Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Ratmick wrote:

Strika wrote:Self-aggreandishment?? I'm not the holier than thou person who posted the original thread? But, sorry, I forgot that you are perfect and have never broken the speed limit!

Oh, and Mick, I still consider you a mate and I would say exactly the same thing to any mate who made similiar comments. On the putter, or in person!

However, you posted that thread for a reason. Which I can only assume, is that you honestly believe that this young person has done an incredibly bad thing, when in fact, all he has done is speed in what could only be described as no mans land, like most (apart from you obviously) did when we were that age! Mick this is the real world, not some sanitised environment created by those who believe we are all in need of protection from ourselves! (although the way things are going that won;t be too far away!)

Oh and just for the record, I never speed on the warburton Hwy! It's not the place for it!

The Warburton was an example, obviously a bad one .

Look Marty, I am flattered you still think I'm a mate. Having said that none of my mates have called me a unrealistic wanker before, so maybe that caught me out.

You've no doubt noticed that nowhere in my threads did I ever say I didn't do anything remiss in my youth...but having said that I was and still am remarkably boring. I've never smoked (anything legal or otherwise) I have never taken drugs, apart from the alcohol in red wine and beer and the caffiene in coffee. I have had mates that have indulged in my presence, personally I didn't give a shit what they ingested (still don't) and I was quite happy to act as the designated driver or pizza maker. They always offered whatever they were taking at least once, but I always declined and everyone's happy.

It's pretty clear we're looking at things from different perspectives, you seem to see the rules there as a limit to be broken whenever it's clear to you you can get away with it. I see them as a guide we should at east try and abide by as there are normally good reasons why they are there. These reasons aren't always negative to motorcyclists in general, although they can sometimes seem that way. Most of them are common sense, something that young men in general seem to sometimes lack and I probably did suffered the same lack of good judgement at the same age.

As for now, well I am now in my mid-40s and I have only having ridden for a relatively short time compared to the rest of you guys on here and I am well aware of my own limitations. I am now essentially a single-father and responsible for the upbringing of three teenage children (plus the partner of a wonderful lady with one child more living with us). As such I don't generally put myself position where I would possibly jeopardise my ability to care for them and hence try to minimise risk-taking behaviour to a minimum. Motorcycling in general is inherently risky and as I feel responsible to them and myself to be a provider and father I am into minimising risk. I gather this comes across as boring / 'holier than thou' / 'unrealistic' or whatever to you but mate you come across exactly the opposite.

You seem to think everything that every dopey P-Plater does is fine as long as no-one gets hurt, the road is long flat and open or they aren't caught. Realistically mate this is all good until someone gets hurt or they are caught. Often they hurt themselves - badly. Sometimes they take someone else out with them who didn't deserve it. Sometimes this is a mate, or a brother or sister. The papers are full of pictures of kids that have wrapped themselves, their cars or bikes and/or their mates around trees on open flat boring roads after doing unreasonable speeds with virtually no experience. Maybe I'm boring, but this seems pretty stupid behaviour. Maybe I was lucky doing unreasonable speeds when I was younger, and maybe you were too. Not everyone is lucky.

Anyway in my case I can neither afford the fines, don't want the points and CANNOT lose my license under any circumstances. It's just not possible living out here without one and quite frankly there are so many ways you can lose it quite easily you have to be extra-careful if you can't live without one.

Also from a moral point of view I'd also never be able to live with myself if I caused injury to someone else by causing an accident due to something which was inherently wrong to start with.

Sorry to bite your head off, it hasn't been a good couple of weeks.

Mick

Jonno wrote:
Since you asked, thanks for this, been waiting for a while

You know who I am I want to speek to you!