Used to live and ride in CA, only person I have heard of getting a stand alone non-DoT helmet citation was my cousin.Known quite a few people who have gotten the helmet ticket tacked on with other violations (speeding, etc).

 

In So. Cal - It ALL DEPENDS on the City & The attitude of the Cop\s...
They normally won't bother - but if they pull you over for another violation they will site you for NON DOT Helmet and in some towns they WILL pop you for sound levels (loud pipes)

Few from the the group have been sited for one or the other...

 

You're not likely to be bothered at all unless you ride like an idiot or have really loud pipes. If you're just passing thru and minding your own business it's highly unlikely they'll ever look twice at you unless admiring your bike...

Typically the "problem" motorcycles are the hot-dogs on crotch rockets, not guys on Harleys.

Have a fun trip!

 

i live in norcal ( s.f. bay area ) and have gotten a helmet ticket in fremont. i now wear a dot skid lid. its a little thicker than non dot skid lid but still feels about the same. also the roads in s.f. bay area are horrible be very careful. i hit a bad pot hole/concave ( almost as wide as the whole lane) and it jarred my bike so hard my detachable flace plate from my stereo flew off. i filed a claim with caltrans only to be denied. with gas prices so high more and more people are riding bikes. our leaders really need to make the surface we ride on as safe as possible. here in cali , riders need to band together and make our voices herd about road conditions. after all we are one of the highest taxed states, we in cali are not getting our monies worth.

 

thanks guys for all your tips.Riding buddy real conservative,think Ill keep lane splitting to my self till after i pull thru traffic and wait for him to catch up telling me how damn crazy i am.heck Ill take list of you guys in case I need good lawyer. anyway.