[allserene]

Just looked at the U.K. requirement for unlimited power motorcycles. If you have not been qualifying on small bikes then you have to be TWENTY FOUR to ride a bike like the Ninja 1000

So you can marry at 16, have 5 kids by the time you are 24, have voted 5 years previously at age 18, and have done three tours of duty in the military, and still not be allowed on a Ninja 1000

Yes the death toll of motorcyclists in the U.K. and in Wisconsin is horrendous, but in my observation, brains-out idiots can be found in ANY age group. Heck I am closely related to one so I know.
Example: He wanted a Honda 1000 to ride in Spain. I told him he didn't have a license and had zero experience. He said " I have, I bought one in a pub last night for 50 Euros".

I don't think that being able to handle a powerful machine is anything to do with age, and its all about temperament and a modicum of experience but not 8 years experience.

Almost all the Spitfire pilots in the battle if Britain and all the US bomber pilots of 4 engined 'heavies' would not have been qualified to ride a Ninja 1000 at the end of their missions

Let's hope that the authorities are cleverer about this subject in the U.S.

Here is the link > ONE HP is about a third more than a Kilowatt KW

https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped/bike-categories-ages-and-licence-requirements

 

[rcannon409]

I do respect the idea that they are trying...but, yes..you are right. I'd say we do a very poor job of rider education in the usa. Its way too easy to buy a Ninja 1000 without decent experience.

My license is too old to show any sort of classification. The local DMV wanted me to repeat training since I never had any back in 1981 when my license was issued. I started dropping f-bombs and they waived the requirement. ...which let me know it was bs in the first place.

 

[Mikey1000]

I think graduated licenses have some merit but I doubt NY would do it right. Just another revenue stream.

 

[rcannon409]

We dont even do automobiles right...How coudl they do motorcycles any better?

At work, I cannot braze a pipe together without being certified, and trested every three years. My driving competency has not been checked in 35 years. I've not received any additional training since the original, two week course, in 1980. Really? Motorcycle training? It did not exsist then. I had to not hit too many plastic cones. I guess I figured it out myself and became a professional???

They are always a step behind. Do we need laws against texting and driving, or would it maybe be ok to KNOW this is an awful idea? I suspect if texting and driving led to losing a license or jail, it might stop.

 

[allserene]

We dont even do automobiles right...How coudl they do motorcycles any better?

At work, I cannot braze a pipe together without being certified, and trested every three years. My driving competency has not been checked in 35 years. I've not received any additional training since the original, two week course, in 1980. Really? Motorcycle training? It did not exsist then. I had to not hit too many plastic cones. I guess I figured it out myself and became a professional???

They are always a step behind. Do we need laws against texting and driving, or would it maybe be ok to KNOW this is an awful idea? I suspect if texting and driving led to losing a license or jail, it might stop.

Absolutely - and I have had some near ones with texting pedestians stepping out without looking. Yep we are always one in front of the law and I had a 199cc Triumph Cub as the max allowed by law for learners was 250cc. I did 55mph flat out and laid prone until the engine mounting snapped and I held the engine in with my knee until I got home. Then Honda exploited that by bringing out the 250cc Dream which zoomed - thus frustrating the legal limit. 17 year old rich kids with drug problems can buy 600HP McLaren cars and act like Justin Bieber - until they are 24 and can get a big bike.

I could see a limit for a year or so after getting a 250, but 24 is too old. At 21 I had been an inner city cop for 2 years and qualified to Sergeant, and was a householder and a father - and would still be 3 years off getting a big bike legally nowadays.

I am all for safely and I wear a helmet and protective gear etc, but at some point it all becomes oppressive and nannying - heck I am talking like a Harley bandana man now ...

 

[alang]

kw 1/3 more than hp
15kw = 20hp

 

[ToNY97]

You're right about the Greatest Generation that survived the depression and World War II. They were a different breed tried in the furnace of adversity.
They survived the tough times and understandably wanted to give their kids everything they didn't have. Unfortunately the baby boomers turned out soft and untested. It wasn't their fault, they didn't have any trials to refine them. They didn't have to be mature beyond their years like their parents.

Maturity isn't always based chronologically. Experience usually enlightens and diminishes the foolishness.

Uncle Sam is your uncle not your daddy.

 

[mrsand]

Experience

I remember my first Motorcycle. I just turned twenty. I found a 66 650 Bonneville with 800 miles on it in 1970. The FBI agent who owed it took me for a ride on the back. Bought the bike for about 800 bucks. I took delivery in a underground parking lot 2 stories down. It was hit and miss taking the bike up to the street...but I made it. No license required at that time. I had prepared for the bonny by riding a friends triumph trophy 500 which I crashed in the rain during a turn at a intersection. Flew over a 6" curb at 30 miles per hour. Got up and mounted the bike and took it back

Any way after that I had 2 Ducaties and a shovel head. Flash forward 25 years and I bought a 96 low rider and had to test for a motorcycle endorsement...got it in 96 and still have it.......

Sorry for being long winded....the Ninja 1000 I now have is not a good first choice ...being 23 in not exactly relavent...experience and maturity is.