Do you feel guilty about owning a bike?

[MrAtom]

At first, if you asked me this question, I'd say "of course not!" That's a stupid question, right? But...

I was planning out my life for the next few years, and I thought "Oh, if I move there, I have an excuse to keep the bike because it's a big city, traffic will suck, and I can lane split." But then I realized, why do I need an excuse to own a motorcycle? I love it. It's some of the most fun I've ever had in my entire life. I don't need an excuse for that.

I may subconsciously resent owning a motorcycle. I think it's because motorcycles are something that we're told are dangerous, to stay away from them. So, in owning a motorcycle, there's a little bit of pleasure taken in being different and opposing society's norms; it's cool to ride a motorcycle.

That being said, I don't normally try to hide the bike from people unless I'm required to make a good first impression (e.g. a job interview at a place that might view it as unprofessional).

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'd love to start a discussion!

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

At first, if you asked me this question, I'd say "of course not!" That's a stupid question, right? But...

I was planning out my life for the next few years, and I thought "Oh, if I move there, I have an excuse to keep the bike because it's a big city, traffic will suck, and I can lane split." But then I realized, why do I need an excuse to own a motorcycle? I love it. It's some of the most fun I've ever had in my entire life. I don't need an excuse for that.

I may subconsciously resent owning a motorcycle. I think it's because motorcycles are something that we're told are dangerous, to stay away from them. So, in owning a motorcycle, there's a little bit of pleasure taken in being different and opposing society's norms; it's cool to ride a motorcycle.

That being said, I don't normally try to hide the bike from people unless I'm required to make a good first impression (e.g. a job interview at a place that might view it as unprofessional).

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'd love to start a discussion!

I think your over thinking it and need to stop worrying what others think.

[Daks]

I bought a bike because it's cheaper than a car for me. Maybe if I had a car AND a bike I'd wonder why I need both but I did that already and sold the car.

[swarfman64]

What a good question.Interestingly yes. I am a single dad of two and know the dangers of riding a motorcycle, I'm regularly reminded by family and YouTube. I often wont ride as hard as I could because I instantly am reminded of the thought of my kids not having me. I rarely ride when there around because I don't want them to think its easy and safe. I lost my best mate at 17 when he lost control of a friends bike. mostly the factors that scare me are the ones I cant fully control, like a car running a light. But every weekend I manage to ride, enjoy the moments and come home to my boys. I guess it helps me keep riding safely and within my limits.

[alex.s]

i don't like the danger aspect of it.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

........... I may subconsciously resent owning a motorcycle. I think it's because motorcycles are something that we're told are dangerous, to stay away from them. So, in owning a motorcycle, there's a little bit of pleasure taken in being different and opposing society's norms; it's cool to ride a motorcycle.
...........

In my experience, most people feel confused about other people who practice motorcycling in any form.
As they don't know much about it, they tend to go by whatever they have heard from other sources, probably as confused and misinformed as they are.

I was also a little confused myself many years ago when I learned that my neighbor doctor rode a Harley that he repaired himself.

For those reasons, you will receive a lot of different opinions from people that will cross your path.
It is normal to have concerns when those people have some power over you.
Nevertheless, you may have the power to change those opinions with enough time, if you are the clean, proficient, courteous and safe type of rider.
First impressions are important, but they are not written on stone.

If I ever felt guilty was because the consequences that a bad accident could have had in my family.
To easy that bad feeling I have done two important things:
1) Take each member of my family with me for as many rides as possible in all weather conditions.
2) Work hard and permanently to be as safe as I could be.

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by fishdip

I think your over thinking it and need to stop worrying what others think.

I don't care what most people think of me or the bike. I'm just considering things that people don't usually realize about themselves until they really think on it. I like learning new things about myself. Like, you know when you get a new phone or something, and you learn how to use it, and you think you know everything, then you find a feature you didn't know was there before. It's like that feeling, but different.

Originally Posted by alex.s

i don't like the danger aspect of it.

