F9 truly has no business being this good. Their previous video [1], about hub-center steering, has an absolutely fantastic oner where Ryan gets heckled by not one but two kids on scooters passing by, and still manages to finish the 3 minute take discussing path dependence and fitting a Robert Frost poem into a motorcycle review video. That segment starts around minute 7.
Fully agreed. I t-boned a car that cut me off, doing approximately 60-80 km/h. My shoulder dented the car's roof through the door frame. I went flying through the air and landed on my back, on cement-cast stones protruding slightly from the cement (the decorative edge of the roundabout).
I walked out of the hospital a couple of days later. I wouldn't have been walking then, nor today, if it wasn't for the protective shoulder pads and spine protection in my jacket. It took about 18 months of physiotherapy to stand and walk normally again, but still.
Edit: I realise this is a POV with n=1, but it convinced me.
It's nuts, right? I mean, I ride, but I know plenty of folks who are subscribed to the F9 Youtube channel who don't just because so much of the content they do scratches nerdy itches.
Some of my favorites, in case anyone's interested:
* Ryan's periodic "check out this weird bike from the past" clips are always great, but I really LOVE the one about the Honda Rune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjuWiKz9zno
* Their "trilogy" of sorts about Harley, and the hows and whys of their odd and honestly self-defeating decisions, are all great, but my favorite is the one that compares an Indian Scout to its then-corresponding Harley model; the Indian made 43% more power, and it's all down to Harley's genuflection at "tradition". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ooue7i73zo
* They did a "how to deal with dealers" video that is really a thinly veiled tribute to a particularly excellent and longstanding dealership, which is just lovely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr3JZAXDxA
* And my personal favorite is the FANTASTIC film homage built into Ryan's vid about the Ducati Desert X, which he ended up buying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcFqVIadWYo
Without offering any spoilers, I bought a couple new dirt bikes recently and went out of my way to find a "Kenco equivalent" in the Bay Area. Glad I did.
"And that doesn't even count the stiffy you'll get every time you change tires on two single-sided swing arms."
I thought that this man was brave when he allowed himself to be dragged across pavement in a nylon jacket, but his script writing is even more courageous.
Getting a motorcycle license was a very good thing I've done for my life. Cruising on long roads, beautiful views, wild camping and meeting other people in a like-minded community. It really heals your mind and body.
But obviously it comes with higher risk as you are more exposed and higher demands on your abilities.
And good gear can help, but if it is not combined with training and of course a sound attitude, you may sooner or later find yourself in an undesirable situation.
Go to refresher courses. I do it every year to update myself and get an idea of my current limits. It really helps.
To see what I meant about attitude, just go on Instagram and check for motorcycle reels, you'll see soo many examples of how to not act in traffic or what to do on a motorcycle.
Probably the single most important thing is learning good defensive driving. Which is different than "good driving".
Lots of "good drivers" T-bone the guy who ran a red light. Defensive drivers see him barreling towards the intersection, as they check both ways despite it being green.
On a motorcycle, even if a crash is not your fault, you're still dead.
> but if it is not combined with training and of course a sound attitude, you may sooner or later find yourself in an undesirable situation.
I ride motorcycles, so this is not a argument against it, but even with all the best safety gear and perfect habits you’re still significantly more likely to die in an accident compared to a motorcycle per mile driven.
Motorcycle fatality and injury statistics don't control for a rider's skills, experience, or attitude. Add to that the fact that motorcycles tend to attract a large number of young thrill seekers on crotch rockets and counter-culture types on choppers--neither of which put much, if any, level of effort into safety--and you get studies and statistics saying that motorcycles are basically two-wheeled insta-death machines.
Yes, a motorcycle rider will never be as protected as a person in a car surrounded by a steel frame and airbags. That should go without saying. But it would be nice if we can acknowledge that people who actually make an effort to wear their gear and maintain situational awareness generally aren't well represented in the statistics.
I think that motorcycle and e-bike safety can be greatly enhanced by never doing things a car couldn't do.
Always stay in the middle of the lane (unless you need to avoid a pothole), never overtake unless a car would have space to overtake, never enter an intersection alongside a car in the same lane.
On a bike, you also have the option of behaving like a pedestrian (cycle on the sidewalk slowly) occasionally.
If you don't do this, it's only a matter of time before a car hits you because it didn't expect a vehicle or pedestrian doing what you are doing.
