It's mostly personal choice and often without logic... :-)
- Thread starter DirtFlier
- Start date
OP
OP
I often told students in the MSF course "If you crash, you'll have no choice in where you fall." We don't get to pick where we'll come in contact with the ground and too often there are "hard barriers" that do bad things to the human body and cranium.
One student was a bicycle policeman in a nearby town and was required to wear a bicycle helmet while working but refused to wear a motorcycle when riding his Milwaukee iron. His strange rationale was "I want to die when I crash," but I told him few riders actually die as a result of the crash and the vast majority are messed up for a long time, perhaps forever.
As we get into colder weather in OH, those who refuse helmets try all sorts of feeble head coverings to try and stave off the biting cold. Most are made of softer material and work great while shoveling snow but do little to help as your head skids towards a concrete curb or steel sign post.
One student was a bicycle policeman in a nearby town and was required to wear a bicycle helmet while working but refused to wear a motorcycle when riding his Milwaukee iron. His strange rationale was "I want to die when I crash," but I told him few riders actually die as a result of the crash and the vast majority are messed up for a long time, perhaps forever.
As we get into colder weather in OH, those who refuse helmets try all sorts of feeble head coverings to try and stave off the biting cold. Most are made of softer material and work great while shoveling snow but do little to help as your head skids towards a concrete curb or steel sign post.
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- Joined
- Mar 13, 2020
- Messages
- 32
- Age
- 60
- Bike
- 1997 Yamaha Seca II
Years ago, I was leaving a computer job heading home, it was cold and dark in the evening. Their subdivision had recently paved their roads, several inches of asphalt and no lines marking the middle or sides yet. Since it was dark and the road was unmarked, plus I was riding an old '75 Kawasaki KZ400d with a dim headlight, I was too close to the edge and my rear tire slipped and went off. Tried to get it back up on the road but ended up sliding down into a steep gully/concrete culvert instead. I woke up at the bottom, my full face helmet had a nice scrape/gash all along the side of it. My insulated overpants were also destroyed. My bike was still running but it was too steep to ride it out of the gully. I ended up walking back to the client's house, the guy got his jeep & a trailer, helped me pull it out and then put it on the trailer and hauled me and the bike home.
After that I always made it a point to wear my full face helmet before riding anywhere.
After that I always made it a point to wear my full face helmet before riding anywhere.
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The only crash I've had was up in the mountains one night when I end-oed my 1st Concours. The bike hit a mailbox mounted on a cut-off telephone pole and the front 2/3s was destroyed. My 2-wk old helmet was deeply gouged on all four sides and the top. I was unconscious for a few minutes and didn't move until the ambulance got to me. My 'Stitch was intact. When I got to the hospital, I was x-rayed for ribs, knee, and hand. The ribs hurt for about 6 weeks, but I made a complete recovery. I am convinced I would have been dead without the helmet. ATGATT!
"In 2019, motorcyclists were nearly 29 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash per vehicle miles traveled. "
The lesser facts are harder to weed out. Like what are your odds of dying in a wreck if you are on a bike? 14% ? Are all wrecks reported?
Do you have a helmet and have not been drinking? What time of day? Dense urban riding or light rural?
Here are some interesting facts...like deaths by time of day...someone driving/riding impared...helmet use, etc that are kind of interesting.
A Helmet gives you a 37 percent edge in surviving an accident.
en.wikipedia.org
There are lots of law firms that advertise statistics of motorcycle wrecks, evidently.
The lesser facts are harder to weed out. Like what are your odds of dying in a wreck if you are on a bike? 14% ? Are all wrecks reported?
Do you have a helmet and have not been drinking? What time of day? Dense urban riding or light rural?
Here are some interesting facts...like deaths by time of day...someone driving/riding impared...helmet use, etc that are kind of interesting.
A Helmet gives you a 37 percent edge in surviving an accident.
Motorcycle fatality rate in U.S. by year - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
There are lots of law firms that advertise statistics of motorcycle wrecks, evidently.
I knew a guy who called his wife TOWMBO (The one who must be obeyed)
OP
OP
The Dayton (25 miles from me) paper often reports motorcycle accidents but rarely do they state if the rider was wearing a helmet. Sometimes when there is a fatal car accident they may report the deceased was not wearing his/her safety belt. And as is usually the case, fatalities in car accidents are usually the result of being unbelted.
A good pal was injured in a car vs ST1100 accident while at a club event in NC. He and several others were going straight at an minor cross street and a young driver on her first week of driving solo, decided to turn left at the last second. The ST's front wheel struck the right front of the car and he flew over it landing some distance away. When the EMTs came to check him, he kept insisting they NOT cut his Aerostich one-piece because it had zippers for complete open access. At the hospital he was checked and found to only have minor abrasions but no broken bones. The ER doctor was so impressed that she demanded to see the magical riding suit that prevented serious injuries! 4-5 hrs later, he walked into the Saturday night dinner to a round of applause.
Once home, he sent off his well-scuffed 'Stich to Duluth and they replaced panels over one shoulder and lower leg. His helmet and gloves had to be chucked but he's still wearing the 'stich today! ATGATT.
A good pal was injured in a car vs ST1100 accident while at a club event in NC. He and several others were going straight at an minor cross street and a young driver on her first week of driving solo, decided to turn left at the last second. The ST's front wheel struck the right front of the car and he flew over it landing some distance away. When the EMTs came to check him, he kept insisting they NOT cut his Aerostich one-piece because it had zippers for complete open access. At the hospital he was checked and found to only have minor abrasions but no broken bones. The ER doctor was so impressed that she demanded to see the magical riding suit that prevented serious injuries! 4-5 hrs later, he walked into the Saturday night dinner to a round of applause.
