Rick del Monte
Member
I had some videos of Sturgis playing in Youtube and my wife was outraged because nobody was wearing a mask. I had to tell her, forget the masks: they don't have helmets!
-
Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password. If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?
-
Beginning April 1st, and running through April 30th, there is a new 2024 BMW MOA Election discussion area within The Club section of the forum. Within this forum area is also a sticky post that provides the ground rules for participating in the Election forum area. Also, the candidates statements are provided. Please read before joining the conversation, because the rules are very specific to maintain civility.
The Election forum is here: Election Forum
ATGATT: Which brands most likely comply and why?
- Thread starter DSXMachina
- Start date
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
Headline, Riverton Daily Mail:
Local Convenience Store Robbed at Gunpoint
Manager says the robbers were BMW motorcycle riders. “I’d recognize those outfits anywhere”, said manager Tex Newcome.
riderr1150gsadv
Well-known member
What's funny is everyone is talking about a Covid super spreader event at Sturgis, but not a peep from Lollapalooza or from the college football games! Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech requires masks in the stadium except for fans are at their seats! So 66,000 fans screaming at their seats cannot spread Covid, but they can spread it walking around. The noise from the stadium actually registered on the richter magnitude scale!
Basically, Sturgis wasn't liberal approved!
Edit: where I live in Virgina Beach the Ampitheater has had sold out concerts all summer. Again, no mask wearing at you seat and on the "no assigned seating" grassy area, but have to wear masks going to the restroom.
Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk
pglaves
#13338
He just did.
Visian
look out!!!
OK since this is a China-flu AND ATGATT thread...Where I used to take off my helmet upon entering a gas/pee/hydrate place I just leave the full face on- it covers all the bases- face cover and part of a healthy ATGATT...AND I don't rip the hearing protection out and have it bounce around the parking lot...it's a winwinwin.NOW- to get controversial on the OT. The worst offenders are NOT Harley riders (of which I am also one) but SCOOTERS...shorts, flip-flops minimal protection...they think it's a safer ride than a "motorcycle". 30, 40, 50 MPH skin on asphalt is kinda painful regardless of your cc's.
and bicycles - my brother recently crashed his mountain bike; put him in the hospital. Broken ribs, scapula, collapsed lung. Motorcycle are DANGEROUS, bicycles are fun toys. BTW, I am ATGATT... most of the time. Most Of The Gear Most Of The Time? Depends upon the ride for the day. Dirt bikes, track day, riding the twisties? ATGATT. Casual ride with the Mrs.? Well...
senseamidmadness
Neglected Bike Adopter
This isn't strictly related to brand but I figured I'd chime in with my experiences.
I've been on a couple fairly short tours so far and have been riding regularly for maybe 4-5 years at this point. I see shockingly few riders who wear ATTGATT wherever I'm at. I'm the only one I know who does so out of maybe a dozen or so locals I interface with. I guess it's inevitable that I'd eventually own a BMW, per the stereotypes.
Though I didn't start out ATTGATT, and I started out on a Suzuki GS500E after two unsuccessful project motorcycles. The only new piece of gear I bought was a Bell Qualifier full-face helmet and otherwise I scrounged.
I made the mistake a lot of beginners do of assuming that the safety gear I had was "good enough", and that led to breaking my left ankle in a crash. That crash revealed a few pretty dangerous shortcomings in what I was wearing: my non-locking face shield popped right open when I hit the ground, my jacket was too large and the sleeve got pulled far up my arm, real motorcycle boots probably would've kept me from breaking my ankle instead of the work boots I was wearing, and hip armor would've saved me some nasty bruises. After I healed up I figured out how cheap good used gear can be. Now I've got a decent amount of decently safe gear and never leave home without it.
Earlier this year I had another crash, this time at much lower speed on a much heavier Kawasaki Concours 1000, and was almost completely unscathed because of ATTGATT.
On tour in two states that don't have helmet-required laws last year (Florida and Texas), I could count on two hands the number of riders I saw wearing helmets. I could count on one hand how many I saw wearing full gear. Out on the highways on the way to and from those states I saw a decent number wearing helmets regardless of brand; riders who tour seem to care at least a bit more about protection. Probably because you only need to get a bug in the face once at 70mph before buying a full-face helmet.
I had a local at a tiny convenience store in Cedar Hill, Arkansas say something like "wow, you must be hot wearing all that heavy gear!" I replied with "It has vents!" I was wearing a light textile jacket and riding jeans, a full-face helmet, leather gloves, and typical touring boots, which at the time didn't seem all that heavy or hot to me. I think a lot of folks who think only Harley-Davidson when they think motorcycle aren't even aware that safety gear is a thing, or that it can be decently comfortable no matter the temperature.
In Florida, I saw one completely stereotypical BMW rider upright on an R-series who was wearing bright yellow everything, and one rider on a red European sportbike who looked dressed for the racetrack in all black leather. I felt bad for him because it was exactly the weather you'd expect for Florida in July. In the week I was there those two were the only ATTGATT riders I saw out of 50 or more. Almost all others were wearing no helmets, and were on Harley-Davidsons.
