I don’t normally delve into the political aspects of riding a sportbike – Hell, I don’t often delve into the political aspect of anything – but every so often you read something that is so utterly one-sided that you feel a deep seeded need to speak up and protect your point of view. Dare I say protect your own rights. Earlier this morning I stumbled on to a thread on the Sayonara, Hayabusa.
More after the jump…
Like all max-performance bikes, the Hayabusa is basically a big engine with two wheels and a seat. There are no safety mechanisms: no roll bars, no shoulder harness, no impact-absorbing beams, no air bags, not even bumpers. Acceleration of max-performance motorcycles is wildly disproportionate to driving needs. The only real use of the acceleration ability is road rage — to drag-race from stoplights, cut others off in traffic, speed like mad. Perhaps you’ve been on a highway when a couple colorful high-performance bikes have roared past you at far over the speed limit. The people on the bikes may be morons, which is their problem. But their antisocial behavior is your problem, since vehicles moving significantly faster than the speed of traffic are a leading cause of accidents.
This column isn’t much of a fan of the tort bar, yet wonders why litigators have not put the Hayabusa and similar overpowered bikes out of business. High-performance street motorcycles are socially irresponsible, and designed without regard for the safety of riders. Roethlisberger and others who buy high-performance bikes don’t wish anyone harm, they’re just looking for an ego rocket. But harm is what they cause, and legislatures should intervene. The Constitution says you’ve got a right to own a gun and to read a newspaper; firearms and materials related to First Amendment political, artistic and religious expression are the only categories of purchases with specific constitutional protection. Race a mega-motorcycle on a private track? Sure. But public roads are subject to public regulation. Our nation’s laws do not confer any “right” to operate on public roads a high-horsepower bike, anymore than there’s a “right” to drive a bulldozer down the middle of an interstate. It is past time the high-horsepower motorcycle was regulated off the roads. The intended use of these bikes is lawbreaking!
Understand that my issue is not with Gregg’s ability to have his own point-of-view, he is clearly entitled to hold whatever beliefs that he has, but rather my issue is that he is taking his gross assumption that all riders act irresponsibly and are universally dangerous and publishing those beliefs as ‘fact’ with no statistical backup or proof. This smack of irresponsible journalism in my book. If you have a pov that’s awesome, but having one and proving one are two very different things. Gregg has a lot of the first and none of the latter. Finally, the use of a mainstream publication as a vehicle for distributing this sort of conjecture goes beyond merely being wildly inappropriate – this is a full on assault at the folks who take riding a sportbike responsibly.
If you feel so inclined you can contact Gregg at http://www.greggeasterbrook.com/contact.html.
Anit-Sportbike Column on ESPN.Com
I don’t normally delve into the political aspects of riding a sportbike – Hell, I don’t often delve into the political aspect of anything – but every so often you read something that is so utterly one-sided that you feel a deep seeded need to speak up and protect your point of view. Dare I say protect your own rights. Earlier this morning I stumbled on to a thread on the Sayonara, Hayabusa.
More after the jump…
Understand that my issue is not with Gregg’s ability to have his own point-of-view, he is clearly entitled to hold whatever beliefs that he has, but rather my issue is that he is taking his gross assumption that all riders act irresponsibly and are universally dangerous and publishing those beliefs as ‘fact’ with no statistical backup or proof. This smack of irresponsible journalism in my book. If you have a pov that’s awesome, but having one and proving one are two very different things. Gregg has a lot of the first and none of the latter. Finally, the use of a mainstream publication as a vehicle for distributing this sort of conjecture goes beyond merely being wildly inappropriate – this is a full on assault at the folks who take riding a sportbike responsibly.
If you feel so inclined you can contact Gregg at http://www.greggeasterbrook.com/contact.html.
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