We had the talk....... | Page 5 | GTAMotorcycle.com

We had the talk.......

Funny enough, my wife thinks the yellow MGB is much safer than a motorcycle. Sure it has bumpers and indeed has more visibility than most motorcycles but, if we are in a wreck, it won’t be pretty. I’ll let her keep thinking she is safer. Lol


As for SUVs that provide over confidence for drivers.......Dec 1 during the ice rain, I was “that guy”.

Single vehicle accident, no one around me, no distractions. AWD and proper snow tires driving below the speed limit in the right lane. Lost traction and couldn’t recover.

It was fairly low speed but, still ended up in the ditch on its roof.

Side curtain airbags deployed, written off.
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The MG is a beauty and I also drive a forester I just picked up a 2020 I'm jasper green. I also have a 1970 cuda 383 4 speed, 1969 barracuda 318 auto, 87 alfa spider just like your MG I dont think the alfa would fare very well in a crash God forbid it should happen.

like I said I used to ride in Europe EVERY year uo until 5 years ago, been all over the US and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that its a lot more difficult to ride because there are THAT much MORE people since 5 years ago, 10 years ago 20 years ago! alot of bad drivers, a lot of young punks driving mommy's benz, and new immigrants who just got their license. so its clusterfu*k of factors.

I'm not afraid, because I'm a cautious reasonable rider and driver. its just that we have to be MUCH MORE alert and make the right choices.
 
Just for the record your '70 cuda or 69 barracuda wont fair that well in a crash either. My original trade, before I discovered 'sales' where I don't get dirty and make a lot more money was autobody. I worked on a lot of those cars. They don't build 'em like they used to is a good thing!

My opinion (worth what your paying me for it) , if your wife is really not happy about motorcycles , don't do it. They'll tell you its cool, I get it. They don't get it. If you have to look at some track days and rent a bike, go rent a bike for some off road days, sign up for the BMW off road camp where they let you plow huge 1200's through the dirt. I'd look into being happy some how else if a road bike was going to cause stress at home.
 
IMO the best thing you can teach your kids is risk assessment, not how to hide under a bed. Safe riding. Safe canoeing. Safe flying. Safe swimming. Safe friends.

Set safe examples. Kids get bored and if they don't get some release from your things they will go wild with someone else's stuff or turn into a couch potato.
 
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Just for the record your '70 cuda or 69 barracuda wont fair that well in a crash either. My original trade, before I discovered 'sales' where I don't get dirty and make a lot more money was autobody. I worked on a lot of those cars. They don't build 'em like they used to is a good thing!

My opinion (worth what your paying me for it) , if your wife is really not happy about motorcycles , don't do it. They'll tell you its cool, I get it. They don't get it. If you have to look at some track days and rent a bike, go rent a bike for some off road days, sign up for the BMW off road camp where they let you plow huge 1200's through the dirt. I'd look into being happy some how else if a road bike was going to cause stress at home.

Both Mopars TOTALLY unsafe, my daughter wanted to come for a ride and my said yes, I said NO! ain't got no airbag, abs, it's just a raw muscle car. but I eventually took her out for ice cream in it
 
I agree with some of the risk factors increasing now in the GTA, my biggest concern is legalization added on top of people distracted driving, people are also less aware now days of their surroundings or living in the present. Everyone's go somewhere to be, thinking of social media, dinner, that last text etc...

Although not in the same boat as you, for 2 years now I've been debating making the move out west and hanging the lid up in the GTA, less people, and been there 3-4 times now, including Calgary and the place just seems more civilized, less population too, better roads as-well. I figured we get jobs to suit our lifestyle and skills, partners to live with, cars that make us tick, why put up with an environment that doesn't accommodate our lives, be it in our minds. Too bad moving out west now means I can't afford motorcycles lol, no perfect solutions in life.

In your case, I'd get into dirt bikes, skip the roads and get the family involved.
 
My wife made me get higher life insurance when i got the motorcycle.

She won't get on it cause "someone has to survive for the kids"

This agreement has worked great so far.
 
I agree with some of the risk factors increasing now in the GTA, my biggest concern is legalization added on top of people distracted driving, people are also less aware now days of their surroundings or living in the present. Everyone's go somewhere to be, thinking of social media, dinner, that last text etc...

