Ducati Monster Forum

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/Alucardbomb/IMG_1661.jpg)

Hey guys,

The riding season is upon us and I hope everyone is ready! I'm just stopping by to remind everyone to always wear a helmet when you ride.

Thats a picture of my helmet from my low speed, november accident. The bike is back up and running but I got nervous as I passed through Rhode Island today and noticed that literally everyone I saw on a bike wasn't wearing a helmet. As you can tell, even if I was wearing a half, or open faced helmet, my face would have been scraped off, so choose wisely because you can't always control what happens to you when you're on the road.

No Joke !

I tried to convince a co-worker that she really needs to wear her helmet.  Her response is "I don't ride crazy like you "   My response "all my crashes were low speed near my apartment and not speed related but the helmet saved my skull."  I cringe every time I see her ride with no helmet and just converse sneakers.  I even showed her my boots that were damaged but she just says she is tired of hearing me say that.  Well, i have stopped !  

Theres an impact ratio somewhere out on the inter webs (lol). I believe it was a german study. pretty interesting data. I believe they stated somewhere around 35% of all impacts to a helmeted rider occur in the area below eyes to the chin and cheeks. The exact area NOT covered in "halfies" or modulars (when up and left up".

I believe this is what you're referring to:

(http://dontai.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/helmetcrashdiagram.gif)

Not just crashes, a stone or bit of road debris flicked up and hitting you in the face at 30 mph is no fun either.

I'm always amazed when i see people riding without helmets.  How foolish can you be?

on top of that, omg my ears hurt so much !

(i have ridden maybe 2 times without a helmet and cringe when I think about it )

First hand experience from when I was 17.. [Damn I'm getting old!] That helmet is the reason I'm still able to hit on women and not scare them away  [Dolph]

Never rode without a helmet since..

   I almost ordered a cheap 3/4 helmet that I planned to wear when riding to the gym, errands, etc. close to home.
 I think I'll pass on the 3/4 helmet after seeing those pics.

this is such a good example of why not just a helmet, but a full face helmet should be mandatory gear for anyone who values their head and face.

I remember very clearly the stories the old scooter guys would tell me when I got my first bike (vespa p200). nothing will quite convince you like hearing the guys talk about wrecking their little 100cc scooters and how they could watch the gravel grind the visor as they slid face down.

the pudding bowl went on a shelf and its been arai/shoei/scorpion ever since.

my other favorite quote, when I was talking about getting a half helmet for "slow, around the town stuff" to a riding buddy. "well, how slow can I hit you in the face with a slab of asphault? if I promise to only run 10 mph can I drag your face on the ground?"...dick, those vintage style helmets look so cool too....

Here in OZ, it's compulsory to wear a helmet. I've  never understood why anyone would even think of getting on a bike without one.

Although the crazy thing that idiotic Ausses love to do in summer is wear a pair of rubber sandles, a pair of board shorts & a singlet - no gloves. They will have a helmet though.

I guess stupidity is a worldwide phenomenon.

It's actually more like 45%  :o

One of my co workers father went down week before last with no helmet, he is still in a comma and they don't think he will make it. I feel bad for the guy. If you aren't going to wear a helmet for yourself wear it for the people that love you.

But they're armored sandals.

I wear a helmet because it's the law.
And ATTGATT because I hate pain.

Everytime my visor gets hit by a rock, pebble, or bug, I cannot imagine wearing anything other than a full face helmet.
I'm not getting any better looking, this is as good as it gets.  I gotta protect my mug.  Full face helmet all the way.

Ciao!

I wish I could show that helmet picture to every yahoo I see riding helmetless and wearing a doo-rag. >:( Maybe I should just show them my cracked/crushed Arai Corsair that cut a wild turkey in half. I have never ridden without a helmet and this is my 48th year of doing so. If I hadn't had on that Corsair I would have been a headless corpse. Enough said. ;)

I never understood that - I see that on even the relatively high-speed roads around here all the time.  My thinking is, if I'm going to get in an accident at 55+ mph with only a helmet, even if the helmet saves my head, the rest of me is going to be so torn up that I'd probably prefer to just, you know, be dead.

On the helmet thing, I went riding the other night and ran through two huge swarms of gnats - hit literally hundreds of the stupid things.  The thought of hitting those barefaced makes my skin crawl.

