The USA vs. Europe | How We Differ in Riding Culture
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- Опубликовано: 8 мар 2024
- I have a lot of viewers from the UK, Europe and Australia. They often comment on my videos about the differences between how we ride, here in the USA and how they ride in other countries. I thought it might be fun and interesting to talk about some of those differences.
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From a sociological standpoint, you answered the question in the first few minutes talking about your truck: "my wife and I feel safer in our truck". Millions have been forced into the vehicle "arms race" created by auto manufacturers where trucks are literally the size of Sherman tanks in the name of PERSONAL safety at the expense of COLLECTIVE safety. Looking to the East, you will find that your Tacoma isn't sold in Japan, where all of your points of practicality are addressed by the proliferation of Keitora, trucks the size of an American sedan that fit in their regulatory and infrastructure constraints and can haul anything from Home Depot by using clever design. Japan is also a collectivist society. So, the difference is that here in America we have the room to be bigger and more selfish and the rest of the world has societies thousands of years older that have learned the lessons of exploitation, hubris and waste and have evolved past them to see life as working for the common good over the individual. Oh, also, humongous pickups also kill us on motorcycles for the same reason they kill pedestrians and children.
Ironically, show me a harley ride with a whip attached to his handlebars, and I can pretty much guarantee he's got a truck in his driveway that he loves to brag about menacing people with to get out of his way.
You‘re spot on. The same goes for gun culture, where Americans prioritize individual safety and freedom at the expense of collective safety. Other western countries try to strike more of a balance between the two in my opinion.
Oh hell no, all three of you. One guy does not shoot, another has never been injured in a car accident, and all of you are enamored of collectivist politics.
Individual freedoms come with individual responsibilities. You all can't handle the responsibility individually and offload it to those around you.
@gcanaday1 B.S. all the way around I bet. The whip is about the dumbest thing I've ever seen, whether you think it makes you look cooler or not. It's not going to help you avoid or get out of an accident. The only thing is there for us you to take retribution on someone's car that you don't like. Loud pipes don't save lives either, no matter how many times you say that old chestnut.
And us competent gun owners without the absurdist politics can firmly believe in both individual rights and responsibilities, and support common sense gun laws.
@@gcanaday1 No, we're not selfish a$$holes, we're people that have actually lived in other countries or have family members from those "collectivist" countries and are not overly enamored with the myth of "American exceptionalism". Also, you cry "freedom" without realizing that all of those collectivist countries also are free, free to not have to go through lockdown drills in school, free to have better health care at a lower cost with better outcomes because they don't have a health care industry based upon profit, freedom to access better education without going into enormous debt, freedom to have a better quality of life, and freedom on safer roads due to stricter regulations to even get a license and strict enforcement, freedom to access robust public transportation systems, and ALL of that is due to the attitude that EVERYONE is responsible for the success of the NATION AS A WHOLE. Compare that with us having a mass shooting virtually every day, people going bankrupt from getting sick or shouldering enormous debt just to go to college, and roads with 16 lanes that are parking lots, all of us stuck in financial or literal cages due to the attitude of "me first".
Here in Switzerland, a densly populated country with great alpen passes to ride, we have the lowest traffic causalties in the world (except for the vatikan state). Switzerland has a very high level in schools, and education. (Universities are free of charge, BTW) This applies also on riding education.
My son is actually learning to ride. (16yo, 125cc bike)
To get any licence for a bike (or a car), you have to passe a medical and vision examination (rather basic).
Then you have to pass a written exam, quite a beefy one (1/3 fail that one)
and pass a mandatory basic fist aid training including first responder practical training and BLS (reanimation)
Then you get a "student licence" an can practice riding on your own motorcycle, labelled with a blue "L" for 4 months. In these four months you have to:
Complete the theoretical trafic awarness and driving (riding) strategy courses (3 x 2h)
Then you go 3 times into pratical courses with your driving instructor (3x 4h)
Then you go for the practical,final exam with a driving expert 1 h
The exam includes slow speed maneouvering (figure 8, U turns, emergency braking, swirving, riding 10 meters (30 feet) in very slow pace and traffic (city and overland)
- The first licence you can get ad 16 yo is the "A125" for bikes up to 125ccm
- At 18yo you can get an "A-" licence for bike up to 48 hp
- Then you have to ride this bike (up to 48 hp) for 2 years, then you can aply for the "A" licence, which allows you to ride all bikes (more than 48hp)
As an seasoned rider, I was first sceptical of that complex system. But as my children get into riding, I see the benefits of it: The courses and training is just superb, on a really high level (Motojitsu, Jerry Paladino 🙂), as is the medical training and the traffic awareness course.
You can ride any road easily with a 48 hp bike. (Speeding fines are very high in Switzerland)
And remember, we have the lowest death rate in traffic in the world. Having a family, this means something to me. I Think good eduaction helps a lot!
Death rate based on what? Deaths per number of licensed drivers? Deaths per number of miles traveled? Deaths per capita?
A couple of corrections to the above for Switzerland:
- Once you do the mandatory practical courses (3x4h) your student license gets extended by 12 months
- For people who own a car driver's license, they need to have the eye sight test redone but the written exam, the first aid course and the traffic awareness courses aren't needed
- people "upgrading" to the A- license who got their 125cc license before 2021 need to take the final 4 hours of the practical course before taking the exam
- For "upgrading" to full A license (aka ride anything you want), it's not just 2 years wait time, it's two years without any severe traffic incident (such as excessive speeding, running a red light or causing an accident)
- And for the full A license, you actually have to pas the practical exam again on a bike bigger than 35kW, both low speed maneuvering and the traffic portions again. The maneuvering portion is tough as hell to do on a HD style cruiser or bagger, too 😁
Much of the EU has a relatively similar system, though the limited A- license tends to be called A2 elsewhere.
Jerry Paladino is outstanding!
Switzerland is one of the most frustrating countries to ride in the world! The roads are utterly epic, but strangled by some of the most ridiculously low speed limits anywhere. That's fine for the cities and towns, but out on the mountain passes/roads? It's so bad, we just avoid it altogether now (even though I did ride through it on my way from Milan to Liechtenstein last June), and just go to Germany, Austria, Italy, or any of the Balkans instead.
@@GarryMcGovern generally, the tolerance is bigger in the passes and mountains than in the valleys and villages/towns where one should adhere to the speed religiously. It can be also hard to reach 80 km/h in the twisties. Unlike say Italy which put 50 limit on Giau and a speed camera. (I read some articles which suggested the camera was even illegal! But I'm not an italian lawyer so IDK.)
Sadly though, Swiss police provokes riders into breaking the rules by blocking the road with excessively slow driving (in an unmarked car) etc. so overall I still rank it as overly strict, even though the roads are no safer than neighboring countries. Maybe Swiss drivers compensate by paying less attention to the traffic.
In my opinion these a some of the differences between Europa & USA:
* Most of the roads in E. are better and not worse than in the USA.
* There are many more twisty mountain roads in E. - thousands of years of civilization leave their stains.
* Many more „fast“ bikes in E. (Supersports, Nakeds, Power-ADV‘s etc.), which are often ridden harder than in the U.S.
* Generally there are more experienced riders in E. than in the U.S.
* Roads like the „Tail Of The Dragon“ wouldn‘t be a challenge in E. - we have so many roads like this .
