I read in the paper the other day that there has been a steady rise in motorcycle ridership, and thus accidents since I think 1996 or so. #1 reason is the rise of gas prices. Motorcycles are much more fuel effiecient than cars and trucks.
Good to hear... Yes, more people should be using motorised scooters and motorcycles. (Says me who has no hope of converting out of a car due to the kiddies situation) It won't stop us from depleting our oil reserves, but it will make them last longer.
The problem with motorcycles is if you get hit you get totally screwed. That is the only reason I wouldn't get one. My dad got into an accident and had his head stitched up a long time ago when he road a motorcycle .
even without any oil shortage, we've still got the air pollution and global warming. natural disasters have been so frequent the last 2-3 years. There's like a huge disaster somewhere everyweek. they're no longer "events", now they're just like 'normal'
I have heard that motorcyles actually put more pollution into the air than cars going the same distance because there is not as strict regulations on them. No catalytic converter and things of that sort.
Yes you would get better gas mileage, but if you are putting more things like Nitrogen oxides , carbon dioxide, and such into the air what good is that? I am not sure if that is the case at all, I have only read that in one book that motorcycles put out more pollution.
Motorcycles do get good gas mileage. They are a fun way to get around, but they are more dangerous than cars due to the fact that you're not surrounding by a ton of metal and plastic. Plus, drivers of vehicles suck at driving and aren't careful about motorcycles at all. Be wary of traffic, motorcyclists! Peace and Love
Is there some data that suggests or shows that the global temperature is not raising, and that there are not more frequent natural-type disasters? you can also PM me..
All I am trying to say is that there is more to the issue than just saving gas. CO2 can have effects on plant growth. And although initially many studies show an increase in growth after some point other nutrients will likely be limiting and they will not absorb the CO2 as efficiently. This is an issue either way whether its cars or motorcycles. NOx will have effects on the speed of the nitrogen cycle, soils, water not only at the source but isolated ecosystems too. I suppose my problem with it is that we should maybe consider oil conservation as well as limiting the pollutants we produce. Find the point where these two things can be at a point that can reduce the problems associated with both.
honda cg125 100 mpg, 60 - 80 mph. very fuel efficient only one problem with motorbikes you will at some point fall off them. how fast and how hard you come crashing down is in the hands of the gods. my most spectacular crash left me sommersaulting in mid air doing 50 mph, as luck would have it i came off lightly - not a scratch on me except wounded pride as a motorcyclist you must have psychic powers centred on prediction of what will be occuring somewhere 20s in the future. your powers of deduction must be sharp and you must act quickly and decisively. i was a motor cycle courier in years ago. there are many events that stick out in my mind in this period, this was one and demonstrates the fickle nature of the road. i was riding along. a car was in front of me. it slowed quickly, i applied my brakes. nothing happened i did not slow, squeezed harder still nothing. i looked down to the disc brakes to verify my brakes were functioning, yes they were the disc brake was locked yet magically the motorcycle was still moving forward. as i focused beyond the brake i discovered that the front wheel was sat perfectly centred on a sheet of cardboard that was originally laying flat on the road. as i braked i had placed the wheel on the cardboard with the result that the front brake wasn't working and the rear brake wasn't working quickly enough on its own. i released the front brake rolled forward and applied the front brake with eneough effect to stop me crashing into the car infront. this all happened in about 3 seconds. (my only advice to anyone riding a motorcycle is this you instinctively know when an end point has been reached, a point of no return. accept the crash. at this point you must relax your entire body and go with what ever is coming. it allows you to quickly focus your mind and you may work out a solution to the problem or realise that you are screwed. if you remain relaxed you will find you will do less damage to yourself than with a tensed body. the main thing is to encourage a rolling movement, this helps prevent broken bones. women tend to freeze in moments of crisis this is why they seem to do more damage to themselves, they do not roll nor relax, they become paralysed when the situation changes quickly and fall like a sack of potatoes. men damage themselves because they are often riding beyond their abilities, speed does not mean skill.)
