Helmet less in Connecticut

[the ron]

              You know, helmets are cool!  [thumbsup]Ever since I started riding, I always had a cool helmet. The pinnacle of cool helmetness was 1989 when I was tearing up the sandpits of Newtown Ct on my Honda Fourtrax        250r with my Rick Johnson replica moto-4!   More than just protective gear, they are  part or moto-mania. Another item to purchase, talk about and of course pine over. Streetbike helmets are no-exception. , I feel like a fighter pilot,sometimes! ,  with my visor up, I am as close to a naval aviator as I will ever be.  Except, he has an  F/A 18 that is waiting for him on the flight deck and I have an S2R eight hundred with considerably less horsepower,(77 to be exact).  However, since I grew up in Connecticut, I went through a helmetless period.....
   My first streetbike a zx-6e was one part machine and one part dating apparatus. There fore the no helmet law on Connecticut made a lot of sense. It is hard to approach a beautiful young woman and take your helmet off. Too much anticipation, and maybe in my case it was too anticlimactic. So Helmetless it was! So from the years of 95-98 I was a helmet less fool. And loving every minute of it.  [moto]
   Fast forward to now, since I have lived in communist Massachusetts for about ten years, I have gotten used to the idea of wearing a helmet. Here in this state, they tell you what to do with your life in just about every circumstance, so why should a helmet be any different? Every once in a while, I take my monster around the neiborhood without my lid on. It feels good!  Partly because of the slight wind that 10mph provides but also to aggravate all of the neighbors, who are used to government telling them what to do.
   I still visit Connecticut a lot, my family is there and my best friend is their. So I truck the monster the 149 miles to Woodbury and get lost for a couple days. I enjoy the sights of western Ct.and the sound of my buddys nighttrain punnishing my ear drums as he rides slightly ahead and to the left of me. But this weekend was different.
   I always wear my helmt now, I gear up and even force my friend to put on his retro ¾ as we pack on the miles. But I got a urge saturday morning and I couldn't help myself. As I walked out to the awaiting monster I felt different. There on the garage floor was my gear. My scratched up matte black scorpion exo 700, my kevlar lined khakis, my cortech jacket and gloves and also my steel toe riding boots. They were thrown there hastily on the garage floor, the night before, as I unloaded my machine  at 1:00 in the morning. And at that moment, spurred on by the 98 degree tempuratrue and urge to  defy all of the government fools in massachusetts, I decided that the garage floor was where the gear was going to stay. So, I took my shirt off,( easy girls!), tucked it down the back of my shorts and headed off.
   What a thrill!!! That is the way riding is supposed to feel. All of the wind, the noise, and excitement! It is a whole different experience. I rode around for hours like that. Cruising at a moderate pace, with that grin that only a monster can provide, (696 need not apply), and this time it wasn't hidden by the mass amount of fiberglass provided by my exo 700. I must admit it was a little weird, but it was much funner that it was weird. And of corse,(  [laugh]ha, get it, corse),  I did gear up when I went for my long ride with my buddy that night, it  was just nice to enjoy the freedom a motorcycle can truly provide.
   We live in such a sanitary environment now. “don't eat that”  “don't say this”, “ Wear Protection” wear your seatbelt” ugh, enough already! I know that the commies will win out and eventually all states will have a helmet law , and at that time I will probably be hunted down and incarcerated for writing this. But I look back at my helmetless saturday and feel somewhat like a cowboy trotting his horse through the range or even better, a fighter pilot cracking open the cockpit,of his P-47 Thunderbolt allowing the fresh air to float  through his hair and gets lost in the sights and sounds of two of the most opposite things on this planet, nature and the machine.....


the ron

[ducducgooseme]

Spend a few weekends running with your local fire emt rescue squad.  I have literally scooped up the grey pieces parts with a square nosed shovel and placed them on top of the body in the bag.  Though its super tempting to ride without (just to feel the breeze!!), I can't bring myself to.

[silentbob]

I used to ride out to the east end of Long Island and take the ferry over to CT and ditch the helmet on the other side.  It was fun back then.  Now I feel naked if I don't have full leathers on when I ride.

I still think it should be a personal choice.

[la strada]

Sounds nice, but I'm very fond of my teeth (and various other body parts).

[Capt baz]

35 years of h-d'n & no helmet(or brains) seemed like the right thing. 3 years into ducati ownership, i have never left  home without it. it took alot of getting use to.  but the best description of helmet need was described to me like this.  stand straight up with your hands & arms tightly to your side & fall forward, without putting your hands out to brake the fall & let you head hit the ground. now factor in some mph.

