Wear your gear.

[Forbes1964]

Forbes! Make a lamp outta that helmet!

Karl

Hmmmmmm.... A good thought.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Forbes1964]

My wife and I just came back from a trip to the Poconos via the New Jersey/Pennsylvania Delaware Water Gap. We took the car as we had a lot of stuff to take up, and would be returning late at night. It was great weather, and being a Sunday we passed and saw a lot of group rides. Many were congregating in the parking lots of Dunkin' Donuts, and local diners. Nearly 98% of them, and their passengers, wore sleepless shirts, shorts and in many cases sandals on the passengers feet -- wives or girlfriends. Jersey has a mandatory helmet law, so most of them also wore just brain buckets. All the bikers were Cruisers, with a few Naked and Sport Touring.

Had to shake my head a lot. Passing riders in group formations, riding 500 lb + bikes with no protective gear (sorry, I really don't count brain buckets) seems like a death-wish, especially when grouped with hauling trucks, cell phone riding vacationers, and a lot of U-Hauls (college semester starts this week at many schools, and students are moving in). I hope everyone made it back home, but that's tempting fate a little too much for me.

If any Powered Two Wheeler sites have a safety or road-craft threads, it seems apt to talk about what gear to wear. I've heard a lot of reasons for not wearing any, but not
any good ones.

- Wolf

I may be unpopular with some for saying this. But if a person doesn't wear a substantial helmet, they are ALREADY brain damaged. I don't think that a half helmet would have adequately protected me. And although my jacket was not damaged, i did roll on the ground several times. The ground would have caused multiple abrasions on my arms if I'd only had the tank top that was under it.
Yes, it was 95 degrees during the day and in the mid 80's at the time of the accident. Even with the mesh jacket, it was HOT. And even with decent ventilation, the full faced modular helmet made me hot. But in my short 7 months of riding, I had the sense to never ride without both.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Stig / Major Tom]

I agree with troutbum that no one has the right to tell another how to ride.

But we can tell what happens to the body in bike accidents.

We can also mention how important we personally feel it is to protect ourselves with the riding gear which is recommended by so many veteran & experienced riders.
Maybe then those who are on the fence will choose to protect themselves in the manner recommended by veteran riders.

I have yet to read an article by a respected two-wheel source who advocates riding in a bright T-shirt and sneakers on a bike or scooter, no matter the temperature.

Stig

[Forbes1964]

I agree with troutbum that no one has the right to tell another how to ride.

But we can tell what happens to the body in bike accidents.

We can also mention how important we personally feel it is to protect ourselves with the riding gear which is recommended by so many veteran & experienced riders.
Maybe then those who are on the fence will choose to protect themselves in the manner recommended by veteran riders.

I have yet to read an article by a respected two-wheel source who advocates riding in a bright T-shirt and sneakers on a bike or scooter, no matter the temperature.

Stig

Exactly. And we can let them know that in states like Florida where they went from mandatory helmet  to optional helmets, that the death and SERIOUS head rate increased substantially when the law was relaxed.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Forbes1964]

I think Florida requires a non helmet wearer to carry $10,000 insurance, but I've found out that it's woefully inadequate. Thankfully I have Heath insurance through my job. And even though they are trying to wiggle out of as much a as they can, and my out of pocket expenses will be very significant by the time the dust settles, they will still pay the greatest part of the over $180,000 in expenses. And that's WITHOUT a head injury or any other significant injuries other than my leg.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[imaginetheory]

I never ride without gear, I get laughed at for it but when you've had one of your friends die in your arms because he wouldn't wear gear and he went down at 90mph, You'll never go without it. The ambulance crews even said he would have survived if he was wearing a basic jacket + trousers.

My gear has saved my rear end twice. Once when I slid off on some black ice last year (walked away with bruises) and when I got rear ended by a driver using her mobile phone and ended up underneath her car, I hobbled out of Hospital the same day with damaged menisci in the left knee with some severe bruising to the rear of the left knee too, no other injuries. Would of been alot worse if I hadn't worn my gear.

As my motorcycle instructor told us on our basic training - Strap up some gear or be bagged up.

[Forbes1964]

I never ride without gear, I get laughed at for it but when you've had one of your friends die in your arms because he wouldn't wear gear and he went down at 90mph, You'll never go without it. The ambulance crews even said he would have survived if he was wearing a basic jacket + trousers.

My gear has saved my rear end twice. Once when I slid off on some black ice last year (walked away with bruises) and when I got rear ended by a driver using her mobile phone and ended up underneath her car, I hobbled out of Hospital the same day with damaged menisci in the left knee with some severe bruising to the rear of the left knee too, no other injuries. Would of been alot worse if I hadn't worn my gear.

As my motorcycle instructor told us on our basic training - Strap up some gear or be bagged up.

My co workers and my manager--- all younger than I am--- laughed at me for my jacket and full faced helmet for riding a scooter. I may have mentioned this before. But the last conversation my 36 year old manager had with me on the day BEFORE my accident was him teasing me in front of the general manager and sales people about my looking funny. I remember mentioning to him that I regularly traveled at highway speeds, and if I took a spill at 50-60 mph, my body would not know if I had fallen off of a scooter or a Harley. When we spoke after the accident, he told me that he was soooo glad that I had paid him zero attention because he could not have lived with himself if I had been hurt worse or had died because of bowing to his teasing.