(Yes, I am from Austria in the twisty heart of Europe)
As a scotsman I 100% agree with you. I moved to Canada in 2016 and the roads are far to straight. I have to ride a minimum 2hrs to hit twisty roads that are longer than ten klm. Lol
Better roads in Europe? That's a good one 🤣
@@podunkman2709 How much experience do you have with European roads?
And in which countries?
Better think twice…😉
If we add Canada to the USA....lol... it's like "We add Russia to Europe...."
The tiered licence system, at least in Germany, artifiscially inflates sales!
(AM) with 15 and a written-test-licence for about 190€ you can ride a "25er" wich is in most cases a curbed down scooter (50er) less than 30km/h(18km/h)
(A1) with 16 and in some states in Germany with 15 you can ride a "50er" wich is in most cases a scooter the licence costs half the hours and training of a car licence let's say 600-700€ , makes less than 45km/h and less than11kW
(A2) with 18 and you can rida a "125er" wich is either a "travel scooter" or a Street Enduro like "KTM 125 Duke" or a toy version supersports looking bike...top speeds is about 125km/h (77 mp/h) the rules is you have to have less than 35 kW... so you can work with the transmission and airodynamics to get more speed.
(A) with 24 you can ride what ever bike you want...the licence is as expensive as car licence 1200€ more or less depending your needs of training.
YET if you allready had an (A2) licence for 2 years you can get the (A) licence being below 24 years old and basically for free, just the costs of paying a (A)-licence test and not failing that test.
If we think about it that most stupid decisions in the world in terms of partaking in risky behavior are made by 15-25 year old boys, this system only gives them 21 year olds a chance to chance to properly kill themselves. Yet most of the realy big idiots became whiser by their near death expiriences on the slower bikes.
At the end you might have to buy many bikes smaller to get to the big bike faster. So it's a big waste of money if you die at 21 , you could have had that way cheaper if only they had given you the proper bike at 15.
I don't know how it works in the USA, but in Germany the omnipresent radar traps only photograph you from the front...where bikes have no licence plate...that's kindo of a realy fucked up anthropologic experiment going on over here. Would you ride about the speed limit if you wouldn't ever meet any consequences if you violate it many times over?
The Helmet laws are weird in Germany...they depend on your age and your licence age and your motorbikes age...so if you are old and your licence is old and your bike matches that age.
When you weren't required to wear a helmet on that unit/piece/thingy of bike the time you made the licence, then you don't need to wear a helmet now...
And the best thing about the what defines the bike as you can have parts changed... Well the "bike" is it's framenumber...so you can swap placketes of the framenumbers of bikes and that makes them into an OLD bike... where the old rules apply. But most people want to live and this is only done for scooter kind of bikes as these are allowed to go 60km/h when they are old enough instead of 45km/h and you don't even have to be old yourself in case of scooters to have these rules applied... so the kids learn something about "Schwalbe S51" bikes mechanics and "electronics".
@podunkman2709 go check the world index of countries with better roads
In some ways bigger cars are safer than small ones. But my experience is that lot's of Audi, Mercedes and BMW drivers ride far above the speed limit and cause a great deal of accidents. Riding a small car with limited performance keeps you sharp as a driver. And in my country, the Netherlands, the bicycle is an important means of transport and recreation.
Stumbled on this channel, I am an Asian living in Asia (not Japan to be clear)... the land where literally everything on the road is trying to murder you by "accident" including fellow motorcyclists, I find this comments section amusing.
Here in Australia we have a graduated licensing system and national helmet laws. No complains or says anything about them. I live in N.S.W and we have legal lane filtering, some riders do it all the time and some don't worry about doing it. You can only filter when the traffic is stopped and I will only do it if I think it's safe and I'll get a real time advantage. For two or three car lengths I don't bother.
Also, in NSW, lane splitting up to 30 Km/hr.
Especially in countries like Italy, France and Spain, much more respect is shown to motorcyclists. The motorcycle is definitely part of our culture. This is partly due to the fact that after the WWII a car was simply not affordable for many people. Very good comparison and great channel. Greetings from Austria and ride safe!
In a big and congested city a motorcycle can be far more practical than a car.
i guess i never realized how much my riding habits over 56 years differ from the american norm. i commuted 50miles round trip every day for 7 months in northern New Hampshire and use my bike for every trip to the store and errand i do. if i need lumber,they deliver. only farmers and carpenters need trucks. i never ride with other people and i wouldn't be caught dead at a motorcycle rally. i enjoy your thoughtful channel but most of the better ones are europeans who ride in interesting exotic places instead of checking out the scene at sturgis or laconia. i don't care if someone is too dumb to wear a helmet but a rider has no right to create noise pollution. i also never got the concept of thinking an engine/exhaust somehow sounds great? that's why they invented music. keep up the good content.
I concur with many of your thoughts. I have now retired and no longer commute but used to almost every day between April and November. Weather gets too bad to ride in the winter in Indiana. Always wear a helmet for over 50 years and 400000 motorcycle miles. My helmet saved me from a deer collision at 60mph and I like my quiet bike
Same as in Portugal, anyone with a truck who uses/needs it on a regular basis Is basically a professional of some area. In the area I live there is one guy who has a massive Ford truck, one of those we see in American TV shows and RUclips road videos, and everyone is like wtf is this monstrosity doing here. Yes it looks good but everyone can see it's for bragging rights and it makes no sense whatsoever for most European roads and is clearly for showing off, not for some real use. He can't even go off-road on that thing.
Very European comment😅
As somebody coming from Europe and riding in USA now, I can tell this is very terse and accurate resume of the situation. Great job!
I do disagree on part of lane-filtering and road quality though. Road quality is in general better in EU. Comparing to Georgia where I'm residing atm.
There are a lot of thing which can be done to improve commute time and traffic in the US without rebuilding anything.
- more roundabouts.
- mild speed humps instead of annoying and completely ignored by most stop signs everywhere.
- ban on 3-5-way stop signs. 1-2 yield signs completely replace that nonesense. Especially the freaking 3-way stop sign on a T-shaped street.
- allow lane filtering everywhere(not lane splitting), and promote that as the way to go in times of the most congestion.
- prohibit the grills that F9 talked about for new vehicles. This car size arms race is literally killing more people each year and needs to be stopped by adapting hood slope/height laws.
- promote idea of using bikes for easier commute or small shopping. Scooters are pretty safe, cheap and convenient transport. They could decrease traffic on the roads by a large margin, since most traffic is just taking few things or only yourself over a few miles distance.
I can't drive...and I never wanted to learn either, started riding bikes when I was a 16 yrs old, when my kids were born I had a sidecar fitted to my BMW r100.i love the freedom my motorcycle gives me I have travelled all over the UK and around Europe and it's been a blast,I've just hit 64 yrs old and I still ride everyday I told the wife the day I can't get on the bike to shoot me lol,I'm now riding a Triumph Thunderbird 1600 and it puts a smile on my face every day... happy riding and keep it rubber side down 🏍️🏍️👌👍🏴
I commute daily from Queens to Brooklyn and back all year long. Cars have zero respect for motorcycles in the city. In Europe motorcycles get much more respect because they are not treated as a recreational vehicle. Hi Vis gear doesn't due anything in N.Y.C. The best offense is a good defense. Keep your eyes open and your head on a swivel. Thanks for the videos. Ride safe.
Amen, brother.
