Helmet less in Connecticut

[DoubleEagle]

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...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            That was one of my come backs ....if I crash I hope I die. Problem with that is there is no guarantee that you will die and  not end up a vegetable !

[T-byrd]

Can't do it.  Went gearless trying to get the oil warm to change it, went through the hood and I felt very , very uncomfortable...naked almost.

I actually found that I was more focused on not being geared up that I didn't focus too well on riding. 

No thanks, it's just not for me.

T

[the ron]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             That was one of my come backs ....if I crash I hope I die. Problem with that is there is no guarantee that you will die and  not end up a vegetable !

you know its always the circumstance. for instance, i crashed in 2004,(damn bikini car wash ) it was a realitvley slow speed accident. but i know for sure that my helmet saved my life. but what if you crash hard. and you don't even hit your head. all the leather in the world won't stop your insides from exploding. I don't know the answer to this or anyother of lifes questions. but i do feel, like i said danger aside in a perfect world, riding with out all of that gear just feels better. regardless if its right or wrong to do so.

the ron

[EjGlows]

I just came back from a trip to CT and was aghast at all the riders without any gear.  Absolutely shocked   I grew up in CT and moved to the Bay Area and can't even conceive of leaving the house without my helmet, jacket, and boots.  For anything longer than a ride to work I'll even put on my leathers.

Oh, and all my family in CT ride HD's and never wear a brain bucket.  That's right, I said it....Brain Bucket.  Oh well, different strokes for different folks...

e

[DoubleEagle]

I can't vote because I can't imagine anymore what it would feel like to ride without gear. I felt very safe in all my safety gear , so much so that I rode the back roads with reckless abandon. Had it not been for a momentary loss of concentration I might still feel that way but instead I crashed in a semi blind, hard left hander ,going down hill after coming out of a small valley and cresting a hill, hard on the throttle I saw a bike w/ 2 people standing  beside it.... and then there it was . I was in the center of the road and in a split second at somewhere between 50 and 70 mph I slammed into a ditch along side the outside of the center of a small ,tight curve. 4 broken ribs, punctured lung, 2 sprained ankles, contusion of the right shoulder, and much soft tissue damage. I no longer feel like I'm invinceable with every piece of safty gear that I can wear. I need to learn to lowside and get rid of the bike if I'm going to ride like there is no risk. At age 59 at the end of this month and having only ridden a Ducati for 1 year what the hell am I thinking !!! Maybe I should ride without gear ? Then I would be so fearful that I would ride like a little girl and not kill myself. I just finished watching the Isle of Man TT Review2007  DVD and to watch those riders average over 128 mph on a 37.73 mile course , 6 times (226.38miles),around the perimeter of the Isle where some of the race is through towns where it looks like the riders coulds reach out and touch the fans at speeds well in excess of 100 mph is just so exciting . I'd love to ride that race but one wrong move and you're dead. As far as I know in the week of racing no one died. They wear less protection than I do . I suppose part of that is no amount of safety gear will save you if you hit a stone wall at over 100mph. Good thing I'm not in my 20's , I'd be dead in no time.

[the ron]

you see maybe there is some argument to the if i ride with gear, i ride harder philosophy. when i was without gear, i just floated around. and didn't take any unneccasary risks. i know that riding is a risk in itself, but i do think that the gear may give some a false sense to security.

the ron

[NAKID]

you see maybe there is some argument to the if i ride with gear, i ride harder philosophy. when i was without gear, i just floated around. and didn't take any unneccasary risks. i know that riding is a risk in itself, but i do think that the gear may give some a false sense to security.

the ron

As I see it, I don't wear the gear for me. I wear it for the other guy who likely won't even know I'm there til he feels the "thud"...

[denbike]

Don't dress for the ride, dress for the crash. In that case I'm going to wear a Suburban.

[krolik]

As I see it, I don't wear the gear for me. I wear it for the other guy who likely won't even know I'm there til he feels the "thud"...

So speaks the voice of personal experience.

If you do crash, remember that you are more likely to survive your injuries if you don't have a brain injury on top of them.

[NAKID]

So speaks the voice of personal experience.

If you do crash, remember that you are more likely to survive your injuries if you don't have a brain injury on top of them.

