For years I’ve dreamed of riding a motorcycle, but I was raised in a family that deemed it too risky for sane people. However, after riding a bike seriously for a few years, I can’t imagine it being that more dangerous. On my bike, there are a few close calls every year that could be REALLY bad situations that I have little control over. At least on a motorcycle you’re traveling the same speed as traffic and have a little more control over your own destiny. Anyone have any thoughts on which is more dangerous? Anybody ride both that care to comment?
My perception is:
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the more advanced you are as a motorcycle rider, the better you are as a cyclist (learning technique in turns, descents, etc.), and
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the more advanced you are as a cyclist, the better you are as a biker (motorcycle). Being extremely aware of all things around you, looking over the shoulder every time in order to move around, you ARE just more aware.
With that said, I probably would actually say I feel safer on my bicycle. Going the same speed as traffic actually makes you disappear. However, I have some added running lights on my K1200LT, so I’m lit up like a beacon. However, drivers on the open road are just so clueless, spending more time talking to their children in the backseat, talking on cell phones, etc.
I too came from a family that wouldn’t allow it growing up. It took me 42 years before I finally got my first motorcycle license 
(although I rode some friend’s around in college). Once you comfortable riding in traffic (here in So.Cal it is always a bit “challenging”), then there IS something truly remarkable about the lack of stress involved in my 30 mile drive home now. Put in 6 of my favorite CD’s, move into the carpool lane, fill up the tank once a week for $20 (getting on avg. 40 mpg)…and life is good.
Good luck, and be careful out there…
Having ridden and had accidents on both I can tell you which is worse. Getting pinched between a car and a 20 lb bicycle is a whole lot nicer than being caught between a car and a 500lb motorcycle. Not to mention a 750 lb. motorcycle.
i ride both. what’s fun is to leave your HRM on after a bike ride and go for a m/c ride. it’s like free interval training - your HR goes through the roof at times on the m/c.
as for crashing safety, i’ve gone down once at about 75 on the m/c and skinned myself up somewhat. I’ve gone down a few times at 30-35 in crits or RRs and it hurt a lot worse.
I’ve been riding motorcycles (road) since I was 18 and have about 130k miles in the saddle. I haven’t put a bike on the ground, not so much as a parking lot drop, since '91. This includes a 6wk, 12k mile tour in '94 and touring two-up on a Goldwing for about 10k miles in the last 12 months. I live in LA and commute almost daily in traffic.
I’ve been cycling since '99 and crashed…counting…shit, maybe 6 times, including a broken collarbone, LOTS of road rash at CDA’03, etc.
It’s easy to get stupid on a motorcycle and stupid happens a much faster speed, at which you slam into things that don’t move. Additionally, new motorcyclists underestimate the importance and cost of good protective gear and so don’t wear enough. When Joanne and I are on the Wing, we’re sitting in about $3-4k of protective gear. ATGATT: all the gear, all the time.
Protective gear on a bike consists of a helmet and gloves. No leather, no kevlar, crash pads, boots, etc. Brakea aren’t as good, smaller traction contact patch on the road, motorists can’t see you and when they do, they try to kill you.
In short, I’d say cycling is more dangerous than motorcycling, but when things go south on a motorcycle the go south big, bad and expensive.
A Honda salesman in Atlanta in 1987 saved my life by not talking to me about buying a motorcycle until I had taken a riding class offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF). I’m paying it forward. Do not even think about getting a bike without proper training. And when you do buy a bike, ATGATT.
Rich Strauss
Two Wheels Good
Honda GL1800 (for sale)
Suzuki DRZ400S (lazy man’s mtn bike)
Yamaha TTR-125E (wife’s brand new ride, breaking it in tomorrow)
Suzuki DL1000 VStrom (coming soon)
Yamaha WR250F (coming soon)
Cervelo P3C
Calfee Luna Pro
Cannondale Tandem
Schwinn POS Mtn bike
EXACLTY! If you decide to ride a motorcycle WEAR YOUR PROTECTIVE GEAR!