Bullseye! You laid it out to a T! I'm one of the rare American riders who actually used his 1983 Nighthawk 650 for commuting. Racking up over 4K miles in my 1st year of riding in the hostile environment of NYC.
Now as a semi-retired American I enjoy riding my Honda Gold Wing Valkyrie on Long Island's Gold Coast.
Well done on the presentation. Thank you for posting.
Hello from a bike rider from Thailand. I mainly do commute to work and everywhere near my township. Ride safe and enjoy!
Thank you for a good episode. I really enjoyed it. As a Swede, who lived in various places in the US and aince last week, moved to Mexico. Here are aome pointers.
Europe is a continent, not a country. There are aome cultural diffwrences between aomeone from NYC. California, Mid-West or deep Appalachian, however, nothing compared to the difference between a Finn, and aomeone from Portugal, or a Noweigian and a Bulgarian. The 3 most sold cars in europe may just be an average but still not aold at all in some countries.
Daciac pronounced "Dat-chia" is a Romanian car with close collaboation with the frensch car manufacturer Renault. It is built to survive on Romanian roads, whichbis often worae than those in Massachusetts.
Feom your map, a lot of Russia is missing and if I remember right also Armenia. All of Turkey was on the map but more than 90% of Turkey is in Asia. And we europeans dont consider turkey eyrope. Just saying.
You put canada in there, 90% of the people in canada live in the 10% most aouth of the country. Lol.
But, look to the aouth. Also in north america. Mexico. Id tell you, here is a lot if people on bikes commuting. Most drive 200-300cc only because of for some reason bikes are expenaive here.
Again. Enjoyed your gudeo. Im not complaining
Interesting comparison. I was suprised of how few motorcycles there actually is sold yearly in the America and how few commute with them. For me motorcycle is a recreational vehicle I use also for commuting. Going to work is much more fun when you can do it with a 1000cc sport bike ;)
Aussie is a big country as well but few people drive something like a f150 OR ram 1500 etc. Ford Rangers (F150 smaller cousin) and similar are very popular with tradesmen etc and that's all we need. For motorcycles I reckon the mix here is pretty similar to the US but less % HDs than the US.
Small trucks as the Ford Ranger is all most people here in the states need, It’s all about the status symbol.
Excellent content. Thank you. Outstanding.
Great video - thanks
Very good and informative video!
I'm honestly a bit grossed out by the vehicle culture in North America. It's just excess everywhere
Speak for yourself, how am I supposed to pick up my ramen noodles at the grocery store without my 3/4 ton diesel pickup?
In America, 100 years is a long time. In Europe, 100 miles is a long way.
Yup, I was over there last year and I was shocked at the amount of cars on the road. All the time. Whete the hell where they all going? All the time! Every day. Cars cars cars. So weird.(Also the quality of yhe roads were pretty awful compared to my home country of Sweden)
@@Roger_Gustafsson..that's because of the large boomer retirement population..all driving mindlessly around looking for something to do.
The bikes i saw most when living ( and riding ) in Italy... BMW GS, Africa twin, Suzuki V Strom, Benelli, Moto Guzzi some Harley's mostly Sportsters and Royal Enfield..... Of course Vespa , Yamaha and Chinese scooters..
Greetings from Bulgaria!Thanks for the deeper look into the motorcycling as a way of transportation and fun.Hope you do make it to visit Europe and see for yourself! Although some countries /as in the comments/have their own way for riding laws to obey -riding gear etc...But wait, isn't it the same as different states have their own rules? You will be amazed I promise. Ride safe!
Testing is much more stringent in Europe because of the population density. There are a LOT more road users per mile and the driving style is more urban than rural. Europe's also further North than the Lower 48 with differing weather hazards, longer rides are possible when the weather's predictably fine for weeks at a time. The USA has a much more laid-back style, city rush hours excepted, drivers tend to stick to speed limits and yield to each other; this makes for far more efficient traffic flow. Lastly of course for many on both continents test takers are young so much attracted to motorcycles and need to be taught how to venture forth safely.
Cars/motorcycles are taxations objects - less emission means less taxation. Small trailers for transporting trash or large items is very common. The quality of the roads will vary from country to country. A license for a car or motorcycle is about USD 2.000.
A really good effort in trying to understand the differences. I have spent a lot of time in the US (mainly TX and LA) and wouldn't necessarily say that the roads are better, especially for motorcycling. In Europe we have more suitable and interesting roads compared with the US and we try to avoid freeways and highways as much as possible unless you just want to get somewhere quickly. Cities are something to be avoided and don't usually factor into what type of motorcycles we ride unless you commute.
You need to get across here to experience it for yourself.
Country roads in wales 🏴 are very good, built up areas or the old industrial areas those roads are generally really bad potholes 😢,great video there’s a group of us all in are mid to late 60s , we’ve retired so it’s for leisure time we ride ,
Up until the 70s we had one bike test I passed on a Suzuki GT185 cc jumped to a 500 cc but could of jumped on a Kawasaki Z 900 but rules have changed, for the best however it’s much more expensive, any bike gear is a definite help especially if you come off ,it was the same here in 🏴 uk but so many accidents in the 1960s with no helmets think had to change,
I grew up in Wisconsin when they had a tiered MC license. As i recall there was 249cc and under, and 250cc and up. My 1970 250cc Triumph got me in with big bikes. No graduation to next level was needed though, it just mattered what size you tested on. So my friends that started on a RD400 or the Mach lll H1 500cc because they were small were crashing from having no skill with too much power.
You are absolutely correct on lane splitting. I’m from California and currently live in Lubbock Texas. The vast majority of people who ride in CA don’t lane split anyways. You will literally see motorcycles at a dead stop in traffic. While not legal I may or may not still lane split on occasion here in Lubbock. 😂
Never understood the US thinking…
Often you hear you can’t use a Sportster on a highway - you can’t travel with it and it’s only a girls bike for bar hopping.
Living in Germany, the country with the fastest roads, I use a 125cc scooter for commute and drive it on a unlimited Autobahn and my 1200 Sportster for longer and faster trips…
100mph on a Sportster 1200 is a normal travel speed and can be done all day long!
Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪
The car culture in America is huge, and the whole market is built based on that culture, also flatness doesn't help either, straights are boring. In my country, Greece, the motorcycle culture is huge, there are hundreds of motorcycle clubs and every Sunday you will see packs of different bikes roaming the beaches or the most inaccessible mountainous villages around the country. Commuting is also a big deal, the big cities are packed, and the usage of a motorcycle is a must.
Ditto on the ATGATT. In South Dakota, still a frontier state in spirit, the motorcycle has replaced the horse. We have far more motorcycles than the population since many households have multiple motorcycles and riding is a family thing. Having said that, our road infrastructure is fantastic and potholes are rare. Our roads and highways are also wider and the average 2 lane has a 65MPH limit while our Interstates are 80MPH except through cities. I know your area well as I frequently ran my Semi's with loads to the Northeast and am a native Pennsylvanian. MA has a lot of charming areas, but your roads can be beaters. I have also spent time in Europe and can tell you that, barring the Autobahn, they make even MA back roads look big which would account for the popularity of 2 wheeled vehicles there, not to mention the cost of fuel which is heavily taxed.
