If motorbikes were just invented?
Discussion
A light-heartened hypothetical scenario: if motorbikes were only just invented, would they be accepted for road traffic?
When I see cars with ever growing passive and active safety features, the increasing traffic rules cutting self-responsibility -
would a self-propelled horse with the power of a hundred horses be deemed as acceptable?
When I see cars with ever growing passive and active safety features, the increasing traffic rules cutting self-responsibility -
would a self-propelled horse with the power of a hundred horses be deemed as acceptable?
I wouldn’t think so, all of the safety measures put into production cars cannot be met on bikes, so we’d be without them.
This also relates closely to the TT program ‘no room for error’ I was watching where one of the riders said something about ‘if the TT was started this weekend nobody would do it as it is crazy and dangerous’ or something close to those words.
This also relates closely to the TT program ‘no room for error’ I was watching where one of the riders said something about ‘if the TT was started this weekend nobody would do it as it is crazy and dangerous’ or something close to those words.
It depends how you phrase it though. You could say they're extremely dangerous, far too fast and a nuisance on the road, or you could describe them as small, economical, low emission personal vehicles. The latest small, economical personal vehicle (the e-scooter) has been banned so I would imagine introducing motorbikes now would probably result in them being immediately banned as well.
airsafari87 said:
Sadly, no.
If they never existed and the designers had to start with a blank sheet of paper and follow all restrictions and safety rules etc …. The motorbike as we know it could never be designed, it would effective become a car without windows I imagine.
Probably something to above, they'd just make a 2 wheeled commuter vehicle with a safety cage/cell and limited power. You do have LADAR on bikes now so that would be the minimum, they'd probably add some sort of seatbelt/airbag inside the cage also.If they never existed and the designers had to start with a blank sheet of paper and follow all restrictions and safety rules etc …. The motorbike as we know it could never be designed, it would effective become a car without windows I imagine.
I'm going to say this quietly just in case. There are still a lot of concessions on bike use that suggest they may well be accepted.
There are tax breaks, free parking, use of bus lanes etc. which could easily be removed if anyone wanted to make ownership less attractive but they are still in place.
I could maybe see cc limits and similar.
There are tax breaks, free parking, use of bus lanes etc. which could easily be removed if anyone wanted to make ownership less attractive but they are still in place.
I could maybe see cc limits and similar.
If motorbike were invented now we'd have very different looking machines.
I love how we still have a 120 year design/layout, just endlessly refined. Same as the internal combustion engine; either they were really smart 130 years ago or we're just lazy/unimaginative now. If we had the free thinkers of that era with the manufacturing and development tools of now we'd be in a far better place!
I love how we still have a 120 year design/layout, just endlessly refined. Same as the internal combustion engine; either they were really smart 130 years ago or we're just lazy/unimaginative now. If we had the free thinkers of that era with the manufacturing and development tools of now we'd be in a far better place!
We live in a country where 21 is the youngest age at which you can ride any motorcycle you want.
Twenty one!
Three years older than the minimum age for being allowed to step on a landmine when on active military service.
Three years older than the minimum age for driving a tipper lorry down a steep hill in Bath.
Three years older than the minimum age for helping to decide which bunch of f
kwit politicians gets to run the country.
Three years older than the minimum age for being one of the fkwit politicians that gets to run the country.
Five years older than the minimum age for helping to decide which bunch of fkwit politicians gets to run Wales or Scotland.
What do you think would happen?
Twenty one!
Three years older than the minimum age for being allowed to step on a landmine when on active military service.
Three years older than the minimum age for driving a tipper lorry down a steep hill in Bath.
Three years older than the minimum age for helping to decide which bunch of f
kwit politicians gets to run the country.Three years older than the minimum age for being one of the f
kwit politicians that gets to run the country.Five years older than the minimum age for helping to decide which bunch of f
kwit politicians gets to run Wales or Scotland.What do you think would happen?
I think you can look at this with a UK/western perspective and say no but that ignores the billions (and it is billions) of people where a motorcycle is the only form of transport they have access to. Acceptance in all of those countries would make it hard to not accept motorcycles in the west, though I suspect the restrictions may be even more than we have now.
black-k1 said:
I think you can look at this with a UK/western perspective and say no but that ignores the billions (and it is billions) of people where a motorcycle is the only form of transport they have access to. Acceptance in all of those countries would make it hard to not accept motorcycles in the west, though I suspect the restrictions may be even more than we have now.
