How Speed Is Affecting A Biker

To help motorcyclists understand the eventual risks with fast acceleration and deceleration, Bikesure, one of the UK’s leading motorcycle insurers, has summarized the effects on your body.

When Accelerating

BRAIN When accelerating, blood is pulled away from the brain and moves toward the lower half of the body. This gives an exciting, but temporary, sensation of light-headedness and exhilaration with a heightening of all senses.

HEAD Together with a helmet, the neck has to support about 4kg, so when riding, neck muscles can get squeezed or pinched, sometimes resulting in a whiplash sensation. Uncomfortable in the short term, and can cause muscles to ache over longer periods. Correcting posture and regular breaks will help prevent this.

HEART During rapid acceleration (or deceleration) the heart can reach 180bpm; 95% of its capacity! This cardio activity is exciting in the short term, but not sustainable over long periods. The body can release adrenaline with the sudden experience of accelerating, heightening the senses.

RIBS & LUNGS When accelerating, G-force pulls the ribs down, emptying the air from the lungs. G-force is what makes flying, fairground rides and motorcycling exhilarating. Being able to precisely modify the G-force with throttle or brakes makes motorcycling a unique experience.

SPINE During acceleration, forces spread upward through the entire body, compressing the spine. The spine is central to the nervous system and any forces will be felt acutely, alerting the brain to pressures, movements and potential threats.

During Deceleration

EYES Rapid deceleration can cause the blood to pool with great force in the eyes, bursting capillaries and potentially tearing retina. You don’t need to worry about this during normal incident free riding.

MUSCLES The body tenses and flexes during deceleration, strengthening muscles. It’s estimated that riding a motorcycle can burn 300 calories per hour. Riders must not underestimate the need for hydration, frequent intake of light and easily digested food with frequent rest-breaks on longer rides.

TISSUE Exposure to rapid deceleration can cause tissue deformation, but ‘normal riding’ will only give brief periods of mild forces – and many riders enjoy the sense of excitement that falls under their own control.

HEART As with acceleration, during rapid deceleration, the heart can reach 180bpm due to the sudden change in state experienced by the body. After decelerating though, the heart can slow giving a feeling of released tension and ease.

INTERNAL ORGANS The sudden stopping of forward movement can be dangerous to your internal organs – liver, spleen, kidneys. There are no risks during normal incident-free riding. During normal deceleration, the fatty tissues and surrounding muscles enable our bodies to cope well with the forces of riding a motorcycle.

24 Responses to “How Speed Is Affecting A Biker”


  1. 1 Boomer Jan 27th, 2017 at 9:57 am

    Here I thought I was just having fun my way. Okay; this works too. 🙂

  2. 2 Tom Ryan Jan 27th, 2017 at 10:06 am

    Are these the same Brits who were faking global warming stats? Don’t people who play any kind of sport where there is a lot of bumping and hitting pretty much suffer from the same thing?

  3. 3 Sam Jan 27th, 2017 at 10:42 am

    Very interesting. I value the information and take no offense what so ever. Thanks.

  4. 4 Chief Waldo Jan 27th, 2017 at 10:43 am

    It’s why I love getting some fast laps in on a race track!

  5. 5 Greybeard1 Jan 27th, 2017 at 10:51 am

    Hilarious!

  6. 6 Boots Jan 27th, 2017 at 11:06 am

    There must be a lot of people out there that have a lot of spare time!!!

  7. 7 Chris Jan 27th, 2017 at 11:29 am

    Very interesting information. I think the message should be framed as “Kids, put down the bong and twist the throttle instead!”

    P.S. (I’m going off topic here and getting potentially political so be aware if you are sensitive) I’m not sure about the claim that the insurance company presenting this information cooked any global warming figures.

    A reported 98.8% of scientists agree that human activity is having an impact on accelerated rates of global warming. By comparison, 95% of scientists agree that smoking causes cancer.

    Not fake news.