Very interesting as always. Here in the UK pickup trucks have become more popular over the last 10-15 years. They're much smaller than yours however still perfectly fine for collecting DIY supplies, firewood etc ... or shopping (which I'm sure some only get used for as they're a fashion statement rather than a practical choice). The size of American trucks would be the equivalent of what a contractor may use of here so I'd argue it's a choice, driven by the manufacturers, the oil industry and culture to drive something so big, it's not really necessary ... but as you say, freedom of choice is a much greater thing for US citizens, even if some of those choices may not be good ones for the world.
Hi, nice unbiased view on the matter.
I have a Triumph America and the last sportster 1200 with a carburetor. Harley character is off the charts.
@6:40 From what I learned, pre 1930s US also featured compact towns and walkable cities very much like Europe. It’s just that the car industry managed to have big influence in city planning that the US urban landscape has been designed around cars - even going as far as demolishing the existing tight infrastructure.
Car wise Australia is very similar to the US, with the top 3 selling "cars" being the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux & Isuzu D-Max, all big dual cab utes.
On motorcycles it's very different though. Around 120,000 new bikes were sold last year, with around 50% being off road vehicles. That's around 3 times as many bikes as the US when you take our populations into consideration - 26 million vs 332 million. And the main reason we're not buying more bikes is our mandatory pre-license courses being a barrier to new riders, which are booked out sometimes 8 weeks in advance. Just under 8% of Australians own a road bike, although you'd swear it was more like 50% on the twisty roads on the fringes of Sydney on a sunny Sunday. And commuting is a normal thing, although it's fairly low percentage wise. So much so that Sydney CBD & most inner city suburbs have free untimed dedicated motorcycle only parking bays on the street.
Sales wise last year saw Honda being the top selling brand, closely followed by Yamaha. Then it's KTM, Kawasaki & Vmoto, an electric bike & scooter manufacturer, with Suzuki in 6th place. As for Harley Davidson? They sell 2-3,000 bikes a year here & are struggling to move their new X350 & X500 beginner bikes judging by the ridiculous promotions they're offering just 2 months after the bikes were released. If we're the test market for the US I wouldn't hold your breath for these being released in 'Merica any time soon.
Interesting vlog. I got a lot out of my MSF course. I just wish more and easier accessible advanced rider courses were offered. I know in Houston you can take an MSF course almost any weekend. But advanced rider courses are pretty hard to find.
I really appreciate great narration skills, it was a pleasure listening to you. Here in Canada, it’s just not possible to use bikes as a source of transportation, simply the weather isn’t conducive to that. Plain and simple, it’s been the hottest winter on record and in late March in southern Ontario there is still snow on the ground. I use my bike when it is comfortable to ride, about 15C, this leaves about 5 months of enjoying my bike. Regarding lane splitting, this is a very scary thing to see, especially when most drivers aren’t expecting bikes to do it. Lastly, the big issue for me is that I grew up on bicycles, and you gain experience riding on two wheelers! Today most kids are gamers and most probably don’t even own a bicycle any more. Add that, alcohol, drugs, testosterone and lane splitting and you have a recipe for disaster.
Contrapoints:
P: Trucks are practical - C: Station wagons and vans are practical-er. You stuff doesn't get rained on, blown off or stolen as easy. Aerodynamics and fuel economy are far better. Vans have vastly higher capacity (esp. compared to a crew-cab), and are easier to load since the bed is just about 20cm off the ground.
P: Trucks are safer for us - C: Yes, they're safer if you crash into a Honda Civic and squish it and its passengers into a strawberry jam filled pancake. If you hit another stupid truck, you're worse off than if both of you were in proper cars (or vans), because trucks have poor crash (or passive) safety. Their active safety (that is, helping protecting you FROM having a crash) is abysmal. Too big, squishy tyres of a wrong type, live axles, brakes too small for the size of the wheels, live axle in the back with not enough load on it, high centre of gravity and easy to wipe out in or roll. But yeah, where you are it's probably a valid point. Gotta howl with the wolves.
P: Roads are bigger and better in the US. - C: Bigger yes, better: no way. From what I see and hear the quality of road surfaces is appalling. People that have been over usually use words like "third world". But the roads over there suck primarily because they're, in vast majority, too straight and flat. Goes some way toward explaining why Americans ride cruisers and baggers which turn as readily as an oil tanker (and weigh almost as much). We ride rather sporty bikes because, at least in hillier areas, you're never going straight. It also takes being confident that roads are good to be able to ride as fast as we generally do. When I have to ride in a flat area with a straight road - in the Danube floodplain e.g. - I'm tempted to veer off the road, crash and get killed just so SOMETHING happens to end the boredom. It also explains why we buy more motorcycles in general - because they're fun to ride here. Whereas on a straight flat road in the US, you're essentially just using a shittier, drafty car for transport.
P: Helmet laws and tiered licencing reduce sales and ridership. - C: Obviously, not. First of all, what you are being taught while climbing the ladder of motorcycle greatness is primarily how not to crash and die. Helmet laws protect people too stupid to know better from dying. And not dying is one not insignificant factor in allowing you to continue riding. I submit that it's not the threat of the inconvenience of being obliged to wear a helmet, or the inconvenience of having to undergo a thorough and stringent education, that is keeping the numbers of riders low in the US. Quite the contrary: it's the ability to kill yourself while riding a motorcycle you're not qualified to ride, without a helmet (because you're too young and stupid to know better), that is keeping ridership low. Because, again, being dead is somewhat contrary to keeping riding.
Also, progressing towards the more powerful and awesomerer machines is a motivation to keep you going. I was too old to get hit with any restrictions when I got my motorcycle licence, so my first bike was a 750 with 100hp. I know now that it was too big, heavy and scary fast for me at that point in time, I would have been better served with a smaller, lighter bike. Also, it's difficult to progress from that - going from a scary fast bike that rips your arms off under acceleration to an even scarier faster bike that not only rips your arms off but also presses your eyeballs back down next to your tonsils when accelerating, is not THAT big of a deal like going from a 125 to a 350 and so on.
Maine has provisions around helmets. If you're under 18 you must wear a helmet, if you are using a permit, or have completed your driver's test within the last year.
Thank you for this very informative discussion. I would also be interested to know about cultural differences between the US and Asian countries. One example: I commuted and lane-spilt in so cal for years, but when I worked in Bangalore India, lanes were for tourists and motorbike riders took lane splitting to a whole new level (not to mentioned a family of five piled on a scooter). I felt like a newbie over there.
I learned to ride in Japan when I was stationed there during my time in the US Navy. The base regulations loosely followed Japan's tiered licensing system. Lane splitting/filtering is allowed. Helmets are mandatory. (All US military personnel must wear a helmet regardless of any local state/country regulations.) One think I have noticed is that many of the countries that have mandatory helmet laws also have some form of universal health care.
Australian here. I've driven right around the US three times and have been to Sturgis in 2015. Regulation v freedom to choose. In Australia, it's been mandatory to wear seat belts since the early '70s, helmets on a motorcycle since a little before that (I think), and helmets on a bicycle since around 1990. Our blood alcohol limit is 0.05 and refusing a breath test is a major offence. We don't do those stupid field sobriety tests. We have graduated licences for cars and bikes. Long story short, we have road deaths of 4.8 per 100,000 people and the US has 12.9 per 100,000. So, Americans who can ride without a helmet, have 0.08 alcohol in their blood and can refuse a breath test, and drive any car or ride any bike the day they get their licence kill themselves and each other at between 2 and 3 times the rate that we do. Yay freedom.