The Chinese have come down pretty hard on bikes. There are lots of roads where you can't use them. But yes, try banning bikes in Vietnam or India and you would have a major revolt.
RazerSauber said:
It depends how you phrase it though. You could say they're extremely dangerous, far too fast and a nuisance on the road, or you could describe them as small, economical, low emission personal vehicles. The latest small, economical personal vehicle (the e-scooter) has been banned so I would imagine introducing motorbikes now would probably result in them being immediately banned as well.
E Scooters haven’t been banned. They just haven’t been made legal in the UK, yet. For use on the roads, every mechanically propelled vehicle needs to be explicitly allowed rather than the reverse where they are legal unless banned.
As others have said I very much doubt if they would be allowed if invented today. I think (I'll put my tin-foil hat on) that motorcycles as we know them will to all intents be gradually regulated out of existence. Indeed motorcycling generally is not the cheaper option to transportation it once was, decent top of the line bikes such as the GS etc are approaching 30k, throw into that all the kit etc and it's a very expensive hobby.
I think the next big push as we move through the whole EV approach will be automatous vehicles. The only real effective way of operating them at the moment is to effectively have a "bubble" of safety around them that is constantly monitored, bikes play havoc with this. As such I think progressive governments will be forced to simplify the road structure and the users.
Headline is boring, safe, regulated world incoming. Make the most of it while you can
I think the next big push as we move through the whole EV approach will be automatous vehicles. The only real effective way of operating them at the moment is to effectively have a "bubble" of safety around them that is constantly monitored, bikes play havoc with this. As such I think progressive governments will be forced to simplify the road structure and the users.
Headline is boring, safe, regulated world incoming. Make the most of it while you can
stu67 said:
As others have said I very much doubt if they would be allowed if invented today. I think (I'll put my tin-foil hat on) that motorcycles as we know them will to all intents be gradually regulated out of existence. Indeed motorcycling generally is not the cheaper option to transportation it once was, decent top of the line bikes such as the GS etc are approaching 30k, throw into that all the kit etc and it's a very expensive hobby.
I think the next big push as we move through the whole EV approach will be automatous vehicles. The only real effective way of operating them at the moment is to effectively have a "bubble" of safety around them that is constantly monitored, bikes play havoc with this. As such I think progressive governments will be forced to simplify the road structure and the users.
Headline is boring, safe, regulated world incoming. Make the most of it while you can
I largely agree, but it's a ridiculous state we've got ourselves into. Now the world is looking for a new way to propel 2(+ now) tons of metal to carry people (although often one person) from A to B. Switching from ICE to EV is balls; that fixes nothing and isn't sustainable and won't last. You don't need a 2-3 ton car/SUV etc to carry people about like that.I think the next big push as we move through the whole EV approach will be automatous vehicles. The only real effective way of operating them at the moment is to effectively have a "bubble" of safety around them that is constantly monitored, bikes play havoc with this. As such I think progressive governments will be forced to simplify the road structure and the users.
Headline is boring, safe, regulated world incoming. Make the most of it while you can
More affordable, reliable public transport with options that are modern (like autonomous shuttles or similar) for those who just want to get from A to B - which is most people - and leave ICE alone for those who get some pleasure from touring or going somewhere different.
We've had it good for quite a long while now, hope it continues but we should be happy to have taken part in something really exciting and enjoy it while we still can. They do seem to be directing us away from bikes even though we don't always realise it.
New bike prices absurd, once you get to anything with a nicer engine. In some ways I'd sooner have a cheaper, middle of the range machine with good parts availability than some mega expensive bike with no parts backup.
New bike prices absurd, once you get to anything with a nicer engine. In some ways I'd sooner have a cheaper, middle of the range machine with good parts availability than some mega expensive bike with no parts backup.
HertsBiker said:
...
New bike prices absurd, once you get to anything with a nicer engine. ....
I think you may be looking back through a strong "rose tint". The retail cost of a Honda CB750F2 in 1978 was £1,548.50New bike prices absurd, once you get to anything with a nicer engine. ....
Using the RPI that equates to £27,339.48.
1978 was when the CBX was launched and the GoldWing was available so, while the F2 was the latest CB750, it wasn't the top of the Honda range.
I think current motorcycle prices are actually pretty attractive.
trickywoo said:
The Chinese have come down pretty hard on bikes. There are lots of roads where you can't use them. But yes, try banning bikes in Vietnam or India and you would have a major revolt.
In China though, people switch from pollution free bicycles to motorcycles, which aren't, and the Chinese probably have enough issues with air quality. Different in the WestGassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff