The REAL BENEFITS of Riding a Motorcycle! 

Here's another benefit... I hadn't been on a bike in almost 20 yrs. Then, in my early 40's, I finally got a bike again, when I made a deal with myself to quit smoking. The deal was, if I ever smoke again, that I would have to sell the bike & not ride anymore. I never thought quitting could be easy until I threw my leg back over a motorcycle. Now the only thing I Jones for is more time in the saddle 😊

Good video. Agree with everything you say. Can you please tone down the subtitles? They are huge and the highlighting of everything karaoke style is offputting. You don’t need to look like a tiktoker. If anyone needs it, they can switch on close captions. Same goes for the shorts, that’s why i don’t even attempt to watch them anymore

I suffer from PTSD and anxiety. I've been on different medications that always had some side effect or another.... 3 years ago I bought a cruiser, I had grown up on Motocross but had forgotten what riding a motorcycle felt like. Wind therapy is far better than any medication. I have three levels that I keep an eye on... PTSD / anxiety / panic... I rate these on a scale of 1 to 10. Whatever level one or more than one of them are at when I get on my motorcycle and I ride within 1 mi or so, all of my levels are down to zero or close to zero... I take a very basic medication now that does not have any side effects. I live in Michigan but I ride my motorcycle year-round. I am a nationally certified emergency vehicle driver. However I am a much better and safer driver now that I ride a motorcycle because I see things through situational awareness I would not have had had I not started riding a motorcycle. I absolutely love this channel , I think you are the best one out there. Thank you for letting me share my story.

I doubt that anyone who doesn’t ride a motorcycle would believe a word you said. But I have noticed all those benefits and attributes in myself from riding. Started when I was 16 and turning 70 this summer. I have never been the driver in a car accident and have only experienced 2 bike accidents in all that time. It was evident to me from the beginning that awareness and alertness were key to staying alive while riding and never did that impede my ability to enjoy myself. I’ve always felt there is something different about me as a rider/ driver but I never gave credit to what riding a motorcycle has taught me subconsciously although I hear more and more about on RU-vid. You laid it out perfectly. Thanks for that and thanks for all you do on your channel.

Better car driving: Absolutely. I noticed that in my first year of riding. Stress release: Also true. I'm laser focused riding and never think about day to day problems. Fun topic. TY.

I just turned 80 years young. I enjoy my ride every saterday. Only 2km to be out off town and on the open road. What a ride every time to check everything including tire pressure getting into my gear. Pray for a save journey swing my leg over the saddle start up whait a little while engine warming up off i am minding my own business. Back home say thanks for save return and totaly relaxed. One advise never get on your bike without your gear. Save yourneys to you all.

Is there a way to turn off these annoying flashing subtitles? I can't tolerate them

I don’t know what’s up with the new CC on the screen but get rid of it. It’s distracting and annoying. If we want CC we can turn it on in the app. Leave us the choice please.

First comment is to get rid of the imbedded closed captions. I want to listen to you not read you. I tried turning the captions off but did not work. Second despite ridding my GW daily, the more time I drive in my SUV, the more I get the "protected in a box" attitude and sometimes I miss potential hazards.

Completely agree. I am a senior man, riding the bike helps keep me sharp. Constant situational awareness and evaluation of surroundings. I never get on unless I feel 100%. I does make me a better car driver also.

Weather permitting, this therapist rides his Ultra Classic to the office. There is a motorcycle in the clinic parking lot...and it's mine! Sometimes I take the long way home.

Perhaps Robert Pirsig said it best in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:"You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming"

I don't like the annoying close captioning. Hearing impaired people already have options to turn on CC on their own devices.

The MSF class I attended 17 years ago taught me to look for motorcycles when looking both ways at an intersection, and also taught me to look at the front wheel of cars sitting at an intersection I was about to ride through. Both of these lessons improved my situational awareness and saved my life multiple times since then.

Airbag vests are a game changer for risk of harm reduction, while the probability doesn't change with them the impact certainly does.