This includes:
full faced helmet
Gloves
pants (leather or heavy pants)
jacket (leather or other fancy materials)
Boots (no sneakers. You need foot/ankle protection)
I live in NH, where there is no helmet law. Which I’m fine with, it should be your choice. But many people make the wrong choice. A junebug hitting your head at highway speeds can almost knock you off the bike, and will leave a huge welt. Helmets cut down on wind noise so you don’t go deaf.
I’ve raced motorcycles for a number of years, and have crashed… over 10 times at speed. I was only hurt once, and that was because i was run over by another bike. Wearing the proper gear makes all the difference.
My one streetcrash (idiot woman pulling out of daycare parking lot left turns right in front of me). I was perfectly fine after hitting her car at 35mph. Police on the scene were amazed, and told me about how they just loaded two kids in the ambulance that went over the handlebars at 10mph, covered with roadrash.
I’ll bite. I ride a motorcycle everyday as my ‘normal’ transportation and only drive a car when its raining or really cold. I’ve done this for the past 21 years. I live in a metropolitan area (Albuquerque, NM). I have ridden a bicycle (in a ‘training’ manner) for going on four years. In my opinion a bicycle is AT LEAST ten times more dangerous than a motorcycle (at least if you’re somewhat competent at riding the motorcycle and don’t ride through town like some of the morons we have around here!) A motorcycle can out accelerate a car, can out brake a car, is more maneuverable in traffic than a car, is a smaller target to hit than a car and can be ridden safely (again, if you’re competent) if forced off the road where many cars/SUVs would roll over or crash. Except for being a small target, a bicycle can do none of this. The only down side of a motorcycle is the same as a bicycle; if you do make contact its going to hurt more than it would in a car.
And, BTW, I don’t just think motorcycle are safe because I’m some moto-prude. For the week ends I have a couple of sort-of-street-legal race bikes for ripping up the road with some friends. Its just that we do it in the mountains away from other people and traffic.
I’ll have to agree with one of the previous posts - cycling makes you a better motorcyclist and vice versa. The bike handling you learn while riding your pedal bike helps in handling your motorbike. You also pick up many subtle cues when you ride your motorbike that also play into cycling. A couple examples would be 1) where you look is where you go 2) Keeping your body loose and relaxed with a firm grip helps when shoulder checking. Both of these apply to both types of cycling.
I believe we put ourselves at a higher risk when on two wheels. However, as a cyclist riding on the side of the road I always feel more vulnerable than when I’m on my motorcycle. So I’d have to say cycling is more dangerous than motorcycling IMO.
Peter
Cramerotti Mendola road bike
Cervelo Dual tri bike
Suzuki GS500 motorbike
Yamaha YZF600 motorbike
I ride both as well…
I agree with what has already been said. However, I do feel safer on my motorcycle for the same reason you mentioned. Being able to accelerate away from a potential hazard is something I’ve experienced on my motorcyle, while on the bicycle, you are pretty much as the mercy of traffic. On either vehicle, I always assume drivers can not see me and take a proactive approach to riding.
Be safe! Take the safety class, always be aware of your surroundings!!!
Thanks for the stories and info… I just drove cross-country and the numbers of people on bikes without a helmet is amazing. I’m always wondering if these people with no shield/helmet ever take a loose pebble in the face on the highway. I’ve taken bugs in the face on my bicycle at high speeds and it kills! I’d be looking to get a bike for commuting once in a while (would probably drive the car mostly) but mainly for weekend trips. Another thing I’m wondering about on a m’cycle is hitting road hazards at high speed. Any of you riders have anything to say about this? I recently ran over a mattress on the highway at 80 mph. I would think this could put a guy on 2 wheels down. Oh, and I would DEFINATELY take a safety class before I boarded a bike and I agree with ATGATT, but it costs a few grand? Hot damn. I was thinking I could be riding around safely for around 2g.