I do, but only one tiny iota. The danger doesn't add to the fun as much as it adds to the "I'm doing something I'm not supposed to," part of it. The danger is only something I like when it's not really present. I'm not a fan of taking a turn too wide on a twisty mountain road and almost smearing myself like a bug against a guard rail. I feel awful when I get too close to screwing up. I get sick and really beat myself up over stuff like that.

Originally Posted by Motofool

In my experience, most people feel confused about other people who practice motorcycling in any form.
As they don't know much about it, they tend to go by whatever they have heard from other sources, probably as confused and misinformed as they are.

I was also a little confused myself many years ago when I learned that my neighbor doctor rode a Harley that he repaired himself.

For those reasons, you will receive a lot of different opinions from people that will cross your path.
It is normal to have concerns when those people have some power over you.
Nevertheless, you may have the power to change those opinions with enough time, if you are the clean, proficient, courteous and safe type of rider.
First impressions are important, but they are not written on stone.

If I ever felt guilty was because the consequences that a bad accident could have had in my family.
To easy that bad feeling I have done two important things:
1) Take each member of my family with me for as many rides as possible in all weather conditions.
2) Work hard and permanently to be as safe as I could be.

For sure. My boss doesn't have a problem with it anymore. I told them, and we talked about it, and they understand that I practice it about as safe as I can most of the time.

As far as passengers, I'm not a fan of having them. I'm still new, and I'll never stop making mistakes. I've taken a friend for a ride on clear days on <35mph roads with minimal traffic and I can honestly say it's the most scared I've ever been on a bike, and I've had some pretty scary close calls before (see above for a decent example of this). I'm also not a fan of how the 250 responds with a passenger. This could be fixed with more experience and a bigger bike, but I won't accept any more passengers anytime soon.

Although, I am cool with letting reasonably-coordinated people ride it. And yeah, I've had people drop it before, but it's already ugly, anyway :P

[Racer x]

No, not at all. People that think about what I do are interesting . But I learned along time ago. What people think about me is none of my business. My only guilt comes from not riding.

[Sirref]

"oh you have an opinion on my lifestyle? well which of my bills will you be paying this month?" -unknown

Life is about making your own decisions and living with them, society is so warped that to conform to societal norms is to not live at all. I find motorcycling to be the greatest passion within my life other than music. Other people don't understand it and don't have to as they make their own decisions that I don't understand or think is questionable. Life is for those who live, so live as you see fit and you'll find that those who drink the haterade tend to not be as happy with their own lives and decisions and are simply taking that out on you.

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

I don't care what most people think of me

But yet you state you wont take it to some places because of what ppl will think about the bike

[liberpolly]

We all have a subconscious death drive, in one form or another. Riding a motorcycle is one way to tickle it in relative safety. Suppressing it, just like suppressing any subconscious drive, may turn out much worse than that.

So no, I am not feeling guilty, as long as I am honest with myself, calculate the risks, and avoid unreasonable ones.

[Geezer-60]

Guilt is something I have issues with. To me it seems that guilt is about not accepting your decision to do something. It's like "riding beyond your limits" in that it's dangerous because youre margins are too thin for comfort. I know that I cannot be fully in the moment (as we should be when riding) if my mind is divided between doing something and asking if I should do it. There are so many struggles in life, we shouldn't struggle with ourselves as well because a house divided will fall. No one can make you feel guilty without your permission. So the question is "Do you agree enough to step away or make peace and move on?". Caffeine wearing off... I'll shut up now.

[M42]

I feel guilty I get to have so much fun on the road while cars can't.

Who am I kidding, I don't feel guilty about that at all!

[ninjamunky85]

Hell no I don't feel guilty for owning a bike, or multiple bikes in my case. You only get one life,.. What am I supposed to to live it sitting on the couch? Maybe join a sewing circle or a book club, **** that!

