Safety Apparel
 

Something to think about, more like a reminder to wear apparel at all times and for the members in the states that don't have to wear helmets....

How to Avoid Skinning Yourself Alive - Brittany Morrow on Vimeo

I was sent an email about a week ago that had 3 videos about motorcycle safety and saftey gear from the Navy Saftey Center and all 3 combined didnt speak to me the way this done did. Thanks for sharing, I think I will have to forward this link to them.

There is nothing more ponderous than how when the state doesnt mandate it people take it as the right thing to do. I freak our every time I travel to NH and see all the states along the way with gearless riders.

When I grew up riding., learning.. it was around racers and other sport bike riders of the 80's and on.

Those people i saw, learned from, then later rode with wore helmets, jacket, gloves... every time they got on the bike. I "knew" cruisers, the Harley crowed and others often did not wear gear,, but it never really occurred to me not to, as all my friends and mentors did.

How you came to the motorcycle life, who you watched, learned from grew up around has a lot IMHO to how you view and approach wearing gear.

Just my observations based on many riders I've had close contact with over the last 10 years in the Military and civilians as well.

People who ride without protective gear (notably helmets) are merely proving to everyone that they have nothing (ie. brains) to protect, call it practical Darwinism. It's akin to playing Russian Roulette, albeit with better odds and a less certain outcome. Having the right to do something does not oblige one to do it. There is no law (that I know of anyhow) against drinking gasoline and yet I have no ambition to do it.....

I was in PA for a year in 2009 and was shocked by helmetless riders there. I was born and lived there till 1984, I was riding when the original helmet law was passed. It didn't matter to me and my friends cause we already wore them. I hadn't realized PA had dropped the requirement but I can assure you all of my friends who like me are all ex racers still wear theirs.

This young ladies video should be forwarded to anyone you know that thinks otherwise.

Id ask you to consider... why people smoke cigarettes.. drive drunk, Smoke Meth, or do any number of other things commonly understood to be a bad idea. ....

Many times it is the culture that surrounds them,, the upbringing, peers.

You are a product of your environment, yes people evolve beyond that environment but it takes a life altering experience most times.

My point is.. I have found, many times.... they really just do not know better... it's what they were taught.. what they saw others do, and they have no or limited experience to show them why it's not a good idea.

People often adopt bad or dangerous behaviours initially due to lack of information. However, at some point, your intelligence and common sense should kick in and steer you clear of such ill-founded habits. Granted in the case of addictive substances like cigarettes, this is more difficult due to the physical complications of dependency. However, in the case of riding without proper gear, continuing the practice when the dangers of doing so are evident to anyone whose mental age exceeds 10 is, in my view, inexcusable. Sorry, just my point of view. If one is not able to change this type of behaviour in the face of insurmountable and painfully obvious evidence, he/she is either mentally deficient or of such weak character that image outweighs self-preservation. Either instance is a recipe for disaster....

I agree mostly.. I think where your still off a bit is in your assumption that all "mentally deficient or of such weak character " have either the same experiences, available information you do, or you THINK they have seen, read, learned.

I agree, IF a person has the available information and STILL chooses to ride in shorts, flip flops and a T shirt (sorry, forgot the bandanna) ... Then yes, mental midget characterization apply s :)

Considering we don't live in the Third World and the vast majority of kids in North America have grown up around bicycles, I think it's safe to assume most have had spills and likely skinned their elbows, knees,.... Making it more universal yet, how many people have never tripped up while running (or walking for that matter) and had bruises as a result. This, to me, is all the info you need. Anyone not able to extrapolate from the above to riding a motorcycle without protection is either a dunse or a poser.

In the case of more complex and less evident situations where the harm doen is more discreet or invisible, a case can be made for being not being aware. However, in light of the example above, there simply is no excuse.

Now, I don't wish the kind of hurt or injuries suffered by the young lady in the video on anyone. However, some people seem destined to end up there for the reasons given above.

cheers

I just had to ask one guy I knew who got an R6 what he was thinking when he pulled up with shorts and flip flops (in NYC). His response.......I dont plan to crash.

So yes, it hurts my feelings too and yes I sternly berated him.

I suppose you folks always wear condoms too?!

Using that logic, I have to wonder how many people set off in the morning thinking, "You know, today would be a great, no, no, make that a FANTASTIC, day to crash".....

too busy juggling running chainsaws to think about it.......

:shock: how are you...where does she...:shock:

:) That took an interesting turn...

Weird is more like it!

