Superbike racers aren’t the only professional motorcycle madmen.
Seen whizzing around the inner city are couriers and Richard Forbes proclaims
he is the craziest of all.
“I ride to impress other riders. I like being as out of control as possible and shocking them so they go ‘hey fuck look at that idiot’. Like a 200-metre wheelstand out the front of 111 Collins Street, or locking the wheels around a right hand corner.”
Many teenage boys dream of getting their first motorbike, but Richard’s choice was for more practical reasons.
“I was 18, and got tired of pedalling 8 kms to work each day, so I bought a Nifty Fifty. It still took too long, so I bought a 250. I didn’t have lessons. I went up and down the driveway stalling it, trying to work it out. The first time I went 80 kph I thought I’d be blown off the back of the bike, I didn’t know how riders managed to stay on.”
Many riders have an attitude of “you only live once”. Do they mean it?
“They do really. If they didn’t they’d just be a blithering mess. I had six friends die before I was twenty, and never expected to make my 21st birthday. I was so impressed when I did, so shocked when I did.”
Now 28 Richard idolizes motorcycle racers like Aaron Slight, a fellow Kiwi he was a friend with when they were teenagers. The highlight of the year is riding his ZXR 650 down to Phillip Island to watch Slight in the World Superbike Series. His employers own the bike.
“It was a lifestyle decision. There was nothing else I was qualified to do where there was that much money and that much fun.” But the money wasn’t much after all. “Best I’ve ever done is $600 a week clear. Sounds good but it’s shit, cause I have to pay maintenance and gas. You need new brake pads every fortnight and that’s just one of many things I have to fork out for.”
How do office workers perceive you?
“It’s like, whoopee – you want your thing delivered and here I am. I’m not stuck in an office; I’m out having fun. I dyed my hair green to match my motorcycle – who cares?”
And women?
“They say, ‘so you’re one of those crazy people who ride around the city?’ To them it’s not a compliment but to me it is, eh.”
Wouldn’t a car be more convenient for going on a date?
“Because of the thrill I get from motorcycles, I’ve never had the desire to
learn to drive a car. When you slam on the front brakes, the whole bike dives
to the front, so a girl behind me, her tits have no choice but to rub into my
back.”
Motorcyclists average ten major accidents before they kill themselves; Richard has now had 27.
“I broke my hand and big toe at Castlemaine last month and then rode 150 kms home because everyone was calling me a woose. Your respect for a person increases with the degree of their injuries. Everyone gets grazes, that’s nothing. But if you really fuck-up the respect you receive is so much more. I get really pissed off when I crash and there’s no blood – it’s embarrassing.”
So how much longer will you push your luck for?
“I could see myself doing it forever if I made a decent enough wage. Or until I have a bad crash and get onto some good TAC payments.”
If you are interested in a long weekend consisting of 2 days of heavy
drinking, then watching the race on Sunday, join 10,000 bikers for Round
2 of the World Superbike Series, on April 16-18 at Phillip Island.
