The pleasure of riding without a helmet?

[ANDYVH]

What many people also fail to realize, is sun-burned skin on your noggin is not comfortable at all, and can be life threatening! You don't need to get sun-burned to start the dangerous path of cancer from Melanoma. I had two uncles that both died from cancer that started as Melanoma, with the usual moles on their heads.

A full face helmet is VERY effective to provide sun protection for those many of us with much more than a forehead. Mine's at least a five-head on its way to a six-head as my hairline continues it north bound trek over my noggin.

 

[jforgo]

Did plenty of no helmet growing up in Southern California, typically in the heat on city streets. But for highway typically would put it on, especially because of the noise. Always had to wear correctives, so didn't get so much of the eye issue.
Now where I live and ride helmets are mandatory. Compliance typically is no big deal; I don't really get all the fuss.
Sometimes I am sorely tempted to go without, either if I have to go just a couple blocks, or most especially when I am doing short test riding as I sort out some repair issue. But I refrain, as I really hate paying fines!
No doubt helmets can save your life. No doubt not wearing them is not an automatic death sentence. Most of all, no doubt your nimble and aware mind is your greatest safety asset.

 

[roostershooter]

I use Gary Busey as my motivation to wear a helmet.

 

[22600]

I have been riding for over 40 years and never rode without a helmet intentionally. I have ridden without one because someone stole it and it was not fun. It was night time and over a 100 miles from my destination. What is fun about having bugs, rain, dirt and dust blowing in your face.

I admit that riding around on some country road at a slow speed on a nice day might be fun. I have done that on a scooter but I know it is not safe. I have bitten the pavement at 30 miles an hour with a helmet on and it was the only thing that saved me. There were deep gashes in the top and on the visor; my head would not have fared so well.

DW

 

[119240]

http://www.bobduffey.com/Safety.html

 

[BC1100S]

I use Gary Busey as my motivation to wear a helmet.

Before or after his accident?

 

[119240]

^ Now that was good !

 

[35634]

A helmet and loud, life saving pipes would seem to be an ideal solution. Too bad around here they seem to be mutually exclusive












(note: "loud, life saving pipes" is in SARCASM font}

 

[NI5L]

It's right there in the Bad Ass Biker's Code handbook....section 7-a

"In order to qualify as a Bad Ass Biker, wearing of any kind of helmet other than a half helmet (and then only to conform to local laws) is strictly prohibited."

"Additionally, wearing full fingered gloves, being friendly to non Bad Ass Biker's and NOT having a gremlin bell on your bike are also prohibited"


Friggin' sidewalk commandos........

 

[BCKRider]

The OP with the original question. I just wanted to understand, not change anyone's mind, and I still DON'T understand. Those bare-headed riders are not all on slow commutes from one bar to another, right? And they experience all the things in the face that we get in in our face shields - rain, wind, bugs, noise, more sun, sunburn, possible melanoma. To date, nobody has described the pleasures which offset the discomforts. Well, maybe a slow ride around the block after washing the bike.

Also, you have, but only for young men: you look "cool;" it is convenient (putting on a helmet takes 30 seconds, same for doffing it, and unlikely it will be stolen in most locales you are visible to the girls; helmets cost money.

I remember many years ago talking to a rider (way before I got my first bike) and he described a high speed ride on a Ducati. "I didn't use the helmet, because I knew if I crashed, I was going to die anyway." Now, I would have said "if you want to ride that road at a ridicuolus speed, wear the full-face helmet so you see better."

The "disconnect" between those of us who ride with full face or flipup helmets, and those of us who ride with other less protective or no helmets exists. I regret that this thread which I started has not really shed any real light (so far) on our differences.

Only people who know and ride with friends who don't wear helmets are likely to extend our knowledge.

 

[rd400racer]

NOBODY, so far, including those who rode helmetless in their younger days, has had a single good thing to say about that experience. Noise, bugs, rain and hot wind in your face are not part of the pleasure we get from riding.

Of course, if your only helmet experience is a beanie or half face, you have still suffered most of the consequences of riding without a helmet, so why bother if it is not a legal requirement. That is the only explanation which makes sense to me.

As states have dropped their helmet requirement laws, it seems certain that the percentage of riders who wear helmets has dropped off greatly. But are older riders ditching their full-face helmets or flipups for this new-found freedom? Judging by the replys to this thread, I would guess not. I think it is the folk who wore useless or near useless helmets who are chucking them when they legally can.

The statistics are more than a little shy on this point. I believe GOOD helmets may save well more than 37% of lives of people involved in serious crashes. And we seem to agree, they just make riding more enjoyable in all conditions. How do so many folk seem not to get that?