I was coming home from work on my bike very late a few years ago, and I was on the side of the lane where your car tire would be -- not in the center. It was a good thing, too, because there was a full size ladder in the road, lined up exactly in the direction of traffic. Cars could safely drive 'over' it. I missed it by maybe a foot. If I were in middle of the lane, I would have taken a serious spill.
I love the idea but our roads almost worldwide are cursed with ever-present cars which do not cars about anything else. I've heard lots of and lots of near-misses, accidents and bullshit interactions between bikes/motorbikes and cars.
I just finished reading a travelogue about the dude who cycled around the world in 1800s. Sure, one could do it today but the roads he was riding on were almost empty, now you would have to be cautious every time, since 1 asshole and you're out.
> our roads almost worldwide are cursed with ever-present cars which do not cars about anything else
Kind of feel like you're over-generalizing here. Where I live, there is almost more motorbikes than cars a lot of the time, which considering the rush hour traffic, kind of makes sense as most people don't wanna get stuck in those queues. Of course, there are accidents and near-misses (almost by definition, since those on motorbikes tend to go between car lanes), but it's not like there is a 99% chance of you dying every time you use a motorbike.
I think it depends a lot on how used to motorbikes the car drivers are. Since I live in a place where there is a bunch of them always (and cyclists!), I feel like most of us pay attention to where they could show up. Compare that to countries where motorbiking isn't as popular, I could understand how it's more risky to go with the motorbike as the car-ists aren't as used to them appearing wherever.
There was literally 1/5th as many people on earth in 1900 as there were today. Of course the roads were empty. Even if you compare to 75yr ago there's been a doubling of population in many countries.
Yeah my mindset was "Everything that happens is my fault" when riding - obviously false, but it was a good way to approach defensive riding.
That car that changed lanes into me? My fault for being in its blind spot and assuming they'd actually check it. So make sure to never linger in blind spots.
The car that did a u-turn in front of me that I nearly hit - my fault for not interpreting the car's body language. Make sure to note the angle of the front wheels of cars pulled to the side of the road in my scans in future.
That time I low sided because I was thinking about work not my ride and then hit a corner slightly too fast right as my front wheel hit a pile of small gravel from a road resurfacing - that was entirely my fault for not focusing on the ride.
As a motorcyclist myself, I always felt drivers should be forced to do a certain number of hours on a motorcycle to make them more aware. But, those atrocious drivers would probably get injured so quickly that the idea would never fly. Now they are just driving.
"Go to refresher courses. I do it every year to update myself and get an idea of my current limits. It really helps."
I'll preface this by saying I love motorcycles but haven't been on one for decades.
As a driver of four-wheeled vehicles, the biggest problem I have with motorcycles is seeing them. Fortunately, I've never had an accident with a motorcycle but have had some near misses. All of those were because (a) I did not see the rider and (b) they were in positions where I did not expect them to be—on my wrong side, quickly switching lanes seemingly appearing out of nowhere, etc.
Whilst hardly in that league, I experienced an incident only three days ago that illustrates the point. At a shopping centre on a busy road I found a parking spot tight enough to require multiple maneuvers to park. When about to leave a motorcyclist pulled in behind me without me being aware of it (I was arranging shopping stuff so it wouldn't go everywhere when vehicle was in motion and there was no noise to indicate his presence).
He wasn't there when I got in the vehicle and I couldn't see his motorcycle both from my rear vision and side mirrors. I reversed slowly and felt a resistance and stopped immediately (I touched so gently there was no noise—and not even a scratch to show). (He wasn't on the motorcycle or I definitely would have seen him.)
What this motorcyclist did was to sneak into an illegal parking space so small that he effectively blocked my exit, I could not leave before he did. Sure, I wasn't really inconvenienced as he was delivering something to one of the businesses so he wasn't long.
Motorcycles offer conviences other vehicles do not, here being able to park in a small space. Motorcyclists get used to such conviences without realizing that other motorists might not be aware of them. For example, motorcycles allow for easy maneuverability which tempts riders to make illegal maneuvers that car drivers wouldn't even consider doing in the same circumstance. If the last thing on a car driver's mind is an unexpected maneuver by a motorcycle then it doesn't bode well for its rider.
From my experience, many motorcyclists drive from their perspective and not that of four-wheeled driver's. It's why I don't own a motorcycle, if I did then before long I'd be in motorcyclist thinking mode, and that'd be damned dangerous for my health.
I couldn't see his motorcycle both from my rear vision and side mirrors.
You seem inattentive. The motorcyclist didn't "sneak" into a spot, he simply minded his own business and parked. You didn't even notice a motorcycle park behind you while you were moving things around inside your car? I'm sorry, but you're simply inattentive.
many motorcyclists drive from their perspective and not that of four-wheeled driver's
I'll chime in here and note that, until very recently, there wasn't an airbag system that really appealed enough to ME.
The affordable ones, now long in the tooth, required a tether. The nicer ones were built into vests that weighted more, were hotter, and sometimes required a subscription, meaning a billing error could result in a nonfunctional safety device. Um, no.
AlpineStars released one that was ALMOST right a year or two ago called the Techair 5. It was (is) accelerometer driven, so no tether, and while it has an app it doesn't require a subscription. However, it IS heavy, and it IS hot, and it DOES require that you mail it in to be serviced after a deployment, so that was still a no-go for me.
However, last year AStars released the updated TechAir 5 Plasma, which has all the goodness of the original TechAir 5 while also being materially lighter and cooler -- plus, the canister can be replaced by the end user. It's spendy ($800 or so), but I bought one immediately. I wear it more or less every time I get on the bike. I live in the American South, so when I say I'm not any hotter wearing it than I would be without it, you know it's vented well.
(In fact, I wore it on a 4-day road trip between where I used to live (Houston) and where I live now (Durham) 2 weeks ago. Was it a hot trip? Absolutely; I was riding a motorcycle in TX, LA, MS, TN, and NC in the summer. Did the airbag make me less comfortable? No.)
Hopefully these go from being expensive pieces of gear that only few have to being completely normal/common-place. They are a great technological improvement but right now they are out of the budget of most of the motorcycling world (which outside of the West skews heavily towards lower incomes).
I've done MX (Yamaha YZ 250 two strokes: a monster), enduro (big mono-cylinder) and road driving on a variety of motorbikes. Road driving is by very far the most dangerous of them all.
I just quit about 15 years ago.
Now I'm a petrolhead at heart so I still enjoy scenic roads but with a car. It's much safer.
I tell people worried about motorcycles (I've had motorcycles around more or less since I was 12) — if safety is the most important thing for you, skip motorcycles (and bicycling, etc.).
I'm surprised how often people project their own fears on me with comments like, "Aren't you afraid you'll get killed?" As though that never occurred to me, ha ha.
Obviously I choose to do some things in life that are not the safest — but I do them because they make life more worth living. (Sound like a bumper sticker? Hopefully you get the point though.)
Likely there are things others do that add a degree of risk to their life but they feel are worth it.
> Now I'm a petrolhead at heart so I still enjoy scenic roads but with a car. It's much safer.
I've tried it in a car, but it's not the same. For me, it's not even 1/10th of the experience of being on a bike. It's like all the soul has been sucked out of it. I might as well be in a minivan on the freeway for all the joy it gives me.
I'm not riding at the moment due to an unrelated (incomplete) spinal cord injury and some long term issues relating to that, and so i've been trying it in a car, and I even bought a "fun" car thinking it would help. But it just feels so...meh that i've largely just given it up full stop and am going to just sell the car.
I'd been riding since I was five years old, I dont think anything will ever touch it for me honestly. It was my zen place, the place I was truely happiest and at peace. It's been the biggest loss for me since my injury.
There is still a chance I could one day return to riding, so i've kept the bike (a 2012 BMW F800GS) out of sheer hope, but I must admit that it's likely by the time I can physically, I may no longer be mentally capable of the return.
I've come off two motorbikes in the UK. On the first occasion I wore a leather jacket, on the second I had a synthetic jacket on (because it was more comfortable in hot weather).
Both were completely safe. On both occasions I slid along the tarmac for about 10-15 meters, I was travelling at around 30-40 mph. I still wear the same leather jacket 30 years later (not for riding) but the synthetic jacket was a right-off.
On both occasions I really smacked my head: don't mess about with sub-standard crash helmets.
So even though leather is better, we're not racing the TT, we're just going from A-B and if you want to wear synthetic you'll be fine at normal speeds. So if you can't wear leather, for whatever reason, don't let that stop you.
Same thing here. Slid on black ice in the north-east USA winter. Big -big- hit to the side of the helmet, road-slide for 100 feet and got up with a bruised ego.
I'd add 1 point for the pads, shoulder elbow and back for impact. Mine happen to be `D3o` and are comfortable
That's a big factor for me, my leather jacket is tough as nails, and has eaten one slide before with only minor scuffs.
But my synthetic jacket has armor as well, and while thankfully I have never tested it, it should provide pretty good protection even if the nylon burns through.
I love FortNine, they always manage to be both funny and informative at the same time. And the way they do really long takes in their videos is really cool. Even the segment about the sponsors is well integrated into the video.
One of their latest videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpVMsqSW6pk) contained a teaser about a documentary they're going to release in December: around the world in 17 days. Can't wait to see it.
FortNine is a hidden gem of a YouTuber. Many of his videos are just showing his passion for riding and interesting facts like "different ways to mount a motorcycle" and are entertaining to watch him climb up the back tire and hop onto the bike. But then some of the videos are actually highly educational and he incorporates tested science and studies and explains why things are they way they are like the science of different leaning styles while riding and their science.
The video that has always stuck with me is when he explained the science behind how motorcycles are hard to gauge their speed and distance and related it to how pigeons see. It showed me that a lot of why drivers have a tendency to pull out and cut off riders is more to do with not being aware that it can be very difficult to calculate the distance and speed of a motorcycle the same as we do with a car. With that knowledge as a rider I have actually changed my driving and really make sure I fully check both directions before pulling out. I also, as a rider, pay attention to side roads and driveways and always assume the car is going to pull out. I have never almost pulled in front of a rider but I can say I have many times avoided cars by riding defensively.
not in number of subscribers - they know the channel already, but in quality of content and production values. I think that's what OP meant.
F9 could get 2M subscribers by just doing product reviews because they're an ecommerce website in Canada like Revzilla is in the US, and that Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/RevZilla) has 1.5m subscribers.
F9 has a few product reviews, but they have a ton of just top quality content that shines for not just the motorcycle content, but how its presented, the attention to filming and editing, etc.
Oh and if you're interested, they even have a video about cheese (it was an april fool's prank, but still informative about cheese).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1T7NzCtWHo
F9 produces such a consistently and ridiculously good, cool, fun, and educational *social media content*; that it is installed permanently as a cognitive dissonance in the back of my mind.
Agree. I'm not into motorcycles and never plan to own one, but I still follow their videos because of the mix between intriguing and entertainment. Kind of why I used to watch top gear back when I was in school even though I didn't own a car.
I would love to get a motorbike - I enjoy cycling and love speed - but I've had three people in my wider circle of friends suffer life-changing injuries while riding motorbikes, including one just before his wedding that they had to cancel because he was in hospital. They were all careful riders too, the incidents being caused by distracted / aggressive drivers. The odds just don't stack up for me.
Go offroad. For me, after 20 years on motorcycles, it is more interesting to cross the mountains than to cross the continent on 2 wheels and I did both, several times. I ride on the road only when needed, when I want to have fun I leave the asphalt.
On a bicycle it is even more clear: I never liked riding on roads, I used to race amateur XC competitions for ~ 10 years. As much fun as it can be.
> They were all careful riders too, the incidents being caused by distracted / aggressive drivers.
I'm not sure how true that is, even when the cause is distracted/aggressive drivers, unless the drivers actually hunted them and collided with them on purpose. Defensive driving is a thing for motorcycle drivers too, and if you take care you'll avoid even distracted/aggressive drivers too.
With that said, it of course isn't risk free, I think in my country (Spain, lots of motorcycles in/around the cities/towns), just about 60% of those who drive motorcycles have never been in any accident ever[0], and that's including very dumb ("average") people so if you're more careful than the average driver, I'm sure you could get those odds to stack in your favor.
Recently had to deal with some unusual wisdom tooth bullshit, they sent me to a fancy oral surgeon who deals with the unusual. Guy sitting next to me in the lobby had his whole face caved in when he crashed his motorcycle (no helmet), he looked completely normal! The 'before' xrays he showed me on his phone were gruesome, completely unrecognizable as a human skull.
I was terrified for his head. Great review though, as someone who's been mulling over getting a bike licence and struggling to wrap their head around gear ratings, this was eye opening.
I looked up an Arai Tour X5, thanks for the link. It gives four stars and some colours for different zones at set impact speeds in m/s in a lab. It tells me it meets standard UN ECE REG 22.06 with a double D ring retention system and composite fibre materials. Super objective and necessary.
