Startups and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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by antongm • 16 years ago

59 14 16 years ago

I'm impressed, a non-rider hit almost all of the basic bullet points for safety on a bike. You have to beat that into new riders most times.

antongm• 16 years ago

Thanks. I am a non-rider, but know enough riders and have read enough biker blogs to know a thing or two.

Of course, this is the guy who got on a motorbike with a bicycle helmet because it's all he had. I should learn the basics instead of high-level theory maybe...

jeroen• 16 years ago

Especially when you're a passenger and you can't influence all those things. Wearing the right gear is all you can do.

andjones• 16 years ago

And like many lessons, they are best - and unfortunately often - learned through experience. As an beginning rider, I was told to pretend like no one sees you, and in fact, people will try to hit you. I internalized those lessons much more after my first wipe-out.

I've watched friends and start-ups I've worked with make the same mistakes as others despite the wealth of knowledge available. I wonder why this happens. My best guess is we are all idealistic people on the inside. We have trouble with the "why" something matters unless we experience it for ourselves.

stanley• 16 years ago

Motorcycle owner / Startup founder here. Love riding and love my work. Having jumped out of planes, skied the Swiss alps and rocked out at Burning Man, there is still nothing quite like gunning my Ninja on the i5 at night with all 5 lanes to myself. Similarly, nothing compares to the rush and energy you get from running your own startup.

davidsiems• 16 years ago

Cool writeup :)

I would also add that you need to be intimately familiar with your bike (startup) if you're going to succeed.

Every bike you ride is different, the clutch, the steering, braking distance, all of that varies and knowing exactly how to operate it can mean life or death.

When I first started riding I ended up rear tire skidding through a few red lights because I didn't have much experience stopping my bike from high speed. It was absolutely terrifying ;)

bambax2• 16 years ago

Another biker here.

It's true that as a motorcycle rider you're completely invisible: not just that you should imagine yourself invisible -- you really are. Nobody in a car has the faintest clue that there can be non-car vehicles on the road, probably next to them when they change lanes, etc. If you think they can see you, you're dead.

BUT I like it that way: it's cool to be invisible, and it's also safer. Car drivers don't understand bikes: when they see you they have all sort of weird reactions -- like kindly going to the side to give you more room, forgetting that there might be another bike on the other side that they are cutting off!

My favorite car drivers are the ones that don't care about me, stay in the middle of their lane at constant speed -- in general, those who are predictable.

And that's probably where the analogy with the startup world breaks: a startup really needs to be noticed to move forward -- although maybe not by everyone; it's better if competitors don't notice you before it's too late.

So cars are competitors; but who are the customers?

jacobolus• 16 years ago

> [...] it's also safer. Car drivers don't understand bikes: when they see you they have all sort of weird reactions [...]

I don’t understand how people reacting unpredictably could be safer. If your choices are (1) drive a car and other drivers behave as you would expect or when they don’t at least you are in a similar vehicle with seat belts and some shock absorption, or (2) drive a motorcycle, and other drivers either don’t see you and drive into your space without warning or else freak out, and in a collision you are likely to be horribly maimed or die, I must say that (1) sounds dramatically safer to me.

pak• 16 years ago

I think he meant that if you consider yourself invisible as a motorcycle you can drive safer, not that driving an invisible vehicle is safer than driving a visible one.

bambax2• 16 years ago

Driving a car is probably safer than driving a bike.

But, being on a motorcycle, it's safer to stay invisible (and drive accordingly) than to be "visible" and incur weird reactions from car drivers.

khafra• 16 years ago

Causality runs in reverse: To be noticed on a motorcycle, move forward. The CHP bikers get taught to move slightly faster than surrounding traffic; it makes you more visible.

zachrose• 16 years ago

Was anyone else hoping this would be about Quality?

davidst• 16 years ago

There's a great essay in there trying to get out. Someone needs to write about the romantic vs. classical perspectives on startups.

Bertrood• 16 years ago

It's helpful to hear the perspectives of others occasionally, if not often, to help to determine changes to our own work and lives.

Startups and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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