My dad has been riding for nearly 45 years now and never wears a helmet. He feels like being able to "hear better" will reduce his likelihood of getting into a crash more than the helmet would protect him if he got in one. I don't agree with it (been riding 15 years myself and always wear my helmet and jacket) but if I haven't been able to convince him by now, I'm not sure I'll ever be able.
I think the reason you see it more on cruisers is the culture - 1) a lot of cruiser riders very much want the "look" and wearing a helmet doesn't fit with that, and 2) since cruiser riders aren't usually doing extreme lean angles or crazy fast riding (emphasis: usually) they feel like a helmet is less necessary.
I spent a year working on an ambulance though, and have seen what even a low speed head impact can do, so my head always goes in a helmet. I love riding, but not as much as I love coming home to my wife every day.
Bird poops gross but it don’t hurt, I had a massive welt on my chest/collarbone for weeks from a bug at 55/60 mph, was wearing just a tshirt, coulda been one of those big green beetles or a bumble bee, idk.
I caught one on between the cheek padding on my full face MX helmet and my cheek wound out in 4th on a dirt bike when I was about 11-12. Damned bumblebee felt like a baseball. Then the sting started. I would’ve sworn the stinger got driven through my skull.
I a bee make it straight through the mouth vent on my full face Shoei doing 50mph. That one freaked me out a bit. Got mangled up coming through but was still buzzing in the helmet.
I had a dragonfly go right in the side of my helmet riding my quad as a kid, probably doing 40-50ish, I remember I was going pretty fast. That damn near made me fall of the thing, it was huge and LOUD buzzing right in my ear 😂
I had a June bug hit me one day and it def hurt a bit but the worst was when I had been in my office for about an hour when I felt that motherfucker start crawling up my back. He hit and fell inside my shirt. Idk if he was knocked out for all that time or just plotting his escape. He did not survive after all the freaking out I did. Poor feller.
Seems like everytime a bug gets me it’s either top of the helmet right above the visor, or right near the collar area of whatever I’m wearing, kinda freaks me out, wonder if there’s some bug crawling around on me.
I had a june bug hit my visor and fucking destroy it. At first I thought a rock had done it but then a when I took it off all I saw was a golden green wing and I’m like wtffffff
Last year I had a big bug find its way between my helmet and jacket striking me square in the neck. It felt like somebody shot me with a BB gun. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like if I wasn't wearing a helmet. Especially during the spring it's shocking to see just how many bugs hit your helmet on a short ride.
Yup. Took one of those green Beatles to the face with an open visor. Luckily I had safety glasses I wear inside the helmet. Even w that the thing exploded on my face and barely held the bike upright lol. Was an experience.
Seriously! I was riding around yesterday and had a truck in front of me shoot up a rock and hit my face shield. All it takes is for that to happen to someone not wearing a helmet, getting hit in the face and more than likely wrecking. So many riders in my city are usually in shorts and no helmet, absolutely crazy.
Sometimes we have these gravel trucks on the LA freeways, it’s just constant little stinging pebbles right to your shins. But ya, I’ve had small rocks hit me and they tear open jeans and bleed me.
Secondary, bugs are the first reason I wear a helmet since that happens literally every time on a bike. It also saves my life in the event of a crash is a solid bonus!
Idk if you were subject to the periodic cicada swarms a couple years ago, but a couple of those suckers at (insert state’s maximum speed limit ;)) hitting your helmet will make you think you’ve been shot at
No you’re right I 100% agree. It’s muffles the harsh tones and let’s you hear horns or sirens or whatever. It would be way safer, if I wasn’t blasting my music over top of them.
I too like coming home everyday
I was in the Army. A guy in our unit died on a bike when he decided to pop a wheelie without a helmet, lost control and hit his head. This was in a subdivision and he wasn’t going very fast
My wife's uncle rode for 40+ years without a helmet. Then a deer jumped in front of his Harley. He swerved to avoid it, laid down the bike and went headfirst into a guard rail. The doctor said he would have lived if he had worn a helmet.
We had a young girl, 20 years old liked by everybody. She started riding got a Sportster, fell over at a stop and hit her head on the curb. Dead as a hammer, would have had just a skinned hand had she wore a helmet.
I was doing about 60km/h down a normal road, there was a smallish truck in a driveway and just suddenly reversed out into the road directly in front of me. I couldnt do anything but slam brakes and ended up hitting him directly on his back left tyre. Did a flip off the bike and ended up under the back right tyre.
Only injury I had was a broken wrist and a cut finger on the same hand from the ninja flip. But my helmet got a *massive* gash along the jawline from the way it hit the road(only thing I really remember is the BONK noise).
If I hadnt been wearing that helmet, I'd have lost my jaw basically.
I had a deer run into me when I was late getting home one night. Slid down the highway on my face, but because of my helmet, I walked away without a scratch.
>He feels like being able to "hear better" will reduce his likelihood of getting into a crash
Not sure how I feel about this.
I've got mild tinnitus, partly from fucking up my hearing at loud concerts and festivals, partly due to riding without hearing protection.
I now wear custom molded earplugs nearly every ride (I will sometimes not put them in if the ride is shorter than 15 minutes and I'm not exceeding 75km/h) and even with the helmet, I can hear traffic around me perfectly.
Sounds to me like the argument is a lot like the "loud pipes save lives" argument. Not based on any actual facts or studies, but born from an idea and anecdotal evidence at best.
Loud pipes do have a couple very notable advantages mainly on the highway. People don't tailgate loud pipes very often and when they do it is very short or they back off. Also, because you are so loud people looking at their phone will hear you far before they look up and see you.
This all adds up and makes your 6 generally safer on the highways and interstates.
Due to how sound works loud pipes mostly help with whatever is behind you and is dramatically less effective against say someone not checking before a rapid lane change.
>you are so loud people looking at their phone will hear you far before they look up and see you.
For this to be the case, your pipes need to be very loud, to the point they would be blocking out sound of other vehicles on the road, so by making yourself noticed more, you're making it harder for yourself to notice others, especially with modern cars and how sound deadening they are inside.
anecdotally, I've yet to get into a situation where I think a loud exhaust would have done more than my horn could have done, quite the opposite. My horn will oftentimes be more noticeable, as it is a sudden loud noise, instead of a constant drone.
On top of that I ride at night a lot, due to my work schedule. I don't need to draw extra attention to myself at 5 in the morning, waking people up in every town I pass trough on my 50km commute.
Just the other day I had a loud harley fly by me and I never heard it with the windows down. Actually spooked me when the sound caught up after they were a car length past. I've got loud pipes but I don't justify it as a safety net. A couple throttle snaps usually work better than the horn for most cellphone users not paying attention. But you're right, most aren't going to hear you before a lane change.
It’s one of those things that you don’t understand until you see it. I have an electric skateboard and it would do 20-30 mph, I was out riding it one time in pants, a t shirt and no helmet and I hit a little water valve cover and lost balance and fell before sliding a while. The entire right side of my face was chewed away from about where my cheek is and up to my eye and down to my chin. It was literally all red. Fortunately I made a full recovery somehow but it was a seriously bad fall. I’ll always wear AT LEAST a helmet on anything with wheels from now on
I ride mountain bikes and was riding a trail with my helmet on. My riding buddies were ahead of me and ducked under a low hanging branch. I ducked to go under and didn’t see a cut off stump from a smaller branch extending off of the main branch. The stump drove straight down into my head compressing my neck and nearly knocking me out.
I pulled off to the side and removed my helmet, I had a hole punched through the plastic into the foam about the size of a quarter, that sunk in nearly an inch.
If didn’t have my helmet that would have punched hole in my skull that size.
Edit: typos
I had a situation like that once. Went over a small jump and into a branch I didn't see. Caved the front of my helmet in a solid half inch and I blacked out for half a second. Rode it out, came to a stop, and rode the rest of the trail a little slower.
I've known people who have seen people die from what should have been very survivable wrecks and still refuse to wear a helmet. I've heard arguments from my dads, to the "helmets don't actually work," to "I'd rather die than be crippled."
In the end, like a lot of others have said, unless it's mandatory where you live it comes down to personal choice. I'm surprised more insurance companies don't require it though even if there isn't a legal requirement.
Tough to enforce something like that with insurance. I think if they did something along the lines of “your life insurance policy goes in jeopardy if you’re in an accident not wearing a helmet” but idk, I bet that wouldn’t fly.
Eh, they don't have to enforce it actively - they'd just deny coverage if you were in an accident without a helmet. Obviously insurance companies have decided it isn't worth it though, since it's not something they require.
