Have you lost a friend or loved one to a motorcycle accident??

I know morbid topic All Souls day just past and I was thinking about my best friend [Bruce Browning], we grew up together riding. Started on Z50s at 8 years old to dirt bikes, road bikes and so on. Always my best memories with me and him going at it on the trails, track or road or just cleaning and wrenching talking about the ride we just had. Lost him about 10 years at a Senior motocross race he was only 48 and full of life. It started me thinking. I have known hundreds of people who ride motorcycles and other than Bruce I have only known 1 other person to pass away from a motorcycle accident, worked with him [Jerry Clark] he was hit head on by a drunk driver. I was just wondering what others experiences are. People who don't ride are all ways telling me "Your going to get killed ridding that thing" My personal experience tells me other wise. Does the perception equal the reality?  

Not directly, though one of the groups I ride with had 2 fatalities on rides before I joined.  Both riders failed to negotiate corners.  I would say that it has sobered the group and there's always a discussion about safety pre-ride.  There's been one member I know of here killed since I joined and of course T-Mac is named for a fallen member.   There were about 35,000 traffic deaths in the US in 2015 - about .01% of the population.   It's a small chance that any one person is fatally injured.  My guess is that non-riders perceive that a crash in a car that could be survived easily could be fatal on a bike.  That's a good possibility - the last stats I saw were that bike fatalities are about 25 times those of cars per mile traveled.   Riders can do a lot to improve their odds by improving their skills (and I see many that not only do not, but have an inflated view of their own skill level), riding within their limits, avoiding alcohol before and during rides and ATGATT.  The last stats I saw for MC's were from 2014 with about 4,300 fatalities.  That can also be broken down by sub group, but all in all from what I see of VFR owners, they tend to be smart, responsible and cognizant of managing the risks of riding.   Chances are nearly all of us will spend our riding years doing just fine.  Some will take a spill and maybe be injured - we all know that's a possibility each time we suit up and turn the key.   Interestingly, about the same number of pedestrians are killed each year (just had that happen to a customer's son) so maybe we should not be walking near or crossing streets, either.  

It's really about personal choice and what you are willing to risk to pursue your interests.  Family and friends are well meaning but may not share or understand our passions.  We all have to live our own lives and do what fulfills us.  I remember being out once not long ago and thinking "I never feel so alive as when I'm doing this".  I've got old age to sit around staring out the window wondering what lies over the next hill.  If I go out to find it and do not come back, at least I was out chasing my own adventures rather than sitting on the sofa watching someone on TV chase theirs. 

Yes, but I've also lost a fellow motorcyclist to suicide. I think the latter is much worse.

I have lost no personal friends to motorcycling, though I did have an acquaintance I met on a ride die on 2 wheels. A few friends, and my wife, have wrecked and walked away, but I guess you don't always get that lucky.

While I don't think motorcycling is overtly unsafe, it does have less margin for error than driving. When mistakes happen, the consequences can be catastrophic. This doesn't keep me off the bike, though it does remind me to ride within my limits and be alert at all times.

I avoid people that criticize me for riding a motorcycle.  I do them the favor of not criticizing their life choices, like over-eating, lack of exercise, being judgmental, etc.  

I think people that make statements like that are uncouth and just plain stupid.  They're probably the ones that turn left into the path of motorcyclists.  Mouth always open before brain engages types.  

I had 2 friends that I worked with at a local motorsports dealerships die in bike wrecks last year just a few months apart. 

I've been riding since 1985 and fortunately have only lost one friend.  He was a talented SCCA Autocrosser that I had many a memorable close battle with.  He was also young and new to motorcycling.  He misjudged a corner and hit a guard rail.  I miss him, but it had no real impact on my own riding.

Whenever I hear of an MC accident I always wonder what the circumstances were, rider error, alcohol, left turner, etc.   I think there is value in learning about crashes so we can try to prevent the same mistake and better understand where the risks are.  Outside of rider error I've learned accidents are often just that, accidents.  Things happen and all it takes is to be a the wrong place at the wrong time. 

One of guys I ride with was hit by another rider head-on and died.  The other rider was going way to fast and couldn't maintain his lane and crossed the DY into the path of my friend.   Also from what I've heard, ECN a fellow VFR rider and someone I've gone on a few rides with, is in very serious condition after having a head on with a car driving in the wrong lane in a construction zone.  Hoping he recovers and has regains some quality of life.