Have you ever thought about owning a motorcycle? What’s stopping you? The danger? The risk? What have you enjoyed in life that didn’t come with a little bit of danger and risk? Yes, even that chili and cheese loaded baked potato came with some risk. However, there’s nothing quite like cruising on a motorcycle. It is an experience unlike any other. So if you’re looking to inject a little life into your existence, a little romance into your life, or a little daily adventure to the mundane, here are seven reasons you should consider two wheels over four.
7. MPGs, Baby!
How about a little practicality to lay the foundation for something that many people consider impractical? Motorcycles get outstanding gas mileage. When they’re cruising at highway speed, even the biggest of the beastly V-Twin Harley Davidson touring models, like the Electra Glide Ultra Classic, will score an impressive 40-plus miles to the gallon. And this equates to the Clydesdale horse of the motorcycle world.
A typical cruiser or sport bike, or just a putt-around-town commuter will get into the 50-to-60 MPG range. Do the math. You’ll save some serious coin when you’re straddling the internal combustion horses of a motorcycle, making it a stellar commuting option for the responsible city dweller.
6. Variations on The Word “Escape”
The first thing that many think of when the topic of motorcycles is injected into a conversation is that they’re dangerous. Certainly, any vehicle that can travel faster than your own legs could ever carry you comes with inherent risk. For individuals who struggle to remain accident free in a car, a motorcycle might not be the best option.
However, there’s a focus that comes with riding a bike. There are few things that distract you from the road in front of you or the traffic on the road with you. It allows your mind to “escape” from the easy distractions you’d find in a car. It also allows for more elusiveness and escapability in certain driving scenarios. Many motorcyclists will attest to avoiding accidents because they were on motorcycles. Last, and certainly not least, motorcycles allow you to most easily escape the things of man.
5. You’re In It Like Never Before
Let’s pick up right where the last point leaves off. When you get on a motorcycle, and you’re so bold that you don’t plug buds into your ears for amusement, you might just find the best version of yourself. If you’re willing to set your ego aside, that is (see the No. 4). The thinking time that is allotted while riding on a motorcycle is incomparable.
You have to be aware of what you’re doing, but allowing the subconscious to takeover the piloting skills in safe, open environments and letting the creative juices and deep thoughts to surface is a truly incomparable experience. It’s amazing how fast 300 miles may pass. It really plays with your perception of time and space. There is nothing like traversing a vast landscape on two wheels. Bicycles are great, but experiencing the two-wheel thrill, cruising at 70 mph with endless panoramas? That is what takes road tripping to its maximum potential.
4. The Cool Factor
When you begin riding a motorcycle, there is no getting around the increase of your cool factor. It’s going to happen. Now, let’s pause. Before you rush out to buy a bike for the sole purpose of increasing your cool factor, understand that riding a bike for the first time is a trying experience. There is a learning curve. Many people buy motorcycles and never get beyond that stage of fearfulness. A good rule of thumb is to consider your fight or flight response.
If you lean toward most challenges with some fight, you’ll eventually take to some powerful two-wheeling. If your first reaction is “find most assured self-preservation,” you may have a really good looking bike in your garage for years, collecting dust. Look at it from an existential perspective. When you get beyond those fears, and gain a new skill set like riding a motorcycle, you score cool points.
3. The Bike Bond
Do you feel like some people have really strange bonds with inanimate objects? Wait until you own a motorcycle! Sure, some people love their cars. This is especially true if the car particularly sporty or luxurious. Or if it was built from the frame up or is part of personal legacy evoking nostalgia. A motorcycle is like that, except ten times stronger.
Most people name their motorcycles, whether or not they admit it. They buy things like accessories and parts for a bike that make it more “their bike” than any other bike that came off the same assembly line. How strong do these motorcycle bonds get? It might be safer to ask a friend for a night with their wife or girlfriend than to ask if you can take their bike out for a spin. Don’t believe that? Let us know how you feel after owning a bike for 10 years.
2. Inexpensive Maintenance
Maintenance is one of the greatest things about owning a bike. Most all of the mechanical engineering on motorcycle is easily accessible. What does this mean for the owner? You can work on your own bike, and learn a lot about mechanics and engineering in the process. It’s a rite of passage for any motorcycle owner.
Some people go all the way and do their own work. Others change their own oil, tighten chains, replace belts, clean tanks, etc. The list goes on. Even if you prefer to take your bike to a shop and have a certified pro work on it — at dealer prices — you’re still not going to break the bank. Parts for bikes are accessible everywhere online, as well as in salvage yards. The internet is full of so many how-to tutorials at this point, motorcycle maintenance is simply a matter of available time.
1. Closest Thing To Flying
If you don’t see a pilot’s license in your future, or imagine joining a team of skydivers or wing suit BASE jumpers, motorcycling will serve as the closest thing to flying. This is particularly true when riding sport bikes. Either way, being in the great wide open, cruising at highway speeds, cornering in a way that you simply can’t in a car to feel the physiological effect of riding a motorcycle… it’s a natural high.
Simply put, if your adrenal gland seems to be in retirement, a motorcycle might be key to getting a little bit of that mojo back in your brass. Of course, this goes for anyone. Men and women alike. A motorcycle doesn’t care who takes ownership, so long as someone takes ownership and uses the bike for its created purpose — to be ridden.
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