I wonder how many people who complain that helmets are “too heavy, obscure my vision, obscure my hearing, and are too hot” get that impression because when they went to buy a helmet, they asked the guy at the local shop for the cheapest one he could find.
If you go spend 150 bucks on a helmet, you will get a heavier helmet with poor ventilation. Go try on an AGV X-Vent, or an Arai Quantum, or one of Shoei or Suomy’s top models. I wear one all the time here in Florida’s sun, and all I have to do is 1)open all the vents, and 2)pop up the faceshield when I stop at lights.
I have a question for those of you who don’t wear helmets because it is “safer” not to…since you are concerned about safety, is it ok to assume that you wear 1)full leathers, with armor and a back protector, 2)full fingered gloves with carbon/kevlar knuckles, and 3)full boots? Or do you cruise around in jeans and a short sleeve shirt and sandals? If you don’t wear full protective gear, what are the reasons that it is unsafe to?
I’ll admit that sometimes I’ll hop on it in shorts/tshirt/tennis shoes/helmet when I’m cruising around here at the beach, but usually I’m boots/jeans/leather jacket/helmet, if not 1piece leathers/boots/gloves/helmet.
I don’t have much to say about helmets, I personally wear one because being on a speeding bike surrounded by nothing but fast-moving scenery scares me, and helmets give me a little bit of security.
Bikers wear leather not because it looks cool but because it absorbs abraision very well. If you end up sliding across the road a pair of jeans is going to earn you some skin grafs, but leather will cost you another set of riding gear. You can pick.
As for ‘loud pipes save lives’, as much as I hate them I would have to agree. I’ve almost clipped motorcyclists in my car a few times just because they were in my blind spot and I didn’t know they were there. You can’t mistake a Harley half a mile away though.
have been riding motorcycles for forty years…stopped wearing a helmet the day they did away with the law years ago.
i ride to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the world around me, that is all part of the riding experience. i rarely ride over 45 mph and usually on country roads.
sure it is stupid to not wear a helmet and i have been lucky.
i have worked in construction, in factories, climbed trees done a thousand things i would be much safer doing wearing a helmet, including driving a car.
wearing a helmet, while riding a motorcycle, is like having sex with a sock on your pecker…why bother
to all those idiot bikers roaring by at eighty miles an hour weaving in and out of traffic, you don’t need a helmet you need a good ass kicking and hopefully someone will steal your cycle.
Like many of the other posters, I used to hang out with quite a few sport bike racers and have known multiple who have been in accidents. I have never heard anyone from either of these groups state “I sure am glad I was not wearing a helmet”. When you face a near death experience, you quickly become one of the converted.
Having riden cycles for around 20 years both with and without helmets, I can say that while at slow speeds it is more enjoyable to ride without a helmet I could not say that I would ever consider it safer. At speeds over 50mph in my experience it is just insane not to wear a helmet because the wind effects and road debris pose real safety issues that can cause accidents. Most of my road time has been on sport bikes, so this may be different if you have a full front shield.
I would also like to second Mirage’s comments on the use of leathers. Most of the regular cycle commuters I know here in California wear some form of reflective/protective shell when they are riding to/from work. Those who are serious wear leather with armor even during the summer. It is not about style–it is about survival.