MSF courses in Texas are expensive & far flung.
I was told they used to be volunteer taught for REASONABLE prices at LOCAL Community colleges:
Like $50-75 & sleep in your own bed.
Now they're for profit taught $225 plus over 100 miles away - meaning 1-2 nights in Hotel, that's another $200.
So to get an M endorsement on my already existing Texas DL I gotta fork over $450 & 2 days of my life, to teach me what I ALREADY KNOW.
FYI, that's an example of why SO MANY Texas (can't speak for other states, do tell if you can) riders ride their Motorcycles w/o a "M" endorsement.
IF perhaps, anyone can speak to this, please do.
Great video my friend thank you !
Massachusetts is a much smaller state than Texas so there are classes within a couple of hours from just about everywhere. Cost is $250 to $300, but you get 10% off insurance rates, so you make that back very quickly. You do not have to do the class to get licensed. You can choose to do a ridden test at the DMV but it is worth taking the class for the insurance reduction even if you are an experienced rider.
The folks that run these classes have overhead including buying a fleet of bikes, paying instructors, classrooms and insurance, so I don't see $250 as a big deal. If I am going to spend thousands of dollars on a bike, a small amount of money spent on myself is a good investment. Personally, I have taken on road training, parking lot classes and track days above just getting licensed. These have cost me a couple thousand dollars over the years, but it have been well worth it. My skill to control my bike has been greatly enhanced through these classes.
as a brit we would love it if our motorcycle licenses where that cheap the average cost of going for a full unrestricted license if you where over 24 years old reasonably confident Would be the equivalent of about $1000 and 4/5 days of training and tests@@LivingOffTheSlab
@@warrenhulme1193 And that's why GB and EU riders (and drivers) are much more skilled. American riders and drivers mostly learn as they go, and some never do.
One part of the comparison is changing. Now that online ordering and deliveries are so big, fewer people are going to the big box stores that are common in the USA but less common in the UK. In the last two years I have ordered and got delivered a fridge freezer, a washing machine, a mattress, a £22,000 motorcycle and lots and lots of smaller things. Only for shopping do I ride a motorcycle 0.9 miles to the nearest Lidl supermarket. Distances to shops are much shorter in UK towns and cities (but not villages). Riding in the rain for 5 minutes is not a pain. I have never owned the thing that kills more people than guns and makes my asthma worse - the motor car.
Europeans that need to carry big loads usually go for a van. Even a middle-size ones like Trafic or Transit Custom have a lot of loading space (depending on the # of seats usually more than F-150) and flexible configurations so people can chose more seats or more cargo. And with 2m width and 5m length they're much easier to park on parking spots (sometimes only 2.5 m wide) than the behemoths. There are of course other factors, american pick-ups are exempt from many safety tests and there is less concerns about fuel consumption due to lower prices etc. but my guess would be the parking space size is a big factor.
As for the license, it differs in individual countries but some points are common: There are 4 groups based on age: AM (
Once I've been in Monaco and Cote d'Azur I've noticed, that main option for transportation there is not a Ferrari or Porsche sport car, but scooter ) There are tons of bikes in Italy and France and most of them are scooters used for a daily commute. In Germany where I'm living now there are also lots of scooters which you can use about 11 month a year, but bigger bikes are more concerned to be a hobby thing. For example pick up your wife and your BMW RT dress in identical jackets (matching bike's color) and go somewhere in Switzerland in mountains. About 60-70% of all vehicles going through high altitude roads are bikes... a little bit of sportcars (but, sometimes your trip can be ruined by single RV) maybe.
Before that I've lived in Russia where I got my driver license and first bike. There it's concerned as something even marginal, quite expensive, extremely dangerous and very seasonal... My mom was yelling on me for two weeks when knew that I bought a bike ))
I've been riding in England for over 50 years, I'm retired now and my bikes are my first choice for everyday transport. I passed my bike test when it was a lot simpler than it is now, but the bikes were a lot less powerful then, and we had more chance to make mistakes without killing ourselves.
I have a car, which is very comfortable, reliable and economical, but I still choose to use a bike whenever I can. It's far more practical for dealing with traffic, and I can park it for free, which you can't do with a car in most town centres here. Above all, it makes the journey a pleasure, not a chore.
I don't go for the monster touring bikes which seem to be so popular in the US, or for sports bikes: mine are both relatively lightweight and nimble, a 1978 Triumph Bonneville 750 and a 1980 Suzuki GS550, both simple and easy to maintain, with very low running costs.
I stated riding because it was a cheap form of transport and gave me my freedom as a 16 year old and it never left me, even in the pouring rain I can go where I want to, when I want to. Today it's not cheap, it's not easy to get a license and all the new laws, rules and taxes seem to be trying to get people off bikes not on them. Hang on to your freedom in the US. I hope one day to get over and ride some of your lovely roads.
I live in the UK and have ridden motorcycles since the 1970’s. I’ve also travelled a lot in the US and Canada and I simply wouldn’t bother owning a motorcycle if I lived there and it’s to do with the roads. They are great for getting from A to B but they are so boring that you end up sitting going through identical scenery for hours on end and often in straight lines. Not always for sure so give me some rope there, but generally there’s much less variation and it’s so far between anything that’s interesting that travel in the US soon becomes boring and a slog (even “Route 66” which I’ve done). By comparison I can leave my house here in NW England in the morning and have a great days riding in the Lake District, Derbyshire, North Wales, The Yorkshire Dales, West Coast, The Pennines, or the Scottish Borders before returning home in time for a beer down the pub. Yes we’re much more compact and densely populated over here but that makes variation and interest much more accessible - and seriously when you get off the beaten track you still find you have the roads to yourself most of the time. Anyway, wherever you are ride safe.
The current standard for helmets in Europe is ECE22.06, much safer than ECE22.05 which was introduced more than 20 years ago.
One issue wasn't mentioned in your interesting video: motorcycle homologation.
The mandatory requirements for motorcycles in Europe (Euro 5 standards) are more strict than the American FMVSS/EPA standards.
Since 2016, in order to sell a new motorcycle over 125cc in Europe, it must have an ABS, it must have fuel injection and an OBD. In North America you can still sell bike without ABS and with a carburator.
American riders and drivers mostly learn as they go, and some never do.
The 4-way (and really stupid 3-way) stop signs can be substituted by the roundabouts (which are plenty in Europe) and are much more convenient and safer. Also, many stops are ignored since there plenty of the visibility and can be easily replaced by a Yead signs. I think that just NYC has more stop signs than the entire World combined :). I don't recall seeing a stop sign in Budapest and very little in Paris. It looks like in the US their moto is "restrict, don't educate" where is in Europe the opposite.
And don't let me start on lane discipline and the road rage.
I find it much less stressful to ride or drive in Europe than in the US.
Helmet laws and regulations. The difference is in the health system. In the US its private. So your risk and your money ( mostly). In Europe we have social medicine. Your risk is our money. Since we pool our resources to help each other we also have an interest in following a common set of rules.
Nice video. A few remarks tho - The Romanian car is named Dacia (Da-chi-a). Da (as in dad) Chi (as in Chicken) A (as in Auto). Lane splitting and Filtering are different animals. Helmets need to meet ECE 22.06 for a few years now.