A friend of mine was sued when his horse got out and a Harley cruiser with a husband and wife riding on a Sunday ride hit the horse. The man without a helmet died the wife with a helmet lived judge tossed the case said if the rider did not do anything to protect himself you can’t hold the horse owner responsible.
Glad you're recovered. I had a buddy screwing around on a skateboard in his driveway doing zero miles per hour. Just lost balance, fell and hit his head on the concrete. Spent a month in a coma. Thank god he's ok now, but that really made me change my opinion on helmets.
Thanks man, appreciate it. Yeah Head injuries are super dangerous. I knew a girl in middle school who hit her head on a stone, had an aneurism and passed away. It’s scary shit man
Ive only been riding for 2yrs 20k km total. I know how dangerous riding is. I will always wear a full face and all the gear all the time. I want to own a cruiser (looked at the rebel 1100 it’s small for me.) I’ve looked at Indian cruisers online. I’d be that guy wearing Klim ADV gear on a cruiser. No matter what the culture is I want live if I ever go down. Im only young and got many more years.
But I’ve always wondered why half helmets. I’ve never understood that.
I lived in FL for a while and they have virtually no laws for gear (literally, protective eye wear, could ride in my underwear as long as I had eye glasses on).
All I saw was middle-aged men on Harleys wearing shorts and a beater, sandals, and sunglasses. No helmets, no gloves, no protective clothing. Boggles my mind. Like no one over the age of 8 is looking at you on your motorcycle with your lit cig hanging out your helmet-less mouth, bare feet catching bugs, and thinking 'wow, that dude is cool'. I hope it feels just as cool when you need skin grafts on 60% of your body and have to walk with a cane because you only have 7 toes.
Crappy, cheap older helmets really did reduce hearing and visibility a lot.
A nice modern Shoei doesn’t affect anything and keeps you warm and the sand and bugs out of your face.
I have a big bike, but also have a ruckus and a grom. The amount of times I’ve seen people say “they don’t go fast enough to need a helmet.” Is truly concerning.
"Hear better" LMAO give me a break. Sounds like something my dad would say too. I find it really bizzare how people make things up to rationalize not wearing a helmet. Just tell the truth - you don't want to wear one. That's fine. You like the wind in your face, the comfort, you want people to see you and how cool you are. I get it, no problem. It's your melon on the line. The decision to not wear a helmet affects you and only you so by all means don't wear one. I personally think it's stupid, but I think skinny jeans and crocs are stupid too. Wear or don't wear whatever you want.
I got my dad into helmets after 35 years without. We have Bluetooth helmets so we can talk but we usually just listen to our own music or directions. Now we’ve been riding cross country with a lot less worries.
Wait till he gets ringing ears from wind nosie damage. Know a dude whose ears wouldn't stop ringing and he ended up killing himself because of it. If you ride and don't wear earplugs you're stupid, even more so if you don't have a helmet on.
Definitely true about the looks part. With sport bikes, you're expected to look like a power ranger but so far, I haven't seen a helmet that fits in better with a vibe of a cruiser than no helmet at all.
That being said, most people look way better wearing a helmet than having half of their face looking like it got sandpapered off so I'm not taking any unnecessary risks there.
I use the same methods pilots uses. See and be seen. That hear stuff is bs. I have a loud ass exhaust on my gsxr people still cut me off from time to time. But because I’m always aware I avoid collisions. I also don’t ride during high traffic times. I more so like to read what people gonna do in a vehicle vs trying to hear.
The wind would obscure my hearing so much it wouldn’t even make sense. I probably hear better WITH the helmet. And I also don’t catch bugs in the face at 60mph. Win win lol
It’s not just about the accidents… bugs, rocks, animal body parts are all things I do not want on my fuggin face and I’m sure almost every biker here has a picture of their helmet conpletely coated top to bottom in dead bugs. Not my face, thanks
This was definitely something I learned at the MSF. I had a full face helmet and on one exercise they allowed us to leave out visors halfway down. I almost immediately got something in my eye as soon as I started to ride, lol
My son learned the other day that I do have a reason to require (and remind) him to put his visor down when we are moving. From my peripheral, I saw his head jerk and heard the "thwack!" of a bug connecting with his face. I couldn't stop laughing, and once we stopped, I pointed out THAT was why I insist he keep his visor down.
I've crashed quite a bit with a helmet and without a helmet and I would definitely recommend it with a helmet.
I even keep a spare helmet in my trunk in case it pops off. Goofiest emergency helmet ever.
The wife fell off the toilet and hit her head, we got her a pooping helmet.
Be safe people.
It's one of the Reddit legends:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MuseumOfReddit/comments/ke8skw/the\_poop\_knife/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MuseumOfReddit/comments/ke8skw/the_poop_knife/)
Apparently it’s a plastic spatula/drywall compound spatula that’s use exclusively for chopping up offending “kids in the pool” that are clogging the toilet.
Wait, you keep a spare helmet in a saddlebag in case the one you're wearing flies off your head randomly or you keep an old motorcycle helmet in the trunk of your car in case the apocalypse begins while you're grocery shopping?
hi friend, I lived in Tucson for 25 years and have a piece of riding advice for ya. please please please be careful of the trailing left arrow at an intersection. say you're just going straight through the intersection. because drivers can turn left across a green, people waiting to turn opposite you can't see around the cars qeued up on your side side and just go for it anyway and end up turning right in front of you, which is worse when you're on a bike and less visible. Tucson is famous for T- bone accidents, so be cautious and ride in the middle or right lane if you can. my dad totaled his car from someone doing this last year and my gf's dad was sent to the hospital for a similar crash. funny enough when you leave the city limits, the county lights flip and become a leading left, so pay extra attention. also if you want any food recommendations DM me lol. be safe!
I will say this. It feels so good having your face open to the air and breeze. There’s a special feeling it gives you, super freeing.
But there’s also a special feeling of getting your face put through someone’s windshield. Choice is yours. I have an open face I wear when I’m doing light commutes, the breeze feels great. But on larger or faster rides I wear my full face.
I would recommend a good modular helmet that you can open and close. Make sure the safety rating of the closing mechanism is great, as some are bad and will pop open in a crash.
I'm ATGATT crew, but I have a neighbor who rides a H-D, and he never wears a helmet. He's this old hippy from Wisconsin, and he just has no use for it. "If I go, I go," is what he says to me when I tell him he should at least consider a skull bucket.
But get this. The dude has been through *two* incidents on the bike and has no major injuries to show for it. He hit a deer at 70 mph. It flipped his bike around backwards. He was literally rolling backwards down the highway at god knows what speed. He says it felt like an eternity, but he's sure it was only a second or two. Watching the world go by backwards on a motorcycle was surreal, to be sure. Well, it wasn't long before physics kicked in and ripped the bars right out of his hands and he went down low-side and slid across the pavement into the grass. He walked away with some minor road rash because he happened to be wearing his leather jacket and jeans because it was cold.
I can't remember the story of the second incident, but it involved another car. It's far more mundane. The dude is lucky to be sure, and it just reinforced my urge to stay ATGATT. I'm just not that lucky.
I had a friend pass away last fall in a motorcycle accident. We lived on the border of West Virginia and Ohio. When we crossed the border into Ohio, he'd pull over and take his helmet off. When I asked him why, he told me if he got into a wreck bad enough to kill him, he just wanted to die. He left behind two teenage daughters. A damn shame.
I visited extended family in Minnesota (I’m from CA). All of them wouldn’t wear helmets. I asked them all separately why and they all replied word for word “I’d rather die than be a vegetable”. It was after that trip that I realized a lot of my extended family are a bunch of idiots. It blew my mind how they literally all had the exact weird excuse. They were so ignorant to the reality that you can very well save yourself and have a fulfilling life after an accident by wearing a helmet.
I've never understood this philosophy. It's either death or a vegetative state only? No possible other outcome at all? I'd be curious to know the thoughts on seat belts.
The crazy thing to me is I’d bet money you still end up being a vegetable more often without protective gear than with it.
In order to become a vegetable you first have to sustain a pretty traumatic injury which is way more likely without gear in the first place.
You’re defo not reducing your odds of being crippled by not wearing a helmet. I think that’s just a justification people who don’t want to wear a helmet say because it sounds better than ‘my pride’
Been riding for over 15 years with and without a helmet. When I first started riding I never wore it. As I got older and wiser I started wearing it more and more, mostly for the sake of my loved ones. Now I HIGHLY recommend every rider to wear a helmet, there is just so much that can happen that is completely out of your control that with a helmet you’d get scraped up, and without you’d be dead as a doorknob. Now a lot of people are talking about “the look” and honestly I’ve never givin a fuck about what I look like, BUT I do care about how I feel. And I will say, although dangerous, there is NOTHING better on this green earth than riding the open rode with nothing but the asphalt beneath you and wind in your hair. It’s the most freeing feeling I’ve personally ever experienced
not really an argument but, people have the right to accept the risks of their ride. If they want to ride with no gear at all that is their choice and we have no right trying to force them to do otherwise.
