A rare sight

[Stig / Major Tom]

Called into work this early morning - spotted an HD motorcycle going the other way. Very wet and cold - 15 mins later it began to snow.
Unless that guy was very close to home - he was riding an HD in a snow fall!
Stig
PS: warm the past few days >> therefore a local 52 yr old HD rider died at twilight when a pickup turned across his path. Have noticed that some of these big bikes have very poor yellowish front lighting - while the newer sport bikes in the group have easy to see bright white lighting. (a group of 5 pulled up next to me the other eve at a light. I wanted to mention to them that when I pulled onto the road ahead of them - the only rider I could clearly see coming at me was the kid on the sport bike...but the light changed & they roared off.) And of course they all where black...and I almost never see an HD rider in a helmet. Young sport bike riders tend to wear helmets around here..

[ScooterWolf]

That tends to be my observations too. Say a HD rider the other day with a full face helmet. Did a double take. A very rare sight.

- Wolf

[Forbes1964]

I saw a Harley rider Tuesday riding down a FOUR LANE road at 60-65 mph in  a t shirt, and absolutely no helmet. I'm too chicken to venture beyond my driveway with no helmet.

As for riding in SNOW, being a Florida guy, I can't even drive a CAR in cold AND wet weather.



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[GLV55]

Same thing happens around here, too, Stig. Scooter riders are always geared up, sports bikers have full helmets, and HD riders have no helmets, no gear, no nothing except for a dew rag and sunglasses. I'm surprised more of them aren't dead.

[Mr. Paul]

EMTs have a phrase for cyclists without helmets, they call them organ donors.

[TroutBum]

The image of a Harley rider is one of a rebel. Because of that image many prefer not to wear protective gear.

I wear protective gear, but admittingly it does give you a sense of confinement and isolation which is the opposite of what riders say about the feeling of being free an unencumbered.

[LidoCA]

  On Friday, i went to the funeral of a friends son. He was making a left turn on a Harley and it slid out from under him. It was a minor crash, would have likely been only road rash and damaged pride. The guy in the van behind him was not paying attention and ran him over. He died from his injuries. A helmet was a non-issue in this incident.
 Of course, being Southern California, the driver of the van took off.  Sometimes, the world is a really screwed up place.
Not really relevant to the topic, but I thought I would vent.

[blue]

The think I hate seeing is the parents giving the kids a ride and the kid has a helmet on and the parent don't. What if they crash how do tell everyone dad died because he had no helmet on. and the kid lives to tell about it.they have to go threw that the reast of there lives.   If you ride wear a helmet no matter what size bike it is.

[Stig / Major Tom]

The image of a Harley rider is one of a rebel. Because of that image many prefer not to wear protective gear.

I wear protective gear, but admittingly it does give you a sense of confinement and isolation which is the opposite of what riders say about the feeling of being free an unencumbered.

I remember experiencing that "free" and unencumbered feeling when I was a kid freewheeling down a steep hill on my bike, in Florida - wearing just shorts and sneakers. And the added thrill of "flying" when I wandered into the roadside gravel ---  and sending me palms and forehead-first over the handlebars into that pea gravel.
To this day I still have a bit of that gravel in my forehead.

I hear what you're saying - but I can crack my visor and lower my ICON zip to feel the "free" -- which is enough for me.

Stig