I hate going into Toronto on my bike now. We used to go to LnL all the time. We would go to Dundas Square on Friday and Saturday nights, park by the Hard Rock. Have something to eat on the patio, or go to the Big Slice (I miss the Big Slice)
 
I hate going into Toronto on my bike now. We used to go to LnL all the time. We would go to Dundas Square on Friday and Saturday nights, park by the Hard Rock. Have something to eat on the patio, or go to the Big Slice (I miss the Big Slice)
I used to go to LndL, younge and dundas etc... I hate to say it but Toronto is a dump! very ****** quality of people. very few courteous people, common courtesy of people are shooting one another out in the open.... driving and texting, putting make up on while driving aggressive driving, erratic driving. etc... a large part is young 18-25 y.o punks and lack of care. I remember the big slice. I totally hated riding down toronto towards the end of my riding stint. imagine now how much more ********.
 
I agree with some of the risk factors increasing now in the GTA, my biggest concern is legalization added on top of people distracted driving, people are also less aware now days of their surroundings or living in the present. Everyone's go somewhere to be, thinking of social media, dinner, that last text etc...

Although not in the same boat as you, for 2 years now I've been debating making the move out west and hanging the lid up in the GTA, less people, and been there 3-4 times now, including Calgary and the place just seems more civilized, less population too, better roads as-well. I figured we get jobs to suit our lifestyle and skills, partners to live with, cars that make us tick, why put up with an environment that doesn't accommodate our lives, be it in our minds. Too bad moving out west now means I can't afford motorcycles lol, no perfect solutions in life.

In your case, I'd get into dirt bikes, skip the roads and get the family involved.
I agree out west is way better quality people i was out there skiing in November and was there mountin biking last summer. amazing place. and I'm not a minority over there like i am here ? .... all this said. the dangers are present, and are only growing as time moves on. My dad has this cool oldschool vespa that I wanted to restore , maybe I'll just buzz around my neighbourhood on that thing.
 
No way man Toronto rocks. There is no better place in the world to make a living, just don't try drinking the ground water or swimming in the Don River, it's been polluted beyond belief and should be put on the list of Toronto stuff that could kill you.
 
Riding here is the same old same old.

You are getting old and have less patience to deal with it.
 
Sounds like your wife's friend has a big mouth.
Anyhow yeah drivers around the GTA are $hit, but doesn't mean you need to ride around the GTA.
You'll figure this out, maybe not now, but later whenever you decide when it's right.
 
I am fine with being in the GTA but only having a couple km to ride to get out of the built-up area. Got 10 years out of the edge of the built-up area being the end of my street, but such is progress.

Retirement - coming soon - is going to see more track riding and less street riding, a few trips down south, a few trips to Europe. Only have one life to live, I want to see and do things while I still can.
 
Riding here is the same old same old.

You are getting old and have less patience to deal with it.
OLD!?!? Brother I'm only 32! lol I just dont have patience for stupid people. that being said riding is probably same old same old it's the people that ruin it for us good riders/drivers. we more or less have to keep an eye out for ourselves you know.
 
I'm with you. 31, wife, mom, family... oh the explanations...

Motorcyclists are less protected than drivers, so the consequences of an accident are higher, but don't be a statistically average rider.

1. More than half of moto accidents involve riders with less than 6 months of experience. (Put yourself in that group when returning after a hiatus)
2. Motorcycle riding courses cut the accident rate of a rider in half (I've been to two already. I definitely recommend a refresher course)
3. Alcohol leads to 25% higher chance of accident.
4. Speed. 25% of fatalities are SINGLE VEHICLE CRASHES into a pole or fence. Many more are single-vehicle crashes into ditches, head-on while passing.
5. Gear. Wear it all.
*From fortnine.ca and wikipedia.

Riders always say, "its the stupid driver you gotta watch out for". But this is the smallest part of it, I think. Attitude is everything.

Definitely, don't rely on right-of-way. Ride on your tippy-toes and with your brain set to "ON".
eg. A stupid left-turner is TO BE EXPECTED, and doesn't absolve a rider from looking up at the birds going into an intersection 10 over the limit (a perfectly reasonable speed away from intersections), even if we have the green light.

So the biggest thing is your own mentality. If you hold yourself responsible for what happens on your bike................... you're still probably gonna get hurt eventually.
 
Similar situation to yours. When I got married, I told my wife that the bike is off the books, and not for discussion.
AGATT
Make sure your accidental death insurance is reasonable. ($14/month)
The main concern I have with pending offspring is the "half in, half out" situation where you:
- have less spare time to go riding, don't get the "repetitions" in like you used to when riding every week
- more distractions in life
Both combine to an increased likelihood of just not riding "in the zone" which I think is incredibly dangerous.

