Chicagoland Sportbike Forums banner

Keep your ego in check...

12K views 131 replies 58 participants last post by  RMarcil34 
#1 ·
All joking aside ok. And this may go for other people on here as well and myself for that matter because I am not a saint and I am by no means the safest or best rider myself. We all take chances riding on the street and on the track every time we saddle up onto our motorcycles.

I have numerous times in various threads stated how crazy Germany rides and comparing him to being crazier than G2G. I'd like to apologize for this as I would hope one would not try to live up to the statements in posts I have submitted. Meaning, don't ride crazier just because I am talking shit on the internet. This goes for anyone on here. Try to ride with your ego in check and within your skill level. You don't need to prove your skills to anyone especially on a street ride. I understand we get excited and start having a good time and take more chances. I just don't want to see any of my good friends or fellow riders get hurt.

I'm 31 now and the older I get the more I realize my mortality. The reasons why I realize this is because for one I saw my dad get killed right infront of my eyes back in 01. I was on my bike and he was on his. It was fucking horrible and forever embedded in my brain. I have witness horrible crashes on the street and on the track. The sport of motorcycling is one of the greatest things in my life but in the same breath I know that it can bite really hard.

So this is just a post for everyone on here for all my friends and fellow riders to be safe during the upcoming riding season. I know we are all anxious to get out there. Be safe, ride safe, wear your gear, watch out for potholes and watch out for assholes pulling out in front of you.

Ride safe,

Nick
 
See less See more
#3 ·
You're only 31? - Fuck I am old
 
#8 ·
Try to take all the right precautions with your equipment as well.

Check your tire pressure / tire wear, check your brake pads, check your chain and sprockets before every ride. Don't let a stupid mechanical failure or lack of maintenance give you a ride in the hearse.

If you have safety concerns post them. If you are hesitant with your skills take a class to build up your confidence and riding ability.
 
#12 ·
being newish 2 riding... this makes total sense. i realize it's dangerous and thinking i'm invincible is not the smart way of thinkin when i'm on my bike. and for that reason, i think i consider myself more of a cruiser. i love sport bikes but at the same time, i dont have 2 prove shit 2 any1. my bike is sexy and i love 2 ride. that's it. i see no need 2 take the bike to her limits and do excessive speeding or acting "crazy" but that's just me.... :)
 
#15 ·
The problem is if people have not seen bad shit happen they will ignore this. A rude awakening is typically required to get the message across.

It's funny sometimes to. People who are new in the sport praise it and say it is the best thing ever and the most awesome time they have had. Then, they see bad shit happen or bad shit happens to them. Then suddenly motorcycles are the worst thing on the planet. I hate that.
 
#34 ·
This hits the nail right on the head, unfortunately its all too easy to take the im careful and cautious stance and think it wont happen to me. Having been through the rude awakening, it truly does stick with you.

On the street with a group of your friends, keep an eye on eachother, watch for signs of fatigue or someone potentially riding over their head to keep up, someone making little errors that on their own are probably insignificant can be warnings

At the track its ok to push it and expand the envelope of your skills but approach your limits with caution and a cool head.
 
#18 ·
We are all getting older Nick. I got a handful of years on you also and I can say that every year I get more cautious, kind of counter intuitive since every year technically we have more experience. Good thing that I did not ride when I was a lot younger. Thought I was invincible back then, luckily I was into cars then. If I rode I would have never seen 20.
 
#19 ·
if there is any doubt about your tires, get new ones, too many riders run their tires way past their time, especially front tires!!! dont be a cheap ass when you can get a pilot power for a hundie, best money you could spend, dont matter who you buy it from or who mounts it, just do it, and dont cheap out on that custom murdered out crotch rocket with the $2K paint job and all to put a shinko on to save $20 you cheap fukkers, you all know who you are
 
#22 ·
BTW I don't know who this G2G character is but he sounds like an ass. LOL


But seriously I know I have had this conversation many of times with close friends here. within the last 2-3 years I have slowed down quite a bit. Broken bones and bad crashes do that to a person. Like Nick, I have seen friends crash and die in front of my eyes and it stays with you forever.

When people that I don't know are on a group ride with me or other faster guys there is NO need to try to impress us. You want to impress me? well don't crash on a group ride, ride safe and don't stop for cops.

Great post Nick.

BTW I am 38 but I feel like 58.
 
#28 · (Edited)
This thread was total awesome until Under2000 had to go and post "take it to the track." Nick can correct me if I am wrong (he has in the past, lol), but I think that is not Nick's point at all. He is addressing both enviroments where you can get hurt or killed. One enviroment may give you better odds, but the result can be the same, better or worse.
 
#30 ·
This thread was total awesome until Shelly had to go and post "take it to the track." Nick can correct me if I am wrong (he has in the past, lol), but I think that is not Nick's point at all. He is addressing both enviroments where you can get hurt or killed. One enviroment may give you better odds, but the result can be the same, better or worse.
Someone said take it to the track before I did
 
#33 ·
ok, now I gotta add something...
... I started my life on bikes, with guys from SoW, some guys were pretty fast - former racers included-... one for my first rides on a CBR1000 went to the city and back wit speeds and things that were ( now looking at it) stupid, but at that time just cool.
forth and back to the city from SoW in 22-25min, was normal. In on 90 back on 290...

Now I see things different and I ride way more different, I might take the occasional risk and speed demon run, but at times when I used to keep going just out of a rush, I slow down now. Things changed in my mind.

Back than you came back to streets and got off the bike on an adrenalin rush and you were all hyped up. After time that whole rush kept getting smaller and almost faded away. Just last Year I was telling Dennywags that I don't get excited anymore like I used to, it starts to be business as usual.

Than every once in a while you run along with some guys from SoW that think they are SOOOOO bad ass and try to show you that they think you are outdated and slow. Well sometimes I just let them belive so, but than other times I just can't control myself and end up waiting for all those speedy guys at Upper Wacker for 5 to 10min and listen to their excuses and watch them talk later and you can see that they start to realize their opinion is wrong...

Well one thing changed with me last year, after I started to spend excessive time on track- I got way better in controlling a bike and I lost the interest in running like a moron to the city and back...

oh well I guess sometime in the future I will really be a slow old man...

And Nick is right about what he said we all, well a lot of us need to chill the f* down we are playing with our own lives...
 
#65 · (Edited)
Well one thing changed with me last year, after I started to spend excessive time on track- I got way better in controlling a bike and I lost the interest in running like a moron to the city and back...

o
+10 400


Yeah, right? After being at the track, you realize that the quickest way around a corner is with all your weight off the bike, knee down on the ground.

OK, raise your hand if you've saved it from totally tucking the front because you were able to ride the slide out on your knee.

C'mon, brag a little.

Anyway, you can't hardly ride knee down through the mean city streets. Thing is, though, at this point you realize how much faster you now are, waaay faster then you ever were on the street. Moreover, you've experienced the ideal environment in which to go that fast, thereby making you totally cognizant of how pointless, and deadly, it is to ride like a maniac on the street. So, I guess I'm not technically saying take it to the track.

I'm just saying.
 
#35 ·
Also watch out for potholes, they are HORRIBLE right now and we are just in our cars, especially when riding at night! I've seen what potholes can do to bikes, tires and rims!

It's going to take awhile for all the cities to get to them!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top