We have giant flying B-29 bugs (On Any Sunday reference!) around here in the summer... OK, they are big ass grasshoppers. But when they hit your faceshield at speed you'd think someone tossed a full milkshake at your helmet! I can't tell you how many times I have stopped on the side of the road to clean my faceshield. When they hit your leg, neck or even your chest while wearing a jacket I always wonder how the doo-rag riding folks deal with that? They could easily put your eye out at 70-80mph! [bang]

PS  old trick: I keep an old bathroom washcloth soaked in water inside a zip lock bag on long rides. Makes a great roadside faceshield cleaner! Also keep a clean cotton bandanna to wipe dry the faceshield after the washcloth clean up. An old riding vet gave me that tip 30+ years ago and I still thank him for it! [thumbsup] [Dolph]

When I took the MSF/ABATE safety course, there was one very attractive girl who was learning to ride because she was tired of being the eye candy on the back of her boyfriend's bike.  She had an open-face helmet and high-sided during the emergency stop drill during the final testing.  Needless to say, she wasn't as attractive after that.

I actually do ride with a 3/4 (open face) helmet quite often, as do many of my friends.  Most of the things listed here aren't actually that bad.

Eyes are protected with shatter-resistant goggles or glasses, so that's not an issue.  As far as bugs, pebbles, rain, etc., well, they can hurt, but you get used to it and they stop hurting.  I liken it to how the grease splatter from my first job at McDonald's hurt for the first week, but I toughened up and it didn't hurt after that.

Going down can obviously still tear up your face, but remember that the front part of a full face helmet projects out far more than your face does, so it's going to get torn up.  I've known two guys who slid face-down with 3/4 DOT helmets and took no damage to their faces because the brim held them up and away from the surface initially until and their head naturally rotated to the side.  The result was scrapes to the brim and side, but no facial lacerations.

A "do-rag" on the face, though it wouldn't seem to, does completely stop any bugs, rain, or small dirt from hurting.  What's more, every full-face helmet I've ever tried does restrict my peripheral vision.  With the right eye-wear, 3/4 helmets do not.  So it's not all bad.  It's easier to smoke a cigar or drink a soda as well.   ;D

send her my facebook pics. I was just going through an intersection doing nothing crazy and someone turned left in front of me because they didn't look. 4 months later i just started running again(Weds I jogged for 5 min), my left wrist is about 50% and I saw the rear window shatter through my visor. My helmet has a nice deep cut right over the right eye as well.

though people that don't want to be convinced of anything won't be. I know I am one of the most stubborn people around and how hard it is to convince me through aggressive tactics. good luck to her.

Yes.  I was at a wedding when I was in my teens.  An older gent there had no jaw.  None, nada zip.  My father, seeing my surprise explained he was riding a motorcycle and T-Boned a car and his jaw caught the top of the window frame.  He was wearing a half helmet.

I've heard of a few similar situations sonce then, but that was by far the most graphic.

To each his own, but I've taken hits by BA grasshoppers to the forehead with my full face helmet and could not imagine what it would have felt like with out the helmet. I've even had tiny little Beatles hit my neck that hurt like hell. Many times I've had to pull over and make sure it wasn't a small bird. I must just be a wuss.

Tiny little Beatles?  Like Ringo?

Were I come from this debate wouldn't happen because the law states you must were helmet while riding a motorcycle and I just wish they would pass a law to make motorcyclists on the rare warm day we get here that would stop them wearing t shirts shorts and flip flops to make a short run to the shops.

I like having the choice. In fact, I stand by the idea that we should be able to decide out own level of saftey equiptment.
I just choose to wear gear and will attempt to inform those that may be uninformed.

+1

+2

I'm an MSF instructor and we have one of those in our classroom to show the students when discussing proper gear.

<shudder>

That thing looks just like the one I was wearing after The Deer Incident. Only my visor was hanging freely on one side, and has a little blood inside from my bit lip.

It permanently occupies a spot in my shop for all to see and learn from.

The only problem with that thought is that if a helmet-less rider goes down due to something (smacking him in the face or for any reason) and ends up with constant healthcare. I DONT want be to the one paying his medical bills. Society will not allow for an injured riding to just die. We for some reason think we have to save everybody. Regardless of wether or not they were being safe. Shit, fact is my health care at work is requiring me to get healthy or pay a higher premium. So if you dont wish to wear a helmet, (if legal) by all means don't. But at least agree that you should have to pay a higher premium.

if only we could pick and choose who the government gives our money too...

there's a long list of things i don't want the government to pay for with my dime.  motorcycle injuries are way down on the list. 

And we're off! [popcorn]

Probably want to lock this.