Once home, he sent off his well-scuffed 'Stich to Duluth and they replaced panels over one shoulder and lower leg. His helmet and gloves had to be chucked but he's still wearing the 'stich today! ATGATT.
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Bear
2
Been lucky so far with the motorcycle--no crashes yet. I have had three bad crashes with bicycles and have had to replace three helmets. The crashes were of the over the handlebars type. I wouldn't think of riding anything without a helmet.
A good pal was injured in a car vs ST1100 accident while at a club event in NC. He and several others were going straight at an minor cross street and a young driver on her first week of driving solo, decided to turn left at the last second. The ST's front wheel struck the right front of the car and he flew over it landing some distance away. When the EMTs came to check him, he kept insisting they NOT cut his Aerostich one-piece because it had zippers for complete open access. At the hospital he was checked and found to only have minor abrasions but no broken bones. The ER doctor was so impressed that she demanded to see the magical riding suit that prevented serious injuries! 4-5 hrs later, he walked into the Saturday night dinner to a round of applause.
Once home, he sent off his well-scuffed 'Stich to Duluth and they replaced panels over one shoulder and lower leg. His helmet and gloves had to be chucked but he's still wearing the 'stich today! ATGATT.
When I posted about my helmet saving my life I didn't mention my 'Stitch and its performance. When I was placed in the ambulance, the EMT grabbed the top zipper and, even though I was telling him that wasn't what he needed to do, he reached for his scissors, even though I was shouting at him not to cut the suit, and proceeded to cut the zipper at my ankle. Other than a huge bruise on my butt, and one piece of sand that was ground into the skin of my wrist, I had no marks on my body. There were about 4 stitches that needed to be replaced on the outer edge of the right shoulder ballistics and, of course, the zipper. My Elkskin ropers were fine. ATGATT!!
Seatbelts that are worn in a crash should be tossed. They can look fine, but they have done their job and it is time for a new one. Most protective gear is single use...
Prior to 2014, wearing armored riding over pants were not in my regular routine. Only a set of cold weather riding pants for the cold mornings.
In July of 2014, I lost traction during a slow speed right turn in my neighborhood. I still blame the OEM Metzler Z8 tires that were on my bike when new. I would regularly lose traction while in turns with those tires. After changing out the tires that problem went away immediately. My bike got scraped up more than I did. All I had was a deep red “Raspberry” on my knee.
Shortly after that experience, I bought my first pair of armored mesh riding over pants. I have never turned back.
ATGATT!!!
In July of 2014, I lost traction during a slow speed right turn in my neighborhood. I still blame the OEM Metzler Z8 tires that were on my bike when new. I would regularly lose traction while in turns with those tires. After changing out the tires that problem went away immediately. My bike got scraped up more than I did. All I had was a deep red “Raspberry” on my knee.
Shortly after that experience, I bought my first pair of armored mesh riding over pants. I have never turned back.
ATGATT!!!
RedNigel
0
Once my wife was out of town so I decided to ride to the ice cream parlor. I said to myself, "Im going to be a rebel and not wear a helmet"
All the way to the ice cream shop all I could do was go OMG!, OMG! I'm not wearing a helmet!!!
I cannot even begin to imagine my face grinding into the tarmac
All the way to the ice cream shop all I could do was go OMG!, OMG! I'm not wearing a helmet!!!
I cannot even begin to imagine my face grinding into the tarmac
You're lucky nuthin' happened! If you had gotten into an accident without a helmet and killed yourself, your wife would've never spoken to you again!!
Mike
What's the down side????
Harley Riders from Idaho to Wisconsin by and large do not wear helmets and wear jeans or those odd chaps, the cod piece of the 21st century. They will swear that loud pipes save lives and helmets are dangerous. They wear black leather as they think people will notice them more and be afraid of them and stay away. They ride all bunched up so they look tougher. I don't think they get flu shots every year, either. They are a government plot to make money for big pharma.
OP
OP
"....They will swear that loud pipes save lives and helmets are dangerous. They wear black leather as they think people will notice them more and be afraid of them and stay away. They ride all bunched up so they look tougher..."
It all seems pretty silly to me. There is a lot to be said about individual thought vs herd mentality. I wonder if any of them have ever asked their insurance agent for a discount because of their loud pipes?
Many years ago, I was riding to an event and I was on a rural road. Up ahead I saw a gaggle of the loud pipers with many of them pulled over and in the road was a tangle of 2-3 bikes on the blacktop. It was a straight & level road with the sun shining so what happened? When I got to the event, I yakked with friends about what I saw and wondered what caused it. One friend guessed that the handlebar tassles between two bikes got tangled and down they went!
It all seems pretty silly to me. There is a lot to be said about individual thought vs herd mentality. I wonder if any of them have ever asked their insurance agent for a discount because of their loud pipes?
Many years ago, I was riding to an event and I was on a rural road. Up ahead I saw a gaggle of the loud pipers with many of them pulled over and in the road was a tangle of 2-3 bikes on the blacktop. It was a straight & level road with the sun shining so what happened? When I got to the event, I yakked with friends about what I saw and wondered what caused it. One friend guessed that the handlebar tassles between two bikes got tangled and down they went!
