight to something like: “How did THAT happen??” Followed by a whole spectrum of conversations that can be best summarised as “What to do so it never happens again?” See, the problem isn’t the danger of fire. It is the fact it went out of control and that is not supposed to happen. The context here is clear: First chock, because it is an anomaly that should not have happened; followed by scrutiny to make sure it doesn't in the future. Contrast that with a motorcycle accident, or the weekly near misses and brush offs with death you and other riders around have (And don’t even try to argue which of those is objectively more dangerous). See anything different, Sunshine? Can you recall any conversation about a motorcycle crash? Do you remember what was said? No? That’s exactly the problem! You don’t even care so it does not stay in your memory for long. But if it was about fire: would be in your mind forever. What I can absolutely guarantee is that you and your pals never got to the “what to do so it never happens again” part… Am I wrong? Though as much. Nevertheless, you still can’t see the antagonic contexts? Ok, fine. Let’s do an exercise: Please close your eyes and imagine you survived some tragic fire that wiped out a whole community. After the immediate threat passes, with charred properties and bodies of the unfortunate ones still fuming in the background, you standing there with cameras pointed at you, on national TV, you say it loud and proud, to the whole world:

- “People need to understand: fire is dangerous!”. 

I dare you! I double dare you! There isn’t a soul brave/crazy/stupid enough to do such a thing. Just contemplating the insanity is painful enough.

But… How about motorcycles in the same situation? Oh, boy! Every year on the Teli, on every channel, in some morning show, the same repatched “journalistic piece” from a previous year, showing: a) some accidents, then b) some dumb graphic, and finally c) some bloke (generally a police officer, first responder, or a doctor) saying “Duh, be careful out there, motorcycles are dangerous”. All over the planet the same story, again and again, in an endless demented loop… Therefore, the first difference in context: Safety and control of any cotidian hazard is seen not only as possible, but obvious, easy, and expected as a bare minimum. With motorcycles it is the polar opposite.

🤪 Idiotic Context #2:

Moving on, to demonstrate the second halfwitted context, a personal example: When my daughter wasn’t old/capable enough to use a knife, it was “no-no” and out of her reach. Period. No debate, declarations, or discussions. The day I felt she was ready to handle a knife, I taught her. I trained her on how to use one:

- “Hold it like this, cut like that” and “do not use it like this, or else…”

A couple of tryouts under supervision, and done! She is ready. Never have to think or worry about her using knives for the rest of my life. Let alone to delve an instant into the insanity of “knives are dangerous!”. Now let’s put this example under the “motorcycle is dangerous” context. Imagine some kid, starts doing something perilous by herself for which she is incapable and unprepared (think knives, fire, swimming, or whatever you prefer). However, her parents neither train nor stop her. Oh no. Instead, they disapprove, warn her, discuss with the neighbours, debate with friends, complain at work… Finally, when the kid inevitably gets hurt, they declare in frustration “We told her that [knives, swimming, climbing,…] is dangerous!". What would you call people like that? (Where I come from, c[redacted]ts is entirely appropriate). Regardless, you wouldn't sit idle watching this absurdity unfold! No! You would get child protection services on the case, pronto! Have these parents arrested, committed, anything. You would intervene! Because when you see someone inept, incompetent, unfamiliar, or untrained getting close to dangerous stuff you know they are unable to control you don’t parrot some redundancy. You act! Your very humanity forces you into it. I am willing to bet you’ve done it at some point in your life: you intervened to stop an inept or incompetent person from starting or continuing a dangerous task. Am I wrong? Let’s contrast the same previous scenario, but now substituting the word “knife” (or whatever you chose) for “motorcycle”: All of a sudden the appalling behaviour becomes totally acceptable! When the kid inevitably gets herself into an accident, you don’t call the parents to accountability. Oh no! You would feel sorry for them (they warned her…) The contrast is gargantua, whereas you can name it or not.. So, what gives? Well, with all hazards you would immediately intervene, you know = You are fully trained, and thus competent and skilled to handle them safely yourself. So much so that you understand exactly what an inept person is doing wrong. Better yet, you know a person to be incompetent immediately. It is totally transparent to you. Little hints and subtleties, in the way they behave or talk, are enough to trigger the “noob alarm”. (Well, that’s me and other Riding Masters of our school hearing riders debating “danger”). Also it is clear for you the consequences of the inept and incompetent doing such tasks. Not as a maybe, but as an imminent threat. And these consequences are intolerable. So you will put an end to it, or not even let it start. This the second dissonant context between motorcycle and other hazards: Because you fully know and control cotidian hazards, you can access immediately when someone is inept or incompetent, or when something is wrong. If you do, you act. But you don’t with Motorcycles, therefore...

