Motorcycle Views

10 Motorcycle Myths

You will eventually get hurt or killed on a motorcycle.

If you don't come from a motorcycle family and decide that you want to learn to ride a motorcycle, usually you get lots of advice from your family. They will tell you, "Motorcycles are dangerous." They'll call them murder-cycles or donor-cycles. They'll remind you that, "Uncle Ed got killed on a motorcycle. You stay away from motorcycles. You'll get killed too."

Now a certain amount of caution is OK so long as it's constructive. They fail to mention that there are many old riders on the road who have been riding 35-60 years and are still alive.

They don't know about all the advances in safety in the last 20 years. Bikes now have disc brakes. Some even have ABS brakes. Most riders are getting trained to ride safely through the programs of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF).

There are support groups for riders such as the five motorcycle forums here on this site.

If you come from a motorcycle family, you're still not home free. They will encourage you to ride but they may give you bad advice or worse yet, try to teach you to ride. Don't ever let a loved one teach you to ride. Worst of all is learning totally on your own.

Take my advice. Level the odds by learning all you can about the proper way to ride a motorcycle. Let the MSF teach you. Then get an experienced trusted friend who is also MSF trained to go out with you as you practice. Wear protective apparel and a helmet. You CAN learn to be a safe rider and manage the risks of riding.

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