I would hesitantly recommend a cool sports car only if you have an interest in doing lapping days/club lapping days/autox/drag racing. If not, having a fast car in flat roads of Toronto would bore the **** out of me. Being on 2 wheels makes it marginally more palatable to get to the twisties outside of GTA. Now if we were talking about Europe or California, this would be a completely different story. For the fella that is contemplating sports cars, definitely stick with the top 3: Miata, BRZ, non-zo6 Corvette. Maybe BMW M3 or 911. Anything else is far too niche, and when you show up at the local lapping/autox day, and you are the only person with that platform, it gets boring even in that competitive landscape. If you compare that to a Miata, there will be 5+ others at any event, and the brotherhood/friendly competition makes it so much more enjoyable--I'd say even more so than riding 2-wheels with friends since you can LEGALLY compete with your friends in addition to the cruise in/out.

If I had a kid show up on my doorstep tomorrow, I think I would store both bikes, get Tesla to get my heart rate up from stoplight to stoplight, and probably pick up a little city scooter or electric dirt bike. Saw one ($4k usd though) from Segway earlier, and that really looks like fun. But the above mention of "nowhere to dirtbike for fun" would certainly make me backpedal that stupidly expensive decision and probably settle for some cheap to insure scooter. Though I bet an electric dirtbike would be fun on regular bicycle trails if that's permitted... Certainly would fit the same use cases as my bike currently: "terrorize the streets and neighborhood parks before 8am, back home by the time the household wakes up"

If I were in Cali, I would 100% get a Tesla. I did 2500km earlier in August over 3 days, $0 for gas, autopilot between LAX to Fresno to Lake Tahoe to Yosemite to Big Sur back down to LAX via PCH. No way I could have enjoyed the twisties if I had to "drive" interstate. Bank your awareness and attention to when the elevation changes with twisties. The only thing that would come close in the GTA would be a MC or something electric 2-wheels on a hitch of a Tesla that would auto-pilot you to/from something cool.
 
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Similar situation to yours. When I got married, I told my wife that the bike is off the books, and not for discussion.
AGATT
Make sure your accidental death insurance is reasonable. ($14/month)
The main concern I have with pending offspring is the "half in, half out" situation where you:
- have less spare time to go riding, don't get the "repetitions" in like you used to when riding every week
- more distractions in life
Both combine to an increased likelihood of just not riding "in the zone" which I think is incredibly dangerous.

I would hesitantly recommend a cool sports car only if you have an interest in doing lapping days/club lapping days/autox/drag racing. If not, having a fast car in flat roads of Toronto would bore the **** out of me. Being on 2 wheels makes it marginally more palatable to get to the twisties outside of GTA. Now if we were talking about Europe or California, this would be a completely different story. For the fella that is contemplating sports cars, definitely stick with the top 3: Miata, BRZ, non-zo6 Corvette. Maybe BMW M3 or 911. Anything else is far too niche, and when you show up at the local lapping/autox day, and you are the only person with that platform, it gets boring even in that competitive landscape. If you compare that to a Miata, there will be 5+ others at any event, and the brotherhood/friendly competition makes it so much more enjoyable--I'd say even more so than riding 2-wheels with friends since you can LEGALLY compete with your friends in addition to the cruise in/out.

If I had a kid show up on my doorstep tomorrow, I think I would store both bikes, get Tesla to get my heart rate up from stoplight to stoplight, and probably pick up a little city scooter or electric dirt bike. Saw one ($4k usd though) from Segway earlier, and that really looks like fun. But the above mention of "nowhere to dirtbike for fun" would certainly make me backpedal that stupidly expensive decision and probably settle for some cheap to insure scooter. Though I bet an electric dirtbike would be fun on regular bicycle trails if that's permitted... Certainly would fit the same use cases as my bike currently: "terrorize the streets and neighborhood parks before 8am, back home by the time the household wakes up"

If I were in Cali, I would 100% get a Tesla. I did 2500km earlier in August over 3 days, $0 for gas, autopilot between LAX to Fresno to Lake Tahoe to Yosemite to Big Sur back down to LAX via PCH. No way I could have enjoyed the twisties if I had to "drive" interstate. Bank your awareness and attention to when the elevation changes with twisties. The only thing that would come close in the GTA would be a MC or something electric 2-wheels on a hitch of a Tesla that would auto-pilot you to/from something cool.


hahah yeah I thought about just restoring my dads old vespa and just cruising around neighbourhood or maybe even a little mini bike to screw around with.

AND YES to electric powered scooter and boards those things are extremely fast for something that weights practically nothing.

I have a few cars already in my collection, I always like to add more lol
 

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