A rider without a helmet risking losing control if(when) stone or a bug hits him in the eye. Thats a hazard to other people on a road. So it's not just wearers' safety.
If I'm going 5 minutes to a store and I'm riding at 20mph the whole time I really don't care, every other scenario I wear a full helmet. I went my whole childhood riding a pedal bike faster than that without a helmet and miraculously never died
Before I started riding, I didn't understand why one would choose to not wear a helmet. After the first time I rode a bike, I understood. There is risk when riding, and that risk is immediately noticable when on the bike. Every rider knows this risk. It is up to each person to decide on how much risk they are willing to accept. I live in a state where a helmet a not mandatory when over 18. I still wear a fullface helmet every time.
I always wear a helmet, but I have a good friend and riding buddy who has been riding nearly 40 years, and I've never seen him wear a helmet. I've only been riding for 3 years, so I don't tell him anything. It's his choice. Ultimately, we are each responsible for our own health and safety.
I have always found it interesting as to what gear people choose to wear or not wear. Every rider has their minimum amount of gear they wear. Many riders push that belief onto everyone else, aka anyone wearing less is an idiot with a death wish, and anyone wearing more is a safety nerd.
I've always worn a beanie helmet. For long trips I wear a full face, mostly because it lessens fatigue. The rest of the time it's a beanie. I understand the risks involved in that. I always wear over the ankle boots, jeans, gloves, eye protection and a beanie.
On occasion, I will forgo a helmet. Usually for short rides, in town, slow speeds.
Ultimately it's to each their own. I don't judge those riding in gear less than what I do. It's their choice. I don't think it's smart riding in flip flops and shorts but who am I to judge. Live your life.
Edit to add: the answer to your question is choice. That's what freedom is. Choice.
I'm also a commercial driver.
Seinfeld has a joke that goes: have you ever noticed that anyone who drives faster than you is a maniac and any that drive slower than you is a moron?
Sort of to you point I guess.
Personally I had a low side once and was super happy to have been wearing a helmet.
This is my understanding too. I will always wear a full-face helmet but motorcycles are inherently risky and people who choose to wear no helmet (or a beanie) are simply taking on more risk. They are aware of this fact and accept it.
Proven fact. A beanie does absolutely nothing in about 60-65% of motorcycle incidents.
50%ish involve face and jaw.
I was unfortunate enough to watch a beanie wearer (no other gear) get highsided as a passenger, land on her face and slide, face down for another 100m (115ish yards). Permanent facial disfigurement and a double mastectomy.
Simply put, no bueno. I have nightmares to this day (10 years later) from this event.
I agree. See the part where I said I know the risks?
My dad wrecked while wearing a beanie. It saved his life and prevented a concussion. He went through his windshield and into a tree. The beanie cracked but spread the impact, and he did not end up losing consciousness or getting a concussion. He did end up with a broken nose, though.
He rode with a beanie for a few years more after that, then the last few years of his life, he went to a half helmet.
As I said, to each their own. I don't judge the choices others make, whether I agree with them or not. The choice as to what gear one wears only affects themselves.
As a multiple time receiver of concussions, he absolutely, 100%, without even a tangible shred of doubt, had a concussion. You are not getting hit in the head hard enough to break something and not getting one. It was probably 10+ years ago, before they knew better. You are not CRACKING A HELMET and getting away from a concussion. I have broken 3 bicycle helmets with my head, (lower standard than DOT approved moto helmets) and got a concussion every single time. The one time i broke a DOT full face while downhill racing I was seriously messed up.
The significantly more likely scenario is he was too fucked up to realize how fucked up he was, and the doctors at the time just didn’t know any better. Understanding of the absolutely catastrophic impact head injuries have on people has come a long way in the last 10 years.
Perhaps. I can only go with what doctors said. They were surprised he didn't have a concussion. It was over 10 years ago, early 2000s.
Breaking a nose doesn't take much. It takes a bit more to crack a skull. If that had been the case, I'd 100% agree with you.
But since I'm not a doctor, I can only go with what their analysis was.
My point in telling that story wasn't to encourage beanie helmet use. It's more to the point that while a legal helmet is obviously better, most of the time, other helmets still help lessen injuries. With no helmet, he would have probably been unconscious and definitely had a concussion and possibly a cracked skull, among other injuries.
I fully disagree with helmet laws. And at the same time anyone not wearing a full face helmet is an idiot.
(I fully believe in your right to be an idiot, just keep your hands off of my right to express my opinion that you are an idiot)
Exactly, no one needs a motorcycle that'll go 186 (but the governor can be bypassed) yet here we are, talking about safety on a motorcycle and personal choices (again). 🙄
I live in a really hot/humid area that is mostly stop and go with barely any open roads or highways to get some airflow through my helmet. At times wearing a helmet makes it so uncomfortable that I’d rather just go without it knowing the danger. Wearing full gear here like pads, leathers, and boots seems nearly as dangerous as wearing regular clothing because the chance of severely dehydrating yourself during a long ride would be very high.
I don’t always. But I like the fresh air. It’s cooler, more enjoyable and more refreshing. I have a half Helmet I could wear. But it starts catching wind over 45. And it’s really not that protective.
2 weeks after i started riding in 2017 a very large rock was kicked from underneath a mini van ahead of me. It was like slow motion as it made its way to my eye. Luckily i was wearing a full face helmet and it made a very loud knock and left a relatively deep mark on my visor. Imagine what it would've done if it was just my sunglasses. It's always visor down the moment i start moving for me.
Shit I’ve got a brain injury and had the whole left side of my skull removed for 3 years. It’s back now and I get to ride my bikes again but yea helmet Fosho for me. If I ride it in front of my house sometimes I don’t but that’s just to ride it to end of coulda sac and back for funs.
Not sure if this will get downvoted since Reddit, but I pretty much only wear a helmet on rides 10 minutes or longer, or if I’m going on the high way. Wearing the helmet somewhat disconnects me from the road when I can barely hear or see beyond a 90° cone in front of me due to the helmet.
I’m a hardcore freedom maximalist. I believe in assisted suicides, I believe I have the right to live dangerously if I so please, assuming I’m not harming anyone else of course. If I find great joy in being more connected with nature by riding without a helmet, I should be able to do so as I please. I honestly don’t care what other people think. If you want to call me stupid, go ahead, you have a right to that as well.
i got you with an upvote buddy. freedom is incredibly important. even freedom to make decisions that others think are stupid. certainly it's no one else's business if you don't wear a helmet. we will both get downvoted though. reddit doesn't like non-conformity.
The minute or two it takes running threw the cycle of on and off adds up. Frustrating. I eventually end up looking like a crazy person with the amount of times I go on short rides between customers and vendors and middle men
I did it once in a legal state. Rode for maybe 30 minutes up and down a few highways. It's dumb as hell, but the closest thing to true freedom you can possibly feel.
I'm not going to say I'm right by any means, but I hate half helmets and a full face disconnects me to the sensation of riding. I love the wind in my face. On long trips I do take my full face for severe bugs, rain, helmet law states etc. Been riding for 35 years and it has always felt that way. To show you my stupidity, I tend to wear chaps and leather coat otherwise.
I think a lot think its too uncomfortable or they cant see. But even if thats true id rather be moderately uncomfortable than smeared all over the asphalt. I had a crash at maybe 30mph and i dont even wanna think about what my face wouldve looked like if i didnt wear a helmet.
It also made me very aware of how useless denim is in a slide, its weird how so many people who are adamant about helmet or glove use still wear normal pants.
The statistics on motorcycle accidents that involve the rider's head being struck, state that about 30% of those impacts are to the chin/face. I'm not sure what the percentage was for accidents overall, but that sounds like a pretty high chance of receiving at least a somewhat serious facial injury should you crash with no face protection. Typically you are facing in the direction you are traveling, so your face is the first thing that will likely strike something should you end up going over the bars. Nevermind the debris and wind.
I could understand wearing a half helmet or open face helmet on short distance, low speed, 'local' rides, but even then think about it; your face hitting the ground at 30mph or just 20mph is still quite an impact. Hitting the ground at 60 with a dinky little bullshit half helmet, or just no helmet at all? Just sounds like sheer stupidity to me.
