Yup, you want tech-talk, this ain't the place that's for sure.
oil bla bla, helmet bla bla, air filter "****" bla bla, no substance just children's gibberish.

ENJOY, I'm outta here.

 

Correct observations.

I don't trust statistics. That's why I'm very careful to not add to it, and I also dig into what they left out.

Thanks for deducing that there are more accidents and more trauma (lots of other data shows more cage trauma, though you have to dig for it - you have to dig like I did, if you want to know more. I already gave you one chart, which you can't stop ridiculing. You think I'll give you another?)

Strange that you think that chart includes all kinds of people wearing helmets when sustaining trauma. Kinda says the helmet is not so protective.

So, back at you: PROVE everyone should be wearing ff, or you can't say it. An example of a dented helmet chin is not proof that the chances are high, otherwise I could give you an example of a relative who received serious trauma in a cage, or a friend who fell off a ladder.

 

Here's my take. I'm a Respiratory Therapist by trade (after I went to hobart welding school, and worked at GM for 10 years). I currently work at two hospitals. One is an LTAC (Long-Term Acute Care). One of my patients tonight is in his mid-fifties, has family, and is a tatted up biker-type. Talking A LOT of tatts. He's now trached (artificial tube going through hole in trachea in which to breath, for fear of losing the airway). ANYWAY, he's a vegetable because he wasn't, for some reason, wearing a helmet.

My last bike was a 2006 GSX-R1000 that I dyno'd at just under 170whp, but I didn't have a motorcycle for 4 years. My mom's ex died on his Fat Boy in 2010. It kinda hit me weird. At this point in my life I was almost 30 and had always had crotch rockets. Seeing him lay in a casket got me thinking: I could die on my bike. He was a Perfectionist. If he could screw up, I could screw up. I can't count on all my limbs how many times I should have bit it. Not even chalking it up to not having experience. I've taken the safety riding courses, etc.. Logged about 24K miles since 2001 when I bought my first bike. Carved the Dragon (on my G1K), and RODE home on it the 7 hours. He was comfortable to a bike, too. But he somehow was in a box.

Fast foward a few years later.

I'm married. Have a couple kids. Couple step-kids, too. I have a career. I have taken a step back to realize what's important to myself. How would my kids remember me if I died? They wouldn't. They're still too young. THAT'S what makes me wear a helmet. I sure as hell don't want to end up a statistic. I want to see them when they're older. Working where I do, and seeing what I see isn't pretty. It's a constant reminder of what can happen. It keeps me from being stupid, simply put. And above all, it keeps the lid on my noodle. Granted, it's a half face with a pull-down screen (best thing ever with glasses), but it's still a lid. I'm sure my patient would love to have a flux capacitor to change his mind about wearing something the day he should have been.

Bottom line is this: This debate is stupid. Wear a helmet. Who cares if it's half, 3/4, or Full.

 

It's like I have said, those with personal experience sometimes rightly (for them) become more protective.

So...the debate is stupid...because I'm right that you should wear a helmet?

All we really know is that lots of people go through a long life not wearing a helmet, some are injured or die early.
Lots of people have a long life wearing a helmet of one kind or another, some are injured or die early.
Some people think, some by observation, some by one sided statistics, that helmets are the answer to traffic problems. State to state comparisons don't support that.
Some people think a full face is the only way to go; others think it's worse and/or comes into play in a minority of accidents.
Forcing unjustified laws on us is the issue. Thus the debate on levels of safety.

 

 

So am I! I also wear full face helmet with blackened visor so the drivers can't see me calling them all douche bags! Riding FREE means riding how you want... My Sportster is noisier than my Heritage so I chose the helmet since my state has me wear one anyways... plus what they do not know is I have a set of Thumper speakers inside in and Deep Purple cranked up every time I ride! These are the same douches that think you are "less than they are" because you rise a "girl's bike" (even though plenty ride bigger bikes these days)... these are the people who do not wave to me as I wave to them on the road. They just THINK they are "bikers" just because they own the compete "Sons Of Anarchy" on Blu-ray and I have most on DVD!

 

So you admit to misinterpreting the chart and then assume that I did? Which doesn't take into account the type of helmet worn.

Prove everyone should be wearing a FF? You mean like every racing sanctioning body and football league? That isn't enough to point to their effectiveness? Why don't you prove differently? I suggest restating your position.

 

Sorry, but I didn’t misinterprete the chart at all. I was just congratulating you on noticing it didn’t distinquish types of “motor vehicle”. I don’t believe it addresses “helmets” at all. The point of providing it was to show that motorcycling is a minor part of trauma cases.

FF, and football. Prove differently? Very well. If you try, you can find tons of evidence that football helmets are not effective. High school kids die, and pro players retire early. Racing? Pushing the limits of safety? Full coverage is the answer, not helmets. Air bags? They save some and kill others, especially children.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...rsized-helmet/

My position is and always has been that it’s a lack-of-knowledge debate that helmet laws will solve the safety issue of motorcycling, or that they're even a step in the right direction. Helmets reduce head/brain injury in certain types of accidents. Motorcycle riders should never feel safe just because they have a helmet on. Riding is a dangerous activity that requires a consistently high level of attention. The feeling of safety must come from confidence and skill, not equipment. Safe crashing is separate from safe riding. Some prioritize one, some the other. I don’t care that some swear by a ff, after a year of using one because I was getting older and wanted to be "safer", I knew it was unsafe for me. In some riding conditions, riding lidless is a better experience. It’s not for everyone, but if no one can do it we will have lost a great freedom.

Thanks for asking, what’s your position?

 

AGATT. And riders like myself ride safe and have equipment for safer crashing. If you don't think a FF is more effective than a 3/4 or 1/2, you're stupid, period.

The NFL helmet study is based on impacts, and has on partially to do with face guard protection, another analogy you missed. And you completely missed it about racing. And all the other contributions in this thread.

Driving without a seatbelt is sometimes a better experience, and rarely, a life saver. But it is stupid too.

 

I am only a "real Harley rider" half the time then. I prefer to not wear a helmet, it does affect my peripheral vision even wearing a 3/4 helmet but i also know that it is much safer if i wreck to have protection.

At least half of the people i ride with wear a helmet every time we ride no matter what, the other half is like me, depending on the weather, the route or the style of riding will depend on gear.