In my opinion the vast majority of American motorcycle riders just don't care about or consider safety, and this is why our accident and fatality statistics look so incredibly grim. If they're not legally required to, most won't wear any safety gear at all.
I think the Harley stereotype has more to do with its huge market share compared to other brands because I have met plenty of people on other brands who care just as little about protecting themselves. Undergeared and unsafe riders of (mostly Japanese) sportbikes, aka "squids", are a great example.
I know one guy who rides a Ducati 959 Panigale, bought a $1000 AGV Pista R carbon-fiber ultra-safe track helmet, and wears no other safety gear, not even gloves (!!!). His complete lack of logic baffles me but it seems completely typical of sportbike riders. They buy the helmet because they think it looks cool and they have to, not because they care about being safe.
I think the stereotype of BMW riders being the most ATTGATT is likely true, but I think it's also part of the larger trend that riders who travel and tour a lot, especially on sport-touring machines, care more about safety and protection. Every time I've ever seen someone out on a Yamaha FJR or a newer Kawasaki Concours they're always in full gear.
Related to this, I think, is that people who buy BMW's don't buy them to keep them in the garage like a lot of Harley guys do. (Including my own father, when he had his Road King.) You can see this in the used market, where almost every BMW listed has a whole lot more miles than your average used Harley-Davidson. When I was looking for my current bike there seemed to be a lot more BMW's with 40,000 miles or more on them than not and I considered myself lucky that I found one with less than 35,000.
I've been on a couple fairly short tours so far and have been riding regularly for maybe 4-5 years at this point. I see shockingly few riders who wear ATTGATT wherever I'm at. I'm the only one I know who does so out of maybe a dozen or so locals I interface with. I guess it's inevitable that I'd eventually own a BMW, per the stereotypes.
Though I didn't start out ATTGATT, and I started out on a Suzuki GS500E after two unsuccessful project motorcycles. The only new piece of gear I bought was a Bell Qualifier full-face helmet and otherwise I scrounged.
I made the mistake a lot of beginners do of assuming that the safety gear I had was "good enough", and that led to breaking my left ankle in a crash. That crash revealed a few pretty dangerous shortcomings in what I was wearing: my non-locking face shield popped right open when I hit the ground, my jacket was too large and the sleeve got pulled far up my arm, real motorcycle boots probably would've kept me from breaking my ankle instead of the work boots I was wearing, and hip armor would've saved me some nasty bruises. After I healed up I figured out how cheap good used gear can be. Now I've got a decent amount of decently safe gear and never leave home without it.
Earlier this year I had another crash, this time at much lower speed on a much heavier Kawasaki Concours 1000, and was almost completely unscathed because of ATTGATT.
On tour in two states that don't have helmet-required laws last year (Florida and Texas), I could count on two hands the number of riders I saw wearing helmets. I could count on one hand how many I saw wearing full gear. Out on the highways on the way to and from those states I saw a decent number wearing helmets regardless of brand; riders who tour seem to care at least a bit more about protection. Probably because you only need to get a bug in the face once at 70mph before buying a full-face helmet.
I had a local at a tiny convenience store in Cedar Hill, Arkansas say something like "wow, you must be hot wearing all that heavy gear!" I replied with "It has vents!" I was wearing a light textile jacket and riding jeans, a full-face helmet, leather gloves, and typical touring boots, which at the time didn't seem all that heavy or hot to me. I think a lot of folks who think only Harley-Davidson when they think motorcycle aren't even aware that safety gear is a thing, or that it can be decently comfortable no matter the temperature.
In Florida, I saw one completely stereotypical BMW rider upright on an R-series who was wearing bright yellow everything, and one rider on a red European sportbike who looked dressed for the racetrack in all black leather. I felt bad for him because it was exactly the weather you'd expect for Florida in July. In the week I was there those two were the only ATTGATT riders I saw out of 50 or more. Almost all others were wearing no helmets, and were on Harley-Davidsons.
In my opinion the vast majority of American motorcycle riders just don't care about or consider safety, and this is why our accident and fatality statistics look so incredibly grim. If they're not legally required to, most won't wear any safety gear at all.
I think the Harley stereotype has more to do with its huge market share compared to other brands because I have met plenty of people on other brands who care just as little about protecting themselves. Undergeared and unsafe riders of (mostly Japanese) sportbikes, aka "squids", are a great example.
I know one guy who rides a Ducati 959 Panigale, bought a $1000 AGV Pista R carbon-fiber ultra-safe track helmet, and wears no other safety gear, not even gloves (!!!). His complete lack of logic baffles me but it seems completely typical of sportbike riders. They buy the helmet because they think it looks cool and they have to, not because they care about being safe.
I think the stereotype of BMW riders being the most ATTGATT is likely true, but I think it's also part of the larger trend that riders who travel and tour a lot, especially on sport-touring machines, care more about safety and protection. Every time I've ever seen someone out on a Yamaha FJR or a newer Kawasaki Concours they're always in full gear.
