Not to be depressing but...

I see so many riders going without a helmet, just jeans and a t-shirt. Mostly cruisers, but I see a lot of sportbikers just as gearless.

Personally, I can't stand to ride without gloves, helmet and jacket. I literally feel like I'm going to fall off the bike without them. A wierd feeling, but good, in a way. I have been down once a while back and suffered a good deal of rash (no permanant scars, thankfully). I never leave without my jacket anymore as a result. I know I wouldn't be around were it not for my helmet. I still have the old helmet shell, too. I ought to take a picture of it. Pretty damn scary.


BTW, I had been on a rural road, taking a sharp curve. I don't remember a thing, but I believe I high-sided off-road and was definitely speeding. That's four points off the list right there, and excessive fatigue was also a big factor. Save the speed for the track. It's enough of a gamble just mounting on a bike without the many random factors going against you (weather, traffic, debris, animals, etc., etc....).
 
depressing stats but we need to know about them to prevent us from being the statistic. here in california we don't have a choice in wearing helmets. i can't even begin to imagine riding any bike, let alone the fastest street bike made, without a helmet. (isn't your melon worth it?) it really shocks me when i go to other states and see people riding without them.

i agree with you narcissus, i feel naked without my gloves and jacket. (helmet goes without saying) i must admit i have ridden in short sleeves before, but just cruisin mostly. nothing crazy, but it's still a risk.

ride safe all!!!!

Lo
 
Yes night riding is more dangerious, even with good lights you just can't see over 65mph. About the only thing that I can get myself to do with apparel is a cut off leather jacket, with helmet gloves leather pants and boots. I don't feel good with out my gloves etc. To many stones over the years.
 
No helmet law here in Hawaii and the Harley rental places put that in their add as it were a good thing. Every year we lose several riders state wide mostly Harley type. Frequently on Labor Day & Mem day. As for us riding Busa's or any bike for that matter lets face it we chose a dangerous sport not to act wild & crazy per say just riding is about 50 times more dangerous than riding in a car especialy on the worlds fastest bike. What I'm saying is we must use all the protection at our disposal but what we chose to do is indeed dangerous.

Have fun ride safe.
 
All I can say is I have total respect for the Busa at all times (full armor always). Also, I'm careful were I ride, how I ride, what time during the day I ride and whom I ride with. Living in the big city, I'm really cool on the freeways. I can get out in the country everyday by 1:00 PM! Problem is finding fellow riders with this freedom from their work schedule.
:tounge:
 
I agree with hank. Full armor always. It's just that with this bike you can't resist a little fling. For hot weather I've got a Joe Rocket Ballistic Jacket and shorts from Bohn. And Full face ALWAYS.
 
Hopefully the statistics will encourage people to wear the gear. I've always got my helmet gloves, and jacket. And now the mesh pants. Only time i ride without a helmet is when i hit Myrtle beach for bike week. The traffic is so thick if i can get the busa to 20mph i feel privilaged. Typically its push/duck walk the bike down the strip --- but even then alot of times i wear a beanie...

I just not comfortable without a helmet. And when i'm only in jeans i alway feel like i'm gonna catch me knee on the pavement whenever i take a sharp turn.

Perhaps its best to have a lil paranoia when it comes to bike safety
 
By the way, lets not forget the feet. I just bought a pair of Teknic road irons. They are low cut, with reinforced ankle and toe protection. I don't know how good they are, but hey they were 169, on sale for 99, and were the last pair of a discontinued style so the guy sold em to me for 46... I figure hey they look sturdy and are a comfortable fit... And they don't look like i'm a walk on for STAR WARS lololol

DEz -the discount shopping Busa rider,,,,. lolol...getting married sure does make you change your spending habits lololol...
 
i've never riden with any kinda clothing that is sutible for a sport bike, always jsut jeans or shorts if its summer, and a short sleave shirt. i always wore the full face helmet though.

i have a couple of ?'s
how much does a suit cost? i dont need a full race suit or top of the line name brands, but how much for somethin that'll work.
(dont even have the bike yet fyi)

and also how do u guys cruise around a city with all the trafic in a helmet?

i used to ride in a REALLY SMALL ass town w/ no traffic so it was no problem but on the highway havin to look around for cars it just always restricted my view a ton. do they make wider view helmets or somethin (that dont cost as much as the bike? lol)
i see guys ridin around downtown indy at night and not a single one is wearin a helmet or any gear.
crazyness

i've never riden downtown here though, my friends bike is way too far for me to borrow it and cruise around. oh well.

thanx for any imput, and those stats suck, but its the truth :sad:
 
Hate to say this, but this is America (atleast I am in America). And I think that along with our freedom comes the freedom to be as careless or carefull as you want to be. I personally dont wear anything but blue jeans and a t-shirt if its warm enough, but I do wear a helmet. If its cold I put on a jacket but thats just for warmth. I want it to be dangerous, its a motorcycle and thats half the fun to me. I want to feel the wind not be wraped up like a mummy, but thats why we live here is so we can all chose how we wish to ride. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!
 
