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I know that this is a topic that many don’t want to discuss! I believe that there is such a thing as “Over Kill” in safety but after years of riding , some common sense has to be used! I recently moved to Fla & you would not believe the # of people that I see riding with a helmet , eye protection , gloves , shorts & sneakers! I know that it is hot here but some common sense has to be used! If you protect your head only you’ll probably live to sit in your wheelchair & look at where your legs used to be! You can also watch the smart people riding by & wish it was you. Irish
P.S. Also the people driving cars drive as if they have blinders on!
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I agree 100%
A full-face helmet with shorts and flip-flops is lunacy. If the temperature and humidity are too much for you to bear, drive an air conditioned car.
I’d like to mention footwear. A motorcyclist is best served by sturdy boots that cover the ankles. I want to scream when I see people riding with low-cut sneakers.
As a rider, I use a full face helmet, 600 denier textile jacket and pants, both with CE padding , gloves and 8 inch high boots. Any equipment that exposes skin can present a problem if you happen to go down. Road rash is like a 3rd degree burn, and from what I hear is very painful. Leather, from what I understand, is the best protection, as it provides the best abrasion protection. What I’ve learned from my 12 or so years of street riding is that the equipment between your ears is the best thing you can have for safety gear. We all go down at some point (I’ve dropped my bikes at low speed, and avoided some accidents), and knowing how to prevent it or mitigate the damage to yourself is most important. An MSF course will go a long way towards saving your butt in a sticky situation.
Its also really a pain cleaning melted sneakers off of those chrome pipes. Ever since I had a wasp fly in to my full-face helmet at Freeway speeds I’ve preferred an open face , plus I’m a little claustrophobic.
I always assume that everyone in a car is going to do something stupid at anytime and even on full alert there’s no guarantee you won’t get hit or go down trying to avoid some idiot “who didn’t see the motorcycle”.
About 20 years ago a guy here was on a five lane highway entering town and someone pulled out in front of him. He laid it down and slid underneath the rear wheels of a fully loaded dump truck full of gravel. The guy was flattened like a June Bug from the waist up and died instantly of course.
The local PD, state troopers, and TV stations brought this incident up repeatedly over several months time as a “reminder to always wear a helmet”.
The person who pulled out in front of the biker was never charged and these clowns think a plastic helmet of even the finest quality and spec is going to make one bit of difference with 40k pounds of rock going over it……
No explanation of how a helmet would have protected his waist to neck area……[quote=”Evil-i” post=137403]I agree 100%
A full-face helmet with shorts and flip-flops is lunacy. If the temperature and humidity are too much for you to bear, drive an air conditioned car.
I’d like to mention footwear. A motorcyclist is best served by sturdy boots that cover the ankles. I want to scream when I see people riding with low-cut sneakers.[/quote]
Agreed!
I was taught to have a range of protection. For example, jeans under leather riding chaps but at least jeans. Leather riding boots or at least high-top tennis shoes. Leather jacket, yes even in the summer. Full face helmet and have your safety glasses available.
I guess my dad understood the importance of giving a young rider choices but he ALWAYS insisted on the minimum…and I respected him for it and still have followed his guidelines as an adult rider. I have modified slightly in recent years to add riding gloves.
I also wonder about the line of thinking sometimes in regards to motorcycle apparel. More than a couple of times I’ve seen some young guy wth shorts, sneakers, and a full face helmet on while astride some 170 MPH crotch rocket.
As if that’s not bad enough, it’s appalling to see some cute little gal hanging on behind him with nothing more than a tank top, shorts, flip-flops, and maybe no helmet at all.
They have no idea what kind of coarse grit sandpaper that asphalt can turn into when you’re sliding on it at 60 MPH.
When it comes to safety, the best protection is the proper attitude and mindset. A level-headed person riding without a helmet is far safer than a drooling lettuce-head with a full-face helmet and armored riding leathers.
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