Small cars anyone? I mean small ie Daihatsu Charade, Toyota Echo.In the USA a Mazda 626 is classified as being little. I would call it medium size car.
I would get a small bike with the best gas mileage, if, and a big if, I were to get a motorcycle. Cars are useful for carying stuff around that you can't haul on a bike. I guess I would get a motorcycle with a basket on the handlebars for the groceries.
there have been a lot of nature-based disasters lately in the last few years, and a lot of people (and animals) already have died because of them. Millions of people have been displaced. I don't know enough to know if this is coming out of an ice age, or what is caused by the CO2 and other emissions. The amount of emissions put into the atmosphere, since we started burning oil, is a very big change... the Earth is not the same as it has always been. WHATEVER is causing or contributing to the hotter temps, and the more severe more frequent natural disasters, is already killing people and animals. And it seems plausible that the massive emissions of the world's oil-powered machines could be a big factor. I think we'd need to see some evidence that the temps and disasters are not being caused in part by combustion emissions... in order to have an idea that there is no 'global warming' as it's usually meant..
How very true - those that take the time to study environmental issues, and become aware of the conflicting evidence, often use the term "the greenhoax". Although earth's temperature has increased slightly, the increase is well within the natural range of known temperature variation over the last several thousand years. In fact, the earth experienced greater warming between the 10th and 15th centuries - a time when vineyards thrived in England and Vikings colonised Greenland and built settlements in Canada. It's very easy to find evidence of this - just check out the global satellite data - the most reliable of all climate measurements. While atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased by 28 percent over the past 150 years, human-generated carbon dioxide could have played only a small part in any warming, since most of the warming occurred prior to 1940 - before most human-caused carbon dioxide emissions. Sea levels are rising around the globe, though not uniformly. In fact, sea levels have been rising for thousands of years - far predating any possible human impact. A person who beleives something purely because the government/media tells them, without taking the time to do a little research, is terribly naive. Today environment is being used to make people feel guilty, unknowingly enticing them to accept socialism as necessary. The environmental movement has been co-opted to strip private ownership of control and exploitation of resources. Many environmental 'facts' are lies, exaggerations and unscientific claims to manipulate the masses in the classic Hegelian Dialectic: create the problem, create opposition to the problem, then present your own predetermined solution. Global Warming is a perfect example.
This is probably not the right thread to put this, but I'll keep it brief. I too was (and remain) very sceptical about climate change claims. The thing that made me begin to take it more seriously was discovering the various reconstructions of global temperature over the past couple of thousand years which have appeared in the scientific literature over the past few years (beginning with the infamous "hockey stick" graph). Taking into account the whole range of results which have been reconstructed, it remains clear that there has been a significant increase in average global temperature over the past century which is in line with the increase in burning of hydrocarbons since industrialisation took hold. While everything you mention about the medieval warm period and the little ice age are based in truth, the science demonstrates if not a causal relationship between CO2 and current climate change, at least some pretty compelling circumstantial evidence. Remain sceptical, but climate change an issue you can not so easily dismiss. Some reading: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3569604.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_Stick_graph http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/07/medieval-warmth-and-english-wine/
co2 production has leapt since 1830 and the industrial revolution coal powered everything not much has changed. in front of me sits a coal powered computer
Shiiiiiitttt! I have never heard of that before! I digress. I have had bikes since I was 16 and, whenever possible (including in bad weather, my skin is watertight!) use it over my (company) car. It just makes sense to me, look at the motorways in the uk, they are just big car parks consisting of people dragging their personal ton of metal around with them. It really makes me sick sometimes the way people will get in their car, drive 1 mile to a shop, get a packet of biscuits, take them home in a platic bag, discard the bag as 'rubbish' etc etc... All animals (except modern humans) fit into the environment around them if only we could... Disclaimer: Yes, I am a consumer, this is just another futile rant!
