Crawdaddy 96 Posted October 31, 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/30/marine.mo...cles/index.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 906 Posted October 31, 2008 The Navy/Marine Corps has started a new sport bike specific MSF class, it will be a requirement for any sport bike owner to get their motorcycle on the base. I'll be taking it as soon as I can when I get home and will report back here. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37831 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sandiegoland 0 Posted October 31, 2008 The "total vs. total" numbers are an alarm for sure, but it was staggering long before the total numbers matched. Not all Marines ride: 200,000 Marines 18,000 Marine Sportbike Owners 25 Motorcycle Deaths (all but one on a sportbike) 20 Iraq deaths Crunch the numbers against the industry measure of lethal hazard "Annual Deaths per 100,000": 139 deaths per 100,000 Marine riders annually 10 Iraq deaths per 100,000 Marines annually The numbers are only an alarm. Suicides also top combat deaths. I think a better comparison is how the motorcycle deaths compare to other forms of transportation and/or recreation, and whether or not there was alcohol involved. Motorcycling is hard to pigeon-hole because it combines transportation with recreation, but I suppose anything that draws attention or helps prevent an avoidable death is good. I just wouldn't expect it to ever go to zero with people that recreate hard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DigDug 0 Posted October 31, 2008 I saw that this morning... When it was on the "front page" of CNN's website: Just in time for me to take my 2-year MSF ERC refresher on Monday... I'm standing by for "lectures"... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted October 31, 2008 I saw that this morning... When it was on the "front page" of CNN's website: Just in time for me to take my 2-year MSF ERC refresher on Monday... I'm standing by for "lectures"... Want me to start one for you right now? Oh... you mean the officers? OK- here it is anyway... motorcycles do not have a steel cage around you.... motorcycles do now stay upright if you can't balance them... they do not have seatbelts... motorcycles tend to separate from the rider after balance has been lost... a human being was not meant to slide along the road at 100 mph, nor was he meant to fly...learn to ride slow, before you learn to ride fast... once you think you can ride fast, take it to a track... and the most important thing... Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 906 Posted October 31, 2008 I can't tell you how many young Sailors/Marines I have overheard in the last few weeks talking about getting a motorcycle after this deployment. A few of my Sailors have mentioned it, and none of them have ridden before. Guess what kinds of bikes they all want? GSXR-1000, R-1, Triumph Speed Triple, etc. These are first time riders, saying that a 600 isn't powerful enough! Yeah, they get a lot of influence from their peer group and there isn't much that an out of touch Chief that rides a slow dirtbike can tell them. The training will be a small step in the right direction, but until there is something like tiered licensing in place I don't see it getting better soon. I know a lot of people don't want to hear that, but I think it would make the motorcycling public safer as a whole. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strega 0 Posted October 31, 2008 Had a guy offer to buy my R6 last night, I asked what he had ridden before, he said, "This will be my first bike". I told him the R6 would be a very bad choice, and that he needed a Ninja 250 after taking the MSF. Couldn't feel good about selling the kid my R6. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted October 31, 2008 good call Roger... I wouldn't sell my ZX11 to the first two buyers, either I also would not teach a girl to ride, after seeing her drive... some people aren't cut out to ride, and NOBODY is cut out to learn on a GSXR or an R6 (ok; one in a thousand may have the maturity and restraint... I wouldn't) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
husky4me 0 Posted November 2, 2008 I was watching the news about the above article, with other co-workers present (we watch the news during lunch time)... Since I commute to work daily on my triumph (and they see me early in the morning with all my gear), immediately the group looked at me... One of them said, she was glad there are helmets laws in the state... I was immediately the center of attention and critics made comments about how dangerous motorcycles are... Well, I respect other people making their own choices about how to ride, how to play, risks their lives, or how to kill themselves... I believe in freedom! The only problem is that all those adrenaline seeking sport riders riding at high speeds on the road, does give the rest of us a bad reputation... Sometimes I get tired of defending my sport, and my right to ride... Since statistics are going up, I just hope it does not reflect negatively on all riders by having more restrictions, more discrimination against us, and higher insurance premiums. Education which includes safety riding courses are all good, but I believe people will continue to seek adrenaline on motorcycles and we will continue to have riders begin the sport riding beyon their skill level... this is just human nature... Please no more restrictions and regulations for motorcycles! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted November 3, 2008 Back in the mid 80s I worked in a service department at a Kawasaki shop in Oceanside, not far from the Marine base there. A lot the young Marines liked to buy Ninjas. It didn't matter if they had ridden before or not. The "in" thing to do was to buy a sport bike if you were a Marine. I remember jarheads excitedly arriving to pick up their new 600 or 900 ZX from the service department. About two thirds got out of the driveway clean; the rest usually stalled, lost their balance and dumped their machines right at the end of the driveway where it met the street. Lots of these sportbikes came back soon after they left, for insurance estimates on crash damage. It is just the nature of young men to want to take risks whether they have a lot of experience under their belts or not. Riding sportbikes on the weekends was fun, relatively inexpensive and something to talk "dooky" about during the week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chief Gunner 2 Posted November 3, 2008 Personally I believe the dealerships should be more responsible with the type of bikes they are selling to newb riders. There are a few dealerships here in our area that are infamous for steering unknowing customers to bigger, more powerful and more expensive bikes (bigger sales commission for the salesperson). I liked the post Strega made about not selling his R6 to an in experienced rider The guy I bought my VMax from told me he had turned away two other people who showed up to look at it because he said he could not live with his conscience if he sold it to them and they got killed on it. When I called him to set up a time to see the bike he asked me if I knew how to ride, so to convince him I hopped on my son-in-laws R1 and rode to meet him and we went for a short ride together the night before I picked up the VMax. He was comfortable with selling me the bike after that he saw that I could handle the R1. Getting used to the VMax took me awhile and I think there is a steeper learning curve on a heavy cruiser with allot of power like it has. I'm doing much better in the twisties with it now than I did on the first few rides but I am mindful of the bikes and more importantly my limits. I picked up pretty quick on the CBR and R1 but I also realized how easy it is to get into trouble on those type of bikes because of "Over confidence"....I just wish these younger guys would check their egos in at the door when they walk into a dealership and realize that it takes skill, maturity and sound judgment to handle any size bike properly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grantzilla 0 Posted December 24, 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/30/marine.mo...cles/index.html I'm always amazed when young sailors tell me they want a liter bike as their first ride. It is getting more unusal to see a 600 or smaller as a first bike for service members. I give em the speech, but doubt it sinks in, about going at a moderate fun pace, riding within your limits and buying the bike that "fits". I follow up with the horror stories, mine and others, but don't want to glorify the risk. I have lived in countries that had a tiered licensing system and it made a lot of sense. I know this rubs the whole freedom of choice crowd the wrong way. It seems to work tho and provides experience by making it a requirement of the process. Does an 18 year old need a GSXR1000 as his first bike? I dunno, but I also know an XT225 kicked my ass worse than any other bike after 18 years of riding! Go figure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