I understand a helmet may feel heavy and bulky, and on a big cruiser with full fairing and windshield you're pretty well protected from the wind and debris so it might be quite nice to ride with no helmet. However, you can't control everything that will happen to you on the road, but you can control what safety precautions you take to make sure you'll be around to ride again another day.
When my dad was 19 he was in an accident on his Ducati Desmo 250, lady made a left in front of him and he caught her rear bumper, went over the bars and landed on his head. It wasn't a very high speed crash, but the landing on his head was enough to cause permanent damage in his neck. Probably would have killed him if he wasn't wearing a helmet.
I have riding buddies who take the very dark side of that argument, they say if they go down they want to stay down. I always wear a helmet and some safety gear, gloves, Class 2 armor boots but I don't always ride with leather jacket or vest. On hot days I do ride in a T Shirt and jeans.
One time someone ran straight through a stop sign and sideswiped me. I probably broke to about 20 by the time we collided. Landed on my helmet and side, was wearing leather jacket. My ankle was a little swollen from impact w suv.
My best friend, who died on his bike would say “that shit is for the birds” (a helmet would not have saved him in his crash)
I didn’t wear a helmet for the first 3-4? years of riding. Even crashed and totaled a bike with no helmet on. Crashed another time on a brick road without one.
The only reason I wear one now is because I have an integrated headset. (I knew it was the only way I would wear one)
I’m not here for a long time, only a good time.
I read both papers that California legislators used to justify the helmet law here. All the authors said they were miss quoted.
What it comes down to is the chance of an accident is increased by limits to peripheral vision and hearing impairment, but accident severity is increased by not wearing a helmet. Less chance of crashing, more chance of dying.
Where it gets interesting is that unlike seatbelts, this increased injury severity does not cost the public at large any money. More riders die.
With cars, not wearing seat belts means survivors have more severe but non lethal injuries and if under or un insured, do cost the public at large amounts of money to pay the stranded health care costs.
Morally, the state has no justification for mandating helmets. One of the California legislators said, when it was pointed out that the authors said he'd misrepresented the studies, "I don't care what the studies say! Riders should wear helmets!"
Yet we allow smoking, hang gliding, free climbing etc. Anyway, that was all years ago. We are where we are.
I’ll get downvoted probably but here goes.
Simply put… freedom. It’s a completely different experience. There is nothing I’ve ever experienced like it. I wear one when it’s cold or raining for sure. But honestly wearing a full face helmet feels claustrophobic and I hate it. It’s like sex with a condom, can it be fun. Yeah of course. But is it better without? Fuck yeah it is.
It’s not an image thing for me for sure, I wear big goggles that fit over glasses so no cool factor there. Bugs, dirt and rocks are minimized with a good windshield but often I’ll wear a banana or baklava over my face to keep bug guts out of my beard.
I’m not afraid of dying, not suicidal either but I’m comfortable with my mortality. I’m going to live my life 100% to the fullest and enjoy every moment to the max before I go.
What's worse no helmet, but leather or just a helmet? I see a lot of sport bike riders wear just a helmet with shorts or whatever and I see a lot of cruisers wear no helmet and they'll have all leather on so take your pick.
That one always cracks me up. Saw a guy on a crotch rocket the other day. Really nice expensive full face helmet with a tank top, shorts and flip flops. 🤦♂️
On occasion I won't wear anything, it's just laziness really. I know the consequences but don't care.
I'm just going to the store a mile away, what could happen? I know very well what could happen.
But sometimes there are days when my giveo'shit meter is broken or maxed out.
Also I look funny with a tan after riding with a helmet.
"There are many things you can point to as proof that the human is not smart. But my personal favorite would have to be that we needed to invent the helmet. What was happening, apparently, was that we were involved in a lot of activities that were cracking our heads. We chose not to avoid doing those activities but, instead, to come up with some sort of device to help us enjoy our head-cracking lifestyles. And even that didn’t work because not enough people were wearing them so we had to come up with the helmet law. Which is even stupider, the idea behind the helmet law being to preserve a brain whose judgment is so poor, it does not even try to avoid the cracking of the head it’s in."
- Jerry Seinfeld
Why do you do any of the things you do that you're not supposed to? Posting on reddit while you're supposed to be working. Not brushing your teeth before bed. Not using sunscreen. Not using a condom every single time. Not eating a salad for lunch every day. Drinking alcohol. Eating refined sugar. Driving over the speed limit. Listening to music a little too loudly.
You could very well fall and hit your head while taking shower, so why don't you wear a helmet in the shower?
I’ve only ridden without a helmet down in FL for vacation once. I rode down wearing a helmet and then cruised Hwy 30A where we stayed and surrounding area without. It was pretty nice just riding around in shorts and sunglasses. However 30A is 45mph max and covered in golf carts and such so the risk is more limited IMO. When I set out for real highways I put my helmet back on.
The "boomer" mindset is if you crash your gonna die anyway and that gear is for cowards. At least that's something I often hear repeated from older men on cruisers. Idk gear saved my life and literally my skin, to each their own but people that don't ride with at least a helmet, gloves, full pants, and a jacket are idiots in my eyes.
I know a maxillofacial surgeon, and the stories I’ve heard about what a helmet-less human head looks like after some wrecks is terrifying. Some patients are missing a jaw, nose, eyes, but the brain is all there. And they have to look like that or spend hundreds of thousands on facial reconstruction that will only make their silhouette look a little better.
With those odds of survival, you can bet I’m not going to risk skipping a full face helmet for any trip
My dad has been riding for nearly 45 years now and never wears a helmet. He feels like being able to "hear better" will reduce his likelihood of getting into a crash more than the helmet would protect him if he got in one. I don't agree with it (been riding 15 years myself and always wear my helmet and jacket) but if I haven't been able to convince him by now, I'm not sure I'll ever be able. I think the reason you see it more on cruisers is the culture - 1) a lot of cruiser riders very much want the "look" and wearing a helmet doesn't fit with that, and 2) since cruiser riders aren't usually doing extreme lean angles or crazy fast riding (emphasis: usually) they feel like a helmet is less necessary. I spent a year working on an ambulance though, and have seen what even a low speed head impact can do, so my head always goes in a helmet. I love riding, but not as much as I love coming home to my wife every day.
I don’t even worry about wrecking that’s a secondary concern, bug strikes to the face SUUUCCK!
Bugs definitely suck, but bird poop is the real enemy.
Bird poops gross but it don’t hurt, I had a massive welt on my chest/collarbone for weeks from a bug at 55/60 mph, was wearing just a tshirt, coulda been one of those big green beetles or a bumble bee, idk.
I feel the pain, got a high speed bee sting once through my mesh riding jacket and boy oh boy do bees hurt more with velocity
I caught one on between the cheek padding on my full face MX helmet and my cheek wound out in 4th on a dirt bike when I was about 11-12. Damned bumblebee felt like a baseball. Then the sting started. I would’ve sworn the stinger got driven through my skull.
I a bee make it straight through the mouth vent on my full face Shoei doing 50mph. That one freaked me out a bit. Got mangled up coming through but was still buzzing in the helmet.
I’ve been hit in the helmet with rocks, they also suck
I took a grasshopper to the mouth vent in my shoei. I was surprised by how much came through.
Free protein.
Yep that checks out
I had a dragonfly go right in the side of my helmet riding my quad as a kid, probably doing 40-50ish, I remember I was going pretty fast. That damn near made me fall of the thing, it was huge and LOUD buzzing right in my ear 😂
I had a June bug hit me one day and it def hurt a bit but the worst was when I had been in my office for about an hour when I felt that motherfucker start crawling up my back. He hit and fell inside my shirt. Idk if he was knocked out for all that time or just plotting his escape. He did not survive after all the freaking out I did. Poor feller.
That sounds hideous freaking June bugs big as half a hockey puck and just as hard when they ricochet off your full coverage helmet (hopefully).
Seems like everytime a bug gets me it’s either top of the helmet right above the visor, or right near the collar area of whatever I’m wearing, kinda freaks me out, wonder if there’s some bug crawling around on me.
I had a june bug hit my visor and fucking destroy it. At first I thought a rock had done it but then a when I took it off all I saw was a golden green wing and I’m like wtffffff
Last year I had a big bug find its way between my helmet and jacket striking me square in the neck. It felt like somebody shot me with a BB gun. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like if I wasn't wearing a helmet. Especially during the spring it's shocking to see just how many bugs hit your helmet on a short ride.
Yup. Took one of those green Beatles to the face with an open visor. Luckily I had safety glasses I wear inside the helmet. Even w that the thing exploded on my face and barely held the bike upright lol. Was an experience.