[JohnnyDucati]

              
   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

Hey Mr. The Ron,

How are you?  Glad to see that you are still fightin' City Hall.  Somebody has to. I think you're wrong on the helmet topic, but at least I'm glad you're vocal about it  . 

The P-47 pilots you admire wore helmets.  And oxy masks, and flight suits (later G suits), and gloves, etc., etc.  Why?  Probably because they learned the hard way it helped preserve pilots.  Pilots are expensive to train.  Better to keep the good ones around than train more newbies.

You mention the commies foisting these helmet laws on us.  Maybe it's the other way around?  Maybe we're getting more informed, smarter and better advised about motorcycle safety, and safety in general?  It is a dumb make the beast with two backser today that does not wear his seat belt in a car.

Consider this:  if you participate in skiing, snowboarding, windsurfing, mountain biking (these guys are now wearing full-face moto-cross helmets), horseback riding, etc., what do you see?  More and more people are wearing helmets.  Check out the cool rigs that the Professional Bull Riders are using - no more cowboy hats!  WTF- the commies took over the rodeo!  There are specialty helmets specifically designed for every sport.  I know, you can argue that some greedy corporation is just out to make a fast buck.  But would the evil corporation be able to make a buck unless the demand was there?  When I started skiing, I sure as hell never saw anyone with a helmet.  Now, there all over the slopes.

You know what?  I'm glad.  Glad that people have got the idea.  Glad they are wailing on their kids to wear 'em.  You can have more fun and less worry about bashing your brains in.

My Dad told me stories about the BMW 250 he had as a young guy back in 1959.  He bemoaned the fact that he never really had good gear; it just wasn't available.  His leather jacket had buttons up front (no zip), so he would stuff newspapers down his shirt front to keep the cold wind off.  His gloves were crappy, he wore welders goggles tied with string, and he would stuff his pants pockets into his socks or boots and they would blow out anyway.  And he never had a helmet.  He told me he would have given his left nut to have a Shoei time-warped back to him in his day.  Imagine how much more enjoyable those epic rides of his would have been with a decent helmet?  Needless to say, he bought the best helmet he could afford when he bought me my first mini-bike.

So, Ron, all I want you to consider is that "the good ol' days" never were.  Why are the true afficianados of motor sport the most interested in the latest helmet advances and related safety gizmos?  Because they know it makes the sport better, not worse.

I think we should honor the experience of our fathers and elders who preceded us.  When they tell you that helmets are good, they are speaking from their hearts, not because they want to reign in your freedoms or ruin your enjoyment.  What would you say to your son/daughter, if he was riding around in the same manner you do?

Just some thoughts for you to consider, next time your tooling around au natural . . .

JohnnyDucati, son of JohnBMW

[slyfox]

It's almost 95 degrees all year round where I'm living .........

& I would never ride without the helmet & the jacket on

[LA]

Riding without a helmet is just about the most stupid make the beast with two backsing thing in the whole world. Maybe God's way of takin out the trash.

It's like living in an oven sometimes down here in the deep South and I will ride with a ventilated jacket and sneeks in the summer and on short rides sometimes without a jacket. I have never had really great gear, but would like to. At a minimum, it's full coverage helmet, gloves and some sort of jacket. I don't have good boots, but make do with a pair of Wolvereens.

In the early 70's I used to ride with a helmet with no chin protection  and English racing goggles, but wore leathers, gloves, and knee high boots. As soon as I knew about Bell Star 90's I got one and replaced it every couple of years or so.

I've slid down the road a few time in wrecks that began at over a 100, but never hit the road at much over 55 or so - I've been fortunate in that. All of those wrecks left BIG gouges in my helmet and would have left me a veggi at best.

In S.C. there's no helmet law, but I sure as hell wear one. I'm ugly, not stupid.


LA

[CountGreffi]

My girlfriend says my face is too pretty to get destroyed, it's my money maker apparently the reason she is with me. I like being with a hot girl, so my face will not be making an appearance in the wind while riding my bike. I also have a matte black EXO-700 ('08 model), I like the way our helmet looks (tad heavy though.)

cg

[Capt baz]

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...

nakid,

 no helmet law in the nutmeg state. motto is: "let those who ride decide". where will you be in  the nutmeg state? subase? i live close. look me up