Adding fuel to the fire? ATGATT.

Discussion in 'Anything Goes' started by mofo, Jul 28, 2015.

  1. mofo

    mofo New Member

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    Seems to me most members here ride atgatt and frown upon those who don't.
    While I think riding with all the protection is the smart thing to do, and I encourage everyone -specially new riders- to do so, I also think that we are free to do as we wish.
    I ride with anyone who wants to ride and respect their choice of attire and motorcycle. Never riding with the minimal protection has been an issue with my friends across the country when we meet once a year. I know is more of an issue in California and orange county in particular than any other state I've visited.
    What gives?
     
  2. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    Good question. Where does one draw the line on unsafe/foolish motorcycle wear? I think we all agree that flip-flops, shorts, and no shirt is just plain stupid. But to my mind it gets a bit hazier when you see someone with open face helmet, boots, gloves, t-shirt, and jeans. Obviously there's some protection there, and also obviously not enough in the case of rider meeting pavement. Then you get into full face helmet, boots, mesh jacket, gloves, and jeans. Normally I wear motorcycle specific boots, jeans, modular helmet, gloves, and mesh jacket.

    But I still consider anyone riding in the first example given to be stupid. Am I wearing enough more to give them grief? I've always made my kids wear jeans, hard shoes/boots preferably, good helmet. I guess it just does boil down to personal preference and the degree of risk avoidance you feel is sufficient.
     
  3. mofo

    mofo New Member

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    At the very minimum, I wear bike specific boots, jeans, gloves jacket and helmet. I have ridden in t-shirt before, but that's something I normally don't do.
     
  4. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    To me this is a personal choice and if you want to ride in a tank top, shorts and flip-flops, that is your choice, but I will not have any sympathy for you if you end up crashing and getting seriously hurt. I ride ATGATT and would hope that the people I ride with do too, but I do not shun them if they decide not to go ATGATT.

    Sometimes people learn the hard way. When my friend Michael had his low side accident, he was wearing a leather jacket, full face helmet, full gauntlet gloves and street jeans with motorcycle boots. Having been a low side, I'll give you one guess where most of his injuries happened...bingo! His knees, and hips took the brunt of the fall. His street jeans did nothing more than help soak up the blood from his scraped up knees and hips! After collecting his insurance money, guess who picked up a nice two pice leather riding suit?! Guess who wears that suit whenever he rides in the canyons now?!

    If you have any sort of intelligence then you should know that riding with no gear is not the smart choice, hell, riding a motorcycle can be considered a not so smart choice too but if you are going to do so, why not cut the risk down a little and wear some protective gear?
     
  5. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    We all learn that the stove is hot. When I ride to work , it is jeans, sneakers (work shoes), mesh jacket with protection, gloves and my Shoei RF1200 full face helmet. When I ride for pleasure, I wear MC boots. Today was over 100 degrees, so I didn't ride to work. Won't ride without protection, limited as it may. Hit an oil slick once on the Angeles Crest Hwy, went down at about 40, slid down the road in the oil (center of lane), still ground through side of leather boots, ground off visor hinge, scratched up leather jack, brass buttons on gloves left burn marks!, but managed nothing more than a sprained thumb from the handlebars snapping out of my hands. Wear as much of ATGATT as you can.
     
  6. mofo

    mofo New Member

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    For those who wear full leathers: do you still ride all day long in 100+ degree heat?
     
  7. mofo

    mofo New Member

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    Are riders in Arizona, Florida and Texas just to name a few, not intelligent? It's in those states that I've seen the most riders not atgatt, let me throw Utah in that mix.

    None of my friends I meet with once a year ride atgatt. They are business owners, lawyer, fireman, a cop, farmer, landlord and more.
     
  8. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    When the temps are too high its most likely not a time to be riding, however sometimes the temps build up during the course of the day. Typically in the summer I wear my vented leathers but as long as I stay hydrated and take breaks, I'm ok. When I'm moving the airflow keeps me comfortable, it's only when I stop that I'll get a little too hot and need to remove the jacket. Wearing under garments that help keep you cooler does also help.