You could die waling across the street,.. an asteroid could fall on your house while you're making dinner, a poisonous spider could bite you in your sleep. You could die in a car crash, you could die in a plane crash, you could take a cruise to the bahamas and the whole ship could be abducted by aliens.

My point being that tomorrow is guaranteed for no one... Yeah, we are adding another risk to the list by riding, but so what. I ride almost every day that I can, but that doesn't mean that I want to die,.. so I ride within my limits and stay well aware of my surroundings. I think a lot of the risk can be mitigated by riding responsibly and not like you're playing a video game.

My family doesn't give me crap about riding either, well I've got one uncle that does but that's because his son was in a bad crash. Other wise they know I love riding, and I've made it 10 years now riding on the street with no crashes, so they know I ride responsibly.

I was always asking my parents for a dirt bike as a kid but since we always lived in the suburbs I couldn't get one. Luckily I had a cousin that had several growing up that I got to ride quite a bit. When I finally turned 18 and had some money saved up my mom co-signed the loan for me to buy my '04 ninja 250. Now if I go to visit my family, and it's a nice sunny day, they ask me what's wrong if I don't ride the bike.

[Hero Danny]

I don't feel guilty for owning a bike... however, I do feel guilty whenever I put in a bunch of money for mods lol

[snot]

No I don't, I feel privileged.

My view point: life is short and full of stress and disappointments. Riding and owning a bike is my reward for getting through each day. I would rather die riding than from; murder, electrocution, stroke, cancer, drowning, airplane, etc.
So, if I get to have a little pleasure each year by riding I will not feel guilty. I work hard so I can enjoy life, I want to laugh more than I cry... And my bike does that for me.

[greenaero]

Interesting discussion.
I don't have any guilt feelings over my motorcycling either. Some ways that I would feel guilty about it was if I :
1. Put my family at risk by getting hurt or killed from riding dangerously;not fulfilling my responsibilites as a husband and father.
2. If I denied my family things that are important to them because my motorcycling took too much of my time and money for me to meet their needs.
3. If I hurt someone else while pushing things too hard on the street.
4. If my motorcyling was wasteful and not espectful of conserving our environment and natural resources.

I can see how one could feel guilt about their motorcycling. As responsible motorcyclists we just need to take the appropriate actions to address the issues.

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by fishdip

But yet you state you wont take it to some places because of what ppl will think about the bike

Professional life is different from the rest of life.

[snot]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

Professional life is different from the rest of life.

As a safety professional, I actually will ride anywhere. Why? Because I am ATGATT, and as a safety professional I promote riding safely. Now, I would never roll in wearing a tank top, flip flops in shorts with glasses and half finger mess gloves.

I won't interview on the bike either, I have thought about it.

[allanoue]

I feel guilty when I drive my car wasting all that gas.

[Skullz]

NO, i do not feel guilty.
I will not live my life in a pillow protected from all things dangerous.

[Ninjinsky]

Depends what you mean by guilty
True story
Since my father 'banned' motorcycles (Despite having had a Vincent in his youth) Both me and my brother kept our 'secret' bikes elsewhere. The hardest part was keeping the paperwork mail secret like waiting for the mail man around insurance renewal time
Anyway one day my brother pulled out too close in front of a guy and the guy got out and started ranting.
It was dad!
Keith stayed in his helmet with the mirrored visor down and nodded submissively till he drove off.
I don't think to this day dad knew who it was LoL

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by Ninjinsky

Depends what you mean by guilty
True story
Since my father 'banned' motorcycles (Despite having had a Vincent in his youth) Both me and my brother kept our 'secret' bikes elsewhere. The hardest part was keeping the paperwork mail secret like waiting for the mail man around insurance renewal time
Anyway one day my brother pulled out too close in front of a guy and the guy got out and started ranting.
It was dad!
Keith stayed in his helmet with the mirrored visor down and nodded submissively till he drove off.
I don't think to this day dad knew who it was LoL

Hahaha that's great. My dad used to try to scare me and tell me I was gonna end up a quadriplegic before getting the bike (I see a connection here...), but he wouldn't forbid me from owning one. Now that I do have one, he and I can talk bikes for hours. He tells me stories and stuff, and says stuff like "Your uncle had a 175 Bultaco that had torque for days! You could do a wheelie in 3 feet!" I love when he gets all excited about it and that he's okay with it now.

