Hi guys,
I just went riding today for almost 2 hrs., and I had so much fun, I also noticed this Harley group riding only with sleeveless shirts and I felt that I was too overdressed compared to them because I was wearing my leather jacket and my full face helmet while those riders were wearing those kind of shirts.
How good are these riders????
Is there really such thing as seasoned riders?
Thanks & have a safe ride!!

 

Be well seasoned should they come off and skip down the pavement...

 

Sure there are seasoned riders! Those are the riders with the experience to control their bikes, make good judgement calls while riding, help others while on the road, obey the rules of the road and just all around good people!

What you are is just a guy working his way towards that! Dont' worry about what other people wear. Ride with the knowledge that in case of an accident...you will not have all the road rash they might have...Your noodle with usually be in one piece...and have the piece of mind your chances of surviving an accident has increased over the other guys you saw!

Now...before all the freedoms, liberties, and self rights guys try to go and flame me...HEAR ME NOW! I'm a Medic and a Nurse with more trauma time on the road and in the ER than I care to mention. A well protected rider with correct PPE will always come out of the same comparable incident than an unprotected riders 100% of the time! Now mind you...some incidents are not always survivable...but those that are...your PPE will save your A$$ and SKIN everytime! I've picked up too many "my right to ride without My PPE" guys off the road dead, near dead or without an skin left to the bone!

Now...I'm not saying it's gonna happen...'cause only the "Big Ranger in the Sky" can predict that! Nothing better than having the open air over your uncapped head or letting the wind rush past your body! But, FACTS be FACTS!

Now...Please FLAME me as well as ya can! And I'll tell ya from experience, you're wrong!

Ride Safe, Mike

 

Yes, my fire chief buddy tells me that in general riders who wreck on the highway will likely die without a helmet. If they have a helmet and live but not a full face helmet, then they likely will have face injuries.

I will also admit that many seasoned helmetless riders don't wave at me with my full face helmet, but will wave at my Yamaha riding buddy who doesn't wear a helmet. So it is a strange world out there.

Beary

 

I can tell you that, after 30 years of riding and going through 04/25/2008 (nearly lost my life in an accident), I am very thankful that I was wearing my leathers that day. I was not wearing a helmet and was extremely fortunate that I didn't suffer any significant head injuries.

Prior to my accident, I rode many thousands of miles during the warm weather days with my chaps on (tan) and a sleeveless shirt without a helmet.

With the warmer weather coming on, I have a Harley-Davidson Full-Mesh jacket with shoulder, elbow and back armor so that I can still ride and feel safe while being pretty cool!

Much as I'd like to ride only with the 'muscle shirt'...my accident caused me to seriously re-think things! I now, also wear a helmet (3/4 helmet for most days and a full-face modular for cold/rain/hail type weather).

 

Best advice I ever got about riding, is to dress for the crash, not for the ride. Now most of us don't wear full leathers all the time, so we accept an increased possibility of injury when we compromise on riding gear. I've worn sleeveless shirts and no helmet while barrelling down the freeway, and yes, its great at the time, but had something happened...i'm guessing i'd wish i had my leathers and helmet on.

 

I remember an ad logo from Bell helmets years ago that simply stated: " If you have a $50 head,then wear a $50 helmet". I don`t wear a $50 helmet or one of those novelty jobs which are equal to wearing a salad bowl. After a crash it`s far easier to take off your leather than it is to find some place on your body to find skin to relocate to the spot that no longer has any.`nuff said,Toby

 

This is a great topic, and I can understand the not wearing protective gear. I have gone helmetless myself on bike trips in states that allow that. I have also hit the pavement without a jacket and I still have a road rash scar on my right shoulder. The longer I ride the more I seem to cover up. I have two kids that need me to pay for college and all that , so the way I see it. The more you have to lose... the more you wear.

 

"Much as I'd like to ride only with the 'muscle shirt'...my accident caused me to seriously re-think things! I now, also wear a helmet (3/4 helmet for most days and a full-face modular for cold/rain/hail type weather)."

"Best advice I ever got about riding, is to dress for the crash, not for the ride."

Amen to that. +1 here on gear. I had what could have been a nasty crash in November and ended up surfing the pavement at 70 mph on the freeway after being hit by a rear-end hit n run driver. I got up and walked away after having landed on the back of my head at 70 mph. I had full gear on at the time cuz of the colder weather at 1:00 AM and that's what saved me. I had only a small patch of road rash and even just that hurt like hell for about 3 weeks. Life was miserable for that whole 3 weeks cuz every move is agonizing, from sitting down, rolling over in bed, trying to wear a shirt on your back, etc. I cant even imagine head to toe road rash down to the bone like some have had cuz wearing a tshirt, etc.

Dress for the crash. Good gear can still be comfortable and it'll save you life or save you some major pain. Once you've had a serious crash at speed you tend to look at things a bit more seriously.

 

Friend of mine who used to race motorcycles convinced me to always wear protective gear regardless of the temperature. Sound advice.