Do you ride?

Ride, yes...motorcycle, no.

Love zipping around the woods. I don't have much time to ride these days. But the quad still gets a lot of use moving firewood and whatever else I can put in the trailer.

I am 53 and have owned at least 1 MC at all times since the age of 12. Took 3 yrs off when my Daughter was born but could not stand not riding. I have over 300K Miles that I can verify and more on Bikes sold years ago. I still like to go fast but you need to temper where to do it. In march I was pulled over for going 96 on a quiet Highway, When the Cop saw my age and Gray Beard he laughed and told me to slow down. I may regret saying this but just like Skiing the more you ride the safer it becomes. Of course you cant eliminate all risk but with time you begin to know the situations that could get you into trouble and try to avoid them.

Here's a question for riders; what is the attraction to riding without a helmet? This would appear especially true with road biking over dirt biking / motor cross. Is it a vanity thing?

The chief of the Fire Department a few towns over got in an accident last week without a helmet. He's been in an induced coma ever since. He wasn't wearing a helmet. You would think that someone with his experience he probably has scraped dead helmetless bodies off the road before in his line of work and would be inclined to wear one.

His accident involved a car not seeing him. There were 4 deaths during bike week last week due to the same scenario. It seems no matter how safe a rider is, the danger of a car pulling out in front of them is perhaps the single greatest risk.

deadheadskier said:

Here's a question for riders; what is the attraction to riding without a helmet? This would appear especially true with road biking over dirt biking / motor cross. Is it a vanity thing?

The chief of the Fire Department a few towns over got in an accident last week without a helmet. He's been in an induced coma ever since. He wasn't wearing a helmet. You would think that someone with his experience he probably has scraped dead helmetless bodies off the road before in his line of work and would be inclined to wear one.

His accident involved a car not seeing him. There were 4 deaths during bike week last week due to the same scenario. It seems no matter how safe a rider is, the danger of a car pulling out in front of them is perhaps the single greatest risk.

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One of the guys who died up at bike week was a well known real estate agent from my town. Really sad.

I know some guys who ride helmetless say they don't like the confined feeling of the helmet, or the reduced visibility.

bvibert said:

I know some guys who ride helmetless say they don't like the confined feeling of the helmet, or the reduced visibility.

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sounds like a skier's argument. :lol:

The thing is though, you never see footage of dirt bike riders without helmets. I don't obviously see many dirt bike riders in person as I don't participate, so I only have pictures to go off of and the knowledge that everyone I know who does trail ride wears not only helmets, but usually body armor as well religiously. Outside of catching crazy air, it would appear that trail riding is safer than road riding, but maybe I'm wrong. Dirt being softer than concrete, speeds usually a bit lower, no cars to deal with etc.

deadheadskier said:

Here's a question for riders; what is the attraction to riding without a helmet? This would appear especially true with road biking over dirt biking / motor cross. Is it a vanity thing?

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I'm not attracted to riding without a helmet. I never ride without a helmet or without all of the other gear (ATGATT - full-face helmet, gloves, boots, riding jacket and pants). The only exception is on really hot days like today I will swap out the riding pants for jeans. I've heard lots of excuses for not wearing helmets and reduced visibility and reduced hearing are two that make me laugh the most. However, I strongly believe that it should be a choice to wear one or not.

deadheadskier said:

Here's a question for riders; what is the attraction to riding without a helmet? This would appear especially true with road biking over dirt biking / motor cross. Is it a vanity thing?

Click to expand...

buellski said:

I'm not attracted to riding without a helmet. I never ride without a helmet or without all of the other gear (ATGATT - full-face helmet, gloves, boots, riding jacket and pants). The only exception is on really hot days like today I will swap out the riding pants for jeans. I've heard lots of excuses for not wearing helmets and reduced visibility and reduced hearing are two that make me laugh the most. However, I strongly believe that it should be a choice to wear one or not.

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I live in a state that requires helmets, so 90% of my riding it is a requirement. However when I ride to CT I have never wanted to tke my helmet off and ride without it. I wear all of my gear helmet/jacket/pants/gloves/boots at all times, regardless of temps, from the 20's-100+.

As far as why people say they dont want to wear a helmet....

Less visibility- I can just barely see my helmet when riding, and mostly only down in front of my face(all I would be looking at anyway is the tank and dash of my bike). I can just barely see the side of my helmet out of my side view, but only when not wearing my sunglasses. When I get home from some rides(usually the evening) my helmet is covered in dead bugs. I dont want all them hitting my face and distracting me. I do like riding with my shield up quite often, so I always wear sunglasses, and have a pair with a clear tint for nights. Last fall I got hit in the glasses by a stone so hard it broke the glasses. That could have been my eye.

Weight- Maybe this held true way back in the day with old helmets, but I dont notice the weight of my helmet on my head. And Im not even buying the crazy light carbon fiber helmets either(to much $$$). My helmets weigh 3.6lbs, 3.5lbs, and 3.6lbs. Compare that the mass of my head, and I doubt the % increase is all that much.

I will admit that when I go on vacation to the beach, I ride my moped all over the island with no helmet or gear. I never get over 20-25mph and all rides are less than 5 minutes.(For some reason in VA it is a legal requirement to wear a helmet on a motorcycle, but not a moped...)

Not a rider here, but my guess is that the vast majority of those who don't wear a helmet make that decision for image reasons. Of course, nobody wants to admit that, thus the weak excuses. I mean, who is going to admit that they are risking their life to look cool? Just plain stupid in my opinion. That said, I do believe people should have the choice.

Bump.

Got rid of my ninja for an r1200gs. I can actually ride it for over 45 minutes without my ass going numb which is a major plus. Only problem is that it's rained every single day the last 2 weeks and is impossible to predict if it will be a drizzle or torrential downpour.

I use to ride when I was in my late teens-early twenties. I gave it up when I had enough of idiots in cars and trucks that would wait until you got real close before they pulled out in front of you. Or deliberately run you off the road. I'd love to ride again if I lived in a more remote area of the country with less, and more sane traffic.

Now I ride a human powered road bike, ironically, that's probably more dangerous.