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Comment by korse | Hacker News Reader

I think the key is that motorcycle riding hooks you into the machine in a way that few car builds can replicate. Motorcycle maintenance and riding is a tighter loop, with far higher stakes if simple procedures are not followed. Troubleshooting may be similar across all machines, but the best troubleshooting is not having to do it at all.

If nothing else, the tight loop created by the motorcycle teaches preventative maintenance schedules in a way that is tough to replicate outside aviation. Or you die/stop riding.

For example, I've blown a front tire in my car at speed on the highway with no adverse consequences except having to steer off center for a moment and swap the wheel in 5 degree weather. No biggie.

My bikes get routine chain, tire, fluid and electrical checks however, as a similar failure could end me.

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I think this can be felt in cars; without the extreme life and death situation.

My father taught me the skill of listening to the car, I can diagnose many problems with a motor with barely any description, but I can get really far with a screwdriver as a stethoscope. Thanks to understanding how they work, even rough descriptions of symptoms or noises 20 yards away and I'll remark about what's wrong with the engine or accessories. (Granted, as a kid, we had the sounds of Sebring on reel to reel)

Luckily, ICE knowledge is also transferrable to fun things like boat engines. Boats, then have their own set of physics to try fun things with (like trim tabs, outboard hydrofoils)

As it turns out, a 20 year old car, a 20 year old boat, hobbies like track days and slalom skiing lead to many busy weekends.

There is a similar type loop between old "British" racing cars I spent a fair amount of time driving cars from the 50 and 60s. The driving experience was a combination of boat/biplane/tractor. The little British cars had a certain sound that was correct and any variation from that sound was heart stopping. The best example from my experience happened on the Taconic Parkway. The sound shifted as the fan blades started to detach and fly off. I had no idea of the cause until I opened the hood.

Here is additional reading about mechanical things from a different era.

https://mossmotoring.com/manhattan-mechanic/

https://mossmotoring.com/souvenirs-and-socket-sets/

I'm sure non-british cars of that era are similar.

This feels largely like a post-hoc justification for what is clearly more of a hobby.

That is, the miles you have put into a car "at speed" is almost certainly far greater than what you put your motorcycle through. For reasons of the car giving much more utility of use. And the fact that you still have a motorcycle is clearly a choice. One that you have to put effort into keeping up. That you would also choose to see something special about that choice is not at all surprising.

What a weird comment to make towards someone you know virtually nothing about. I'm not the person you responded to, but I put about the same number of k's on my motorcycle as on my car, more in summer. I consider my bike just as indispensible as my car, and don't at all consider it just a hobby.

I said it sounds like it. Meaning that, on my priors of every other experience I have with folks that have a motorcycle, it sounds like this.

If you are putting the same number of miles on a motorcycle as a car, you either don't have to drive much, or are in some other very fringe situation. Pretty much period. Yes, it can and does happen. It is in a minority of cases though. Happy to be shown data that this is not the case, of course.

Edit: I got mixed on some other posts, I didn't say this one "sounds like it." Apologies for the odd rephrasing in this post. I stand by everyone that has every pushed this idea forward to me does so in what feels like a post-hoc justification.

I use my motorcycle as my main commuter vehicle. It's safe to say I drive it 3-4 times as much as my car, which only leaves home for grocery shopping and long (2+ hour) drives at this point. If you live alone, or even with just a significant other, it's a really convenient way to get around. Plus it's more fun.

What are you doing so much driving for that requires a car?

Personally, I don't drive much. Bicycle as much as I can, largely for commuting at a personal level. At a family level, we build miles on our car because kids and groceries.

But getting at a "how much do you personally drive" is silly. My point wasn't that some folks don't exist. It was that the norm is very very different. A google search claims: "The average annual mileage of a motorcycle is about 3,000 miles." Compared to: "The FHWA states that the average person drives around 13,500 miles per year. It equates to well over 1,000 miles every month."

Not quite an order of magnitude, but still highly skewed. Even in "commuting" miles driven, you lose the utility of merging your commute with a grocery run. Or dropping kids off at school. Very real limits for many.

To me, operating a motorcycle requires 3x the effort of a car. In the case of a sport bike, multiply again by 2, and triple if you have a passenger. Along with motorcycles being more weather dependent, I would not travel as many kilometers. Having driven a car for 10 years, then motorcycle exclusively for the past 3, I much prefer a motorcycle over a car.

And I'm right there with you, but with my road bicycle. Even in cars, I prefer my aging 100% manual (even the windows) truck. Which is far more effort than our minivan. We still use the van far more, because family.

Which brings it back into the realm of hobby. Note that if you are taking "hobby" as some sort of derogatory claim against it, that is not my intent. My point is pretty strictly on the fact that it is largely maintained for the pleasure of the activity. The utility of the alternatives is typically undeniable.

I agree with both points, fair statement!

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