they told me it would happen and now i believe

What's "cooler"? Wearing a helmet & protecting that semi useful blob of goo we refer to as the brain OOORRR a closed casket funeral because you landed on your head and split your skull?

In my ONLY street crash in 20 years of riding, I landed FACE FIRST on a parked car going 15-20 mph wearing a $80 no-name helmet. I walked away without so much as a bruise. My neck didn't even hurt.

So tell me again, why is it not cool to wear a helmet?

KC-10 FE out...
lane:

 

well i am glad to hear everyones opinion and i agree 100% i have been wearing my helmet ever since the fall and i also went out and bought a nice set of leathers not literally its a different material not sure what exactly but its snug and has hard padding and feels great!!! not to mention it is reppin honda and has awesome graphics haha. ****TORI**** the reason i admitted to having my helmet strapped to the back and not on my head is cause i want anyone else especially my age to wear theirs and not do what i did. cause my incident coulda been worse thank god it wasnt. and ****EMON07*** yep. i have only been riding for 4-5 weeks. i had never been on a bike until then so i am LITERALLY A NEW RIDER. unfortunately i live in INDIANAPOLIS so its a little distance but i am going to look into something they might have like that around here. or go find some riders that can teach me a little more.

 

Yah might want to consider an MSF class....

 

YEAH. i have been saving my money for it. its $212 around here. that and i am going to get my endorsement.

 

glad your still alive to apply what you have learned. ride safe.........

 

Dude, way to smarten up, just glad you woke up early enough to realize your mistake. as far as helmets being not only smart but cool, yea they're cool. didn't spend 6 franklin's just so it could ride with me besides it would look way funny weird if I didn't being in all gear and no helmet :wacko: :crazy:

 

Congratulations. That accident may save your life. Nothing like experience to teach the hard lessons. Unfortunately gaining the experience can kill you.

I always wear a helmet (no choice over here) and almost always have gloves, boots and a jacket. Over the past 20 years, my record is

Crashes: 12
Injuries: 1 (broken arm)
Helmets destroyed: 3

I don't know for sure that helmets have saved my life, but the time my head bounced off the car bumper and I ended up under the car, I was mighty grateful.

Actually, the only time I didn't wear a helmet, I crashed. Ask me about countersteering sometime.

Sean

 

Holy crap, I think I paid $50, but that was 12 or so years ago.

As for wearing a helmet, I can say from first-hand experience that it's better to have and not need, then to need and not have. My only accident on a bike is similar to KCs; i highsided in a corner and landed face first in a gravel driveway. And walked away from it.

I learned two things that day:
1. Blip the throttle as you downshift going into the corners
2. Don't carry a lot of change in your jeans pocket 'cause when you land face-first, you will end up with a HUGE BRUISE on your thigh.

 

Wow, 4 weeks in and you're down. That was your VFR500 too, wasn't it?

Coolness factor is not affected by wearing a helmet. My wife says she'll never go to bed with me if I had road rash; it stains the sheets!

ATGATT is a protection policy, not an insurance policy. Just because we're wearing all the gear does not mean we are somehow immune from an accident occurring. Accidents can and will happen regardless of what we wear. We can mitigate the damage by protecting ourselves in what we wear and by what we learn.

2000 you're learning an awful lot in a short time, and we're learning along with ya. Heal quickly, get that ride fixed up and get back out there as soon as you can. The longer you wait the harder it gets. And please please PLEASE take that Motorcycle Safety Course!

 

Hey 2000ex, I def. think helmets are a good idea.... of course it's the law here in Toronto, but still... I think a guy (or girl) all suited up looks really cool.

 

I have absolute horror visions of skin missing or worse so I always gear up to ride. Like my friend says if you have a head worth $0 maybe no helmet is ok. I personally value my head and the rest of me more than that. No need to throw serious chunks of money down when first starting though. There is plenty of great gear out there. I have found that spending more might get you a better fit, cooler colors/graphics, less helmet noise, etc., but not necessarily safer equipment.

Ride safe:wave:

 

It's not a question of looking cool or not, it's a question of trying to up the odds on survival! Would you rather sweat or bleed? It's a no brainer!

 

lol. very good point.

 

Here's a link to what happens when you slide off the bike at 80 with no gear but a helmet:
http://www.speedfreakinc.com/content/articles/riding/roadrashqueen.html

You've probably seen pictures of the girl wearing a bikini with roadrash scars - this is her . . .

Speaking of helmets looking cool enough to want to wear . . .

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/akuma-helmet/

 

holy CRAP. that is absolutely crazy!!! wtf. i am speechless. i never knew road rash could be that bad.

 

You are one of the lucky ones. A friend of mine's Uncle got killed turning his Harley around in a cul-de-sac and falling off without a helmet at 5 MPH. It doesn't take much at the wrong angle.

I hope you are OK. I won't even ride in jeans anymore, let alone without Vanson and Held and Arai equipment. Being part of this community and reading about all the crashes, especially hit and runs have effected my behavior.

Ride deliberately, and the advice about professional training is the best any rider could offer. The one time you leave your helmet or jacket off is the one time you'll get clipped.

Good recovery, and give yourself a pat for at least changing your thinking on it.

 

Yeah, gives new importance the phrase to ATGATT.

Even for a short trip to the store. Most wrecks happen within 5 miles of home. In fact, my only one on a bike happened about 30 yards from my apartment. My only one in a car happened about 1/2 mile from my apartment.

 

Unsolicited Analysis

I've got to ask, Y2K? :wink:

If you wear the helmet all the time, it feels weird not to wear it. Besides, with a tinted face shield you are definitely cool.

Gear is cheap if you look strategically...

Compare the cost of a helmet ($200), jacket ($100), boots ($100), pants ($100) etc...

to the cost of:

doctor/hospital bills ($X,000 or more), time off work - lost wages ($X,XXX.00?), your beer money is gone too, and your girl friend will dump you due to the flat spot on the side of your head where the hair no longer will grow.

I broke the bank on my helmet, but got a Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket from last year for less than $50 online. It is more comfortable than a T-Shirt for me as the bugs hit it and it has pockets for the stuff that I don't like in my pants pockets when riding.

Start looking for the gear as you recover. Tell folks what you want for holidays... I'm guessing someone in your family might be happy to get you safety equipment if you tell them exactly what to get.

- nozzle

 

Wearing the full set of riding gear shows the world that you are serious. To the extent I care what people think, I prefer to be taken seriously.

This gear stuff goes for passengers too. At your age I'm sure you'd like to impress girls and take them for rides. Don't rush into this, but when you do get there, have some gear for the girls to wear, explain why you want them to wear it, and make sure they do. Any girl that's worth your time will pick up on the idea that you are not just smart, but caring as well, and this will impress them more than if you just said "Sure, hop on." It's also a good way to get a date: Tell 'em they have to wear proper footwear and set up a time to pick them up.

 

OK you NoCal riders: what are you folks wearing in the way of leg-wear when you're riding? 'Specially in the summer heat... what protects but doesn't make ya lose 14 pounds an hour?