Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi,
I once came on here heaps, but sold my bike and stopped checking in. 18months on i still have an itchy toe and on occassion have woken up with my wrist twitching from dreams of two wheels and open roads.

Im 21 and my partner is having a baby in december, she has said i can get a bike (she hates the mighty boy i drive) but i face an ethical dilema in that riding is dangerous and although having riden a bike for 2 years as my only form of transport, and trust my skills as a safe rider, i'm still cautious of the implications if i have a crash(its the fools in cages i worry about). i can load up on insurance to cover financial burdens, but if i bite the dust what then?
i was curious what others would do in my shoes, and if there are many people who ride and have families?
Cheers glenn

well it is a hard decission, i have though about if i would still ride once i had kids, and i think yes then i think no.

maybe talk to your partner and talk about the pros and cons.

if you trust your riding and you always have your family in the back of your mind, you will ride in a manner which makes sure you get home every time.

if you feel you miss it so much, buy a bike and see how it goes for a few months.
you wont know unless you try

Don't be such a pessimist, although if something happens to you I didn't say that..
I have a wife, a 4 year old and an 18 month old. I've been riding all my life and got my misses into it until she had the baby.

As it would be difficult to get out without the family I eventually sold my road bike, but not before buying a track bike. That way the whole family got to go out for a day and watch daddy ride.
Unfortuantely Daddy crashed at the track and busted himself and the bike up just prior to the birth of number 1 son. Luckily I was all patched up, albeit with a steel rod in my shoulder, when he was born and the bike was also ready to go. He was 3 weeks old when he spent his first day at the track.
That lasted for 3 years and we had a great time but track days became too expensive so I bought another road bike.
I don't think about being killed on the bike, nor does the misses as we have been doing this for years, but yes it could happen. I could also get hit a by a bus, get cirrhosis of the liver or have numerous others things happen that I don't want to think about.

Anyway, its up to you and something you should talk thru with the misses.
And don't listen to all those that say "live for today, as tomorrow may never come", because it more than likely will and its better to be prepared for it than not..

I had been planning for quite a while (years) to get my license and start riding. Got the bug waaay back when I was 14 riding around our 12 acre property out in Young on an old Honda XL185S ag bike.
When I met my girlfriend (now fiance) I had always told her I wanted to get my license and start riding. She was never a fan of the idea, but said I could *one day*.
We've since had a boy who's now 2 years old and have another baby on the way (a girl due early December). I got my L's in April and spent a few months saving and hunting for my first bike.
I've now got that sorted out and as of last wednesday have been riding to and from work.

I've always got them in the back of my mind when I start up the bike and head off to work, but I do really love riding and the fiance understands that (even though I have to SMS her the very second I get to work ).

It's a far riskier form of transport than a car by a long way, but it's also a hell of a lot more fun and cheaper at the petrol station.
My boy also loves to hear my fire up the bike. He runs down the hall yelling "BIKE! BIKE!".
Hehehe

I would hate to think that it is not possible to ride just because you have kids. You can't wrap people up in cotton wool, and you can't stop a real motocyclist, riding!!! It might happen for a little while, but after time, it will begin to eat you away. By then your not worth having as a spouse or father any how. So, the way I look at it, I may not live forever as a motorcyclist, but at least while I am here, I will be pretty damn Happy!!

As a father, grandfather, husband etc. who has always ridden, I will offer you two pieces of advice as far as riding a bike.

1. Don't die
2. Don't die wondering

Good luck

PC

Got a son 7. The missus always asks me to be careful and I am. Echoing what others have said yes you can get killed on a bike but then again a engine could fall off a 747 and land on your house. I could be driving a tiny cage to work and get cleaned up by a truck and turned into patte where as on a bike I could have the manouverability and power to get out of the way. As long as you ride within your limits and keep you whits about you, and not like a suicidal moron it's not a problem.

If ya wanna ride, & U got the mrs blessings then go for it man
but if ya worried about their future if U were to have an accident
then best save yourself the worry & cage it.

I've got 3 littles with another one on the way & 1 teenager. If I
go she'll be able to handle em on her own or look for another
partner.

At the end of the day, its a decision only you can make. U wouldnt
base that decision on what strangers say to ya bro. I know I wouldnt.

Wow I must be lucky. My parents, in-laws, brothers, and wife .. all ride motorbikes. ....

... and so will my 5yrs daughter & 3yrs old boy eventually... why we just had a spin around the block

If ya gotta ask then don't.
Les

les2010 wrote:If ya gotta ask then don't.
Les

Exactly.

Mate, I am married and have three kids (13, 11 and 10). I originally got a bike as we only had the one car and I couldn't really justify a second car just to drive to the station. My wife's not THAT happy with me on a bike, and won't get on the back. Nor will she 'let' me trade in the ZZR600 for a ZX14. She would be ok to let me move up to a Z750, but I sprung a Z1000 on her I don't think she'd notice.

I don't commute every day into the city, it's a bit like playing russian roulete, and the weather is absolute shite over half the time in Melbourne. I don't care what anyone says, commuting in the rain in winter blows...

Actually, with the way petrol and the cost of servicing and replacing the tyres is at the moment it's actually cheaper to catch the VLine train in from Woodend.

I'm lucky. My partner Jenny was a rider before I met her. In fact it caused friction early on that I wasn't a rider, because I just never understood.

Of course thats long changed, and we've ridden many thousands of kms in formation together. She regularly pillions her 12yo daughter, and has done for many years.

We had a good friend die in a bike accident. Low speed, high traffic area, wasn't doing anything reckless, just wrong place wrong time. We mourned the loss, but never questioned his wisdom in riding. He was a veteran rider who loved riding with a passion. At his wake they had a slide show of dozens of photos of him riding and his beaming smile next to his bike. There were no photos of him staying home, denying his dreams.

Choices and consequences. Its your call man. Thats life.

Carpe Diem

If you just take it easy on yer bike u should b alright! i have wondered sometimes just cruising through town sometimes if a truck or someone being chased by a cop getting way will jsut burn through an intersection.. i know they sound a little extreme! but yeah.. Hobart is pretty quiet and if u just keep yer eyes open and obey all the road rules , speed limits, ALL signs, slow down and look around intersections, don't hide behind bigger vehicles, but make sure yer exposed. and have a noisy exhaust so everyone can hear you
but seriously! just the obvious stuff and that will minimise any risks!

Geez I've got 5 kids and I still ride ....even after spending 18 months off after being t-boned by a car and seriously messing up my right leg ( look up severed ) and I still feel safer riding then driving , Oh and with 5 kids I need the time alone ,, if you don't you could regret it for the rest of your life my missus pushed me to get back on after my accident . I didn't want to for ages it had something to do with a lot of pain and seeing gore ( it's different when it's your own ) but memories of these things fade and now I'm fine well most of the time anyway