Thank you Kevin for this video how to always said riding a bike is my stress relief I always enjoy going back-and-forth to work because it made me totally forget about everything else and focus on the road Kevin. I hope you and your family. Have a blessed weekend stay safe.

riding to and from work as a stress reliever is absolutely true. i commuted over an hour each way and ran up over 100, 000 miles commuting over 18 years. i just wish i had started earlier.

Agree. I told my wife that riding my bike is my moment of zen.

Good message, and true, but get rid of the close captioning on the screen, it is very distracting. No need for it to be embedded in the video, there is an option to toggle it on if you need it.

we should all get a MC endorsement and discount on our car insurance :)

Thanks, Kevin! What a great argument for requiring every automobile driver to own and operate a motorcycle, too. [Tongue-in-cheek] Seriously, though, if that had the effect of improving everyone's positive contribution to society, it might be a worthy solution. 😄 Your analysis is squarely on target.

Good video that got RUINED by the obnoxious captioning! Switched it off about halfway through.

Sing it brother! This has to be one of the best, if not the best videos on motorcycling I have ever watched! Ever! Someone finally said it in 9 minutes. Thank You MCrider!

Great to see the positive side of motorcycles being promoted! It also makes you part of a great community. What other group still waves and is friendly as much as folks on 2-wheels.

One time i said that to a doctor friend of mine ...that you'll never find a motorcyclist at a psychiatric clinic. He said it's true, because they are at the ER. I never had a comeback 😅

You'll never see my Harley outside a psychiatrists. It's not reliable enough to get there 😆

You also get a good forearm workout without spending extra time at the gym.

I agree on the car driver after your videos I have become a better car driver

My own 3 major benefits, and why I ride rather than drive, are (1) less time stuck in traffic because I can lane split in California, saves gobs of time and frustration (2) 50 MPG rather than 25 or 30 in a car, and (3) free and easy parking just about anywhere including at LAX

Big fan of channel, great video, not a fan of the built in subtitles.

We ride…to be better…

Kevin, I love this video, and I would love to share it with my non-riding friends on social media, but I find the errors in the subtitles so distracting that I am reluctant to share. Can you please post a corrected version?

I tried to remove the subtitles … impossible… 😅

I agree with you on all points that you made. I do feel that you left out the most important part of riding a motorcycle. A road that seems like any other road in a car takes on an entirely different personality when you are on a motorcycle. Travel somewhere in your car and then do it again on a motorcycle the exact same route. It’s almost as though you had not been there before as a motorcycle puts an entirely different view and smells on things.

I've always wanted to be able to ride a motorbike, but I'm now 61 and have had even motorcyclist's tell me not to do it because you can be the best rider but someone else can drive their car into you. Still want to have one one day though!

I dare say, it keeps the brain sharp and faster. I know when I rode motocross as a younger guy, I could process faster.

Thank You!!! ....by the way im hard of hearing and subtitles are pretty much manditory for me.;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; But THAT WAS GREAT man.. you rock!!!

I agree 100%, excellent video, Thank You!!

Kevin I totally agree. Riding a motorbike definitely makes you a better driver. Most car drivers have no clue what is involved when riding a motorbike as the dynamics are totally different. I know for myself that when I am driving a car I always pay particular attention to motorcyclists as well as being extra vigilant to traffic around me.

I agree 110%. Also, favorite features on cars is the blind spot alert and 360° cameras.

Spot on, love this analysis, and your channel. Keep up the great content!! 👍. See ya on the road.

What's up with the subtitles. I tried everything on this end to try and turn them off, but no luck. must be some setting on your end. Extremely distracting, could not watch the video because of it. I hope you get it fixed before your next video. I will be back next week, like always. Keep up the great work. I always like your videos, after 45 years of riding, you keep on teaching me new stuff. That's why I keep coming back.

