[Uncle Bob]

Again with this discussion...........................

My simple view of the "R" bike accident rate.

A newbie with little or no experience has a very high probability of making basic mistakes, throttle control, braking control, tunnel vision and delayed reaction times caused by unfamiliarity with a bike.

An adrenaline spike caused by a unexpected situation X a lack of experience X a bike with more sensitive controls and more explosive response = A very dangerous combination.

Not saying an "R" bike can't be safely ridden responsably, I'm saying it's more difficult to do so for a lot of beginners than a more "sedate" bike.

Some people are blessed with faster reaction times than others and no reaction time isn't related to experience. People with faster reaction times may feel more at ease on certain bikes and people with slower reaction times will prefer others. This is probably why some people will say that certain bikes are too fast for them.

As for the power and or braking ability being a safety factor research has shown over and over that it isn't. When you factor in basic reaction time and bike response time in a situation where you have less than a second to get out of the way there is no difference between an "R" bike and any other bike. In situations where you have more than 1 second, the "R" may be slightly farther away but the cruiser will be equally out of danger. As for braking, canadian studies have shown that heavier cruisers brake faster than lighter sprotbikes. Study also showed that contrary to popular belief, "R" bikes do not stop faster than cars, cars have more weight, four wide friction points and they stay upright keeping their contact patches wide on the pavement.