I am not sure who told you the roads aren’t in as good a shape in Europe as that hasn’t been my experience at all. I have taken multiple tours of Europe to include Switzerland, Italy, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland. The roads in all but Ireland are far superior to the US in regard to surface condition. Yes, they are generally smaller, although the motorways in Europe are comparable to our interstates. However, the pavement quality and general level of maintenance is far superior to any state in the US and I have ridden in every single state except Hawaii and every Canadian province except Quebec. All are worse than the countries in Europe I have ridden or driven in (I have driven in Germany and France, but never ridden in either). Russia is the only country I have been in with roads worse on average than the USA.
Surprised about road conditions in Ireland. I lived, drove and worked in County Kildare and around Dublin and found the roads nice and well maintained.
@@4940markhutchins We road around the island clockwise on mostly non motorways and the roads were the worst we’ve seen in Europe and worse than my home state of PA.
thank you for the research. numbers are really evidence. can you please also make a comparison of US vs asia motorcycle culture?
I grew up in Czech. Unlike the US, Czech Republic has LOTS of motorcycle museums. It's extremely difficult to find any in the US within a reasonable driving distance.
There are several around the country. Within driving distance... depends on where you live, but always a good excuse for a road trip.
I lived in Northern California and now I'm in Missouri. I know driving distance is a definition a bit different for everyone, lets say 1-2hours. The distances just seem to work quite different in the US, haha.
For more than 10 years I commuted on my motorcycles when I was living in Europe. Your observation is almost correct at certain extent. I have to highlight a couple of things you have missed.
1. Filtering. That's the key for commuting. However, even though I initially mover from Europe to California where a filtering is legal, I decided not to continue riding on the roads. In short: in Europe most of the cars are small. When filtering, the rider has a good view above the cars and reads the road very well. Even more, since most of the cars there are "economical", they equipped with anemic engines, so even against a 600cc street bike the cars could be considered as quasistatic objects (with some approximation). Here in the US cars are much bigger and much more powerful, so the filtering transforms into riding between two walls, and enough cars are as dynamic as average bike. Not a good feeling I have to say.
2. Cops. They are very picky to motorcyclists in the US, I still did not get why. In Europe in many cases bikers are semi-transparent to LEOs, unless doing really stupid and dangerous things right in front of them. And nobody would bother to call the police seeing bikers going +30 to the traffic flow. Bikes are always riding +20..+30 to the traffic speed since it is the safest speed.
Also, I have to say that the road surface quality standards on motorways are much higher in Europe, new roads are much smoother...
Interesting analysis of statistics and a look at the differences in culture, thanks. I am a Brit but have lived in the USA for six years and toured here many times before moving. My ten cents worth would be the differences include:
European riding has more emphasis on speed and being defensive. The higher law enforcement presence, lower speed limits and miles and miles of double solid lines to prevent overtaking make riding in the USA more laid back. This makes cruising and cruisers more popular.
Many European bikers ride bikes in cities with dense traffic and confusing road layouts - great recipe for collisions with cars. This, with higher speeds out of towns (fewer police patrol cars) means riders are either highly defensive and risk aware or get injured. Chugging along a a big USA cruiser at 55mph on a Route 16, admiring the view and with no overtakes is much safer than high speeds in twisting country roads in Europe where your position on the road for forward vision and anticipation of car drivers is really important.
If you want advanced bike training in the US, it will be probably slow speed maneuvering around cones in a car park, or something on track. It’s very hard to find risk based on road training that develops fast but safe riding.
After over forty years of riding, I have just bought my first cruiser 😎.
I’ve been riding for 45 years. Crosses US twice solo on a bike, and 5 years ago had the good fortune to cross part of Europe. From Nice to Berlin.
Here is what I remember:
In Europe most people use mass transit, thereby less cars on the roads - especially between cities.
They drive tiny cars, which makes it easier to see over them.
I didn’t see as many drivers texting in Europe aa the US. In 2009 while riding from NY to California I saw truck drivers texting, bus drivers, police officers, heck, in Wyoming I saw a guy on horseback galloping alongside of highway texting (at least the horse was paying attention)
I have never seen anything as beautiful as the majestic Italian Alps. The roads are practically designed from motorcycles, a truly memorable experience. Utah, Colorado, the Smokey Mountains, Mount Washington, and the Pacific Coast Highway are a very distant second to the Alps.
Overall European roads are much much better than ours.
But, With all due respect to the European riders on this forum: you guys look like astronauts, with full body padded suits and full face helmets
Etc.
Also I didn’t care for the mandatory use of gloves in France, or having to carry a reflective vest in some places.
In conclusion: Europe may have fantastic alpine roads, but in all honesty I rather spend my days riding around lesser mountains with less magical views…but without gloves, or a bodysuit, or a full face helmet wearing just a tshirt.
Good luck to all.
As European, I would correct you. We don't like small cars. We are only pressed by our governments, restrictions, regulations, taxes, fees, prices...to buy such small cars, small apartments, small things. In some countries is price for petrol around 2 euros per liter, what is 8USD for gallon. Trust me, almost everybody wants big house and big strong car. But only few people can afford it. Mostly those politicians who forbid it to ordinary people.
Correct! Even if you could actually buy an F150 in Europe... Where would you park it? Newer parts of the cities do have roads where the size of the F150 would not be a problem, but you won't be able to park it at your aparment (if you have parking), work, the supermarket, etc. That is not to mention you'll get taxed senseless because of CO2 emissions, on top of the outrageous fuel prices.
Fascinating. Thanks for doing the research - stats very interesting. I live very close to the Triumph factory in the middle of the UK. They do good coffee there, by the way. And when I say good coffee, I mean European style coffee….
We have a bit of a problem here in that young people are not really taking up biking. Lots of middle aged people still get into it, but I wonder if that means that bikes are becoming more recreational than transportational. Some people blame the more stringent tiered licensing. Others that young people are more risk averse. I doubt that our roads are in general more poorly surfaced than the US - I’ve seen superb road surfaces in Scandinavia and Spain and Germany.
If you ever come to the UK then arguably Wales has some of the best riding. I’ll happily buy you a coffee at the Triumph factory.
I would love to get over there. On my list!
I'm in Brussel and lane splitting and filtering are very difficult on anything wider than 700-800mm. And I only tried on my G650GS. Much, much easier and fun on my wife's PCX125 😂😂
As a European having been several times in the US for roadtrips in general I must conclude road conditions in Europe are better, but it depends per country as it depends per state in the US. In my experience roads in big US cities are bad and the highways are mostly ok to good. In Europe roads in Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland are excellent to a degree I didn't experience in the US. Offcourse there is always a bad road if you look for them.
i wonder if seatbelts are optional or not. 🤣
i have 4 bikes.
1. minibike for everyday use
2. mx bike
3. superbike for personal fun and solo trips
4. adventure bike for 2 people trips
i use the car only at night (and if its cold/rainy) or in rain or during the very hot summer we have in greece (if i need to make a lot of km, short distances i always take a bike)
I wish my grandpa (whom i very much love and respect) was as cool as you!
LOL...
Once you have riden in Europe come back and let us know your changes in thinking and perception. LOL!!!!