But I've read a lot of similar information and, somehow, seeing the results of a person being dragged down the road, for some unknown amount of time, which is pretty super subjective, still feels (perhaps wrongly even) as though it gives me a better understanding than just reading numbers/letters/colours.
Readit News
[1]: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JtBgv-SJEQg
https://youtu.be/nINIJ1cAbYM
I walked out of the hospital a couple of days later. I wouldn't have been walking then, nor today, if it wasn't for the protective shoulder pads and spine protection in my jacket. It took about 18 months of physiotherapy to stand and walk normally again, but still.
Edit: I realise this is a POV with n=1, but it convinced me.
What do you mean? The video is very convincing, I don't see a hole in the logic.
Some of my favorites, in case anyone's interested:
* Ryan's periodic "check out this weird bike from the past" clips are always great, but I really LOVE the one about the Honda Rune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjuWiKz9zno
* Their "trilogy" of sorts about Harley, and the hows and whys of their odd and honestly self-defeating decisions, are all great, but my favorite is the one that compares an Indian Scout to its then-corresponding Harley model; the Indian made 43% more power, and it's all down to Harley's genuflection at "tradition". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ooue7i73zo
The other two are "why millions ride HD" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeuXShFIgyc), which kinda lays the background for the tradition at work in the aforementioned video; and "How HD killed itself" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOwxxsPaogY), which is more about their demographic problem.
* They did a "how to deal with dealers" video that is really a thinly veiled tribute to a particularly excellent and longstanding dealership, which is just lovely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr3JZAXDxA
* And my personal favorite is the FANTASTIC film homage built into Ryan's vid about the Ducati Desert X, which he ended up buying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcFqVIadWYo
A lot of motoring YouTube seems to have fallen away, or become so big it feels unreal “let’s race these 2000hp lambos.”
Without offering any spoilers, I bought a couple new dirt bikes recently and went out of my way to find a "Kenco equivalent" in the Bay Area. Glad I did.
But obviously it comes with higher risk as you are more exposed and higher demands on your abilities. And good gear can help, but if it is not combined with training and of course a sound attitude, you may sooner or later find yourself in an undesirable situation.
Go to refresher courses. I do it every year to update myself and get an idea of my current limits. It really helps.
To see what I meant about attitude, just go on Instagram and check for motorcycle reels, you'll see soo many examples of how to not act in traffic or what to do on a motorcycle.
Lots of "good drivers" T-bone the guy who ran a red light. Defensive drivers see him barreling towards the intersection, as they check both ways despite it being green.
On a motorcycle, even if a crash is not your fault, you're still dead.
I ride motorcycles, so this is not a argument against it, but even with all the best safety gear and perfect habits you’re still significantly more likely to die in an accident compared to a motorcycle per mile driven.
Yes, a motorcycle rider will never be as protected as a person in a car surrounded by a steel frame and airbags. That should go without saying. But it would be nice if we can acknowledge that people who actually make an effort to wear their gear and maintain situational awareness generally aren't well represented in the statistics.
Take the low motorcycling population and the extreme self selection bias and you end up with an average that paints a very misleading picture.
Always stay in the middle of the lane (unless you need to avoid a pothole), never overtake unless a car would have space to overtake, never enter an intersection alongside a car in the same lane.
On a bike, you also have the option of behaving like a pedestrian (cycle on the sidewalk slowly) occasionally.
If you don't do this, it's only a matter of time before a car hits you because it didn't expect a vehicle or pedestrian doing what you are doing.
Usually the middle is more slick from oil drips and contains more debris. That's why most people ride in one of the tire tracks from the cars.
This is wrong. Use the whole lane to be in the best spot to see and be seen. Use lateral movement to increase your visibility in driver mirrors.
I just finished reading a travelogue about the dude who cycled around the world in 1800s. Sure, one could do it today but the roads he was riding on were almost empty, now you would have to be cautious every time, since 1 asshole and you're out.
Kind of feel like you're over-generalizing here. Where I live, there is almost more motorbikes than cars a lot of the time, which considering the rush hour traffic, kind of makes sense as most people don't wanna get stuck in those queues. Of course, there are accidents and near-misses (almost by definition, since those on motorbikes tend to go between car lanes), but it's not like there is a 99% chance of you dying every time you use a motorbike.