You can be safe for less. I’ve just bought the best the first time. I’ll be riding this kit for years and skin grafts are much more expensive.
The thing about any kit is that you need to wear EVERYTHING all the time. That can be a tough one when it’s hot out. Then I think about how hot the pavement is on skin at 70mph. And jeans don’t count. They’ll only last about 3ft in a crash. You could get good jacket, pants, boots, gloves and a helmet for about $1k. Then you’ve got winter stuff, rain gear, electric jacket or vest…then you get a chick on the back and have to buy her gear…then you get into touring and camping…the bike is the cheap part 
I agree with that - I think if you ride smart and wear the right gear on a motorcycle, it may be safer than a bicycle. And you are more in control of your destiny.
I too wear full protective gear, cost me around $1200. Also added a rear brake flasher and headlight modulator. THe headlight modulator has saved a few potential scary situations - often crashes happen when cars turn out in front of you, when you have the right of way, because they do’nt see you. The headlight modulator reduces that.
A lot of crashes on motorcycles happen by dumb young people who do’nt know how to ride - they should require the MSF class for a moto license.
Hard to get true comparative rates, I suppose, but browsing a few websites indicates to me that deaths per 100 million miles traveled on a bicycle are anywhere from 10 to 100 times LOWER than on a motorcycle.
In my opinion, it depends on what you are comparing. If you are comparing training/recreational bicycle riding to recreational motorcycle riding, then I think motorcycle riding is slightly more dangerous. I’m assuming for either vehicle that you are minimizing your travel time on busy roads and get as quickly as possible onto quieter secondary roads. The potential damage from the higher velocity and mass somewhat outweighs the increased maneuverability. There was a study that the second-most frequent cause of motorcycle accidents was the rider failing to turn aggressively enough into a turn and running out of road on exit. There aren’t many corners where you have this problem on a bicycle (except apparently here in South Central PA going by this summer’s crash count). It is common for beginners to do this on a motorcycle; if it’s a right-hand turn and there’s a car coming, your possible outcomes are really ugly.
If you compare training/recreational bicycle riding to general purpose motorcycle riding, then I think you are far more at risk on the motorcycle. If you are commuting on your motorcycle, doing errands, etc.; then depending on where you live you will likely be frequently among traffic trying to turn in and out of side streets and parking lots. The most frequent cause of an accident on a motorcycle is a 4-wheeled vehicle turning left immediately in front of the motorcycle. Ask Ben Roethlisberger.
Bicycle riders typically have already developed the mentality that car drivers are blind and you can never assume what action they’re going to take. That’s quite useful, because the reality is that car drivers are blind when it comes to 2-wheel vehicles, and they are out to kill you. Thus all of the advice above on gear is spot on. So is the MSF advice - it was also found in a study that in some large percentage of 4-wheel/motorcyle accidents, the rider never applied his/her front brakes. Practice hard front braking until picking the back wheel up off the ground feels comfortable (stoppies). Not sure if you can do this on the bigger cruisers, but still, practice grabbing the right lever hard.
I enjoy motorcycling, and I do commute, etc. But ATGATT, always two fingers over the front brake lever and always assuming everyone out there has no visual nor motor skills of any kind. Wait, I guess that last one isn’t really an assumption…
Safe riding,
Brian
always assuming everyone out there has no visual nor motor skills of any kind. Wait, I guess that last one isn’t really an assumption…
In other words, assume everyone else on the road is stupid, blind, and physically challenged…and that they’re going to do that REALLY STUPID move right as you get within range.
You should do that when driving a cage…err…car as well. Always plan for contingencies…leave an escape route open, and plan for rapid evacuation of your present meatspace.
If you ride long enough, you’ll change your underwear often as well.
Enjoy!
Hard to get true comparative rates, I suppose, but browsing a few websites indicates to me that deaths per 100 million miles traveled on a bicycle are anywhere from 10 to 100 times LOWER than on a motorcycle.