I believe education, is the best answer. Anyone here also on a Harley or Goldwing forum? Be interesting to understand a position I don't think we will see expressed here.

Yeah, I did have a good time riding helmetless back in the old days. I lived in the Florida Keys from 80-83 (Coast Guard). I had a girlfriend in Miami and my aunt lived in Lauderdale, so I rode that stretch pretty much every weekend I was off on my brand new Honda 750F.

Don't know if it changed but back then Florida was a helmet manditory state. Being in my early twenties I had a particular habit of staying in the Miami area until the last possible moment that I calculated I could make it back to my station without being AWOL, so that meant many rides back down the Keys in the early AM hours (sleep was an unneccesary commodity back then).

If you've been to the Keys you know there are two ways to get there: the regular Overseas Highway route or the much lesser travelled Card Sound Road. Typically I was in a hurry so I would just blast down the Overseas at triple digit speeds to make it in time. I never had police issues; being in the CG back then was a veritable get out of jail free card (although they would call my Chief and have him tell me to slow my ass down!).

Anyway, I'm rambling...to get to the original point (sorry, memory lane is a fun place). On the trips back that I had some time, I would venture down old Card Sound Road, which added about a half hour to the trip, and pop off the old helmet because it was basically a desolate road in those days. And I would actually go slower than the limit because it was such a beautiful little journey. I can still smell the pine mixed with salt water that radiated the entire stretch.

Damn, now I feel a strong need to fuel up the RS and go on a 1300 mile road trip just to conjure up that aroma again!

 

[JoeDabbs]

It looks like all you're going to get, here, is why you should wear a helmet. Actually, it's quite nice at fairly low speeds to go helmetless, in a state where you can. Remember, that back in the old days (20's,30's, 40's), what with the conditions of the roads, 45 - 50 mph was going pretty darn fast. Washing the hair and taking a nice little jaunt at 35 or 40 mph to dry it is one nice thing to do. Yes, you can die at that speed, but you asked why some would enjoy going helmetless. Geez, I saw a lot of people going helmetless in PA at Bloomsburg. They couldn't all have been miserable or crazy, and they certainly weren't badass bikers, they were badass beemer folks.

 

[K1600_gtl]

I don't think I"ve ever seen someone on a BMW without a helmet... Harley, or other cruiser yes, but never a BMW.. I think we're generally smarter than the average motorcyclist..

 

[35634]

Geez, I saw a lot of people going helmetless in PA at Bloomsburg.

Joe,

All BMW riders (at least the one's that post here) are fully atgatt even in 110 degree weather, ride at least 50,000 miles a year, fry their chicken stripes and are certified MSF instructors.

You obviously were hallucinating about helmetless riders

 

[JoeDabbs]

Ha, my buddies at work took a bike ride down to Myrtle Beach a couple of weeks ago and (yes, they are the itty bitty helmet types that only ride occasionally) they were astonished to see a dude riding a K1200LT with flip-flops, beanie helmet, and shorts, and Hawaiian shirt. They had to report back to me with amazement, as I do fit the ATGATT role when commuting to work. They had assumed that all BMW riders are ATTGATT and are the wine and cheese set.

 

[scqtt]

I always wear one, but you need to ride your own ride & do what works for you.

It is all about accepting certain levels of risk.

Less than 5% of the NA population ride motorcycles....actually much less.

Many of that 95+% of non-riders openly state that motorcycling itself is too dangerous regardless of gear choices.

To them we are crazy riding for our death machines.

When you keep that in mind the jump from helmet to non-helmet does not seem like much.

You may think 50% of riders that do not wear helmets are idiots with a deathwish.....I promise you a much much great number of people think you are just as crazy for even getting on a bike.

You do not want to be judged by the non-riding public & have to spend time defending your hobby/sport and the choice you made....

Same thing for the helmetless rider....I'm sure he is sick defending himself from the AGATT Nazis.

 

[Delaware.Dave]

Our frequent riding partners are our good friends, a husband and wife who both ride their own Harleys. Great people. Neither wear a helmet if they don't need to.
2 intelligent, succesful, classy people. I don't get it.

I can't imagine riding without a helmet. Put safety aside, when I count the bugs on the face shield, that's all I need to know.

Bugs nothin', I think about this whenever a stone whacks my faceshield.

I say "Let those who ride, decide." I won't criticize another rider for his equipment choices, at least not to his face. It's his bike and his body. However, as most riders complain how bad the cagers are on the road, the accident is usually going to come looking for us, not the other way around.

When we taught MSF and this question came up, we'd answer with a question. "If you knew for a fact you were going to have an accident today, would you wear all of your best gear?