I'll get the train back on track.. :D

I wouldn't think of riding w/out gear & all of it. In fact my wife has learned to tolerate my borderline addiction to getting better protected.

Thanks for the share, I posted it on a local riders page. Hope it can make some people realize the risks they take.

My personal favorite oxymoron as it applies to safety gear on a motorcycle:

"Never give advice;
The wise don't need it,
and fools won't heed it."

-Benjamin Franklin

I may have to use that one :)

thanks!

Nope, not for the last 23 years.

And yes, even though I take a chance having unprotected sex with my wife of more then 23 years... I would not be ignorant enough to ride without gear, each and every time I ride, dirt, street or track.

To each his own... if someone wants to ride in a t shirt,, have at it.. just not with me or anyone I ride with. And expect NO offer of feelings or assistance when your in for your third skin graph, nor tears at your funeral.

If you care not for yourself, I care less then that about you.

(NOTE: "you, your, yourself" as used here is not directed at any person in this conversation)

we have another winner.... I like it!

FWIW, I am not uncaring (the exact opposite is true), I just have no patience for stupidity.....

To a fault, im the same way..

But things like riding without gear, and then wanting me to care when you have roadrash over 40% and your left foot is missing... Nope, don't care.

Smoke 2 packs a day for 10 years.....not going to get a lot of sympathy from me if your still smoking the day you get your diagnosis of stage III lung cancer.

Hey,
you make a good point. I never drink or smoke. I think those of you that do are idiotic and have piss for brains. I can't imagine how you could be so dumb, but I admire your efforts in setting new records...

Oh, sorry, I will get off my righteous soap box.

I'll chime in on this one... I can't agree more with Mikstr. E.Marquez makes good points as well.

I look it as removing undesireables from the gene pool. Some people just don't want to listen, and nothing we say is going to change that.

I've got more money invested into bike gear than I do in clothing... most of my closet is leathers.

2 piece leathers
one piece
6 pairs of gloves
4 helmets (5 if I count my dirtbike lid)
3 pairs of boots
2 jackets
The list goes on... I'm sure most of you are the same.

I always ride is gear. When sport riding full leathers with race boot and gloves and back protector. Of course a Snell approved helmet. When i commute to work i settle for textile jacket and pants over street clothes and same gloves and helmet leaving the knee pucks and back protector at home.

I do a lot of group riding and the minimum gear required for someone i will ride with is at least a jacket, boots, gloves, helmet (required in TN thank goodness) and jean pant. I am not riding with the group or you if you are not dressed at least that well because i don't care to be the one scraping you up off the asphalt when you rip your self to pieces. If someone shows up un-prepared and the group is okay with, i just find somewhere else to ride for the day.

+1 Funny... similar list except I have 4 jackets and a full off road Thor/Alpinestars gear as well. My wife just complained recently that it takes too much closet space... well, how about all your shoes... that was not excepted well... had to move my gear to a temp rack for now :(

for the first 10 years i rode, none of us wore any protective gear, often rode impaired, raced a lot, did crazy shit and some of us fell off yearly. 3 killed and 1 lost use of arm and 1 amputated leg out of hundreds of riders in our area, none of which would have been prevented by wearing gear. Who knows why?

you could die wearing all your gear or live forever wearing street clothes, but at least it feels better with the gear on in terms of probabilities....to each his own.

The last time I wrecked I was wearing Doc Martins, Fox dirtbike gloves, Levis and my short sleeve work shirt. I took a left at an intersection and the front end washed out from some sand that was at the apex. I punched the ground with my left hand and tore my glove and skin on my pinky nuckle down to the bone and rashed my forearm . That was my wake-up call to suit up.

Yes I always use the helmet because my uncle who was riding the bike and he got and accident in which he was hit badly on his head and after few days in hospital he died. guys I am talking about 2005. but after that incident I always wear the helmet when I go for ride. Good thread.

ATGATT vs Stay’in Alive
 

There is more to surviving on the street (racing is a whole other if similar matter) than wearing gear. Personally I wear all the gear all the time (ATGATT). I really learned to ride on the streets of San Francisco (and Sausalito) as a motorcycle messenger in the early 70’s, and from the start I wore a full face helmet (a Shoei S-20, their first 2-piece structure full face imported into the USA I believe), decent motorcycle gloves, a heavy leather “bomber jacket” and steel-toed “engineer boots” but there were not a lot of gear choices then. Bell started it in modern times with their Star, and Bates was down in Long Beach I believe (now Lakewood); there were very few others in the US and many in Europe who made full leathers, etc..