That’s because the great majority of bicycle accidents don’t result in death. Bicycles travel at much lower speeds than motorcyles and most bicycle accidents are “grazing” accidents (for lack of a better word). Bicycles far,far, out number motorcycles in this country so there are probably far more bicycle accidents than than motorcycle accidents. They just aren’t as serious.
Hey Rich,
I remember when you got your GW a couple years ago. Do you still have that custom trailer made for it? I’m thinking about having something made for my BMW (K1200LT).
I also agree about gear, as I even stay away from crap product (like those friggin’ cheap Korean helmets). I’m sure your GW is the same way, but there are days I simply can’t ride when it’s too hot (as the fairing and windshield block all wind from hitting me). I haven’t bought rain gear yet either…but soon…
If you get a moment, and you have the name of that trailer maker, or any good shops out by you, drop me a pm or email (if you still have it). I also have a mail order GW place right by my house (on Bake Pkwy) if you ever need any stuff. Good guys…
Somebody in a previous post mentioned that you probably have more incidents cycling but when it goes south on a motorcycle it can really go south. I 100% agree.
It is a lot easier and more fun to ride beyond your line of site on a motorcycle. If you are in the woods or mountains, pretty much any time you have the bike leaned over you are trusting in your abilities to handle surprises around the turn. A motorcycle also allows you to easily find new roads that you haven’t ridden before, it’s a lot of the fun. I think that most cyclists ride roads that they know and are therefore aware of obstacles and hazards up the road.
I strongly believe in ATGATT. I was in a serious accident when a car made a left in front of me at speed. I ended up 150 ft from the point of impact and spent 5 days in the hospital waiting for them to bolt my arm back together. Almost no skin abrations(sp?) because of high quality riding gear. When I picked up my full face helmet most of the enamel on the front of it was ground off. Apparently I had slid on my face for quite awhile unconscious. I can’t imagine what I would look like today if I had been wearing one of those faux helmets I see the chopper pilots wearing.
Hi Craig,
I went with a PiggyBacker trailer. It’s basically a Harbor Freight 3 x 3’ utility trailer to which is attached a Sears cartop box.
http://www.cruciblefitness.com/coaching/Rich/Webtrailer.JPG
The manufacturer paints the frame black, adds a cooler carrier, and chromed wheels. I think it was just over $600 to my door and about 2hrs to assemble. Last summer Joanne and I did a 5500 mile tour through Canada and the Rockies and carried just a stupid silly amount of gear in the thing. Aside from decreased acceleration and increased braking distance, I never knew it was back there. I had it on some rough gravel roads and got it up to about 110mph a couple times while Joanne was sleeping on the back of the bike
I doubt I’ll use it as a motorcycle trailer but I will likely keep it as a utility trailer. Remove the box and mount bike mounts on the frame to tow bicycles, or I think I could even put a channel rail on it and tow a lightweight enduro behind a 1000cc motorcycle. I’ve been bitten hard by the dirt/dualsport bug and the Wing sale will finance several toys.
Look into Motoport gear. Expensive, long wait, but I have their mesh pants and jacket. Very comfortable in all temps, even on a full-fairing bike. I’ve ridden 28F to 115F in the kit
I’ve rode a sportbike on the streets for roughly 10 years, and I must admit, that I have never experienced any close calls.
I just stopped riding last year, for the reason that due to time constraints, I often had to choose between going for a motorcycle ride, or a training ride. And if I did choose the motorcycle, I would feel guilty when seeing people out on their road bikes. And I certainly felt better and more relaxed after coming back from a hard 70k ride vs. a 200k motorcycle ride.
Although I had a relatively safe experience on motorized two wheels, the statistics don’t really tell the same story, and that became a consideration after having kids. I think that if I was to get another motorcycle, I would buy a dedicated track bike, and stay off the streets.
Anyway, good luck with your decision.