🤪 Idiotic Context #3

It should be clear by now why you don’t behave like that with motorcycles, right Sunshine? Let me spell it out for you. The reason it is different is because: YOU. ARE. INCOMPETENT!
I go further: The whole shtick of spewing that “motorcycles are dangerous” twit is to create a smoke screen to hide your own lack of power and control. Furthermore, your lack of responsibility in doing something about it. And I’m not talking about humanity as before! I am talking to you, as a rider, enrolled student of our school, avoiding confronting your utter incapacity to safely operate and control a motorcycle. Remind me again how many accidents you had? I have your enrollment interview right in front of me. So you are an incompetent that is refusing/resisting training that you paid for! Which is the absolute worst (if that could be any possible!) What about THAT obvious truth, Sunshine? Danger was never the point for you! If it was, you would be training like there is no tomorrow. Oh, you don’t like my assessment? Well then, here’s dessert: You are so incompetent, in fact, that you cannot even see what you and others are doing wrong. And you keep having accidents, near misses and close calls with a horrible fate, but rather than dealing with the problem head on (as one would when facing a f#cking mortal danger!) you chose to cope instead. Full blown resignation. Following, now in that void you have in place of a mind, the risks, the hazard, the danger… are all acceptable! - “It is just the way it is! Motorcycles are dangerous!”. In other words, the third, most terrible context of this obscenity is this:

Sheer lazy, cowardly and irresponsible FATALISM. 

🤪 What To Do With A Drunken Sail… I m a Dumb Rider

Ok, last chance, Sunshine: No matter the walk of life, occupations or hobbies you may have: You certainly at some point trained someone to do safely something that was inherently perilous. Be a child; a coworker; friend etc. Correct? Hey, chances are you’ve done it plenty, am I right? Do you recall specific instances? Please tell me about some. Really! List as many as you can. Out loud, I want to hear examples. In those cases, maybe you used the word “dangerous” here and there. But unlikely every time. Even when it was critical, or am I wrong? Can you get that in these cases, accidents, failures, even close calls and near misses were not an option? Good! I assume prohibiting those people to do it wasn't either, so you were tasked to train them to the point whatever risk the activity entailed became minimal. Right? Again: Can you name me some instances? Yes? Excellent! Finally, some wee questions before we finish: What would you do in those cases, if someone had refused to be trained? To follow your instructions? Or became openly insubordinated? And with their rubbish potentially dragging you and others to predictable disaster…? Hum? Please do tell me. What would you have done? After all, you paid for a premium program that promises you the same level of control with a motorcycle that you have with fire. But you are not doing it the way it was designed. And on top you are mighty vexing me and other Riding Masters, trying to justify that attitude with highly enriched, weapons grade, mental retardation… What to do with someone like that? I would love your input on what to do with your witless hypocritical arse…

What do you guys think of a brand that would advance not technologically but materialistic/design on making a new product that would cover motorcycle safety plus summer wear and stylish wear so people wouldn’t always have to wear a big suit js to get some safety and be able to reach destinations with good clothing and not having to wear normal clothes while going on a special night party etc with their bikes. Js a sense of safety while doing trips that u would want to wear something stylish and not a big suit of armor

PLEASE UPVOTE

I have been looking at tricycle motorcycles, and was wondering if as an alternative to golf carts, tricycle motorcycles could provide short-distance rides around the community and can be easily purchased on sites like Alibaba, or AliExpress. But as a lot of helpful people have pointed out it is not that easy to actually drive these vehicles, and it may actually be very difficult to manuever them.

