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The debate about gear rages on

I'm with Lou on this. Get the best you can buy.

On the gear topic though- About a year ago on Facebook I started getting the target marketing for bikerhelmets.com (with a look just for the entertainment value) trying to sell SOA inspired helmets. You know, to "look like a badass". So I started scrolling through and reading the comments. The usual skid lid vs. fullface debate. The one that really grabbed me though was a man making a case for not wearing a full face helmet due to the extra weight possibly breaking your neck.

The whole concept of a skid lid is safer than a full face do to weight is ridiculous but it sparked my curiosity.

Recently I had done Brian Bartlow's camp, we got into talking track suits. He brought up the weight issue as well. The extra weight will keep up the body's inertia while crashing/tumbling ect.

It was an angle I had never thought of while selecting gear. For Racing purposes I always understood lighter is better but not from a "get off" perspective. There is something about a heavy leather jacket I have always liked.

What say the masses?
 
louemc said:
Really Haven't you ever paid Hospital bills, and the Doctor bills,
and the lost wages from the period of time you needed to recover from injuries, and not able to go to work?
Click to expand...

I said "really" because this thread is old as dirt now and you just said what was already said ad nauseam after someone decided to hit the thread with a defibrillator.

You like to hear(read) yourself talk though so I'm not surprised.
 
RaptorFA said:
Everyone has to make their own decision about wearing gear or not. I don't get angry at those who don't wear it; it's their ass, not mine. And I agree, wearing gear is not going to prevent wrecking. But perhaps it speaks to the mind set of the rider. If a rider makes the choice to wear proper gear, then perhaps that rider is also of the mindset to ride safe. I will never ride without proper gear.
Click to expand...

I agree for 3 reasons.
1. Awesome avatar
2. Great first name
3. Because his post makes sense.

I do love the avatar. :thumbup
 
gear may not prevent crashes, but it sure as hell prevents life threatening injuries. I highsided a buddy's 636.. paid for it outta pocket.. but anyways i landed helmet first(it was Snell2010 rated), only thing suffered was a fractured wrist and torn shoulder..
 
This thread is so zombie I have no idea if I bothered to comment therefore no comment.
 
When I first starting riding I was unlucky enough to crash at 65mph, clip the side of a mountain and slide for 120 feet. I had full leathers and WALKED away from the crash. Everyone that saw it was in disbelief that I walked away with just a cracked fingernail. If I had not been wearing gear my left foot would have bent over backwards and touched the back of my leg. My head would have exploded on impact. I hit so hard that a fist sized piece of paint came off the left chin area and dented the helmet. My entire front side would have been hamburger as I slide doing a helicopter motion.

Gear saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars and at least six months of recovery.

I'd love to hear from the people that crashed at 65+mph without gear and find out how much it cost and the downtime. Not to mention probable perminent injuries.

The only thing I have against non gear riders is most don't know how much fire they are actually playing with.
 
Entoptic said:
I'd love to hear from the people that crashed at 65+mph without gear and find out how much it cost and the downtime. Not to mention probable perminent injuries.
Click to expand...

When I started riding I picked up a lovely $100 Honda 650, rewired it and had a runner. I had a second hand leather coat (no armor, no padding, not even a motorcycle jacket), workboots, cheap leather gloves and an HJC. So not no gear, but in my current opinion, dang close.

While cruising up to work early one morning on the highway at around 70 I ran over a pair of jeans in the highway, which promptly got sucked up into my chain. They of course jammed the rear wheel, got wrapped around the rear fender and tore it off, bent the rear axle and did a bunch of other damage.

I went tumbling into the median off the highway with the bike. No injuries. Nothing. A coworker saw me and picked me up, and I went to work.

No clue how I didn't die, let alone get hurt.
 
my .03

Just my .03
Its been a practice for me to gear up every time I ride....
Why? When I was a kid my father told me I had to.
He used to say to me, "You have to assume nobody sees you out there, and safety gear will reduce your injuries should you come across some meathead who doesn't see you".
His rules for riding period, "no gear no riding". no debate just follow dads rules.
Dad wasn't going to take care of a vegetable for the rest of his life.
It carried over to my adult years so his wisdom had a long lasting effect on me.
Side note... had a friend who rode briefly.. he fell off the back of his bike ass planted, and slid on the ground. Don't ask what he did he claims the throttle stuck open.. LOL
Result.... Major Major road rash.
So much dirt ,and rocks embedded in his body )lower back, ass, and back of his thighs it took two months of debriding to get it all out.
Imagine not being able to sit for a few months, much less take a crap?
Gearing up is a choice... an accident can happen at anytime.
Some protection is better than none.
 
lol gear...
10151939_799979576706168_5705380264226557268_n.jpg
 
Lucky13xx said:
I'm with Lou on this. Get the best you can buy.

On the gear topic though- About a year ago on Facebook I started getting the target marketing for bikerhelmets.com (with a look just for the entertainment value) trying to sell SOA inspired helmets. You know, to "look like a badass". So I started scrolling through and reading the comments. The usual skid lid vs. fullface debate. The one that really grabbed me though was a man making a case for not wearing a full face helmet due to the extra weight possibly breaking your neck.

The whole concept of a skid lid is safer than a full face do to weight is ridiculous but it sparked my curiosity.

Recently I had done Brian Bartlow's camp, we got into talking track suits. He brought up the weight issue as well. The extra weight will keep up the body's inertia while crashing/tumbling ect.

It was an angle I had never thought of while selecting gear. For Racing purposes I always understood lighter is better but not from a "get off" perspective. There is something about a heavy leather jacket I have always liked.

What say the masses?
Click to expand...

Intended pun, "masses"? There are too many forces at play for the average Joe to accurately calculate the effect a 5% increase in weight will have on a blob of jelly encased in leather skidding down the road.

If a rider weighing 180lbs is wearing leathers weighing 10lbs his weight is increased by just about 5.25%. Assuming the "get-off" speed is less than the speed of light I can't see that 5.25% having any measurable influence on the body's inertia/momentum.
 
lol, the difference in weight between helmets is only going to be like 1 pound at the most. Leathers, maybe 5 pounds of difference between the heaviest track suit and the lightest track suit. Who cares.
 
I used to be that guy who would tell you to pound sand if you said anything to me about gear. All it took was a friend in a high speed crash wearing a leather jacket and helmet, jeans and "tennis shoes". Those shoes stayed on his feet for all of 20', socks 22', skin on his feet to the bone 50'. He was a big tough guy screaming on the ground. Yeah I'll ride Atgatt. It's my choice. If I ever tell anyone they should wear gear, it's to the riders thinking that coat n helmet is all good. Hey it's your damn skin, I just don't need to hear the aftermath of your poor choice :2cents
 
Reli said:
lol, the difference in weight between helmets is only going to be like 1 pound at the most. Leathers, maybe 5 pounds of difference between the heaviest track suit and the lightest track suit. Who cares.
Click to expand...

Some people do. Additional weight can contribute to faster fatigue (lots of variables of course).
 
Reli said:
lol, the difference in weight between helmets is only going to be like 1 pound at the most. Leathers, maybe 5 pounds of difference between the heaviest track suit and the lightest track suit. Who cares.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I tend to agree, the weight becomes more significant if you're at 11/10ths on the track.

However, having said that, after a long day in the saddle, my heavy leather jacket starts to fatigue my right shoulder, the shoulder that I always broke (past tense) in a get off.
 
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