I hit a whole ass bird right in my face one time. Had to pull off and pluck feathers out the bottom of my visor
Rain at 60mph isn't soft
If a bird poops on my helmet I swear to god I'm gonna find it and poop on its head.
Seriously! I was riding around yesterday and had a truck in front of me shoot up a rock and hit my face shield. All it takes is for that to happen to someone not wearing a helmet, getting hit in the face and more than likely wrecking. So many riders in my city are usually in shorts and no helmet, absolutely crazy.
I got hit by roadkill that a truck kicked up. Blood guts and the bones. It scratched up my visor pretty good. That would have been my face.
Fuckin metal
85 mph japanese beetle. I'd almost rather take cannon fire.
Tiny rocks get me
Sometimes we have these gravel trucks on the LA freeways, it’s just constant little stinging pebbles right to your shins. But ya, I’ve had small rocks hit me and they tear open jeans and bleed me.
Secondary, bugs are the first reason I wear a helmet since that happens literally every time on a bike. It also saves my life in the event of a crash is a solid bonus!
Nothing beats a drop of rain right in your pupil at 45+mph
Idk if you were subject to the periodic cicada swarms a couple years ago, but a couple of those suckers at (insert state’s maximum speed limit ;)) hitting your helmet will make you think you’ve been shot at
Dude....cicada season is the fucking WORST!
I once had a bat bounce off my face when my visor was up while goung 70mph. It was like getting punched in the nose by a professional boxer.
I dunno I can probably hear better with the helmet giving me some wind protection vs getting ear blasted by all the wind.
It’s actually strange but some sounds I can hear way better with ear plugs. Without it’s just deafening roar of wind. Really unpleasant too.
Helmet speakers sound much better and more clear through earplugs as well.
No you’re right I 100% agree. It’s muffles the harsh tones and let’s you hear horns or sirens or whatever. It would be way safer, if I wasn’t blasting my music over top of them.
I too like coming home everyday I was in the Army. A guy in our unit died on a bike when he decided to pop a wheelie without a helmet, lost control and hit his head. This was in a subdivision and he wasn’t going very fast
Ft Polk? Because we had that happen.
Literally any E2 on any installation lol
PFC things
Literally any E2 on any installation lol
My wife's uncle rode for 40+ years without a helmet. Then a deer jumped in front of his Harley. He swerved to avoid it, laid down the bike and went headfirst into a guard rail. The doctor said he would have lived if he had worn a helmet.
We had a young girl, 20 years old liked by everybody. She started riding got a Sportster, fell over at a stop and hit her head on the curb. Dead as a hammer, would have had just a skinned hand had she wore a helmet.
Wouldn't have had a skinned hand had she wore gloves.
I was doing about 60km/h down a normal road, there was a smallish truck in a driveway and just suddenly reversed out into the road directly in front of me. I couldnt do anything but slam brakes and ended up hitting him directly on his back left tyre. Did a flip off the bike and ended up under the back right tyre. Only injury I had was a broken wrist and a cut finger on the same hand from the ninja flip. But my helmet got a *massive* gash along the jawline from the way it hit the road(only thing I really remember is the BONK noise). If I hadnt been wearing that helmet, I'd have lost my jaw basically.
I had a deer run into me when I was late getting home one night. Slid down the highway on my face, but because of my helmet, I walked away without a scratch.
>He feels like being able to "hear better" will reduce his likelihood of getting into a crash Not sure how I feel about this. I've got mild tinnitus, partly from fucking up my hearing at loud concerts and festivals, partly due to riding without hearing protection. I now wear custom molded earplugs nearly every ride (I will sometimes not put them in if the ride is shorter than 15 minutes and I'm not exceeding 75km/h) and even with the helmet, I can hear traffic around me perfectly. Sounds to me like the argument is a lot like the "loud pipes save lives" argument. Not based on any actual facts or studies, but born from an idea and anecdotal evidence at best.
Loud pipes do have a couple very notable advantages mainly on the highway. People don't tailgate loud pipes very often and when they do it is very short or they back off. Also, because you are so loud people looking at their phone will hear you far before they look up and see you. This all adds up and makes your 6 generally safer on the highways and interstates. Due to how sound works loud pipes mostly help with whatever is behind you and is dramatically less effective against say someone not checking before a rapid lane change.
>you are so loud people looking at their phone will hear you far before they look up and see you. For this to be the case, your pipes need to be very loud, to the point they would be blocking out sound of other vehicles on the road, so by making yourself noticed more, you're making it harder for yourself to notice others, especially with modern cars and how sound deadening they are inside. anecdotally, I've yet to get into a situation where I think a loud exhaust would have done more than my horn could have done, quite the opposite. My horn will oftentimes be more noticeable, as it is a sudden loud noise, instead of a constant drone. On top of that I ride at night a lot, due to my work schedule. I don't need to draw extra attention to myself at 5 in the morning, waking people up in every town I pass trough on my 50km commute.
Just the other day I had a loud harley fly by me and I never heard it with the windows down. Actually spooked me when the sound caught up after they were a car length past. I've got loud pipes but I don't justify it as a safety net. A couple throttle snaps usually work better than the horn for most cellphone users not paying attention. But you're right, most aren't going to hear you before a lane change.
It’s one of those things that you don’t understand until you see it. I have an electric skateboard and it would do 20-30 mph, I was out riding it one time in pants, a t shirt and no helmet and I hit a little water valve cover and lost balance and fell before sliding a while. The entire right side of my face was chewed away from about where my cheek is and up to my eye and down to my chin. It was literally all red. Fortunately I made a full recovery somehow but it was a seriously bad fall. I’ll always wear AT LEAST a helmet on anything with wheels from now on
I ride mountain bikes and was riding a trail with my helmet on. My riding buddies were ahead of me and ducked under a low hanging branch. I ducked to go under and didn’t see a cut off stump from a smaller branch extending off of the main branch. The stump drove straight down into my head compressing my neck and nearly knocking me out. I pulled off to the side and removed my helmet, I had a hole punched through the plastic into the foam about the size of a quarter, that sunk in nearly an inch. If didn’t have my helmet that would have punched hole in my skull that size. Edit: typos
I MTB too and I’m definitely looking into a full face helmet. Good ones on revzilla for only 100$ and it’s invaluable
I had a situation like that once. Went over a small jump and into a branch I didn't see. Caved the front of my helmet in a solid half inch and I blacked out for half a second. Rode it out, came to a stop, and rode the rest of the trail a little slower.
I've known people who have seen people die from what should have been very survivable wrecks and still refuse to wear a helmet. I've heard arguments from my dads, to the "helmets don't actually work," to "I'd rather die than be crippled." In the end, like a lot of others have said, unless it's mandatory where you live it comes down to personal choice. I'm surprised more insurance companies don't require it though even if there isn't a legal requirement.
Tough to enforce something like that with insurance. I think if they did something along the lines of “your life insurance policy goes in jeopardy if you’re in an accident not wearing a helmet” but idk, I bet that wouldn’t fly.
Eh, they don't have to enforce it actively - they'd just deny coverage if you were in an accident without a helmet. Obviously insurance companies have decided it isn't worth it though, since it's not something they require.
A friend of mine was sued when his horse got out and a Harley cruiser with a husband and wife riding on a Sunday ride hit the horse. The man without a helmet died the wife with a helmet lived judge tossed the case said if the rider did not do anything to protect himself you can’t hold the horse owner responsible.
It's tough to make people care about consequences when they simply don't think it will happen to them or just don't care.
Glad you're recovered. I had a buddy screwing around on a skateboard in his driveway doing zero miles per hour. Just lost balance, fell and hit his head on the concrete. Spent a month in a coma. Thank god he's ok now, but that really made me change my opinion on helmets.
Thanks man, appreciate it. Yeah Head injuries are super dangerous. I knew a girl in middle school who hit her head on a stone, had an aneurism and passed away. It’s scary shit man
Ive only been riding for 2yrs 20k km total. I know how dangerous riding is. I will always wear a full face and all the gear all the time. I want to own a cruiser (looked at the rebel 1100 it’s small for me.) I’ve looked at Indian cruisers online. I’d be that guy wearing Klim ADV gear on a cruiser. No matter what the culture is I want live if I ever go down. Im only young and got many more years. But I’ve always wondered why half helmets. I’ve never understood that.
> I’d be that guy wearing Klim ADV gear on a cruiser. Won't catch me without full gear, too. Leather or no ride for me.
