Is owning a motorcycle a death sentence?

Only for the stupid, or the reckless.
Some words of advice for a young man with short road experience in a pretty dangerous area:
Start with getting licensed, and for you that means the CMSP rider's course. https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/california-motorcyclist-safety/california-motorcyclist-training
Park the antique, ride a more modern bike until you gain some skill.
That's not meant to be derogatory in any way. The suspension, handling and drum brakes are not up to what every cager rolls in today. (it's why I no longer drive my '71 International)
Riding in traffic requires 360 degree awareness at ALL times - you do not get to look at the pretty girl on the sidewalk.
Cagers rely on insurance to cover their responsibility. You must rely only upon yourself. Insurance may pay to repair......but neither motorcycles nor humans are the same afterwards. Fixed aint original.

YES!
Been living 'my death wish' for about 55 years.
Must be really bad doing this, guess I need more practice.

"Is all the hype about motorcycles being death traps true?"

No.

"Or is it just as safe as riding a car if done carefully?"

No.



Motorcycles aren't death traps, but they are dangerous. No matter how careful you are, you can get into a car wreck. Same goes for bikes, except a bike wreck can also kill you.

Some of the safest riders, like Lawrence Grodsky, have been killed in accidents that they couldn't have avoided and that would have been safe in a car.



That being said, per mile, you are more likely to get into a wreck on a bicycle or walking down the street than on a motorcycle.

I don't think the danger of motorcycle riding outweighs the awesomeness of motorcycle riding. I take risks every day. Motorcycle riding is just one more.

Ahem Face it Life is a Death sentence! No matter how safe you try to be it is still an absolute fact that you are going to die and "The Risk Not Taken" is almost every dying persons greatest regret. So the question is what kind of live do you want to live? if words like freedom, joy, exhilaration, fun and excitement appeal to you, take the safety course and learn how to ride a motorcycle you won't regret it !

A death sentence? Since the bike is rideable, I'm assuming you inherited it from someone who didn't die because of this bike. So, therefore, a bike is not an automatic death sentence. At least not in the way that birth is an automatic death sentence.

Get yourself to a training course. Get your license. Wear all the gear all the time. Be careful and enjoy yourself.

Everyone born will die... it's 100%.

I could stay in bed...I will still die!

I drive a dangerous car, work a dangerous job. Life is dangerous!

What I do is have is a REWARDING life. I take risks, it's part of my life, I go on dangerous vacations, fly in planes, ride motorcycles, everything has it's trade offs...and living a DULL SAFE LIVE is not part of the equation!

It's not a death sentence.
One possibility is that you avoid motorcycle wrecks and die of something else.
Another is that you get crippled in a wreck in such a way that you're discouraged from riding a motorcycle.

People keep blocking my driveway so I can't get my motorcycle out. LOL. I own it, but it can't kill me if I can't ride it.

I've been riding since the Johnson administration (that's Lyndon Johnson, not Andrew). I had one serious accident back in 1971, and it taught me to be paranoid of idiots in cars--not to assume they see me, not to assume what they're going to do, just stay out of their way. And that has kept me safe all these years!

Statistically you are more likely to get in an accident per mile traveled on a bike than in a car. And of course when you do the consequences are more severe.

But, well first of all, I think young guys on hot sportbikes skew the statistics. Secondly, something like half of all motorcycle accidents in involve alcohol or drugs, or some other totally controllable factor.

Look at 'motorcycle fails' on YouTube. You'll see that in about 70-80% of accidents it's the motorcyclist who did something wrong, and usually something really stupid!

Take the MSF course (Motorcycle Safety Foundation--you find them through the DMV). They don't teach you to ride, they teach you some important safety habits to keep you relatively safe while you learn. If you ride safely, not full-throttle all the time, if you don't take stupid chances and do wheelies and stunts, you're already a lot safer!

As a motorcycle driver, you'll get very little respect from car and truck drivers, which is the reason they are so dangerous. Any motorcyclist who is still alive can tell you countless stories of accidents or close-calls resulting from cars pulling into their path. Those are the lucky ones. So, even if you know what you're doing and are good at it, you cannot control what other drivers do. And anytime there is an accident between a motorcycle and a big car or truck, guess who gets the worst of it.

It's certainly more dangerous then driving a car.

Being careful does help, but remember all the other idiots on the road. The ones that don't see motorbikes and pull out or turn across in front of them. If that happens, your only option is to fly though the air like superman and bounce down the road hoping your protective gear keeps you alive. At 30 mph you are going to be hurt. At 60 mph you are likely to be killed.

In a car, first they probably saw you and didn't cut you of, and second you have airbags, seatbelts and a metal cage to protect you.

While I wouldn't say they are a death trap, they ARE less safe.

not for everyone...but you'll wreck or put it down.. its only a matter of time. i dont care if you took a training course or have years of experience. its how you learn. its how you truly know your limits and the bikes limits. The only question is how fast you'll be going when it happens...

I have been riding for more than 46 years
but you are going to die some time if not a stroke or cancer or a car accident
why not on a motorcycle You got to blame it on something.

| read some time ago that motorcycle traffic accounts for .3% of passenger miles travelled and accounts for 4% of passenger mile fatalities. 4/.3 =27 times more likely to die on a motorcycle. So I don't. Have left enough skin on the pavement and have had many acquaintances killed or maimed for life.