Nobody is saying you have to wear a jacket and helmet. I do so out of personal experience. After getting my body stuck to bed sheets when I woke up and taking 10 very painful minutes loosening my exposed flesh from the material, I'll wear a jacket and sweat anyday. :D

I had worn gear, but with the weather, I figured it wasn't that big a risk and rode without. Everytime you get on a bike, you take a gamble. Wearing gear helps minimise your risk if you someday 'lose' the 'bet'. ;)

I'd also like to add that getting proper boots are a must. I still need to get some myself as my current boots offer no ankle support (the same boots I was wearing when I went down, and injured my foot, which kept me from walking for 6 weeks).
 
My question is, how many older guys and gals riding Busa's are running around wearing a T-shirt on their bike? T-shirts belong to Squids with Ninja 600's. I get more respect wearing the proper clothing from other biker's than if I was running around with a T-shirt on! They know I'm a serious rider and not a Squid.
:hammerhead:
 
I wasn't intending to start a debate, but kind of thought it might happen anyway.
sneaky2.gif


For me personally, I think the cool thing about the Hayabusa is the demographic that it markets to: (read, "not squids")
Why do you suppose that is? I have a few thoughts:

1. The Boos is not a "first bike". Practically everyone here has experience on at least one other motocycle.
2. Most squids can't afford the busa if they're flippin' burgers for a living.
3. If they can afford the busa payment, they can't afford the insurance, probably due to the 1300 cc displacement.

Anyway, I digress...

Many of the people here have families, and practically everyone here seems to be over 30 yrs old. (I didn't read the whole thread on age, is my assumption accurate?) That means that most busa owners are experinced, and are realists. Many have had a spill or two. They know the potential for disaster is a real one, and take good measures to lower the probability.

I fit in well with the great majority of this group.

Man, I need to get one of these motorcycles soon. :whip:
 
ernaehrung019.gif
I think theres a learning curv here, Im 36 and Thinking back when I was 17 to about 23 or 24, I was one of those fearless guys that did some real hair raising manuvers, never wearing the proper equipment. although I did own a helmet I wore it mabe 50% of the time.... Ive had 5 good wipe outs to mention, and I learned several things...
1) a helmet WILL save your life. Im convinced it saved mine on one of those wipe outs, (I saved the helmet for a suvener)
2) crashes can never be predicted, they happen fast and they happen to even the best riders in the world....ie Wayne Rainy, Champion racer paralized for life.
3) If you ride fast and push the envelope you better have full gear on, because you won't no where the envelope ends until its to late.
4) Age and Wisdom go a long way, If sombody dosn't want to wear gear, there's nothing your going to say that will change his mind. it's something that there going to have to learn on there own, or see a friend get skined alive first hand.
5) most the crashes I've seen or been apart of, are direct results of poor discissions, Common sense can be as effective as the gear......and with both you should beat the Reaper!

RIDE HARD! BUT RIDE SMART!
 
Well the bottom line is each to their own, and we can all respect that.
 
Well Im 31 and I am the youngest guy in the group I ride with. And out of the 12 people that I ride with most of the time there ages range from 71 to me at 31 and none of them where "gear". The 71 year old wears a WW2 leather helmet, owns 4 Union 76 Gas Stations and is the richest guy I know. I myself have a $28000 Big Dog and the Busa, so being a "squid" has nothing to do with it. (whatever the hell a "squid" is, never heard that before just now, I assume it is those punks zooming everywhere on sportbikes). It's just one of those things that makes this country great, we can all enjoy the same thing, but just do it in a different way. I love my Busa and my Big Dog, both are fun as hell to ride.
 
I always wear full gear and it has saved my ass a few times in my 49 years. Fact is if you ride sooner or later you will go down. But it is America and we have freedom of choice. I choose to wear the gear. Try getting hit by a race car at over 100mph at the drag strip without gear. This happened to me with full gear and I walked away without a scratch. So I say wear the gear how much is your life worth......Knebnr
 
Ok, I can see this is spinning out of control, and the point of my original post is being lost by some people. :mad:

I posted the link to the crash statistics page *Not* to tell people what (or what not) to wear when riding. I posted that information to say, "Hey, here's a list of riding situations that are more dangerous than normal. If you find yourself in one of these situations, use more caution."

That's the whole point of the original post.

Ride naked if you want. I've done it before, its very liberating. :D
 
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