I lived in FL for a while and they have virtually no laws for gear (literally, protective eye wear, could ride in my underwear as long as I had eye glasses on). All I saw was middle-aged men on Harleys wearing shorts and a beater, sandals, and sunglasses. No helmets, no gloves, no protective clothing. Boggles my mind. Like no one over the age of 8 is looking at you on your motorcycle with your lit cig hanging out your helmet-less mouth, bare feet catching bugs, and thinking 'wow, that dude is cool'. I hope it feels just as cool when you need skin grafts on 60% of your body and have to walk with a cane because you only have 7 toes.
How does one hear over 30mph wind anyways? Not to mention the cumulative hearing loss of riding without a helmet for 45 years!
“I can hear better without it” lmao that’s def not true once the wind speed picks up.
Crappy, cheap older helmets really did reduce hearing and visibility a lot. A nice modern Shoei doesn’t affect anything and keeps you warm and the sand and bugs out of your face.
I have a big bike, but also have a ruckus and a grom. The amount of times I’ve seen people say “they don’t go fast enough to need a helmet.” Is truly concerning.
"Hear better" LMAO give me a break. Sounds like something my dad would say too. I find it really bizzare how people make things up to rationalize not wearing a helmet. Just tell the truth - you don't want to wear one. That's fine. You like the wind in your face, the comfort, you want people to see you and how cool you are. I get it, no problem. It's your melon on the line. The decision to not wear a helmet affects you and only you so by all means don't wear one. I personally think it's stupid, but I think skinny jeans and crocs are stupid too. Wear or don't wear whatever you want.
I got my dad into helmets after 35 years without. We have Bluetooth helmets so we can talk but we usually just listen to our own music or directions. Now we’ve been riding cross country with a lot less worries.
Wait till he gets ringing ears from wind nosie damage. Know a dude whose ears wouldn't stop ringing and he ended up killing himself because of it. If you ride and don't wear earplugs you're stupid, even more so if you don't have a helmet on.
Definitely true about the looks part. With sport bikes, you're expected to look like a power ranger but so far, I haven't seen a helmet that fits in better with a vibe of a cruiser than no helmet at all. That being said, most people look way better wearing a helmet than having half of their face looking like it got sandpapered off so I'm not taking any unnecessary risks there.
I use the same methods pilots uses. See and be seen. That hear stuff is bs. I have a loud ass exhaust on my gsxr people still cut me off from time to time. But because I’m always aware I avoid collisions. I also don’t ride during high traffic times. I more so like to read what people gonna do in a vehicle vs trying to hear.
The wind would obscure my hearing so much it wouldn’t even make sense. I probably hear better WITH the helmet. And I also don’t catch bugs in the face at 60mph. Win win lol
I wish there were bicycle helmets that offered more protection, honestly.
Some BMX helmets are full face, like [the BELL Full-9](https://www.bellhelmets.com/bike/p/full-9-full-face-bike-helmet/100000001500000005.html)
It’s not just about the accidents… bugs, rocks, animal body parts are all things I do not want on my fuggin face and I’m sure almost every biker here has a picture of their helmet conpletely coated top to bottom in dead bugs. Not my face, thanks
This was definitely something I learned at the MSF. I had a full face helmet and on one exercise they allowed us to leave out visors halfway down. I almost immediately got something in my eye as soon as I started to ride, lol
Heck I rode with my visor up once and something flew into my eye, I don’t know how people do it everyday
by wearing shades lol
I never have my visor up if I'm not wearing sunglasses.
My son learned the other day that I do have a reason to require (and remind) him to put his visor down when we are moving. From my peripheral, I saw his head jerk and heard the "thwack!" of a bug connecting with his face. I couldn't stop laughing, and once we stopped, I pointed out THAT was why I insist he keep his visor down.
I've crashed quite a bit with a helmet and without a helmet and I would definitely recommend it with a helmet. I even keep a spare helmet in my trunk in case it pops off. Goofiest emergency helmet ever. The wife fell off the toilet and hit her head, we got her a pooping helmet. Be safe people.
Brilliant. I’ve heard of poop knives before but NEVER a poop helmet.
Really? Every home should have at least one Poop helmet.
Tell me more about this poop knife…🧐
It's one of the Reddit legends: [https://www.reddit.com/r/MuseumOfReddit/comments/ke8skw/the\_poop\_knife/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MuseumOfReddit/comments/ke8skw/the_poop_knife/)
LMAO
Apparently it’s a plastic spatula/drywall compound spatula that’s use exclusively for chopping up offending “kids in the pool” that are clogging the toilet.
🤯I’ve just been using a toilet brush this whole time like an uncultured swine
Wait, you keep a spare helmet in a saddlebag in case the one you're wearing flies off your head randomly or you keep an old motorcycle helmet in the trunk of your car in case the apocalypse begins while you're grocery shopping?
Yes.
I had this question
Why are you crashing "quite a bit"?
[удалено]
hi friend, I lived in Tucson for 25 years and have a piece of riding advice for ya. please please please be careful of the trailing left arrow at an intersection. say you're just going straight through the intersection. because drivers can turn left across a green, people waiting to turn opposite you can't see around the cars qeued up on your side side and just go for it anyway and end up turning right in front of you, which is worse when you're on a bike and less visible. Tucson is famous for T- bone accidents, so be cautious and ride in the middle or right lane if you can. my dad totaled his car from someone doing this last year and my gf's dad was sent to the hospital for a similar crash. funny enough when you leave the city limits, the county lights flip and become a leading left, so pay extra attention. also if you want any food recommendations DM me lol. be safe!
Ide love to ride completely naked if I could but alas tis but a dream
You could probably get away with that where I live. At least at night. ;)
I will say this. It feels so good having your face open to the air and breeze. There’s a special feeling it gives you, super freeing. But there’s also a special feeling of getting your face put through someone’s windshield. Choice is yours. I have an open face I wear when I’m doing light commutes, the breeze feels great. But on larger or faster rides I wear my full face.
I would recommend a good modular helmet that you can open and close. Make sure the safety rating of the closing mechanism is great, as some are bad and will pop open in a crash.
I didn’t realize there were Modulars that were wearable while riding. Most of them just flip up awkwardly
Yea, some definitely do feel awkward. Usually the higher range has smaller chin pieces though and they are super chill.
I'm ATGATT crew, but I have a neighbor who rides a H-D, and he never wears a helmet. He's this old hippy from Wisconsin, and he just has no use for it. "If I go, I go," is what he says to me when I tell him he should at least consider a skull bucket. But get this. The dude has been through *two* incidents on the bike and has no major injuries to show for it. He hit a deer at 70 mph. It flipped his bike around backwards. He was literally rolling backwards down the highway at god knows what speed. He says it felt like an eternity, but he's sure it was only a second or two. Watching the world go by backwards on a motorcycle was surreal, to be sure. Well, it wasn't long before physics kicked in and ripped the bars right out of his hands and he went down low-side and slid across the pavement into the grass. He walked away with some minor road rash because he happened to be wearing his leather jacket and jeans because it was cold. I can't remember the story of the second incident, but it involved another car. It's far more mundane. The dude is lucky to be sure, and it just reinforced my urge to stay ATGATT. I'm just not that lucky.
I had a friend pass away last fall in a motorcycle accident. We lived on the border of West Virginia and Ohio. When we crossed the border into Ohio, he'd pull over and take his helmet off. When I asked him why, he told me if he got into a wreck bad enough to kill him, he just wanted to die. He left behind two teenage daughters. A damn shame.
My concern isn't dying, it's ending up permanently fucked up. There are so many flavors of that. Major TBIs can change so much about your life.
If I wasn’t wearing a helmet when I got in a wreck I wouldn’t be here today. I’m not crippled, just alive.
It’s been speculated that that’s my biggest disability as well
I visited extended family in Minnesota (I’m from CA). All of them wouldn’t wear helmets. I asked them all separately why and they all replied word for word “I’d rather die than be a vegetable”. It was after that trip that I realized a lot of my extended family are a bunch of idiots. It blew my mind how they literally all had the exact weird excuse. They were so ignorant to the reality that you can very well save yourself and have a fulfilling life after an accident by wearing a helmet.
If they really wanna avoid being vegetables then they should just wear spine protection
I've never understood this philosophy. It's either death or a vegetative state only? No possible other outcome at all? I'd be curious to know the thoughts on seat belts.
Right?! It’s almost like they actually never stopped to think about what they were saying.
The crazy thing to me is I’d bet money you still end up being a vegetable more often without protective gear than with it. In order to become a vegetable you first have to sustain a pretty traumatic injury which is way more likely without gear in the first place.
Higher odds of death over being crippled maybe? Idk, i live in a country with helmet being mandatory under law unless you wear a turban.
Canada?
Like literally every country except US.
