# Three weeks, 500 miles, already almost killed once **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 24, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069 "2008-09-24T21:53:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/21 "2008-09-26T19:31:58Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Sorry, but that picture loses you all of your American cred - nobody in America rides with a helmet. 🙂 > > (At least, it looks that way every time we go to visit.) Colorado doesn’t require helmets but I’ll be damned if I go without. I have young children and they don’t need a father with tapioca where his brains used to be. I may get a [half helmet](http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/half-helmet/) (aka: “Skid Lid”) one day but, frankly, ~75% of accidents aren’t protected by that type of helmet. A full face helmet does leave you with an intact jawbone to chew the hospital food with. Image counts a lot with motorcycles, but I need more experience riding before I put image ahead of safety. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/22 "2008-09-26T19:34:22Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > **Bosstone** , I think we have the same taste in riding jackets. Coretech?. I wanted the blue Vulcan but I had to take a floor model to get the clearance discount and they only had a red one left. #2 choice - liked it better than the all-black bike. Motoboss. I think I may wind up getting a leather jacket, though. Less air flow, but the mesh is getting to be uncomfortable. I got lucky with the blue bike; when I went to the dealership, all they had were black and red, too. The blue bike was tagged as Sold. I went back to the house to do some research, returned to the dealership, and the Sold tag had been taken off, so I snapped it up. As for the MSF course, I totally empathize about suddenly forgetting what you’d just learned. I was taking evening courses, and although I’d been doing splendidly one night, towards the end of the class my mind just fell out, my hand locked down on the throttle, and I nearly crashed into a wall before I figured out the clutch. It was very much due to tiredness, and I made sure I was rested for the rest of the sessions. > [@featherlou](#): > > Sorry, but that picture loses you all of your American cred - nobody in America rides with a helmet. > > (At least, it looks that way every time we go to visit.) Don’t I know it. I keep an eye on every motorcycle I see, and maybe 1 in 50 cruiser riders wear a helmet. More than half of the sportsbike riders wear one, but then they don’t wear any other padding, so it’s really funny to see this giant helmet on top of a skinny-ass kid in a T-shirt and shorts. I feel self-conscious sometimes when I see another cruiser rider without padding, but it’s fleeting, because I know I’m either less experienced or smarter than they are (or both). Leather would help with that self-image, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/23 "2008-09-26T19:35:21Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > \ > I may get a [half helmet](http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/half-helmet/) (aka: “Skid Lid”) one day but, frankly, ~75% of accidents aren’t protected by that type of helmet. A full face helmet does leave you with an intact jawbon to chew the hospital food with.\ Ah yes, the “brain bucket.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/24 "2008-09-26T19:36:20Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Does anybody know how many states DON’T have helmet laws? [Here’s a table.](http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/PrintLaws.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/25 "2008-09-26T19:37:00Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Does anybody know how many states DON’T have helmet laws? > > Not that I would even joke about riding my bike without one, but I recognize that some folks, inexplicably to me, are very anti-helmet. It’s mostly the interior states that have lax helmet laws. [Here’s a chart.](http://www.usff.com/hldl/frames/50state.html) The site is very anti-helmet, but they do quote statutes. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/26 "2008-09-26T19:41:43Z")
I had a lot of fun at the MSF class. I don’t think I’ve ever taken a class that was so smooth and effectively covered so much in relatively little time. Top notch, at least the Albemarle County, VA one was. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/27 "2008-09-26T19:42:17Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > Best I can offer is: > a) get the wife’s approval 1. Get a wife 2. ??? 3. Profit! err.. motorcycle riding. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/28 "2008-09-26T19:45:16Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > 1. Get a wife > 2. ??? > 3. Profit! err.. motorcycle riding. Sounds like all you gotta do is work on the rationalizing, then. 😃 ETA: Just think of how many women will be attracted to the cycle. They’re like puppies! (the bike, not the women…) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/29 "2008-09-26T21:03:31Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > PS: Don’t tell my mom about the Magnum. She thinks all motorcycles are death machines. ‘What are you doing on a motorcycle? Them things is damnable! Damnable!’ – From [_Knightriders_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082622/) ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/30 "2008-09-26T21:22:06Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Ah yes, the “brain bucket.” 🙂 Not exactly… Skid Lid is actually the specific type of helmet, while Brain Bucket is slang for any type of helmet. > [@Belrix](#): > > ETA: Just think of how many women will be attracted to the cycle. They’re like puppies! (the bike, not the women…) Although, to be fair, sometimes the women\* are\* like puppies, especially once you get them on the back. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/31 "2008-09-26T21:36:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘What are you doing on a motorcycle? Them things is damnable! Damnable!’ – From [_Knightriders_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082622/) Heh - had to put this on my Netflix list. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/32 "2008-09-26T22:15:02Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > Heh - had to put this on my Netflix list. Not what I was expecting from a Romero film. (I went to the L.A. premier and saw Romero.) A bit dated now, but I still like it. Did you notice King Billy rides a [CBX](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CBX)? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/33 "2008-09-26T22:39:50Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Relax, stay alert, and assume you’re invisible. IN-VIS-IBLE! You’d better go one better than that: Ride as if to assume they are **trying** to run you over. Sometimes I check to see if I have a sign on me that says, “$1,000.00 if you can knock me off my bike!” I have thousands of dollars of customization on a bike that I would never recover in the event that it was totalled, as the insurance company will only pay the bike off. If someone hits me, they’d better kill me. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/34 "2008-09-26T22:51:42Z")
I just hit 5100 miles on my Suzuki since May. I’ve saved $2100 or so in gas alone. I agree with the previous poster - I ride as though all the other drivers are actively trying to kill me. I haven’t had any super close calls just one person changing lanes that I saw early on and was able to avoid. Full face is the way to go. I just picked up a Nolan N102 helmet and it is really comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069/35 "2008-09-26T22:56:12Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > I just hit 5100 miles on my Suzuki since May. I’ve saved $2100 or so in gas alone. I agree with the previous poster - I ride as though all the other drivers are actively trying to kill me. I haven’t had any super close calls just one person changing lanes that I saw early on and was able to avoid. I’ve begun getting very nervous if I’m riding side by side with a car in the next lane over, even if I’m in a car myself. Speed up, slow down, or change lanes to give yourself a proper space cushion, and you’ll likely never be blindsided by someone who didn’t check before cutting you off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-weeks-500-miles-already-almost-killed-once/465069.md?page=1)