It just made sense to me to wear gear but I did not have any history with others that really influenced me in this regard. When I started racing it was mandatory even though the tracks were treacherous and not designed for motorcycle safety. If you survived the first 6 months you got cocky because you had many of the skills but not the experience nor developed the 6th sense required to know when some Cager or the road was going to try to kill you; and the next 8 months were the most dangerous.

One of my best friends, now about 67, is a Hog rider and never wears a helmet unless he has to by law. He also only wears a leather jacket, gloves and sometimes chaps if the weather demands it. His attitude is that he’d rather die than be a cripple. I try to tell him there is an in between and it’s not that black and white. He is a great and usually safe rider and has slowed down a bit knowing age dulls the senses. With him it is a bit of a macho thing to an extent, and recently after he said he lived by the “ride hard, die fast” credo, I had trouble trying to explain to him Hunter S. Thompson’s famous quote “It’s better to be shot out of a cannon than to be squeezed out of a tube”. My friend is also the luckiest man in the world. If I took the chances he has and failed to maintain his motorcycles as he does (not), I would have been dead 10 times over.

But being a safe rider is more than gear, it’s a mindset reinforced with a practiced skill set, willingness to continue learning, much experience and as a said above, a 6th sense for danger.

BTW Thumper, studies have indicated that a DOT helmet may actually transfer less g’s (energy) that a Snell helmet, and thus for the majority of incidents be safer.

I had a crash in 1987 that changed my life. I was wearing a helmet and my prized leather jacket. The KZ750 I was riding hit gravel in a left hand curve. I went off the road, high side. I hit a road sign and a telephone pole. My helmet was torn from my head, the back broken open like an egg, chin strap still fastened. I woke up on my back not really knowing where I was, what day it was or my name. The paramedics cut my beautiful and prized leather jacket from me because my right arm was shattered and bent like my wrist 5" from my elbow and the bone was sticking out, amazing how white bone is! I suffered neck and head injuries and it took me weeks to walk again and I am covered with scars. That helmet saved my life. I NEVER ride without proper gear and I demand my passenger do the same. My brother rides without gear even though he saw what happened to me and nothing I say gets through to him. It's his, "freedom". My, "ride hard, die fast", is tongue in cheek because I lived through it.

If u would not have crashed per below, what would u now be wearing?

I'm pretty sure EVEN with atg u WOULD NOT STILL have been seriously broken!

Again, what I said

U don't ride any different if u have atg

And if u don't crash u don't need it

And if your not there, they can't can't kill u

And the road is included in "they"

And better riders don't crash, or rarely

I must be simple, what the hell are you saying?

I highlighted my prior post that hopefully you'll reread it and understand

Good on her for trying to send the right message. She shouldn't forget the leg protection. I wear boots with shin armor, as well as knee/shinguards, AND hip and lower back protection under my pants. Pants/jeans alone will do precisely squat for you if you go down.

With regards to helmet laws I always believed things like speeding were illegal because you're more likely to get someone else hurt. And yes I understand the cost of messing yourself up and the effect it has on insurance costs, etc, etc. I talked with my brother and said "well you're not hurting anyone else by not wearing a helmet." I personally won't ride without full gear but I'm all for people having freedom when it's their life. Then he asked what happens when a stone or piece of debris hits them in the head or face and they cause a five car pileup? Nuff said...you shouldn't be able to ride without one. And I see guys here in Florida all the time-no helmet, shorts, flip flops, talking on a CELL PHONE riding down the road on their CBRGSXR1000 whatever. Makes us all look like tools...

And whenever I talk to someone interested in buying a bike I always get on my soapbox and tell them to put a few bucks aside for good gear. There's no excuse because most of what I've bought I've done a little homework and bought nice clean lightly used stuff for a real good price. Feels damn good to be prepared when it hits the fan.

I am simple, I missed the original post. In those days I was reckless, I didn't know what I do now. The suspension on those bikes was worthless and it was my first Japanese bike. My Triumph was completely different from that KZ. As they say, young, dumb and full of cum.

Recently picked up a new Bell Helmet and Teknic leather jacket. I always feel better knowing I've got something solid between me and the pavement. I know it can get hot and sweaty but the unfortunate alternative is much more uncomfortable...

Cannot agree more, I'm glad some people learning from other people experience, unlike me... had to learn the hard way :banghead:

Here is something for all the cagers