Do you wear your gear?

[Wayne]

I saw this on another cycle group website. I thought it was really something to think about. Especially those of you who choose to not wear gear when riding.
I will fight for your right to choose to wear or not wear a helmet, but I also have the right to call you crazy if you choose not to.

WARNING: The picts on this site are graphic depictions of bike riders after accidents without gear.

http://www.washingtonriders.com/foru...ead.php?t=1739

I especially like what the author says at the end of the article...
"Sweat wipes off, road rash dosent"

[Artic_rider]

five years ago, when I was young, dumn, and full of cum, I decided I was going to become a paramedic. One of the first accidents I attended was guy who laid down a ninja at 170km/h (110 miles or so) I seriously think the guy had wished he hadn't worn his helmet, and died, because he was in shorts and a tee, and I still can remember his screams. Couple months later, went to another accident...pretty much same speeds involved. This guy was wearing Joe rockett gear, done up to the nine...and although the jacket and pants were messed up, his main injuries were from getting tossed off his ride. I could care less what people wear, but I guarentee you, anytime I head out on the bikes, I am in full leather riding gear. If it's too hot out...I get into the truck, turn on the AC, and take it to where ever I am going. I don't live with the attitude that it will never happen to me, cause it is only a matter of time till I lose my attention, or another driver losses their attention on me, and I dump it...just my $.02

[Tracker]

In 1981 I was hit by a cager that ran a stop sign. He clipped the rear of my RD400F Daytona as I passed through the intersection and spun me so hard that it threw me off and into on-coming traffic. I ended up with my helmet wedged under a pick-up truck! I get the shakes thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't put it on that day....... Wear your gear, arrive alive!

[Pat Kelly]

My reply to "isn't it too hot to wear all that?" is "you can't sweat if you have no skin"

[e.z.nightrider]

Wayne,

I couldn't agree more. The best argument for always wearing your gear was a hemet hanging up in my local shop's parts department, It had a 6" crack in it. It didn't take long to realize that it was the shop owners (I'd riden with him before.) We were finalising the deal on my XS750-2D years ago, but feeling I had talking to him while stairing at that helmet always comes back when I think about riding without it.

[Targetman]

My reply to "isn't it too hot to wear all that?" ,
"yes, but I imagine skin grafts are a tad more uncomfortable".

If you have a really bad accident, no safety gear is going to save you. It's all about minimizing the risks in the "statistically average" accident , because that's the accident you are most likely to have.

Hey, have any of you guys own a pair of those "draggin jeans"?
Are they bulky? how is the fit, do they fit like a pair of Levis?
I would like to wear something better than my regular jeans, but there's no way I wanna walk around in leather pants.

[GNEPIG]

.. i've had alot of get offs over the 23 years that i've been enjoying motorcycling more than i care to brag about, but what i remember the most is how i landed on my head just about every time i crashed.. i would not be sitting here if it was not for the good helmets that i was wearing.. i've also messed up a couple of pretty nice leather jackets too
.. i dont drink any more nor do i think that i'm matt maladin any more but i still believe in good gear
.. it would've been cool if some of my riding buddies that have died over the years would have had a similar point of view
..especially for the children and families that loved them

[Czekus21]

Wow!!!!

[kf4anm]

2 up

since i blew my wrist out i haven't been on my bike since march and probably won't be back on it until next march. so i have spent a lot of time in the truck watching everyone else. here in indiana there is no helment law except for minors. the other day i was at an intersection when a kid on a sport bike pulled up next to me. he was in long pants with gloves and a full face helment. he was riding 2 up with a young lady. she was so good looking you would have lined up to drink her bath water. she was wearing a halter top, short-short shorts, and slip on sandals. the kicker she had a full face helment..... hanging from her elbow!

[Dragonrider]

I believe in good gear...but no, I don't always wear it.

I've ALWAYS got gloves on, and over the ankle boots, and usually have a helmet (seldom don't)...those actually cover the statistically serious injuries found in "common" wrecks....sorry guys but wiping out at 100mph is not a common wreck...but I actually wear them for everyday comfort.

A day though west Texas without gloves will quickly teach you why I always wear them (you'll actually roast your fingers).

Anyway, if I have to wear a jacket, it's a good one...but I am often without...I must confess to loving the wind too much.

Safety has a tenuous definition...mine changes daily....what's yours today?

The gear debates I do find a bit amusing though....see the interesting thing is this....

Statistically, you know what saves more lives than any of the gear listed above?

Taking_one_advanced_rider's_course.

Just one.

So. I ride without my jacket. Do you ride without your rider's course?

Food for thought...

[2fast]

Good insight Dan,
I would like to pass this along to some friends that have never taken a course. Could you tell me where to locate the statistics you mention?
Thanks! Brian

[strom]

I had a slow speed spill with my guzzi once. I was wearing a leather jacket, jeans and a helmet. Maybe even gloves, not sure.
Jeans were trash, I had a sore shoulder.
Otherwise I usually wear full leathers, gloves and a helmet. If its too hot, I dont ride.

LP

[turbopete]

I always wear full leathers. Always, no matter how hot it gets. I've had 2 accidents in the past few years, both times hit by a vehicle emerging from a side-road in traffic, both times I've got away without a scratch. If I didn't have my leathers on I would surely have been hospitalised by the second one, he knocked me across 3 lanes.

[Dragonrider]

Hey 2fast,

I first read about it on the MSF site, but then did an article about it about 4 years back so did a bunch more research...google will find you lots of sources...but I cannot find my article at the moment...

The numbers were something like 20% of riders have taken the advanced training...and 99% of riders involved in fatality accidents had not...something like 92% of riders in accidents that sustained "serious" injuries had no formal training...and so on.

It was a pretty serious statistical correlation.

There was also a marked variance between riders that put on a lot of miles...the riders that run less then 5000 miles/year are more likely to be in accidents than any other group. The more you are on the road the LESS likely you are to be involved in an accident.

In cars it's exactly the opposite...the more you are on the road the more likely you are to be involved in an accident.

I'll leave the verification up to your googleness-ness

(I'll keep looking for the article though...it cites the sources)

Be wary though...statistics are ugly business and can be slanted by how the questions are worded as well as by what group you ask...apply some very unscientific common sense to them...

For instance...my own personal experience...in half a million miles of riding...

I am twice as likely to be seriously injured just hanging out by the bike than I am riding it.

I am more likely to be injured while wearing a helmet than when not (nothing to do with the helmet, but statistics can work that way)

Based on mileage traveled and injuries sustained, I am 10 times more likely to be injured in my cage than I am on my bike...

"I" am a hopelessly small sample, but that has as much validity as sampling thousands and then applying it to an individual...really!

Oh, and my favorite, based on my coworkers (5 of which ride motorcycles and 5 of which ride bicycles)...

Bicycle riders are 100% more likely to sustain serious injuries (requiring hospitalization/ambulance transportation) than motorcycle riders...

See, they've (damn bicyclists) all been down in the last year...all of 'em. None of us have...

Funny how that works huh?

[Targetman]

I think that PART of the reason that "educated" riders are under represented in serious accident statistics may be because they are safer people in general.
I mean just going out of your way to take an msf course shows that you are concerned about safety.
So maybe these people aproach their driving in a way that keeps them safer aswell.
Of course because of things they learned in the course, but maybe because they don't showboat, or do things that are riskier in the first place.