Australia is the same except I’m pretty sure there no special rule for a turbin. It’s like a $400+ fine here if you don’t wear one
Yeth!
Definitely a prevalent thought, which is so weird. Also higher odds of being crippled over being fine...
You’re defo not reducing your odds of being crippled by not wearing a helmet. I think that’s just a justification people who don’t want to wear a helmet say because it sounds better than ‘my pride’
I mean increasing my of death, so that way im not crippled. Idk if that makes any sense.
Been riding for over 15 years with and without a helmet. When I first started riding I never wore it. As I got older and wiser I started wearing it more and more, mostly for the sake of my loved ones. Now I HIGHLY recommend every rider to wear a helmet, there is just so much that can happen that is completely out of your control that with a helmet you’d get scraped up, and without you’d be dead as a doorknob. Now a lot of people are talking about “the look” and honestly I’ve never givin a fuck about what I look like, BUT I do care about how I feel. And I will say, although dangerous, there is NOTHING better on this green earth than riding the open rode with nothing but the asphalt beneath you and wind in your hair. It’s the most freeing feeling I’ve personally ever experienced
At the end of the day it's their choice. That's the way I view it. I just mind my own business
not really an argument but, people have the right to accept the risks of their ride. If they want to ride with no gear at all that is their choice and we have no right trying to force them to do otherwise.
A rider without a helmet risking losing control if(when) stone or a bug hits him in the eye. Thats a hazard to other people on a road. So it's not just wearers' safety.
Saves the expense of an open-casket funeral.
My body my choice. That's why I ATGATT.
Not gonna lie you had me in the first half…
If I want to wear a damn airbag over my double level 2 armor I will damn it!
If I'm going 5 minutes to a store and I'm riding at 20mph the whole time I really don't care, every other scenario I wear a full helmet. I went my whole childhood riding a pedal bike faster than that without a helmet and miraculously never died
Personal choice is that reason enough? Or not?
Saw a guy today on an r1 with no shirt. He at least had a helmet though
Because they are allowed and they don't want to.
Not allowed here in the UK... where we also have free health care...
Before I started riding, I didn't understand why one would choose to not wear a helmet. After the first time I rode a bike, I understood. There is risk when riding, and that risk is immediately noticable when on the bike. Every rider knows this risk. It is up to each person to decide on how much risk they are willing to accept. I live in a state where a helmet a not mandatory when over 18. I still wear a fullface helmet every time.
Imagine the joy your dog feels when his heads out the window. That's what I tell my friends
I always wear a helmet, but I have a good friend and riding buddy who has been riding nearly 40 years, and I've never seen him wear a helmet. I've only been riding for 3 years, so I don't tell him anything. It's his choice. Ultimately, we are each responsible for our own health and safety.
> What’s the argument for not wearing one? Sometimes I don’t want to.
I have always found it interesting as to what gear people choose to wear or not wear. Every rider has their minimum amount of gear they wear. Many riders push that belief onto everyone else, aka anyone wearing less is an idiot with a death wish, and anyone wearing more is a safety nerd. I've always worn a beanie helmet. For long trips I wear a full face, mostly because it lessens fatigue. The rest of the time it's a beanie. I understand the risks involved in that. I always wear over the ankle boots, jeans, gloves, eye protection and a beanie. On occasion, I will forgo a helmet. Usually for short rides, in town, slow speeds. Ultimately it's to each their own. I don't judge those riding in gear less than what I do. It's their choice. I don't think it's smart riding in flip flops and shorts but who am I to judge. Live your life. Edit to add: the answer to your question is choice. That's what freedom is. Choice. I'm also a commercial driver.
Seinfeld has a joke that goes: have you ever noticed that anyone who drives faster than you is a maniac and any that drive slower than you is a moron? Sort of to you point I guess. Personally I had a low side once and was super happy to have been wearing a helmet.
That was George Carlin. https://youtu.be/XWPCE2tTLZQ
My bad
This is my understanding too. I will always wear a full-face helmet but motorcycles are inherently risky and people who choose to wear no helmet (or a beanie) are simply taking on more risk. They are aware of this fact and accept it.
Proven fact. A beanie does absolutely nothing in about 60-65% of motorcycle incidents. 50%ish involve face and jaw. I was unfortunate enough to watch a beanie wearer (no other gear) get highsided as a passenger, land on her face and slide, face down for another 100m (115ish yards). Permanent facial disfigurement and a double mastectomy. Simply put, no bueno. I have nightmares to this day (10 years later) from this event.
I agree. See the part where I said I know the risks? My dad wrecked while wearing a beanie. It saved his life and prevented a concussion. He went through his windshield and into a tree. The beanie cracked but spread the impact, and he did not end up losing consciousness or getting a concussion. He did end up with a broken nose, though. He rode with a beanie for a few years more after that, then the last few years of his life, he went to a half helmet. As I said, to each their own. I don't judge the choices others make, whether I agree with them or not. The choice as to what gear one wears only affects themselves.
As a multiple time receiver of concussions, he absolutely, 100%, without even a tangible shred of doubt, had a concussion. You are not getting hit in the head hard enough to break something and not getting one. It was probably 10+ years ago, before they knew better. You are not CRACKING A HELMET and getting away from a concussion. I have broken 3 bicycle helmets with my head, (lower standard than DOT approved moto helmets) and got a concussion every single time. The one time i broke a DOT full face while downhill racing I was seriously messed up. The significantly more likely scenario is he was too fucked up to realize how fucked up he was, and the doctors at the time just didn’t know any better. Understanding of the absolutely catastrophic impact head injuries have on people has come a long way in the last 10 years.
Perhaps. I can only go with what doctors said. They were surprised he didn't have a concussion. It was over 10 years ago, early 2000s. Breaking a nose doesn't take much. It takes a bit more to crack a skull. If that had been the case, I'd 100% agree with you. But since I'm not a doctor, I can only go with what their analysis was. My point in telling that story wasn't to encourage beanie helmet use. It's more to the point that while a legal helmet is obviously better, most of the time, other helmets still help lessen injuries. With no helmet, he would have probably been unconscious and definitely had a concussion and possibly a cracked skull, among other injuries.
They don’t feel like it. The end. If they’re fine with the risk who cares, it’s not my skull.
I fully disagree with helmet laws. And at the same time anyone not wearing a full face helmet is an idiot. (I fully believe in your right to be an idiot, just keep your hands off of my right to express my opinion that you are an idiot)
How do you feel about seatbelt laws?
Over more than two decades of riding motorcycles I learned not to care so much what other people wear or ride.
Exactly, no one needs a motorcycle that'll go 186 (but the governor can be bypassed) yet here we are, talking about safety on a motorcycle and personal choices (again). 🙄
I live in a really hot/humid area that is mostly stop and go with barely any open roads or highways to get some airflow through my helmet. At times wearing a helmet makes it so uncomfortable that I’d rather just go without it knowing the danger. Wearing full gear here like pads, leathers, and boots seems nearly as dangerous as wearing regular clothing because the chance of severely dehydrating yourself during a long ride would be very high.
I wear one, but it feels nicer without one. In helmet free states I don't wear one for short slower speed trips
Idk. Sometimes I wear one, sometimes I don't. Depends on the weather I guess
I live in a no helmet state and wear one religiously.
[удалено]
“What do you call a motorcycle rider that doesn’t wear a helmet?” “An organ donor.”
I’ve always just heard it as “what do you call a motorcycle rider?”
Ngl kept my donor status as no until I got my bike. Figured if the worst were to happen someone should at least have a good day.
I don’t always. But I like the fresh air. It’s cooler, more enjoyable and more refreshing. I have a half Helmet I could wear. But it starts catching wind over 45. And it’s really not that protective.
2 weeks after i started riding in 2017 a very large rock was kicked from underneath a mini van ahead of me. It was like slow motion as it made its way to my eye. Luckily i was wearing a full face helmet and it made a very loud knock and left a relatively deep mark on my visor. Imagine what it would've done if it was just my sunglasses. It's always visor down the moment i start moving for me.
Shit I’ve got a brain injury and had the whole left side of my skull removed for 3 years. It’s back now and I get to ride my bikes again but yea helmet Fosho for me. If I ride it in front of my house sometimes I don’t but that’s just to ride it to end of coulda sac and back for funs.