KEVIN !!! - Another Great video - and I totally agree with you. Especially on the point of being a better "driver".... I feel like I've always been a safe "driver" (don't we all) - however, my following distance is something I will not "cheat" on.... Minimum 2 seconds.... However, I prefer 3.... Like you said years ago - "it's not a turf war" - if someone pulls into that gap - slow down AND MAINTAIN YOUR FOLLOWING DISTANCE !!!! I may not be the "fastest" - but I'll be there in a minute..... Just saying 🙂

Amen brother. Ride Safe.

Yes Kevin I think you are correct. It definitely made me more aware of what is going on around me when be hind the wheel of a car.

Love the video. Yes, Tuesday primetime tv was fantastic then, Friday maybe better. Dukes of Hazard and Incredible Hulk. Best two hours in tv history. Love you Kevin, God bless and stay safe everyone!

Testify Brother MCRider! I gotta say about personal responsibility; ain't much good being right if you're broken...

A BIG A M E N ! To everything you've stated ! Thank you. Cheers from Australia ! 👍👍

Spot on! Great stuff!

I remembered the Tuesday night lineup even before you mentioned the shows! 😊

100% agree with the comparison with the runners high. Right now, I am working a bit later shift, starting my day at 10:00am. Thankfully I am working from home right now. I've decided to take the motorcycle for a morning practice ride a couple days of the week before work, doing figure 8's, emergency stop thrills, etc. I end up having the same feeling I had when I used to workout at the gym in the mornings. I feel energized and with a sense of "completion" and with an overall better mood starting the workday!

If life is boring, get a motorcycle. I look forward every day to getting into my gear, looking over my bike, checking air pressures, mounting my bike, starting it up and check over stuff while the motor warms up. Then, when all is ready, off we go. All of it. From start to finish, there is nothing like it. And, yes for sure, we become much more alert in traffic which carries over to driving a car. But, that is boring for the most part. You just get in the thing, warm it up and go. I was out riding on March 18th and 19th, just before the snow returned to Alberta. Got my bike into the shop just in the nick of time for a new rear tyre and rotor. It will be all ready when the snow is gone for good in another week, or so. In praise of motorcycles. Thanks Kevin. Ride safe.

I get it, you've gotta huge accent but seriously... how do we get rid of those idiotic captions???

Motorcycle riding, like lighting a candle, can affect my mood in a positive way. Because of this channel, I am more aware that my by-candling needs constant improvement, if only for safety reasons. BTW, I never really cared for Mitt Happy Days. I wish he was more like his dad and less like AI.

Personal responsibility.....so under appreciated in today's world!! Great video as always and you certainly put good description to many of the reasons I love to ride, thanks!!

Hay Man. Thanks again for these videos in my in box. Always look forward to your chats. Was talking to a mate the other day, he didn't know who The Fonz' was.... Is it right he couldn't ride a bike and crashed a bike on set?? cheers

Thank you Kevin, that was a great message and I agree 100%. I love the saying "You never see a motorcycle parked at a therapist office". It amazing how instant things are now and how impatient that has made us as a society. Riding helps to slow down my mind and like you say, focus on the now. Keep riding, keep living.

This format would've been great on April 1st. 😅

Great stuff, Kevin. Thanks a million.

Riding a bike is just pure madness, period. But If you expect live to be anything like reasonnable at any degree you are probably more insane than ANY bike ridder. So better to be aware of our madness ... and enjoy it !

I agree with your list of benefits, but you missed several benefits common to many parts of the world. 1. Motorcycles can travel along dirt tracks to narrow for cars or buses, like most of the tracks in Africa (watch Itchy Boots going past lorries stuck in the mud, or crossing rivers on pirogues). 2. Motorcycles don't get stuck in traffic as long as cars. In many parts of southern and south east asia, that is such a benefit that there are six times as many motorbikes on the road as cars. 3. Motorcycles are cheaper to buy and run than cars - particularly the small city bikes that are common in Europe and Asia. It used to be common in England to start riding motorbikes as soon as it was legal, then wait several years before we could afford to learn to drive and buy a car.