I always wear my helmet in this helmet-optional state.

 

[BCKRider]

I think I have a communication problem.

YES, riding a motorcycle is more dangerous than taking the car. I can't imagine anyone thinking it isn't. Almost all of us ride for the PLEASURE of the experience and we accept the increased risk.

YES, riding without a helmet increases the risk substantially. If it also increased the PLEASURE of the experience, then going without a helmet would be completely understandable; a trade-off of reward for extra risk.

But very few, at least on this forum, think there are any plusses to riding without a helmet and numerous downsides - and that's assuming you don't crash. Hey, I am content to let every rider chose what they do or do not wear. I can even understand the T-shirt/shorts/running shoes option for short rides. But no real helmet? Still don't get it.

 

[ANDYVH]

Back in the 70s and 80s, before I owned my BMWs, I would see a BMW rider and was always impressed with their riding gear, because the riders looked serious and involved in the ride, prepared for it. It was one of the things that attracted me to BMWs. Also, BMWs were less plentiful then, you noticed them more because there were less of them on the roads.

Now, even though BMW is still a small player. volume wise, in the motorcycle market, you see a LOT more of them. So, their popularity has increased and more people ride them that were not the "faithful" of prior years. But, now I see a lot more BMW riders helmetless, shorts, flip-flops (ouch! BMWs don't shift easily for near barefoot riding), shirtless in some cases (always older guys, never the ladies). Maybe I have some elite BMW attitude going on here, but it disturbs me to see other BMW riders riding much like the cruiser types. Oh well, their brain, not mine.

To the comment about how nice it is to ride at city speeds without a helmet, think about the fact that most cycle crashes and fatalities occur at 35mph. That's like a rider saying, "I only wear a helmet on the highway." HUH? That logic only works because the rider is uninformed and ignorant. Again, back to the statistics about cycle crashes and fatailites.

To the many riders I see (as a many year MSF instructor, I watch other riders closely) who claim their "rights" to ride as they wish, helmetless/loud pipes, my bet is most of them have never had any formal training or taken a rider course of any kind. I see a LOT of helmetless/gear-less riders in traffic with LOUSY traffic strategy/riding skills. Some states now allow riders to go helmetless IF they purchase catastrophic medical insurance. Here, even the states don't address the issue of rider skills. I say if a rider wants to exercise the "right" to go helmetless, then the rider should be required to attend a set number of hours or rider training. Then get, and pay for, a special license plate (color or style) that shows they took the rider training to ride their "right". At least they would have gained some real riding skills, hopefully.

Of course, that would never fly in this country where no one wants to be inconvenienced in any way, or heaven forbid, that they would have to prove themselves worthy of attaining the right to ride unprotected. ATGATT in itself does not save your life, because the only real safety gear is between your ears and the riding skills you have and use. I just feel to ride as you choose should be an earned status.

 

[K1600_gtl]

Back in the 70s and 80s, before I owned my BMWs, I would see a BMW rider and was always impressed with their riding gear, because the riders looked serious and involved in the ride, prepared for it. It was one of the things that attracted me to BMWs. Also, BMWs were less plentiful then, you noticed them more because there were less of them on the roads.

Now, even though BMW is still a small player. volume wise, in the motorcycle market, you see a LOT more of them. So, their popularity has increased and more people ride them that were not the "faithful" of prior years. But, now I see a lot more BMW riders helmetless, shorts, flip-flops (ouch! BMWs don't shift easily for near barefoot riding), shirtless in some cases (always older guys, never the ladies).

To the comment about how nice it is to ride at city speeds without a helmet, think about the fact that most cycle crashes and fatalities occur at 35mph. That's like a rider saying, "I only wear a helmet on the highway." HUH? That logic only works because the rider is uninformed and ignorant.

To the many riders I see (as an many year MSF instructor, I watch other riders) who claim their "rights" to ride as they wish, my bet is most all of them have never had any formal training or taken a rider course of any kind. I see a LOT of helmetless/gear-less riders in traffic with LOUSY traffic strategy/riding skills. Some states now allow riders to go helmetless IF they purchase catastrophic medical insurance. Here, even the states don't address the issue of rider skills. I say if a rider wants to exercise the "right" to go helmetless, then the rider should be required to attend a set number of hours or rider training. Then get, and pay for, a special license plate (color or style) that shows they took the rider training to ride their "right". At least they would have gained some real riding skills, hopefully.

well said... I too am shocked that people with the education and understanding to appreciate a BMW bike don't have the sense to protect themselves knowing what the statistics are out there. Here in Portland OR, in two years living here, I've not seen a single guy on a BMW without the necessary gear, but that might be an Oregon thing.