[CC Cowboy]

I feel guilty that I'm so much cooler than everyone else. The bikes are just are lucky to have me.

[snot]

I guess I am fortunate, both my dad's ride. My step dad sold me my first bike. My dad... Well he said " don't ride on gravel, and watch the highways you May want to a void them because of the semis and back roads have a lot of critters and in town people like to pull out in front of you"... I simply said "so I can only ride in the garage?" he told me to just be careful after that...lol.

[Flying]

I don't commute by myself in a car that can carry 4-6 people. I feel alright about being on a bike.

[verboten1]

I own 7 bikes and 3 cars. I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks about me riding. And I definitely don't feel bad about any of it.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

I don't normally try to hide the bike from people unless I'm required to make a good first impression (e.g. a job interview at a place that might view it as unprofessional).

NEVER hide anything about yourself... If they don't like you for who you are, then you will not like you for who you will become.

Your a rider because you are, no need to justify it to anyone for anything. On the flip side, don't make it an issue when it's not.

my 2cents

[choneofakind]

Eh, I just wouldn't ride the motorcycle to the first interview. Something about helmet hair. But I wouldn't make any attempt to hide the motorcycle, per see.

[Ghostt]

Short answer= no
Long answer= HELL NO!!

[cbinker]

I answer your question with another question:

What is wrong with you!?

[dave42]

Originally Posted by Racer x

My only guilt comes from not riding.

Ditto.

[FreelancerMG]

It's riding a motorcycle. I personally don't see what the weird distinction some have with what they do that's all in all harmless and other's views and opinions of them. I've never thought about this because I don't care.

Do you feel guilty about handing back clothes you tried on to the person working the fitting room instead of putting it back yourself? if not, why don't you? I would think that should have more "guilt" packed into it than riding a motorcycle.

It's riding a motorcycle and not some odd guilty pleasure. You aren't getting crapped on, clubbing baby seals with a golf club, punting puppies, or a pedophile.

I'm just trying to figure out how someone could feel any remorse or guilt. There are FAR more dangerous things than riding a motorcycle. Hell, in some cases riding a bicycle on the road with other cars is inherently more dangerous. Unless you're taking some ridiculously needless risks to purposely put your life in unacceptable danger like high speed stunting or jumping buildings, you are only performing an act that's only marginally more dangerous than the others around you and can be just as safe if you do your part and don't compromise and maintain discipline with your riding habits.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Nope. And i don't feel i need to justify it more than just saying its what i love.

[ieathonda]

I only feel guilty because I get to enjoy commuting and riding while others are plain miserable in their cages. If they could see my smile while I putt along past them after a long day of work only to see long dreary faces. and that is the only guilt i will ever admit to owning a motorcycle

[JohnnyBravo]

I don't feel guilty for many things.

Most of my family rode bikes way before I was thought of.
Do my parents like it??? They came around.

Dirty dozen answer ~> if you aren't ****in or feeding me keep your opinions to yourself; even then your personal feelings only hold so much weight. How much do I love you again???

Shallow folks can lick em, or suck it; if they are cute... Otherwise I'm usually better off left to my own devices and out of the gossip mill!

Good one on the annnnnn discuss part!

[dcj13]

"Do you feel guilty about owning a bike?"

Not a whit!

[agentbad]

I feel guilty for waiting so long to start riding.

[JohnnyBravo]

P.S.

[corksil]

Old fckin ppl seriously need to get with the times before they die and go back to the blackness of which they came from.

If they can't come to terms with death, they need to seriously consider how they view life.

Old vaginas should be retrofitted with grease fittings, because it really bothers me when they start squeaking about how I should live my life.