    I've ridden in 100+ temps for a good portion of the day a few times and other than being a little more tired and sweaty when I get home, I don't have a problem wearing my vented leather gear at all. In fact I even have a textile riding suit, but refer the leather one especially if I'm I'm doing sporty canyon rides.
     
  9. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    They may be intelligent but just not making a smart choice. People use the excuse of "it's too hot" or "it takes too much time and effort to put gear on" but if you think about it we make excuses for lots of things, doesn't mean we use our intelligence to make the best choices. There's also the "It won't happen to me" mentality which seems to plague our youth more than the seasoned riders.
     
  10. RobVG

    RobVG Member

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    Thanks for bringing this up Mofo. I always thought you guys were a little hard on those who didn't adhere to atgatt. When I was a kid in the Seattle area "Squids" were guys in full race leathers on hot bikes covered in stickers. They couldn't ride worth a damn. Most came from Canukastan, often seen on Chuckanut Drive or Hwy9. Im sure some where good riders but most seemed to only have attitude instead of skill.

    Back then there weren't alot of choices for us cash strapped kids. A good helmet was about all we could afford. It was pretty much expensive leathers or....expensive leathers.

    I crashed 3 times back then. Each time I saw my shredded Levis soaked in blood like a bounty paper towel. Each time I healed and ended up with scars but nothing more than that. I think the only part of atgatt that's going to save your life is a good helmet. Like Pliskin said about me " I only crash on my head".
     
  11. mofo

    mofo New Member

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    When I was a kid Rob, helmets were not available, and the one or two that were available cost as much as a bike. Too expensive for a kid who just wanted to ride a motorcycle.
     
  12. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    When I was a kid we were so poor, all we had to play with and eat were rocks. This was OK until we ran oot of water.

    IMO other than a shitload of "here is what I do when in Rome or East Timor" , begs the question asked aboot ATGATT in Orange County, SOCal. At least up to the invasion of SoCal by our friendly neighbors to the South who talk funny, SoCal had or has the a very large as in another shitload of motorcycle riders/capita. Orange County is also highly Republican. Not that this has much to do with bikes except for the RUBs on Harleys, who buy most of their gear at the local HD Botique including those Waffen SS skidlids made of ABS plastic.
     
  13. Pliskin

    Pliskin New Member

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    I don't care who wears what. When I rode, it was full gear all the time, even if it was 2 miles to the local deli. My kid (when he was younger) used to ask why I put all that stuff on to just go down the street. Told him becuase it will hurt if I crash. he said but you're going slow. So I told him to run as fast as he could, and go slide down the street like he just stole second base. That clicked for him - he gets it now.

    I don't care if its 30 or 100 outside - I wear gear. I've seen way to many pictures where denim just gets shredded to nothing. Sneakers? You can watch dozens of videos of people getting hit by whatever, and literally flying right out of their sneakers. Even a pair of $20 lace up boots from Walmart would be better.

    As a kid, I remember walking into a shop and they had a sticker or whatever it was that said "If the only gear you're going to wear is a helmet, you better only crash on your head". This was some 35 years ago, but I still remember that.

    There will always be stories - including some above already - of getting away with minor scrapes or injuries when putting the bike down. For me, I'm done tempting shit like that. I'm older now. It hurts to get hurt. Recovery takes too long. I'll take sweat over blood these days.
     