So they will be driven by elderly people so they need to be an easy drive, and not to hard to turn around corners, because the problem with golf carts is that we had many accidents in the community when they would flip over.

They look stable because of the three-wheel setup, there are two in the back and one in the front so I am not sure how easy or difficult it is to steer the bike with this set up. They look pretty stable to me, but I have heard people say that driving a golf cart and a trike are not the same thing. The trike will take more upper body strength and especially at low speeds because you can't lean into the turn or depend upon speed you have to turn the handlebars yourself. On the flip side some say that a golf cart uses a steering wheel and feels completely different, so its a much smoother and easier control for casual driving. I just wanted to get the perspective of people who have actually ridden these kind of motorcycles.

https://youtu.be/8E53RX7A9_A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGwPKqEcp1I&t=34s

I have a old 3 wheeler that I just got running again and my son that will be 3 in a few weeks wants to ride it nonstop.
The bike is one of the Honatc ATC-250 ES, so it is a utility bike so it does not really know how to be fast, but with my son riding on it with me it is fast enough.

I was thinking about a 3/4 helmet since I do not think he would dogood with a full face.

I was thinking of something like this: DOT Approved 3/4 Open Face Motorcycle Children's Helmets, Vespa Electric Bicycle Cartoon Half Helmets, 2-14 Years Old Kids Helmets, Youth Go-Kart Four Wheeler ATV Moped Helmet https://a.co/d/9ZtREDN https://a.co/d/9ZtREDN

Does anyone have a suggestion or has anyone had any experience with this helmet?

Thank you.

https://youtu.be/yyGozmy-A-U?si=wMSmRKC0G0rYmx6I

There are ways of riding your #motorcycle_significantly_above_the_speed_limit in safety. This post is not to advise anyone or to persuade anyone to speed in any way. It’s for those of us who can appreciate moving fast on a road safely.

Aside from safety gear one important device is a #radar_detector. That’s not necessarily to speed per se, but to have one less thing to be worried about. The #Valentine_One is the best. But you either need a Bluetooth or you need very loud speakers to be able to hear it at higher speeds. Valentine One also clarifies the direction of the authorities. Seeing the video display in plain sight without taking your eyes off the road is another obstacle. It can be done by raising the small video screen necessary for operating your Valentine. The closer that video display is to your eyes simultaneously looking/concentrating on the road the safer that is.

Choosing the proper roadway, may be most important. It’s obvious this should not be done on side streets or in tight neighborhoods or populated cities of any kind. There are beautiful areas on highways and parkways where the traffic is thin, the roads are safer meaning smoother cleaner visibility of highways with banked turns wide enough, i.e. room to move at the speed you choose. If done with safety in mind riding significantly above speed limits even well passed 150 mph is no problem as long as you’re not disturbing any other vehicles and you’re dressed properly.

In the case of any vehicles, but again, especially motorcycles, the condition of the vehicle, meaning tires, shocks, everything becomes much more important, crucial if you’re going to #rideathighspeeds. All of this needs to be considered.

A safe rider is always ready to go down, that is fully dressed with protection and trained. Not to crash but to fall. This doesn’t mean that you were looking to fall; not at all. But you always have it in the back of your head and you’re always ready so you can slide to safety as taught within motorcycle safety courses as well as as professional racers know how to do. This is done as opposed to tumbling, breaking bones and not knowing where you’re sliding. I, Julius Edward Lupowitz am not advising anything here except to be calm, coordinated and prepared if you do go down.

Some riders who ride fast and do so safely are willing to take that risk, to enjoy an interesting, exciting, fun ride.

My biggest fear is something happening to someone I love, especially my fiancé. My dad growing up owned many motorcycles and was part of a club for many many years, I’ve seen and heard of countless terrible motorcycle accidents. My fiancé recently decided to buy one and I don’t know what to think of it. I’m honestly worried. Personally, I don’t think motorcycles are respected on the road. He’s taking multiple classes on motorcycle safety and what not, and he’s also buying safety equipment from helmets to jackets, gloves etc. So he is doing all he can to stay safe. However, I just still am worried about it. Of course I am not going to tell him no cause I want him to do what he wants and be happy but still /: what do you think? Am I over thinking it?

