Rogentx said:
BikerSpeedTriple said:
Rogentx said:
Good messenge and quite clear. Gear is made for a reason so hopefully people who feel they are "too cool" for gear should watch this.
Thanks!
Didn't end up quite as good as I hoped it could have, but wanted to get the message across.
If you ever decide to re-do it, its graphic and such, but perhaps posting pictures of people who decided not to wear gear (non-fatal of course). Only catch 22 is that might scare people off from wanting to ride so its a gamble either way.
As bad as it might sound, I wouldn't particularly mind if the OP scared people who aren't willing to ride safely away from riding.
I get laughed at a bit from the "bikers" where I live for wearing my full gear when I go ride, even in 90 + degree weather I still wear my gear. Dudes here will be squidding all over the main streets in tank tops and t-shirts with chicks on the back in short shorts and tube tops. My mouth gets my in trouble as I'll pull up to them at stop lights and ask the dude's girl if she thinks she'll still look hot on the back of a bike when her skin looks like hamburger meat. They usually give me the finger and speed away usually doing a wheelie or gunning their overly loud aftermarket pipes. That's my towns "biker" community in a nut shell, at least 10 in my town die a season.
I'm with ya. Wife and I both wear full gear all the time. Full face helmet, jacket, overpants, boots, gloves, etc. We ride with a group that's all cruisers (like us, we're not really big on sportbikes ourselves). And not only are we the only gear wearers, we're the only full face helmet wearers. It's half-lids all around otherwise. Some of them like to take the lids off if we go to a state that doesn't require helmets.
Now, I believe in choice, and in freedoms, and in the government not dictating every aspect of our lives. I don't believe in helmet laws or other strict laws governing what people wear, etc. BUT, I certainly don't support the idea of not wearing a helmet at LEAST, and gear as well. People always tell me I'm 'miserable' in my gear and 'too scared' to ride a motorcycle. That has nothing to do with it. And it doesn't bother me. Current record is 117F (almost 48C). During a huge heat wave and drought, which happened to coincide with my wife and I's honeymoon. It was hot! In fact, I did decide, for the first time ever, to ride without my jacket. It was so miserably hot, I was worried about dehydration or heat stroke. After about 5 minutes, I pulled over and put it back on. It was HOTTER without the jacket. Later on, I read in a book that riding a motorcycle in a t-shirt or even super lightweight cotton shirts, in heat, is actually going to warm you up. Basically, your sweat will dry off from the wind before it has a chance to cool you. It can also give you windburn and sunburn. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I was comfortable at temperatures nearly hot enough to cook food! But nor would I have been without gear. Hot is hot. But the gear has never made me feel uncomfortable, no matter how hot it gets. In fact, I've noticed that I wear a sweatshirt under my gear the same days everyone else is wearing a sweatshirt. I wear a t-shirt under my gear the same days everyone else is wearing a t-shirt, and I don't have mesh gear. I have solid textile (1000D) gear.
Some people believe, because they are on a cruiser, they aren't gonna crash. I run into that alot. It's true, sportbikes make up about 85% of motorcycle accidents. But, that's for the obvious reason; if you're the kind of person who is gonna be dumb on a motorcycle and do dangerous stuff, then you'll buy a sportbike. Conservative riders ride sportbikes too, but very, very few 'death wish' riders ride cruisers, they tend to graviate towards sportbikes. The 'cool' factor is an aspect too. I see lots of sportbikers wearing gear. I have yet to, even once, see another cruiser rider wear gear.
EXCEPT FOR ONE! A good friend of mine, Harley rider. Been riding since he was 16, he's about 60 now. He went overseas to do a mission trip, where they rode dual sport Kawasaki's to get to these different villages. The guy he rode with demanded that anyone who rides with him wear gear, and he even supplied the gear. Now, my buddy was always one to say the gear was silly and 'just ride'. But, while he was on this trip, he and three others wrecked on some loose rocks and gravel in the desert at about 90mph. One wasn't wearing gear, he was severely injured. The others, including himself, were, and were not injured (just sore). They were able to help the injured rider. He told me that, if they weren't wearing gear, there would have been nobody around to help them. He hasn't mentioned anything, but I've noticed that he has a shiny new riding jacket that he always wears now, and got rid of his non-DOT half helmet and now wears a 3/4 lid. He also asked me the other day where he can get 'those cool pants'.
Oh well, ride your own ride and don't worry about anyone else! BUT, I feel your pain for sure. But that's okay. I enjoy it, that's why I do it. If I didn't enjoy riding, I wouldn't ride. Who cares what anyone else thinks? I take that advice to heart though, I don't bash folks who don't wear gear. That's their business. I don't have to agree, but I don't need to chastise them either. It won't accomplish anything. It's their business, their ride, not mine.