  14. zombie

    zombie New Member

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    Sweat washes off, road rash hangs around a little longer.
    A friend of my wife a few years ago rode over on her new HD to show us the bike. Wife wasn't home at the time when her friend showed up. She walked into the back yard wearing a tiny pair of daisy dukes and a wife beater crop top so small and tight that you would have thought she was going onstage to dance (and I would have liked that). Smoking hot and she knew it. I told her I thought she was bringing the bike over only to learn that she did and was heading to a friends 6 hours away after visiting. When I asked her about her gear she seemed confused and pointed to the helmet (little tiny cap) on the seat.
    After a long discussion about why to wear gear she stopped by her place first and put on a pair of jeans. Still didn't really get it but her boyfriend and his friends all ride that way so she was ok with it.
    She moved away shortly after that but I wish I had had the chance to go riding with her. I would have followed of course where the view was better, wearing my gear as I always do because ATGATT needs to be a lifestyle and not just whenever it suits to do it.
    Sitting in traffic yesterday sweating my balls off looking at the temp gauge that said 36C I momentarily thought about taking off the jacket but was soon up to speed and enjoying the wind.
    I too had told my daughter to run as fast as she could then to slide on her tummy, that is how I convinced her that it makes sense. The look on her face told me that she understood.
    The choice is up to you as to what you wear while riding and I will mention it a few times then stop. I will still ride with you and be the one that takes a few mins extra when we start or stop to put it on and take it off. What really bothers me though is seeing guys on cruisers (usually but not always) with a kid on the back wearing a helmet, shorts and a t-shirt. As an adult it's your choice but the kid sees dad doing it and assumes it's good. Child abuse?
     
  15. OOTV

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    It's funny what spouses will pick up on. My wife knows that if we ride, it has to be ATGATT. I had brought up this thread with her last night and she said "Why would anyone ride without protective gear?" So I mentioned a few reasons, mostly the ones that have been stated on these types of threads. So she says "If you knew you were going to crash, how would you dress?". My answer of course would be in my leathers, full face helmet, race boots and gauntlet gloves. Her response, "So if there's a possibility that you would crash, doesn't it make sense to be prepared for it like you knew it was going to happen?" Hmm, food for thought I guess.

    I think I made mention of this before, although I have had a few crashes on motorcycles and ATVs, these were mostly off-road crashes and I had proper gear on. It was actually skateboarding that I really got a taste of what hitting the pavement and sliding on asphalt was like. Having one severe crash where I slid on my hands, elbows, knees and stomach, not to mention bashing my chin, it really taught me what not wearing gear can mean! Again, some people learn the hard way!

    You know, a good part of why I am ATGATT is not just for me, but for my wife and family.
     
  16. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    I like the "sweat washes off" part. How do you exorcize the sweet stink of helmet success even if you wash the liner? :loco: I am minority in south FL as one out of ten wear what i would call adequate gear. It is subjective too, i go to work 30 miles each way and wear a one piece stich suit. Its always 90s and humid, i swear i barely sweat the pits of my t shirt under the suit. Its all what you get used to, the wind hitting my arms and making my pant legs flap distract me. Cheers :thumbsup: good thread
     
  17. mofo

    mofo New Member

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    When I was a kid we were so poor, that if I hadn't been born a boy, I wouldn't have had anything to play with.
     
  18. Expvet

    Expvet New Member

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    Years ago I rode with shorts, Tshirt (never sandals). One summer day at a park near a highway I heard a sport bike with loud exhast rip by and then the sickening sound of plastic scraping on asphalt. I went to the highway to help and the rider, although having gone down at low speed (30 or so mph) and was wearing a tank top had peeled his back and arm down to the pink. It was already glazing and as the shock wore off you could see he was in ever increasing excruciating pain. I went home and after much thinking ordered a good Tourmaster riding jacket and pants. 2 months later a school bus ran a stop sign and I went down. Got up pretty much unscathed. Some lessons can be learned by seeing. Your choice, Brain or Pain.
     
  19. mofo

    mofo New Member

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    I guess for me is comfort or pain. I choose comfort.
    When riding in 100 plus digits, it gets to a point for me that I start getting the symptoms of a heat stroke. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a sauna rather than riding and enjoying the ride.
    I've used riding pants before, but I can't even imagine what riding in full leathers, 500 miles a day for a week in a row at 110 degrees plus feels like.
     
  20. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Go find and read the book 'Proficient Motorcycling' by David Hough. It's great book especially for the recreational motorcyclist. It has good info on riding in general, one chapter discusses riding in extreme temps, both low and high. As I mentioned, as long as I stay hydrated and take breaks, riding in the heat (even in leathers) is not an issue. Being comfortable is key to a good ride. There are so many choices in riding gear these days that compromising safety for comfort shouldn't even be a compromise.
     
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