The Case of the Invisible Motorcycle

12 years, 10 months ago - 21 December 2011, Autoblog
The Case of the Invisible Motorcycle
If you ever find yourself needing to talk someone out of purchasing a motorcycle, we suggest turning their eyes toward the interminable mire that is YouTube.

For every clip of an amazing stunt or beautiful ride through the country, there's 15 videos of motorcycle riders on the raw end of a collision with another vehicle.

Take the brief video after the jump for example. A group of riders are rolling through the relatively empty streets of St. Louis, and while one of the guys engages in a quick wheelie, the group doesn't seem to be maintaining outrageous speed through the city center.

That's when an inattentive driver in a Ford Ranger casually rolls right through a red light and straight into our camera man. The collision sends bike and rider spilling through the intersection. Fortunately, no one seems permanently injured in the dust up.

The clip is an excellent reminder of just how invisible bikes can be, especially when other drivers aren't paying attention. Would the Ranger have rolled the stop light if it were a full-size sedan driving down the street? It's hard telling, but the video makes a solid case for wearing brighter leathers.