Motorcycle riding is one of the greatest joys in life. But you need to be okay with the emotional state it puts you in.
Motorcycle riding is a combination of exhilaration, fear, relaxation, and pleasure that changes you forever. It’s physical & emotional pleasure, with a layer of anxiety & adrenaline.
This might sound pretty obvious to any rider, but before I started riding, my entire knowledge of motorcycle riding was pretty much based on Excitebike and other video games. (Twist the throttle, make a turn, how hard could it be, right?)
So when I realized how much your hands and feet are working while you ride, it kind of took me by surprise. For the most part, there is no such thing as an “automatic” motorcycle; all motorcycles are manual. Your left hand is working the clutch and the turn signal, your right hand is working the front brake, your right foot is working the rear brake, and your left foot is working the gears up & down. It’s a lot more work than it seems.
It varies depending on the style of bike you are riding, but generally speaking motorcycles can accelerate much faster than most cars. As soon as you roll the throttle back, things start happening quickly. A good sportbike can reach 100 mph in a just over 5 seconds. That’s fast enough in a car. But on a bike it feels twice as intense, and it yields a deep appreciation and respect for the raw power of the machine between your legs.
Of course not every bike is a Ninja or Ducati. There are different bikes to suit different styles. Harleys, for example, make what are known as “cruisers,” which tend to be heavier, smoother, and have a more relaxed seat angle. Riding a cruiser is much different than riding a sportbike.
One of the most fundamental rules in motorcycling is: Friction used for braking cannot simultaneously be used for turning, and vice-versa. In a nutshell: Unlike in a car, you can’t slam on the brakes and turn at the same time. You have to do one or the other, or you will fall.
To ride a motorcycle, you need to carefully manage your acceleration, braking, traction, and lean angles all at the same time. This makes it significantly more involved than driving a car. Going too fast in a car and need to stop? Slam on the brakes. Going too fast on a motorcycle? If you slam on both brakes too hard you risk locking the brakes, which results in a skid. Jamming on the rear brake is safest, but you won’t stop in time. And if you slam on the front brake your inertia can easily cause you to flip head over heels.
You need to carefully apply increasing amounts of pressure to both the front and rear brakes, all while maintaining balance and control. There’s simply a lot more going on than in a car.
To add to the thrill, motorcycles can lean so far over in turns, it almost seems to defy gravity. When you’re leaning in a turn and feel that gravity will “win”, you have confidence in the physics of friction, knowing that a quick twist of the throttle will accelerate the bike and get you out of the situation nicely. Leaning heavily into turns adds a huge amount of fun to the experience of riding.
For the same reasons described above, you notice the temperature change in ways that are very unique. You know how meteorologists on the news always show slight variations in temperature on the map — 67, 64, 62 degrees, and you think, “Like it makes a difference?”. On a bike you start noticing micro-climates, big time. In fact, whenever your ride by a body of water that is close to the road, you will nearly always feel the temperature drop.
You’re exposed to the elements and will feel every nuance of weather. Temperature, moisture, everything. Moving through a tree lined section of road, you will feel that 2 degree drop, and it will make you smile.
When you’re driving a car, you’re somewhat closed off, both protected from and thus immune to the rest of the world. On a motorcycle you essentially have no protection, so you start caring about everything in your environment that can affect you. Potholes, roadkill, even puddles. Windy day in a car? No big deal. Windy day on a bike? It completely permeates your thoughts until you arrive at your destination.
Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing: All of these emotions are fueled by adrenaline, which feels good. While on the road, you learn to live in a semi-permanent state of hyper-awareness.
You never, ever have trouble finding a place to park. I cannot stress how awesome this is. Meeting a friend at a restaurant? Those people who drive endlessly around the block looking for a spot, or have to deal with 6-story parking garages are peons! Having a bike is no hassle at all. Just park on the street right out front like a champ.
Riding has become one of the greatest joys of my life. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a new sense of fun, adventure, and practicality. But you need to be okay with the adrenaline-fueled, hyper-aware emotional state it puts you in.
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