Having been riding both in Europe (I live in Germany) and in the US (mainly in California and Nevada) I must say biking is a lot safer in Europe. In general there's more courtesy and respect in traffic while I experienced more "fighting" or competition and selfishness in the US. People become aggressive being overtaken and honking somebody as a warning signal can lead to you being brake checked or in the extreme to be shot. Nothing like that happened to me in Europe. In general car drivers give you space to overtake and really watch out for bikers. And btw there's a lot of honking in Europe, it's in general a friendly reminder that something's wrong or a warning from a speed trap or just a signal someone's in a hurry - in any case its not personal, it's part of the game.
What you describe would be considered to be a jerk here in the states. We have different customs and if you act outside of those customs, people will not like it. I have never been braked checked or shot. If someone is slow, I wait for it to be clear--not on their ass--then pass when safe.
I live on the Central Coast of California and I commute on my RE 650 about 25 - 40 miles a day (when it's not raining).
I'm all for letting fools look BAD A$$ by wearing worthless shell helmets or no helmet at all. Having said that, I think that they should be required to have major hospitalization, life-long income AND long-term nursing care insurance for when they end up in a "persistent vegetative state" or otherwise permanently disabled from the brain damage that non-helmeted riders are prone to. It should NOT be up to me or anybody else in society to insure their long term care. People without helmets must carry lots of insurance or must wear a helmet, but if there are people who won't carry insurance (out a sense of responsibility to others), then laws must require them to and meaningfully punish them when they get caught breaking the law.
One could argue that with the tiered license system in Europe, manufacturers will sell dedicated riders at least one bike more than in the US and often 2 - people starting out usually get a 125cc, but once they want to upgrade, they'll need a 250-400cc for their A2 license, then later something bigger than that for their full license.
As for the state of the roads, this largely depends on the country, but in much of Western Europe, the roads tend to be in much better condition on average than in the US. Potholes created in winter usually get filled in the following Spring, not in the following decade.
With the tiered system, it doesn't necessarily mean a lot more new machines will be sold. As it's only a temporary step, new riders will be more likely to buy used bikes, then as they move on to the next stage, the smaller bike is sold on the used market to the next wave of new riders, and another used bike bought for the next stage, until a rider reaches the size of machine they are happy with.
@@rickconstant6106 It still expands the market, those hand-me-downs still need to be sold new at some point.
I have absolutely no idea how that works in the US, but in a lot of European Cities you have payed "short parking areas" or metered parking, and often 2 wheelers are free - I just could not commute to work by car, because even payed you may park just 90 min in a slot, but the 2 wheeler is legal, free of costs, and there are spaces to park where no car fits. Fot city use only or mainly, the scooter is of course ideal, or a light bike up to 500 cc
I am sure this varys from place to place, but in sadly motorcycles are not encouraged as they are in Europe. There are some motorcycle only spots, but in general we have to use the same metered spots as cars. Some paid locations will let you double up.
Lane splitting or filtering has nothing to do with growing the number of riders but, everything to do with making it safer for riders in heavy traffic and also to help with traffic congestion.
In Norway the new Harley Davidson Hydra Glide Revival cost 52303 us dollar. (542000 No Kr) Without any extra accessories.
Ouch!
That's why we ( people with normal income) choose Japanese or European motorcycles.
No, it's because they are both better and cheaper 😄🇸🇪💕
I got my motorcycle license at age 18, before I obtained my car license. Back then lane splitting was illegal and AFAIK it was illegal everywhere in Europe. I have not seen a change but I have been living abroad most of my working life. I think lane splitting is incredibly dangerous and it always scared me in particular in Sao Paulo where they literally go by at 60mph while traffic is (nearly) stopped.
Lane splitting/filtering has always been legal in the UK.
I live in Baku, Azerbaijan and I use my motorbike to get around inside and outside the city.
I pray and it's an act of God when you arrive somewhere in tact.
I used to think that the Balkan diving style was an urban myth, but it's actually true.
Stay safe out there everyone
What does Baku have to do with the Balkans?
@@lashachakhunashvili1399 Azerbaijan is ethnically related to Turkey, so much so it's considered a brother country. Azerbaijan is considers part of Europe and part of Asia at the same time.
Goodness a simple light hearted comment about riding a motorbike has turned into a geographical and a history lesson.
I guess from your name that you are Georgian.
@@TrevorDodd-ev1sx neither Turkey nor Azerbaijan is in the Balkans: the former is in Anatolia, the latter is in the Caucasus. So much for geography...
I think of "lane splitting" as something done while cruising. I think of "filtering" as something while coming to a stop. Explain why I'm wrong or right.
I live in California, so we can do both.
In the UK we can legally filter and we call it filtering no matter what speed we're doing!
You missed a very important note: fuel cost! For a very long time the us had veeery veeery cheap fuel price, that allowed and sustained the use of 3 tons trucks for normal use. As an average, 1 liter of gasoline in Europe is about 1.6 us dollars. This combined with very busy roads, that are generally narrower, and filtering, allowed for a huge population to comute on scooters and motorbikes.
About roads,neah, most roads are adequate or great. Only in the eastern part , secondary roads are more prone to wear and tear.
Tiering licence is a great way to learn and produce better riders, and is needed here in Europe, as traffic is packed.
Amazing info. Can you comparison with Asia?
I live in Romania and own a big BMW GS and a Triumph Bonneville. Used to own Harleys in the past but where I live, they just don't make sense. Slow turning and bad suspensions are not great on tight roads. Also expensive as hell. For the US highways, the HD makes sense. For tight curved country roads...not so much. Oh, and I don't own a car as I simply don't need one.(although owning a car here = status symbol)
As the idiots in Washington D.C. keep putting more and more restrictions on vehicles of all types, the number of motorcycles will have to increase if the people want to continue to have freedom of travel. The perfect example of what I am talking about is how the motorcycle has become the major form of transportation throughout Asia. I will admit that it will be many years before this happens, but I see that more people are looking at the motorcycle as a viable alternative to their cars for commuting to and from work in the more temperate regions of the country. This still has a long way to go before it develops into an actual thing as many people talk for years before they embark on the journey to modify their actions, and this will be no exception.
I’d like to think my comment on your “What makes a good touring bike” video sparked the idea for this video 😂
One of them
Du you know what is the biggest difference between Us an Eu ? When you ride trough the US - btw a very beatiful country - and let's say you did 1000 miles, your are still within one country. In eu that distance means you might have crossed 5 different countries with their distinct language currency and culture. In EU it is not always about riding but sometimes a cultural discovery too....
according to the stages of Motorcycle license A1(125cc)/A2(max 35kW and 0,2 kW/kg)/A(unlimited) you can get A1 at 16, upgrade to A2 after 2 years, and to A 2 years after that again... from a1 to a2 there are some more practical classes. from a2 to A it's just some theory. HOWEVER. at least in Norway(Northwestern Europe) If you're 24 or older, you can go directly to the Full A. Like I did, however I bought an a2/midweight bike. to practise geting a big bike. I have however ridden powerful bikes. like the GSX-100R HD 1450 road glide. 750 Nightrod. triumph thunderbird900 etc.
The system does make sense, however, a License here is WAY more expensive. My license cost me about 3500 USD, but some of that was riding gear.
I wonder if the likes of BMW, Triumph, Indian, KTM, and Royal Enfield had better dealer networks they would sell more bikes in the USA. Also, the USA lacks the big motorcycle shows, since the Progressive International Motorcycle shows were cancelled, leaving manufacturers to market at events and by way of social media. And, even finding rider training like the MSF Advanced Rider Course or a track day is difficult outside of a large city. The US just seems to lack the motorcycle infrastructure that is found in the EU.