Keep the captions I am hearing impaired and dont want to HAVE TO put in my hearing aids to watch this service. Thanks for your consideration to all communities

yes I just Said That Today to an friend whiles in car driving t work about how MC Ridding has made me an better Car driver

Interesting comments, and I agree with them. Great video

I've told people before that when you ride a motorcycle 100% of your focus in on the 400 feet of road right in front of you. You can't afford to think about anything else.

Maybe it was because I grew up in the Metroplex and I can understand your accent and don't need the subtitles but I find them annoying and a distraction from the content, especially when they don't match the words spoken.

The best path to producing safer car drivers would be to make it compulsory to have ridden a small motorcycle for a year or two before qualifying to drive a four wheeler. On a long bike tour through Europe a couple of years ago I got the impression that those countries where young people often started out on mopeds, scooters or small motorcycles and where people on lower incomes relied on two wheels for their daily commute had better car drivers than those that did not have such a culture. For example, I found riding in Greece and Italy less harrowing than in Germany and Norway, despite statistics indicating that the latter two countries have better road safety records than the former. Maybe that’s only because they have better roads and less crowded cities than due to superior driving?

Great video! Can't wait for the weather to warm up. Hubby and I will be hitting the road as soon as possible.

Another benefit. Since I started riding, when I'm driving my car, I have a greater awareness of other riders and have an appreciation for the risk involved in riding.

Great insights and I totally agree! Please do not use subtitles it’s very distracting since the eye wants to follow the movement.

Yes! 💯

Riding a motorcycle made me be better taking corners with cars.

The country is going straight to hell how things are going in Texas I can’t imagine any better

Great subject and video . Thank you .

This is truth...everyone should watch this...

I used to be very tight with my grandfather when I was a little kid. He was murdered by a terrorist group when I was 3 and the funerals used to be at home at the time. I remember quite a bit, considering how young I was, but what I remember the most was that I took my bicycle and rode away until a soldier stopped me. Everyone forgot about it until my father brought home a small 80cc scooter when I was 9 and put me on it. It was huge for me, but I managed to ride it around the house and I remembered the “go away from bad things” feeling I felt the day of the funeral on that bicycle. I’m 45 now and every time I ride I feel like I’m leaving everything negative far behind.

Amen brother! Amen! Amen! Amen! God bless you!

Great video. I think it may now be my favorite!

TY for Sharing

Greatest video loved this video 😊😊

Very perceptive and well said.

I think this was one of your best.

I always enjoy your videos.

Spot on - we are our own safety officer!

EXACTLY!! All the same thoughts I've been having for the 50 years I've been riding. Thanks for verbalizing it!

Great message to riders - well done!

Well said can't add anything to it

My wife said the opposite, that I always came home stressed from riding my motorcycle in LA traffic, as compared to when I would ride my bicycle.

This is a much needed video highlighting the rewards and benefits of motorcycling. Although motorcycle riding is inherently more dangerous than driving inside a car the rewards and benefits outweigh the risks for those who ride. My decision to ride came with embracing safety seriously and the desire to become a better rider. I am open to learning and willing to practice proper riding techniques. Thank you for this video which touched on so many benefits of riding a motorcycle 👍.

Dam_ straight.

Again...... WORD!!

These points are absolutely true for me after having ridden for about 10 years now.

Week two of broken ribs... I miss riding REAL bad.

👍👍

That's a great way to try to get people to realize that they are responsible for their own safety and can't accuse others of their own faults.

I watch this guy so I can count how many times he says “motorcycle” per minute.

This whole video is Ditto for me too ! Thank you MC Rider

You are 100% spot on with this video.

You are so right thanks Kevin

❤️🏍💨📚🙌🙏🤝🫵💪👍👌💯 I love you man. I love your passion for motorcycles and your appreciation and the knowledge and lessons you share to everyone out here looking to purchase their first motorcycle. Thank you a lot.❤️🏍💨📚🙌🙏🤝🫵💪👍👌💯