My experience with Motorcycling

As an engineering student, I've learned to appreciate bits of engineering all around me. Something that really caught my eye is motorcycling. It's all the fun of driving minus all of the luxuries (unless you ride a Goldwing, those are almost cars).

It has more airbags than an e30!

On a motorcycle, you feel much more in tune with the motion of the vehicle. In a car, you use the throttle and the steering wheel when you want to turn. On a motorcycle, you use both of those, and you lean into the turn. This is a really satisfying feeling. Now I'm not saying driving a car isn't fun, because it's a much different experience that has its own rewards.

Motorcycles are also cutting edge in terms of performance. And you don't need to be rich to enjoy the top of the line in terms of performance. Most of this is due to the fact that they don't have the heavy extra amenities that cars carry. The BMW HP4 has active suspension, traction control, ABS (that with an ECU update, will let you brake in corners), and can outrun a Bugatti Veyron Supersport in a drag race. The best part is, the BMW HP4 costs about as much as a Honda Odyssey.

The most advanced sportbike on the market at the moment

As for myself, I recently purchased a Ninja 300 ABS. From what people say, it's sort of like the Porsche Cayman of the motorcycle world. It corners fast, has a perfect amount of power, and is very light. At under 390 lbs, with 39 horsepower, the bike also has about the same power to weight ratio as the 2014 Porsche Cayman S. What's even better is that it is rated for 68 mpg! 

My experience motorcycling has been amazing so far. You get a feeling of speed and control that you just can't get on a street car. You don't even need to break the speed limit to get a rush! It's also a great feeling to breathe the fresh air around you and be completely immersed in your surroundings. Like a lot of things in life, it's worth experiencing.

Random Rant 1: Listening to music when you drive.

Recently, the aux cable I had in my car stopped working. Thus, I've had to listen to radio instead, and as you may know, radio stations tend to repeat songs. Again and again. And again. So I've been incredibly bored when driving longer distances. I have no motivation to try to pay attention to the music when "Fancy" plays for the 5th time in the same hour.  Of course, when I'm driving through the canyons, I prefer to turn off the music and roll down the windows to hear my exhaust note echo off the hills. But when I'm on the highway, it's just so boring without my favorite music. What's more important is that I begin to blankly stare off into the distance. I'd never do that before when I was listening to my favorite playlist. I'm usually a very alert driver.

I finally found another aux cable in my house, and realized just how much music affects my driving. I'm a lot more alert when I'm pretending to be Drizzy or Snoop than when I'm forced to listen to music I don't like. I'm guessing this would also deter people from getting bored and picking up their phones to text, etc. Of course this is just me. Maybe music distracts you? Either way, it's just interesting to think about how much of an impact music has on your driving performance. Maybe the Stig listens to music during laps for a reason?