Related to this, I think, is that people who buy BMW's don't buy them to keep them in the garage like a lot of Harley guys do. (Including my own father, when he had his Road King.) You can see this in the used market, where almost every BMW listed has a whole lot more miles than your average used Harley-Davidson. When I was looking for my current bike there seemed to be a lot more BMW's with 40,000 miles or more on them than not and I considered myself lucky that I found one with less than 35,000.
skibum69
slave to gravity
I spent a ton of time in hospital from racing downhill Mtn bikes, fun stuff but I wasn't very good at it. Even wearing body armour I had plenty of trauma. Even XC Mtn bikes I've broken myself a few times. Fortunately no high speed setoffs on motor but plenty of low speed falls riding offload with no consequence. If I'm going any distance I put my gear on. If I'm just toodling close to home at low speeds I'll even wear shorts knowing the likelihood of the amount of damage I'll sustain if I do come off.
As for other people I see people all the time on the highway etc wearing next to nothing.
As for other people I see people all the time on the highway etc wearing next to nothing.
I spent literally 8 hours in the saddle this last Saturday helping marshal a 1400 rider bicycle fun ride on the rural roads through the vineyards around Santa Rosa, CA.
I started with mesh jacket with thick cotton work pants, boots and gloves wearing an Osprey hydration pack with mesh stand off and a reflective neon vest over it all. My first layer was a thin Patagonia long sleeve sun shirt with a hood.
I spent most of the day averaging below 40 MPH, towards the end some few minute blocks at 45-55 when covering ground between clumps of riders. Put 200 miles on a K1200GT which had an annoying cam gear whine (not mine).
The mesh jacket came off at 85F and then it went to 95F. I value comfort and alertness over being oppressively hot. I drank over 3.0 liters of fluid over the day.
I think a lot depends on what you are doing. If I am working on a bike and need to test ride or heat up oils, I will ride around the rural roads where I live with just pants and the mesh jacket or even just a shirt it its hot. I wear gloves and helmet all the time of course. If its 100F and I need to run some errands I might take the bike with a short sleeve shirt. 35-50 MPH max and one traffic light between my home and Safeway. Commuting to the office, all the gear except I tend to let weather determine my lower half. Generally until winter when it gets cold and I wear my full suit, I will wear only thick cotton work pants.
I started with mesh jacket with thick cotton work pants, boots and gloves wearing an Osprey hydration pack with mesh stand off and a reflective neon vest over it all. My first layer was a thin Patagonia long sleeve sun shirt with a hood.
I spent most of the day averaging below 40 MPH, towards the end some few minute blocks at 45-55 when covering ground between clumps of riders. Put 200 miles on a K1200GT which had an annoying cam gear whine (not mine).
The mesh jacket came off at 85F and then it went to 95F. I value comfort and alertness over being oppressively hot. I drank over 3.0 liters of fluid over the day.
I think a lot depends on what you are doing. If I am working on a bike and need to test ride or heat up oils, I will ride around the rural roads where I live with just pants and the mesh jacket or even just a shirt it its hot. I wear gloves and helmet all the time of course. If its 100F and I need to run some errands I might take the bike with a short sleeve shirt. 35-50 MPH max and one traffic light between my home and Safeway. Commuting to the office, all the gear except I tend to let weather determine my lower half. Generally until winter when it gets cold and I wear my full suit, I will wear only thick cotton work pants.
A lot of people say they don't where gear when close to come or under a certain speed. Most accidents happen close to home and a lot of motorcycle deaths ( I would say most, without looking up stats) happen on city streets below 45 mph.
Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
Last time I saw the statistics for Montana the most common type of fatal motorcycle accident was running off the road due to excessive speed and/or loss of control. A very large percentage involved alcohol consumption. It also appeared from the statistics that if a rider has a motorcycle endorsement, wears a helmet and does not drink while riding, then that rider becomes immortal.
rich
#37829
A friend and I were out riding this past weekend and while going through one of our small towns it appeared there was a poker run or something similar going on. I would estimate it at 150+ bikes, which is pretty huge for this area.
We drove north from town and stopped at an overlook on a beautiful lake (Lake Tschida), and after a period of time we could hear the HD thunder coming from the south. As the first few bikes rolled by, I watched them less than 1/2 mile away negotiating a right hand uphill curve, which was marked with double yellow. I was shocked at how many of the bikes went over the line, sometimes several feet over the line. Sometimes a bike with a passenger. Everybody can draw their own conclusions, but I would have to believe that alcohol consumption was the likely reason.
We thought most of them had likely gone by so we took off northbound also, and while cruising at a decent 3-4 mph over the posted 65 (we're badass), we had a couple hogs fly by us like we were crawling along.
Poker runs and memorial rides seem to be a big thing, but I for one will never partake. Black leather and an occasional helmet were the gear for the day.
"Live to ride" Yep, live to ride....
pglaves
#13338
Saturday was September 11. There were lots of memorial rides.
