Here's the data

[ultraTwist]

No new news really.

http://www.worldofsuck.net/index.php...or_motorc_2008

[GixerJockey]

Awesome... I love the writer's style...

[SAB]

I like #2

[Paul_E_D]

OK, EVERYBODY on this site needs to read and memorize #7

7. Buying a bigger bike doesn't mean you can handle it. The number of people dying on bikes with engines larger than 1000cc's is going up. Fast. This is in contrast to people with smaller engines which are declining in fatalities.

I've never heard so many bullshitters as when a thread about what size bike to buy comes up on this site. Despite all your justification you are NOT the only safety factor on your bike and you will NOT kill yourself as often on a 250. End of discussion.

[ZDan]

Of course one reason the number of people dying on bikes with engines larger than 1000cc and fewer are dying on smaller machines is be that more people RIDING on bikes with engines larger than 1000cc and fewer people RIDING on smaller machines.

You cannot draw conclusions from the raw fatality numbers, you need to relate it to how many such bikes are out there and how much they're being ridden.

What is needed is fatalities per vehicle-miles traveled for each category.

It wouldn't surprise me if the normalized rate IS going up for large-displacement machines, but this source doesn't provide enough info to make that conclusion.

[Paul_E_D]

Of course not. All hail the liter bike!

[Pittenger5]

I hate it when anonymous articles tell me how to live my life.


PS. the most dangerous time to be on the road in my area is when the Sox game gets out. Trust me.

[obsolete]

Above 1000 cc's would be related to older people crashing more I would assume. Older people (newer older riders that the stat pertains to) tend to ride cruisers, most of them are above 1000.

This is not a stat directly realted to greater than 1000 cc sport bikes. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more 1000cc + cruisers on the road than sport bikes in general.

[ZDan]

Percentage of Motorcycle Deaths by Engine Size


Just looking at these percentages, you might draw the incorrect conclusion that people who ride smaller-than-1400cc machines are riding more safely now, and that those riding 1400+cc machines are going nuts. But the fact is that the number of people RIDING 1400cc+ machines as a percentage of total riders has gone WAY up, so it should be no surprise that deaths in that category have also gone WAY up. In 1985, 1400+cc machines accounted for approximately 0% of deaths, because there were essentially no 1400cc+ machines out there.

Motorcycles of any displacement are inherently more dangerous than automobiles. You can get just as killed riding a 250 as you can riding a big-displacement monster. The numbers in this report, taken by themselves, do not indicate that larger-displacement machines are any more dangerous, though they may be. We need more data before we can draw such conclusions.

[Pittenger5]

Motorcycles of any displacement are inherently more dangerous than automobiles. You can get just as killed riding a 250 as you can riding a big-displacement monster.

Sure, if you get tagged by a car. Fact is, you can get in trouble far quicker on a superspot bike than a smaller displacement bike. I could hit 130 on my 636 whereas I'm lucky to hit 75 on my KTM on the same stretch of real estate.

[Paul_E_D]

Except that the statistics show that a large portion of fatalities are single vehicle, rider loses control type things. Experience tells me that it is WAY harder to lose control of a 250 than it is on a 1000+. There are real reasons for this. Less mass, less acceleration force, less braking force all make for a bike that is easier to control.

I can draw a very educated guess that smaller bikes are in fact safer even without the correct data analysis. It's not that complicated. The stats do suggest it, experience backs it up.

[TheIglu]

The more experience you get, the more you realize what is generally true about motorcycles/riders/accidents and the more you agree with Paul.

Experience > Pride.

[obsolete]

Not saying I disagree at all that a larger bike is more dangerous just saying I don't think the direct conclusion that 1000cc+ sport bikes are more dangerous follows the data shown. I think it is because of the reason I gave above.

[ZDan]

The stats do suggest it,.

The stats I'm seeing don't suggest any such thing. You can't draw conclusions from them.

We need deaths per vehicle-miles traveled.

[Paul_E_D]

47 percent (or something) of fatalities are single vehicle. This suggests loss of control. Looking at experience, I know that it's easier to control a smaller bike. The suggestion is in both data and experience.

[Evil_Weasel]

Paul is right.

it's much easier to kill yourself on a larger, more powerful bike. that's that. anyone that has been riding more than 5 years and has owned more than 2 bikes can figure that out.

disagree if you want to...but you are wrong.

[obsolete]

Paul is right.

it's much easier to kill yourself on a larger, more powerful bike. that's that. anyone that has been riding more than 5 years and has owned more than 2 bikes can figure that out.

disagree if you want to...but you are wrong.

He may very well be and I tend to agree with him, but the statistics that are shown in that article do not prove that. The conclusion does not follow the evidence.

[Evil_Weasel]

you can keep the statistics i'll go with experiance and common sense.

[obsolete]

This thread is about an article on crash statistics.

[klp]

Let me sum this up for the lazy folks...

If you are an old guy ride a small bike on lightly traveled roads early and late in the day during the weeek in crappy weather. Ladies - stay away from the backseat... it's a deathtrap.

Wear your helmet and don't crash because if you do it is your own fault.

You're welcome

KP

[klp]

Oh, and don't drink

[eboos]

5. Men suck. 91% of dead riders were male.

That's a no brainer. Roughly the same percentage of riders are male.

6. If you're a woman you're better off riding alone than riding bitch. 64% of women who were killed were riding on the back.

Also a no brainer, given the small percentage of women who pilot their own bikes.

7. Buying a bigger bike doesn't mean you can handle it. The number of people dying on bikes with engines larger than 1000cc's is going up. Fast. This is in contrast to people with smaller engines which are declining in fatalities.

Yet another no brainer. Sales of bikes with engine sizes of over 1000cc's is going up. Fast. Don't forget, this includes cruisers.

8. Nice weather means use more caution. There were more deaths between May to September than any other months.

Did they really need to point that out? There are more motorcycles on the road during these months. See the connection here?

9. Weekends are way more dangerous than commuting. 42% of deaths happened on Sat and Sun as opposed to the entire rest of the week.

Like above, more people are on the road during the weekend then they are in the week.


This isn't very scientific. There is no control data. Simply stating the obvious.

[ZDan]

What he (eboos) said.

The interpretation of the data is WAY off the mark.

You may as well say that helmets cause more fatalities since there are more and more helmeted fatalities! But that would be a scientifically incorrect conclusion.

Long/short: People take the raw numbers and run with them, whether they statistically know what they are doing or not.