  8. 8 richards Jan 27th, 2017 at 1:15 pm

    “BRAIN When accelerating, blood is pulled away from the brain and moves toward the lower half of the body. This gives an exciting, but temporary, sensation of light-headedness and exhilaration with a heightening of all senses”. Just a thought…when ” blood is pulled away from my brain and moves toward the lower half of the body”, I can tell you, I am NOT riding my motorcycle.

  9. 9 James just another crazy kiwi Jan 27th, 2017 at 2:29 pm

    Bloody scientists take the fun and romance out of everything, next they will be telling me the loch Ness monster doesnt exist

  10. 10 Donnie Jan 27th, 2017 at 3:22 pm

    I always learn something on Cyril’s website. Interesting.

  11. 11 BobS Jan 27th, 2017 at 7:34 pm

    Now I know why I get a boner doing 1/4 mile runs.

  12. 12 Willyd Jan 28th, 2017 at 8:47 am

    This is why I ride a hog. Don’t have to worry about those silly accelerating things.

  13. 13 Charles Erickson Jan 28th, 2017 at 9:49 am

    I used to have a friend back in the ’70s who had a Dodge Charger. He would hit the gas pedal and my head would fly back. I wonder if that’s what they are using as a standard. On a regular, non-racing street bike, I can’t imagine that you would have anything to worry about. Just sayin’.

  14. 14 RBinTEX Jan 28th, 2017 at 10:36 am

    Can I call a BS on this?

  15. 15 coma Jan 28th, 2017 at 10:40 am

    “When accelerating, G-force pulls the ribs down, emptying the air from the lungs. G-force is what makes flying, fairground rides and motorcycling exhilarating. ” Well, haha, thats actually some way off the mark. G-forces as in fairground rides and flying mainly occur when cornering, and then only in a very mild version of what happens in the space shuttle on take off.

    When I am accelerating my old Shovel, the only acceleration happening is located in my vibrating cavity fillings. 😀

    “Together with a helmet, the neck has to support about 4kg,” Not very accurate either: the typical male head weighs in at about 3.8 kilos to 4.1 kilos. Add a Bell Bullitt at 1,5 kilos and end up between 5.3 an 5.6 kilos.

    No word about the bumps in the road transmitted to spine and skeleton by the suspension (or lack thereof) for lengthy periods of time.

    Thanks for these undoubtedly vital informations!

  16. 16 Howard Fitzcharles III Jan 28th, 2017 at 11:02 am

    I hope they spent their own money on all their research. ha! Geee ! all of the racers who also fly planes are really in trouble ha! OMG ! What about all those children who rode those rides in the amusement park ? Oh! no ! we are all going to die of “G” force syndrome or what ever.

  17. 17 domino Jan 29th, 2017 at 2:56 am

    If speed kills … you are looking at a dead man …

    ……….. Domino Dave ………………..

  18. 18 burnout Jan 30th, 2017 at 1:04 am

    Amen Domino Dave! Amen! peace

  19. 19 Chris Jan 30th, 2017 at 9:33 am

    I didn’t read any of this as a condemnation or warning against speed, but rather a simple reporting of the physics/biology/chemistry of what is happening in the body.

  20. 20 seeroamer Jan 30th, 2017 at 10:54 am

    The nanny state needs this sort of ammo to justify more restrictions.

  21. 21 DaveS Jan 30th, 2017 at 5:39 pm

    Dead Man Riding ! Thats’s me.

  22. 22 huls Jan 31st, 2017 at 1:16 pm

    Wow, talk about disinformation. This is so wrong on so many levels that I just don know where to begin.

    I will pick one though. Max heart rate is primarily determined by age. It is most certainly not a constant which is implied here. Max heartrate is further determined by fitness levels and genetic predisposition.

    Appropriate English saying: what a load of bollocks !!

  23. 23 IanJH Jan 31st, 2017 at 9:26 pm

    These same scientists would have given similar statistics in relation to trains in the 1800’s if they had been born in the early period of train travel, the acceleration rates for trains must have been so dangerous.

  24. 24 Bo Feb 3rd, 2017 at 5:00 pm

    When I accelerate blood rushes to my junk, that will explain everything.

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Cyril Huze