[NAKID]

Is there no helmet law in CT? I'll be there in about 5 weeks. Being in the military, I still have to wear one, but I would anyway...

[DCXCV]

I feel weird just straddling my bike without a lid on.

My lid is comfy, has a pretty neat paint job and will do a much better job of keeping my brains inside my skull than not having one on.  They're not required in AZ.  I have too much living left to do to go out without one on.  In the event I need it (hopefully never) I probably won't get the opportunity to regret going without.

[TiNi]

i wouldn't know that feeling...
i've never ridden without it, it's not worth it...

and i live in CT  

[acalles]

Riding without one doesn't interest me much. its like banging a chick from the dive bar with no rubber... might be fun, but on the chance something goes wrong your really gonna regret it!

I have a friend who is a EMT, he was telling me the other day he picked up a kid who had been drinking, hit the back of a truck at a relatively low speed with no helmet and broke all the bones in his face while leaving a dent in the truck (he survived but it was a ton of surgery and probably a life time of pain )...

I don't think the state should make laws requiring people to wear helmets, I think they ought to be smart enough to do so them selfs.

[DoubleEagle]

I rode H-Ds for years without a helmet  (dumb) but it felt ok and that leather skull cap somehow made me feel like I had some protection . Also none of the " gang" wore a helmet so it didn't seem out of order. When I was young ( 20s) I rode with a group on the weekends and Ohio had a helmet law back then and we sometimes rode to W.Va. to ride because they had no mandatory helmet law. We felt like we had escaped from prison and no one even wore a full face helmet in those days . Some of us wore helmets that looked like WW2 German helmets. Well fast forward to 5 years ago and I stared riding BMWs . All the BMW riders wore all the gear so I geared up . Now I wouldn't ride a mile down the road without my full safety gear which takes me a 1/2 hour to put on . I'm wearing as much as I can to try and save my ass . I kinda feel like before I retired in that I never went to the office with out being as sharply dressed as I could . If I didn't have a tie on I didn't feel like I could work. I believe if people don't want to wear a helmet or seat belt then let them suffer the consequences. I'm not in favor of the legal system trying to protect us from ourselves . From others ...yes. I can tell you one thing..you can wear the best safety gear but..if you slam into a ditch at 50-70 mph you will probably get hurt and probably pretty bad ( my own experience )...............On the subject of not wearing a helmet, I remember what it felt like to get hit in the face with a Bumble Bee or a Beetle at high speed...kinda like being shot with what I would imagine a pellet rifle  would feel like and it was enough to almost knock me off my bike from the reflex. If it hit you in the sunglasses you would be temporarily blinded by the guts that splattered.

[JoDuc]

Florida here - When I first moved here from NY I got rid of my bike. No turns and way too hot, especially just sitting and baking at a stoplight. Then they changed the helmet law and I wanted to get a bike again. When i did, I still wore a helmet, but as of late i've ditched it. Even bought a new helmet to help me wanna wear one. But, it hasn't worked...

What I've noticed, helmetless, is that I have much better vision periferaly. I can hear better and I ride slower due to all the wind noise and feel. So, i ride safer w/o a helmet in that sense. I'm used to it now and prefer not to wear one. When I do I feel really confined. Yeah, it is STUPID, but I feel that I ride safer and have a better perception of my surroundings. if i die, I die.... - So it goes...

[Scottish]

I used to ride w/o a helmet for years. Since I've been sober though I find I have to much to live for. I wish I could ride w/o but there are just to many yahoos out there.

[the ron]

Florida here - When I first moved here from NY I god rid of my bike. No turns and way too hot, especially just sitting and baking at a stoplight. Then they changed the helmet law and I wanted to get a bike again. When i did, I still wore a helmet, but as of late i've ditched it. Even bought a new helmet to help me wanna wear one. But, it hasn't worked...

What I've noticed, helmetless, is that I have much better vision periferaly. I can hear better and I ride slower due to all the wind noise and feel. So, i ride safer w/o a helmet in that sense. I'm used to it now and prefer not to wear one. When I do I feel really confined. Yeah, it is STUPID, but I feel that I ride safer and have a better perception of my surroundings. if i die, I die.... - So it goes...

interesting take on that.

the ron

[DY]

When i want to feel a breeze, i crack my visor up a bit. 

If i'm feeling REALLY risky, i'll even unzip the top half of my jacket.   



I'm such a wuss.   

[the ron]

When i want to feel a breeze, i crack my visor up a bit. 

If i'm feeling REALLY risky, i'll even unzip the top half of my jacket.   



I'm such a wuss.   

I always ride with my visor open

the ron