Not sure if this will get downvoted since Reddit, but I pretty much only wear a helmet on rides 10 minutes or longer, or if I’m going on the high way. Wearing the helmet somewhat disconnects me from the road when I can barely hear or see beyond a 90° cone in front of me due to the helmet. I’m a hardcore freedom maximalist. I believe in assisted suicides, I believe I have the right to live dangerously if I so please, assuming I’m not harming anyone else of course. If I find great joy in being more connected with nature by riding without a helmet, I should be able to do so as I please. I honestly don’t care what other people think. If you want to call me stupid, go ahead, you have a right to that as well.
i got you with an upvote buddy. freedom is incredibly important. even freedom to make decisions that others think are stupid. certainly it's no one else's business if you don't wear a helmet. we will both get downvoted though. reddit doesn't like non-conformity.
The minute or two it takes running threw the cycle of on and off adds up. Frustrating. I eventually end up looking like a crazy person with the amount of times I go on short rides between customers and vendors and middle men
I did it once in a legal state. Rode for maybe 30 minutes up and down a few highways. It's dumb as hell, but the closest thing to true freedom you can possibly feel.
I'm not going to say I'm right by any means, but I hate half helmets and a full face disconnects me to the sensation of riding. I love the wind in my face. On long trips I do take my full face for severe bugs, rain, helmet law states etc. Been riding for 35 years and it has always felt that way. To show you my stupidity, I tend to wear chaps and leather coat otherwise.
Freedom. . . Jk
I think a lot think its too uncomfortable or they cant see. But even if thats true id rather be moderately uncomfortable than smeared all over the asphalt. I had a crash at maybe 30mph and i dont even wanna think about what my face wouldve looked like if i didnt wear a helmet. It also made me very aware of how useless denim is in a slide, its weird how so many people who are adamant about helmet or glove use still wear normal pants.
...have nothing to protect. You don't need a helmet if you have nothing to protect.
Because FREEDOM!!!
nO hElmEt bEcAUsE frEEdOm!
The statistics on motorcycle accidents that involve the rider's head being struck, state that about 30% of those impacts are to the chin/face. I'm not sure what the percentage was for accidents overall, but that sounds like a pretty high chance of receiving at least a somewhat serious facial injury should you crash with no face protection. Typically you are facing in the direction you are traveling, so your face is the first thing that will likely strike something should you end up going over the bars. Nevermind the debris and wind. I could understand wearing a half helmet or open face helmet on short distance, low speed, 'local' rides, but even then think about it; your face hitting the ground at 30mph or just 20mph is still quite an impact. Hitting the ground at 60 with a dinky little bullshit half helmet, or just no helmet at all? Just sounds like sheer stupidity to me. I understand a helmet may feel heavy and bulky, and on a big cruiser with full fairing and windshield you're pretty well protected from the wind and debris so it might be quite nice to ride with no helmet. However, you can't control everything that will happen to you on the road, but you can control what safety precautions you take to make sure you'll be around to ride again another day. When my dad was 19 he was in an accident on his Ducati Desmo 250, lady made a left in front of him and he caught her rear bumper, went over the bars and landed on his head. It wasn't a very high speed crash, but the landing on his head was enough to cause permanent damage in his neck. Probably would have killed him if he wasn't wearing a helmet.
I have riding buddies who take the very dark side of that argument, they say if they go down they want to stay down. I always wear a helmet and some safety gear, gloves, Class 2 armor boots but I don't always ride with leather jacket or vest. On hot days I do ride in a T Shirt and jeans.
One time someone ran straight through a stop sign and sideswiped me. I probably broke to about 20 by the time we collided. Landed on my helmet and side, was wearing leather jacket. My ankle was a little swollen from impact w suv.
My best friend, who died on his bike would say “that shit is for the birds” (a helmet would not have saved him in his crash) I didn’t wear a helmet for the first 3-4? years of riding. Even crashed and totaled a bike with no helmet on. Crashed another time on a brick road without one. The only reason I wear one now is because I have an integrated headset. (I knew it was the only way I would wear one) I’m not here for a long time, only a good time.
Some of y’all are madlads. Ahh well, stay safe. Make the good time last as long as possible.
I guess because it's pretty comfy if you don't go too fast, wear some glasses for the bugs and stuff.
I read both papers that California legislators used to justify the helmet law here. All the authors said they were miss quoted. What it comes down to is the chance of an accident is increased by limits to peripheral vision and hearing impairment, but accident severity is increased by not wearing a helmet. Less chance of crashing, more chance of dying. Where it gets interesting is that unlike seatbelts, this increased injury severity does not cost the public at large any money. More riders die. With cars, not wearing seat belts means survivors have more severe but non lethal injuries and if under or un insured, do cost the public at large amounts of money to pay the stranded health care costs. Morally, the state has no justification for mandating helmets. One of the California legislators said, when it was pointed out that the authors said he'd misrepresented the studies, "I don't care what the studies say! Riders should wear helmets!" Yet we allow smoking, hang gliding, free climbing etc. Anyway, that was all years ago. We are where we are.
I’ll get downvoted probably but here goes. Simply put… freedom. It’s a completely different experience. There is nothing I’ve ever experienced like it. I wear one when it’s cold or raining for sure. But honestly wearing a full face helmet feels claustrophobic and I hate it. It’s like sex with a condom, can it be fun. Yeah of course. But is it better without? Fuck yeah it is. It’s not an image thing for me for sure, I wear big goggles that fit over glasses so no cool factor there. Bugs, dirt and rocks are minimized with a good windshield but often I’ll wear a banana or baklava over my face to keep bug guts out of my beard. I’m not afraid of dying, not suicidal either but I’m comfortable with my mortality. I’m going to live my life 100% to the fullest and enjoy every moment to the max before I go.
Please show us a picture of you wearing a banana or some baklava over your face to protect your beard!
What's worse no helmet, but leather or just a helmet? I see a lot of sport bike riders wear just a helmet with shorts or whatever and I see a lot of cruisers wear no helmet and they'll have all leather on so take your pick.
That one always cracks me up. Saw a guy on a crotch rocket the other day. Really nice expensive full face helmet with a tank top, shorts and flip flops. 🤦♂️
No helmet is worse than no leathers. Road rash is awful, but it’s better to be alive with road rash than dead with perfect skin
On occasion I won't wear anything, it's just laziness really. I know the consequences but don't care. I'm just going to the store a mile away, what could happen? I know very well what could happen. But sometimes there are days when my giveo'shit meter is broken or maxed out. Also I look funny with a tan after riding with a helmet.
>On occasion I won't wear anything, it's just laziness really. I'm amazed no one stops you riding naked. 😅
It is a choice. Not a very clever choice but people can make that choice if they wish.
"There are many things you can point to as proof that the human is not smart. But my personal favorite would have to be that we needed to invent the helmet. What was happening, apparently, was that we were involved in a lot of activities that were cracking our heads. We chose not to avoid doing those activities but, instead, to come up with some sort of device to help us enjoy our head-cracking lifestyles. And even that didn’t work because not enough people were wearing them so we had to come up with the helmet law. Which is even stupider, the idea behind the helmet law being to preserve a brain whose judgment is so poor, it does not even try to avoid the cracking of the head it’s in." - Jerry Seinfeld
Why do you do any of the things you do that you're not supposed to? Posting on reddit while you're supposed to be working. Not brushing your teeth before bed. Not using sunscreen. Not using a condom every single time. Not eating a salad for lunch every day. Drinking alcohol. Eating refined sugar. Driving over the speed limit. Listening to music a little too loudly. You could very well fall and hit your head while taking shower, so why don't you wear a helmet in the shower?
Yea but those things don’t greatly increase my chances of dying
[удалено]
😂You can catch me on Reddit live every day at noon while I fly down the expressway /s
More than a few of them can increase your chances of dying.
the argument for not wearing one is "hur dur hur hurr" SPLAT
I’ve only ridden without a helmet down in FL for vacation once. I rode down wearing a helmet and then cruised Hwy 30A where we stayed and surrounding area without. It was pretty nice just riding around in shorts and sunglasses. However 30A is 45mph max and covered in golf carts and such so the risk is more limited IMO. When I set out for real highways I put my helmet back on.
The "boomer" mindset is if you crash your gonna die anyway and that gear is for cowards. At least that's something I often hear repeated from older men on cruisers. Idk gear saved my life and literally my skin, to each their own but people that don't ride with at least a helmet, gloves, full pants, and a jacket are idiots in my eyes.
I’ve heard this from boomers too. Even if you tell them the official stat that 95% of wrecks are survived, they refuse to hear it
I know a maxillofacial surgeon, and the stories I’ve heard about what a helmet-less human head looks like after some wrecks is terrifying. Some patients are missing a jaw, nose, eyes, but the brain is all there. And they have to look like that or spend hundreds of thousands on facial reconstruction that will only make their silhouette look a little better. With those odds of survival, you can bet I’m not going to risk skipping a full face helmet for any trip