as far as the responses you guys are really entertaining me more than schooling me.
I think a large percentage of riders - especially if they rode during those formidable twenty-nothing years would confess to mixing alcohol and riding. Many of those probably rode while legally (or illegally) intoxicated. It would be tantamount to hypocrisy to drag you down and beat you up for the very same thing. I think the real question here is was this a "light bulb event"? Was the switch flicked on in your head this IS A BAD IDEA? I had an "event" many years ago that turned that light on. Nothing bad happened - no wreck, no injuries... frankly, I would (still am) be too embarrassed to describe it BUT it was the event that taught me drinking and riding DO NOT MIX!!! Not even just one (and I do like my beer) while riding - it's tough when everyone else is having a cold one and you only live a few miles away - what's the harm? That little extra shot of courage... that extra twist in the wrist... a little more lean... a distraction... a stupid cager.... it can happen real fast and you're gonna need all the sharpness you can muster.
While the light doesn't ever come on for some and it comes on too late for others, there is a greater likelihood of the following things to occur.
1. You wreck/damage your bike.
2. You wreck/damage your body.
3. You wreck/damage someone else's property.
4. You wreck/damage/kill someone else.
Reading your post hints that 1 & 2 have already occurred. If alcohol played any part in that the light needs to start coming on and soon. Numbers 3 & 4 are bound to follow.
Carrying a passenger involves a HUGE responsibility - you open the door for a lot of legal, financial, emotional and financial hassles. To carry a passenger while consuming alcohol puts you on a very slippery road to a light bulb event. As a fellow Bandit rider I am not typing this to judge or sway your thinking. We accept (or should accept) personal responsibility for our actions when we swing a leg over the bike. All I ask is that we all look for that light switch and ride safely. (ironically
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