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Our Own Worst Enemy
Blog Date - 12 March 2014
March 2014. Sunday the 9th. Dry and almost warm. Tom McQ makes the following observation on facebook...
"Sat in bay window upstairs, reading. Sunny day, 100's of motorbikes passing by on Chorley New Rd going to The Barn. About 40% of them are everyday bikers who observe the 30mph speed limit in this urban area (with 2 schools). The other 60% are made up of fair weather knobsters who only come out on dry, bright days and rip past at god knows what speed, racing one another, popping wheelies and generally dickin around acting like mobile ASBO's. Tossers!"
The Barn in question, Rivington Barn, is a big biker hangout on Sundays. On this particular Sunday it was so busy it proved almost impossible to get up there due to cars, motorcycles, walkers and horse riders. I love the good weather, but it brings it's own problems too. I've spent all winter hoping and preying for the sun to shine and the roads to be dry, now it's all come together I can't move because everyone else has been waiting for exactly the same thing. Catch 22.
As a collective I think bikers, or motorcyclists, like to make life difficult for ourselves. The loud exhaust is the classic example. Feeling the need to share our love of two wheeled transport with the masses some riders choose to fit a "sporty" exhaust. Many fellow motorcyclists are impressed by the howling screech or the booming thumps that emit from the machine as he or she whizzes past, presumably at illegal speeds. This upsets quiet fell walkers, snooty horse riders and other members of the voting public.
They sound sweet...but they're not everyone's taste.
So there's an outcry and a law is passed making motorcycle exhausts quieter. Of course this upsets our loud motorcyclist. Not only do they have to have a quiet bike they've lost some power because the exhaust is more restrictive. Being a "biker" and therefore a sunny Sunday afternoon "non-conformist" he rebels and the next time the weather's nice he fits an even louder pipe to further impress the biker mates and to piss off the non-motorcycling public. This of course leads to another, even more restrictive law to be passed and the cycle repeats itself.
These same processes can be applied to motorcycles and speeding. It's obvious to see the police creating speed traps near to biker hang outs. Devils Bridge near Kirkby Lonsdale will be crawling with speed traps on any sunny Sunday afternoon. As the bikers sit drinking tea and talking they all complain about the "rozzers" and the "hidden motorcycle tax" also known as speeding fines. I wonder, what do they expect? On those afternoons I'm sure the police can expect to book many motorcyclists for speeding, some of these will have been doing ridiculous velocities. We as riders who are riding too fast in such great numbers shouldn't expect such flagrant abuse of the law to be ignored.
And if we continue then how long will it be before a law is passed to restrict the speed of motorcycles by electronic or mechanical means? GSXR 1000 sir? 0-60 in less than 3 seconds? Top speed of 190 mph? Sold to you sir, restricted to 70 mph. It's perfectly possible for GPS to be fitted to the onboard ignition computer that will simply limit you to the speed of the road you are on.
I hear riders righteous anger at those who use mobiles while driving and take out motorcyclists. I hear their disgust at bike thieves receiving non-custodial sentences or a slap on the wrist. Yet somehow we expect to get away with speeding, wheelies and waking the dead with exhaust pipes. There's a place for these things, it's called the track.
This is the place to ride fast, make noise, and show off!
Reader's Comments
Tom McQ said :-
You're absolutely right Ren. We ARE our own worst enemies. And we ARE hypocritical when it comes to sounding off at car drivers using mobile phones. Well, at least I am! I really do get on my high-horse when I see a mobile being used in a car and go as far as giving them the benefit of my advice via hand signals :-)
And yet, this self-righteous biker will then burn away from the mobile-user and will himself break the law by riding at speeds WELL in excess of the legal limit. Personally, I stick to the speed-limits in 30, 40 and 50 zones, but pretty much do what I want when I see a National Speed Limit sign.
So am I any better than the mobile-phone user? Am I any better than the idiots who rip past my house doing 60 in a 30?? I kid myself that I'm a do-gooder who doesn't put myself or others in harms way in high-risk areas, but the truth is, I may speed in rural areas and ride on the very edge of my capabilities, therefore increasing the chances of having an accident and even colliding with oncoming traffic.
Only last weekend, while out with a group, 3 of us got a lick on and left the pack to "have some fun". Hurling a 17yr old 260Kg tourer around tight, twisty unfamiliar roads as fast as you can is far from safe or sensible - but it is fun!!
But then it's only fun as long as your guardian angel sticks with you. Sometimes she dozes off and CRASH, BANG, WALLOP!! We saw it last weekend when the road we were on was suddenly closed down by Police after two motorcyclists up ahead of us had a collision. Then it all becomes quite serious and you start to think about how you've been a bit of a dick. How you've put your life on the line (and probably the lives of others) all for the sake of a cheap thrill.
So, with my "self-righteous" hat firmly in place, I can claim to be a better, safer road-user than many others just as long as you don't count the National Speed Limit roads ;-)
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