Ride or drive?

[Dalini]

Is it just me? Standing next to or referencing their m/c, when I hear someone say "I'm gonna drive to........" something inside of me bristles. Sometimes I say something nicely about the difference between driving & riding a m/c & usually they look surprised at my observation but almost always smile & thank me. They're usually new, returning young or older riders.

[nick949]

Absolutely. You ride a motorcycle. You drive a car or truck.

Nick

[nc43bsa]

A good friend told me decades ago that many m/c accidents were caused by people who "drive" them.

A totally different set of skills is required for operating a m/c vs. a car.  Which makes John Surtees all the more remarkable.

[faffi]

In English, I definitely distinguish between driving and riding. However, in most of Western Europe, at least, we ride horses, we cycle bicycles and we drive cars and motorcycles and trains and boats with engines. If someone said they were going to ride their bicycle or motorcycle, people would think of them as peculiar at best, idiots at worst.

[nc43bsa]

I did not know this.

Thanks for the cultural/semantic clarification.   

[slowmover]

I remember some Hells Angels had their knuckles tattooed

[Tom]

Back to being on two wheels for commuting.  Interesting comments that I get from people in the office.  The usual...."Be careful!".  "You should drive a car."  etc.  When they have the time to fully engage in a conversation about riding two wheels.  eg.  Mopeds, scooters and motorcycles.  I'm the oldest in the office, most have stopped throwing those comments out when I explain to them that they "Do not know me and my motorcycle history."

Their eyes get glassy and 10 minutes later they try to leave the conversation.  😂  (Current AARP Driver Safety Instructor)

They slowly get more information.  Lunch time conversation.  Last year, "Where you off to on vacation?"  WI.  Where are you flying into?  Phoenix.  (Puzzled look)  Then flying into WI?.  No, I'm riding up from Phoenx.  Uhh......so you're riding with someone?  Yeah, the year before I went to them middle of Oregon caught up with friends west of Idaho Falls.  Have to make a left-hand turn going across Navajo Land.  🤣

Relevant to the thread......you do not ride a motorcycle like you drive a car.  Defensive riding is not defensive driving. 

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

Unless the discussion already has the context of motorcycles, I tend to use "drive" rather than "ride" to avoid people misinterpreting that I'm either bicycling or going to be passenger along for a ride (bus, car share) rather than operating a motorized vehicle (cycle) myself.

[guzzisteve]

That's what happens when you make motorcycles to be what car drivers want. So they can sell motorcycles to any car driver.

I was looking up this bike I saw in an Iranian pic, Apache. Made in India it's a 310cc, 5 modes & cruise control. On a 310, WTF
No one can just ride a motorcycle anymore or shift on the right

[kballowe]

You ride a motorcycle.
You drive cattle.

If you live in the south, giving someone a ride is to carry them.

[guzzisteve]

Ask them if they drive their bicycle. Something I have not done since I could twist a grip.

[Moparnut72]

Me either. I do have a bicycle which is same as the one I had as a kid, an old Raleigh with a 3 speed Sturmey Archer rear wheel hub. I seldom ride it but when I do I almost fall on my azz as the rake and trail are next to zero or so it seems.
kk

[Perazzimx14]

I say "drive" your motorcycle more and worry less about what other's call it. Its not like any of it matters.

[SIR REAL ED]

As internet moderators and participants may have noticed, humans using language imprecisely is nothing new. 

Many words have different regional, generational, and male-female definitions.

The classics are words like "pressure" and "force."

Several of my relatives will substitute green or blue or red..... or north for south or east.

Decoding can be a challenge.  Feelings are everywhere.

[PJPR01]

Riding = sitting on something...Riding a horse, riding a bicycle, riding a unicycle. 

Driving = sitting in something = driving a car, driving a truck, driving a tractor.

Now it's odd to hear someone say they ride a push cycle...no one is pushing a bicycle, they are pedalling it...

Now go Ride, or Drive or whatever the heck you want to do!  :)

 

[Perazzimx14]

Riding = sitting on something...Riding a horse, riding a bicycle, riding a unicycle. 

Driving = sitting in something = driving a car, driving a truck, driving a tractor.

Now it's odd to hear someone say they ride a push cycle...no one is pushing a bicycle, they are pedalling it...

Now go Ride, or Drive or whatever the heck you want to do!  :)

 

Does a passenger drive or ride in a automobile?

[Dalini]

Saying I drive a m/c is lazy.

[MikeP996]

Couldn't we just do an oil thread?   

[Perazzimx14]

Saying I drive a m/c is lazy.

Typing m/c instead of motorcycle is even lazier.

[DenverSteve]

Couldn't we just do an oil thread?   

We could but... my shaft doesn't need oiling....... 

[faffi]

We could but... my shaft doesn't need oiling....... 

Because your better half have the best lubrication already?

[Perazzimx14]

Couldn't we just do an oil thread?   

It should probably be referred to it as lubricant thread so as new motorcycle drivers or curious coworkers do not confuse it with cooking oil.

[faffi]

Typing m/c instead of motorcycle is even lazier.

The most frequently used expression for motorcycle in the Nordic countries is MC, pronounced EmmSe. MC clubs, MC rallies, MC tours. But riders are typically called motorsyklister - motorcyclists - but also MC-fører - MC-rider. Only we do no use rider; fører can be translated into "operator of motorized vehicle or vessel". Personally, I usually refer to motorcycles as mopeds. "Going for a ride on my moped", whether it has 50cc or 1500cc.

[Dalini]

👍😃 lazy? Point acknowledged & dismissed. We'll just call it ignorance.