I think it depends a lot on how used to motorbikes the car drivers are. Since I live in a place where there is a bunch of them always (and cyclists!), I feel like most of us pay attention to where they could show up. Compare that to countries where motorbiking isn't as popular, I could understand how it's more risky to go with the motorbike as the car-ists aren't as used to them appearing wherever.
That car that changed lanes into me? My fault for being in its blind spot and assuming they'd actually check it. So make sure to never linger in blind spots.
The car that did a u-turn in front of me that I nearly hit - my fault for not interpreting the car's body language. Make sure to note the angle of the front wheels of cars pulled to the side of the road in my scans in future.
That time I low sided because I was thinking about work not my ride and then hit a corner slightly too fast right as my front wheel hit a pile of small gravel from a road resurfacing - that was entirely my fault for not focusing on the ride.
I'll preface this by saying I love motorcycles but haven't been on one for decades.
As a driver of four-wheeled vehicles, the biggest problem I have with motorcycles is seeing them. Fortunately, I've never had an accident with a motorcycle but have had some near misses. All of those were because (a) I did not see the rider and (b) they were in positions where I did not expect them to be—on my wrong side, quickly switching lanes seemingly appearing out of nowhere, etc.
Whilst hardly in that league, I experienced an incident only three days ago that illustrates the point. At a shopping centre on a busy road I found a parking spot tight enough to require multiple maneuvers to park. When about to leave a motorcyclist pulled in behind me without me being aware of it (I was arranging shopping stuff so it wouldn't go everywhere when vehicle was in motion and there was no noise to indicate his presence).
He wasn't there when I got in the vehicle and I couldn't see his motorcycle both from my rear vision and side mirrors. I reversed slowly and felt a resistance and stopped immediately (I touched so gently there was no noise—and not even a scratch to show). (He wasn't on the motorcycle or I definitely would have seen him.)
What this motorcyclist did was to sneak into an illegal parking space so small that he effectively blocked my exit, I could not leave before he did. Sure, I wasn't really inconvenienced as he was delivering something to one of the businesses so he wasn't long.
Motorcycles offer conviences other vehicles do not, here being able to park in a small space. Motorcyclists get used to such conviences without realizing that other motorists might not be aware of them. For example, motorcycles allow for easy maneuverability which tempts riders to make illegal maneuvers that car drivers wouldn't even consider doing in the same circumstance. If the last thing on a car driver's mind is an unexpected maneuver by a motorcycle then it doesn't bode well for its rider.
From my experience, many motorcyclists drive from their perspective and not that of four-wheeled driver's. It's why I don't own a motorcycle, if I did then before long I'd be in motorcyclist thinking mode, and that'd be damned dangerous for my health.
What's a wrong side?
I couldn't see his motorcycle both from my rear vision and side mirrors.
You seem inattentive. The motorcyclist didn't "sneak" into a spot, he simply minded his own business and parked. You didn't even notice a motorcycle park behind you while you were moving things around inside your car? I'm sorry, but you're simply inattentive.
many motorcyclists drive from their perspective and not that of four-wheeled driver's
This statement strikes me as extremely ironic.
FortNine on motorcycle airbags: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2jZryt607U
The affordable ones, now long in the tooth, required a tether. The nicer ones were built into vests that weighted more, were hotter, and sometimes required a subscription, meaning a billing error could result in a nonfunctional safety device. Um, no.
AlpineStars released one that was ALMOST right a year or two ago called the Techair 5. It was (is) accelerometer driven, so no tether, and while it has an app it doesn't require a subscription. However, it IS heavy, and it IS hot, and it DOES require that you mail it in to be serviced after a deployment, so that was still a no-go for me.
However, last year AStars released the updated TechAir 5 Plasma, which has all the goodness of the original TechAir 5 while also being materially lighter and cooler -- plus, the canister can be replaced by the end user. It's spendy ($800 or so), but I bought one immediately. I wear it more or less every time I get on the bike. I live in the American South, so when I say I'm not any hotter wearing it than I would be without it, you know it's vented well.
(In fact, I wore it on a 4-day road trip between where I used to live (Houston) and where I live now (Durham) 2 weeks ago. Was it a hot trip? Absolutely; I was riding a motorcycle in TX, LA, MS, TN, and NC in the summer. Did the airbag make me less comfortable? No.)
I just quit about 15 years ago.
Now I'm a petrolhead at heart so I still enjoy scenic roads but with a car. It's much safer.
I'm surprised how often people project their own fears on me with comments like, "Aren't you afraid you'll get killed?" As though that never occurred to me, ha ha.