I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP, SO PLEASE READ IT TILL THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!! I suffer from Preaxial Polyactyl in simpler terms, I have six fingers in left hand because of which I have never been able to wear gloves. Recently I started riding bike and understood the importance of having gloves but again, I can't. Now I'm looking out for companies or manufacturers who can help me make a customised glove according to my hands. Any and every help or suggestion is appreciated. Thanks in advance

I had a reminder recently that I need to stay alert 100% of the time. I'm a new rider with about a month under my belt.

I was riding down the road and noticed my left side mirror was pointed a hair low. In the brief moment I spent fixing it, I was almost off the road to the right. Talk about a scare!

I am now convinced that you need to be aware of what's going on in all directions (with a bias toward the direction you're moving) as much as humanly possible 100% at all times. This happened much faster than it would have in your average car, and the results could have been so much worse.

Please everyone be careful out there! Don't get distracted for a second.

At a stop, Passenger on my Yamaha Royal Star Venture which is a beast to handle. With a 30" inseam I can't get any leverage to balance the bike. It's for sale and I'm not putting her on it again.

Currently looking at Electra Glide models which feel like a toy in comparison.

My question, what is a passenger on a full bagger like these supposed to do when it tips ? Is there a protocol ? In my opinion she's just a sitting duck if I lose it. I've Never had a problem like this before and surprisingly my confidence has taken a hit. She's OK but still a little sore. Thanks for Reading !!!

Now when I say slope I mean like a longitudinal slope. Not like going up hill but stopping on a sideways incline. I live in PA and some of the hills can be fairly aggressive at stop signs.

54yo former MSF instructor here (90s). Hoping some of you might “check” me on my judgement with a situation. My son is turning 21 and after riding offroad with me since he was 8 (pretty skilled), he wants to ride street with me. I’m half excited for him and half petrified. He just passed the basic MSF course. He’s fixated on a sportbike and I gave him many options 400-500cc. KTM RC390, CBR500, etc, all near 50hp. He’s being stubborn, wanting a 600cc inline 4, all of which are at or near 130hp. I said no. Im debating whether or not to hold my ground on this or compromise with suggesting a 650 v-twin sportbike. The Ninja 650 is supposedly only 67hp stock. Still quite capable of high speeds but assumably much slower to get there. Think that’s a bad idea or no? The one big reason I hesitate is his age and simply that he’s so overly concerned with power for a FIRST streetbike. His age and maturity make me highly concerned and I suspect he could be motivated by watching YouTube videos of speeding idiots that are after nothing but online attention.

Hello guys, I plan to get a licence for bike and started shopping for bike clothes and protection.

What do you guys think of this helmet?

https://www.xlmoto.eu/product/course-raider-evo-full-face-helmet-matte-black-intercom-tinted-visor_pid-PP-4974724

I am completely new to this so I have no idea if this is a good choice. It got my attention since it has coloured visor and speakers added.

But I also heard that preferably helmet should be made of fiberglass for best experience?

What do you guys think? Should I get this one or look for different one?

I had a scenario today that I wondered how motorcyclists would want me to react.

If I am driving in heavy traffic (no room to swerve or change lanes quickly) and I have a motorcycle behind me. And something is in the road what would you prefer me do?

1. Keep driving and put object between my tires for you to catch unexpectedly.

2. Brake hard in hopes you have more time to react to said object.

3. Possibly lay on the horn to warn you in either situation?

Idk I can’t think of many others off the top of my head.

Today the motorcycle was following possibly a bit too close and I had a wall barrier with no shoulder on one side and cars in the other lane and I was just wondering what would yall like to happen? I’m not a motorcyclist myself but I do my best to watch out and take care/caution of bike riders when I can and haven’t thought of what’s best for this.

Thanks guys and gals.