Possibly, but I would imagine it is a catch 22. Indian to for example has very strict requirements for showroom space. The dealer had to be able to invest in the "boutique" feel. The other premium brands are similar. Dealers also have to invest in training for the mechanics. I took miss the shows, but it seems like those are a thing of the past.
The mandated boutique fell is part of the problem though, especially with harley. This is why they're rapidly declining, they're making themselves a luxury brand instead of selling motorcycles everyone wants.
My local dealer eliminated Triumph for that very reason. They were told they would need to spend 100k for a new display.
About car safety: How safer is a big truck comparing to sedan car. Just imagine a simple tyre pressure loss or tyre explosion/falling off the rim... Figure it out.
Car weight is deadly in most causes. Cars having overal better dynamics and stability are less prone to have an accident in first place. Not mentioning deformation zones and passenger protection combined with less weight in modern luxury sedan or sports car. See crash test for mercedes S class comparing to f150.
No splitting in MA
Purpose, and therefore attitude, is the primary difference between European and North American bike culture. As stated Euros commute, so they are more dependent on safety and inter-motorist courtesy. In USA, unless you are in the minority of riders that commute on a bike, cool is the rule, whether its style or speed, and safety follows as long as it can be cool.
In europe hardly anyone commutes via motorcycle. Motorcycles are purely recriational. I dont know where santas numbers came from
Road conditions in Europe vary a lot. Some places are worse than U.S. roads, some better.
The quality of the roads are a lot better in Northwestern Europe than Southeastern.
I live in the Northeastern part, and used to live in the U.S.
Ik rijd inderdaad elke dag mijn Royal Enfield naar het werk.
I live in the U.S., central AZ to be specific. I have a large collection of vehicles of all different types. Most of them fairly old. I do not have a 4 door truck, and never will have. The whole Idea seems a bit ridiculous to me. Either get an actual truck, or a car, or if you need both, get both. I have a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis for a trans[portation car. It is designed to haul PEOPLE in. It is a large conventional V8 powered rear wheel drive 4 door sedan with a trunk. It is very smooth and comfortable. I Have a 1993 Chevy 2 door truck, standard cab, 2 wheel drive, with an 8 foot bed. It is designed to haul cargo in. You can still fit 3 people easily on the bench seat. I have a 2003 Ford Mustang V6 with a manual transmission. It's more of a fun car, not really practical for anything other than having fun. You don't need a zillion hp, there are such things as speed limits on public roads. I have 2 collector cars, a 1976 Corvette in near perfect condition, and a 1972 Ford Pinto woodgrain wagon that I am restoring. It may wind up getting a V8 engine.
I have a large collection of bikes. I've owned over 50 motorcycles. Most of them have been Japanese cruisers. I have a 1997 Kawasaki Vulcan 750, bought new, with 118,000 miles on it. It is used as a solo touring bike. I have a 1995 Yamaha Virago 1100, which is similar to the Vulcan 750, that I bought fairly recently. It will eventually replace the Vulcan 750. I have a 2006 Harley Sportster, the only Harley I have ever owned. I also have a 2007 Royal Enfield Bullet 500. I have 2 scooters, a 2006 Vespa GT200, which I use for short range solo touring, and a 1978 Vespa P200E, 2 stroke manual shift scooter that I mostly ride around town. I also have a 1979 Puch Maxi Sport II pedal moped, and a 1970s VeloSolex pedal moped. I did have a 2006 Kawasaki KLR650 dual sport bike, but at age 65, with bad knee and hip joints and severe arthritis, I was no longer able to ride it, so I wound up selling it..
All of my bikes are carbureted, all have bright shiny paint, bright aluminum, and lots of chrome. No flat black bikes for me. Two of my cars are carbureted, and all of them are too old to have any of the new TRASH technology on them, meaning no spy devices, no driver interference systems, no internet or satellite connections, no tracking devices.
IMO choices that only affect the people who make them should be totally free. Ones that can can also affect other people however should be regulated. Your freedom can't hurt the rights and freedom of others.
Lane splitting is illegal here in Denmark
Proud owner of “other” bike.
Btw No, I don’t think wearing a helmet is ‘freedom’ it’s more an accident waiting to happen that create cost for the whole society: everybody pays for the cops that have to scrape you off the street, the man-hour loss due to road closure, the higher insurance costs, lower speed limits to reduce the chances of death. My freedom ends where my neighbor one begins. Also tiered system leads to more sales (you go trough more bikes , and there’s always a newbie you can sell your smaller one.
Buona strada!
A little fast and a little loose. There are all kinds in Europe of motorcycle riders. They ride them all ways too in the US of A. Our only distinctive trait is attacking the Congress. And the gigantic guts of ‘murcan peoples. This endless, “we are so special” navel gazing gets tiresome.
As a Californian commuter for the last 40 years, I have to disagree with your data on lanesharing. There's more than 6800 riders that lane share in the Bay Area easily. And since you can ride year round here, if you ride, you're more likely to ride every day than in other states.
Motorcycles are more popular in Europe because the cities are cramped and bikes are smaller.
Hello! informative video, thank you very much! Small addition to the rules in Europe, in France for example you have to wear motorcycle clothing from head to toe that is certified as such. If you are stopped by the police and you are wearing no gloves!! Certification, then you're done. You won't drive a meter anymore...😎😎 or boots... jacket... pants... helmet. Spain is about to ban jet helmets for everyone, even if you're riding a scooter in the city. I live in Germany and here you only have to wear a helmet. Motorcycle clothing is not compulsory. But even without this obligation, 99% of all motorcyclists ride with complete protective clothing. Which applies to pretty much all Central Europeans. In southern Europe things look a little different due to the climate. But even there, the majority wear protective clothing. I think we have a different security mindset than in the USA. Which also leads to the majority of well-known ones!! Motorcycle clothing manufacturers come from Europe. With a few exceptions like Klim for example. Personally, I wouldn't drive a meter without protective clothing; I've been using an airbag vest for years. Riding a motorcycle is dangerous, we all know that and I try to minimize the risk with maximum protective clothing. Kind regards from Bavaria 😉😉 Robert and sorry...I using Google translate... More easy for me 😂😂
My take away - The European market is way bigger than the American market. Yes, it took me this long to figure that out.
Lane splitting is highly illegal in most European countries. To be honest, I don‘t know where it‘s legal. I think in some countries it‘s more accepted, e.g. Italy and Greece.
Lane splitting/filtering is legal in the UK. But if plod catch you doing it in a dangerous manner, expect a policeman's signature on your license!
Lane splitting in California: it was always just tolerated, not "legal". Not until 2016 was lane splitting legally defined and put in the Vehicle Code.
Poor Europe. It’s hard livin over there. Hard riding, too. Living there made me appreciate the US a lot more.
Second comment on a different theme......
Freedom to choose? What about freedom to ride/drive whilst drunk? Or perhaps freedom to ride/drive on an unsafe vehicle/bike? Where's the line between personal freedom and consideration for the community/society?
That is the question. Motorcycling, no matter the gear we wear will always be many times more dangerous than driving a car or taking public transportation. It will always cost "society" more than other modes of transportation. Why do we allow it at all?