Obviously I choose to do some things in life that are not the safest — but I do them because they make life more worth living. (Sound like a bumper sticker? Hopefully you get the point though.)
Likely there are things others do that add a degree of risk to their life but they feel are worth it.
I've tried it in a car, but it's not the same. For me, it's not even 1/10th of the experience of being on a bike. It's like all the soul has been sucked out of it. I might as well be in a minivan on the freeway for all the joy it gives me.
I'm not riding at the moment due to an unrelated (incomplete) spinal cord injury and some long term issues relating to that, and so i've been trying it in a car, and I even bought a "fun" car thinking it would help. But it just feels so...meh that i've largely just given it up full stop and am going to just sell the car.
I'd been riding since I was five years old, I dont think anything will ever touch it for me honestly. It was my zen place, the place I was truely happiest and at peace. It's been the biggest loss for me since my injury.
There is still a chance I could one day return to riding, so i've kept the bike (a 2012 BMW F800GS) out of sheer hope, but I must admit that it's likely by the time I can physically, I may no longer be mentally capable of the return.
Dead Comment
Both were completely safe. On both occasions I slid along the tarmac for about 10-15 meters, I was travelling at around 30-40 mph. I still wear the same leather jacket 30 years later (not for riding) but the synthetic jacket was a right-off.
On both occasions I really smacked my head: don't mess about with sub-standard crash helmets.
So even though leather is better, we're not racing the TT, we're just going from A-B and if you want to wear synthetic you'll be fine at normal speeds. So if you can't wear leather, for whatever reason, don't let that stop you.
I'd add 1 point for the pads, shoulder elbow and back for impact. Mine happen to be `D3o` and are comfortable
But my synthetic jacket has armor as well, and while thankfully I have never tested it, it should provide pretty good protection even if the nylon burns through.
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The first video I saw from them was about the different motorcycle engine types: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOTz0Ol8fLA
One of their latest videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpVMsqSW6pk) contained a teaser about a documentary they're going to release in December: around the world in 17 days. Can't wait to see it.
The video that has always stuck with me is when he explained the science behind how motorcycles are hard to gauge their speed and distance and related it to how pigeons see. It showed me that a lot of why drivers have a tendency to pull out and cut off riders is more to do with not being aware that it can be very difficult to calculate the distance and speed of a motorcycle the same as we do with a car. With that knowledge as a rider I have actually changed my driving and really make sure I fully check both directions before pulling out. I also, as a rider, pay attention to side roads and driveways and always assume the car is going to pull out. I have never almost pulled in front of a rider but I can say I have many times avoided cars by riding defensively.
> hidden gem
F9 could get 2M subscribers by just doing product reviews because they're an ecommerce website in Canada like Revzilla is in the US, and that Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/RevZilla) has 1.5m subscribers.
F9 has a few product reviews, but they have a ton of just top quality content that shines for not just the motorcycle content, but how its presented, the attention to filming and editing, etc.
Oh and if you're interested, they even have a video about cheese (it was an april fool's prank, but still informative about cheese).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1T7NzCtWHo
Also this is a truly well done video. Entertaining, week executed, witty dialogue.
I'm not sure how true that is, even when the cause is distracted/aggressive drivers, unless the drivers actually hunted them and collided with them on purpose. Defensive driving is a thing for motorcycle drivers too, and if you take care you'll avoid even distracted/aggressive drivers too.
With that said, it of course isn't risk free, I think in my country (Spain, lots of motorcycles in/around the cities/towns), just about 60% of those who drive motorcycles have never been in any accident ever[0], and that's including very dumb ("average") people so if you're more careful than the average driver, I'm sure you could get those odds to stack in your favor.
- [0] https://www.dgt.es/export/sites/web-DGT/.galleries/downloads... Table 59. "ACCIDENTALIDAD"
E.g. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/01/19/s...
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Wear a helmet.
[0] https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/
I looked up an Arai Tour X5, thanks for the link. It gives four stars and some colours for different zones at set impact speeds in m/s in a lab. It tells me it meets standard UN ECE REG 22.06 with a double D ring retention system and composite fibre materials. Super objective and necessary.
But I've read a lot of similar information and, somehow, seeing the results of a person being dragged down the road, for some unknown amount of time, which is pretty super subjective, still feels (perhaps wrongly even) as though it gives me a better understanding than just reading numbers/letters/colours.