[BouncingRadical]

I rode a ton this weekend and it was awesome. I went to the home town and back about a 100mi trip one way. I saw a ton of bikes and one thing I noticed, especially today (Sunday) when a ton of people where riding, is that almost noone wore any sort of protection. Skull caps and t-shirts, or if it was a sports bike, a really nice helment and a t-shirt. I was definitely in the very tiny minority with my bright green icon jacket, most other armored people I saw wore leather. Do ya’ll notice alot of people do not wear armor? I thought I was still unprepared because I don’t have pants!
Then again this is the state with the highest major motorcycle deaths, maybe its just here.

[Munch]

nah , I see it alot here too. Alot of it is the “old schoolers” thinking it’s a wuss thing, and the easily pressured follow suit to look less wuss like. I can’t promise I wear full gear all the time especially in extreme hot weather, but a heck of a lot more then not.
I always see the kids in the t-shirts that are blowing half up their backs and shake my head…. I sincerely hate it for them should disaster ever befall them. Heck I can remember coming fresh out of MSF grad day and watch a 300lbs+ guy pull up into the dealership on a full dress HD sporting Flip flops.
To each their own, you choose your path, if it ends badly you have only yourself to blame.

[Jon D.]

Not uncommon, I see a large number of the people I work with that don’t bother with a helmet. Eye protection is all that is required here in Kansas. I have seen people wearing shorts,tank tops and flip flops, cruising around on their sport bikes pretty regularly. Ben has a video of a recent accident and he was wearing his gear. worth a look for anyone who visits this sight. Ride safe and God bless. Jon D.

[briderdt]

… to wear armor. Mostly because it rarely gets much over the low 80’s in the hottest summer months (okay, weeks). But even on those warmer weather days we see it a lot.

[SantaCruzRider]

I started out riding in Hawaii, were helmets were optional. Mostly rode in jeans, t-shirt and doo-rag. But a couple years in, I realized that the odds were stacking up against me. Since then, I ride only with armored leather jacket, helmet, leather gloves and boots, and armored overpants. So far, I’ve yet to use any of it on a crash, so I guess I’ve wasted several hundred dollars. But I’d rather lose $500 than a pound of skin, use of a limb, brain cells, etc…

[BouncingRadical]

So it seems like it is everywhere. The only crash I’ve had I did not have my jacket yet, and boy did I wish I did! I don’t even think twice about putting it on. I can see what you mean, Elwood, by to alot of people it is a fashion statement. For me I just wanted to get in some mud! But it turned out I want to be on it all the time, I can’t get enough

[kirk]

I live in the sun west where we have two temperatures: hot and hotter! Surprisingly enough I see most people wearing some protection, mostly just a helmet. I always have a helmet, gloves, boots, and armored jacket. July here is brutal but I figure it’s better to be hot then to be in the emergency room getting skin grafts.
By the way Elwood, I love your pavements response!!

[Medic]

Well good to read that people here know what’s important.
I’m from Milwaukee, WI, home of Harley Davidson. Lots of cool bikes to look at which is cool, but most people just don’t seem to think anything bad will ever happen to them. Or I guess it’s just not “manly” to wear a helmet on a Harley. Whatever

I haven’t even gotten my license let alone a bike yet, but I just bought a HJC FS-10 helmet and now I’m looking for some more gear. Jacket and pants seem hard to find unless you want bright colors or advertisements, but I’ll find something.

Stay safe

[Sangria7]

Go to Leatherup.com

[Medic]

You guys just keep impressing me haha.
Really though, I just ordered a jacket and some gloves from leatherup.com
We’ll see for sure when they show up, but they look pretty good and the prices were very reasonable.

Thank you

[Medic]

Still can’t commit to leather pants though, I’ll stick to blue jeans until I find something more um, subdued?

[Munch]

I wear chaps… aside from the Village people comments it is decent protection…and easier to deal with when you drink to much water.
Besides after you explain what they are really for and the consequences with out them, they usually quiet up.

[Matt]

Ever seen a picture of a man with no ass?
I have.
He crashed in chaps and had to have all the skin regrafted from his thighs onto his butt. He lost a fair chunk of the muscle under the skin as well. It really was not what I’d call as “safe for work” photo.
Not a scratch on his legs, but nothing but burned and ripped flesh where the chaps ended.
(Remeber chaps come from the horse riding world, where they protect against cuts and scraps as the riders brushes past branches, really not a similar thing to sliding down the road)

Interesting side note: “road rash” is not a scrap or rip in the traditional sense, it is actually a friction burn (think rug burn, only the speed and force is orders of magnitude higher than anything you can do at home, and the “rug” is rough asphalt specifically created to adhere to tires). That makes treating road rash all the more difficult since it requires of mixture of blunt-force trauma and burn ward expertise.

Okay, my useless trivia moment is over.

Obviously protection is a purely personal choice, but chaps don’t provide anywhere near as much protection as they appear to.

My textile overpants have a built in belt and fly, so recycling the soda isn’t really much of an issue, but I’ll admit they are more bulky and less comfortable than a nice pair of a normal pants.

Staying away from textile overpants, there is a lot to be said for armoured jeans or proper leather riding pants (CE protection doesn’t require racing leathers).

The jeans might not provide a ton of protection, but if they’re made of ballistic material and have the knee and hip inserts, they’ll do you much better than chaps.

Proper CE rated leather is well, CE rated leather. It doesn’t have to be racing leathers to save your bacon.

How much is a pound of (your) flesh worth? Just something to consider.

[Matt]

Black textile overpants don’t look out of place on a bike (not around here anyways). I wear mine all the time, but I understand why some people don’t like them.

Armoured jeans with knee and hip protection (and made of ballistic material) are NOT as protective as a proper textile pant (which in turn is no where near as protective as leather pants). But they are infinitely better than street wear jeans, and don’t cost a ton.

I would seriously recommend investing in some lower body protection.
Protection is a personal choice, but you’ll feel like an idiot if you ever end up in an ER and the doctor tells you how much the skin grapht is going cost (not to mention hurt)…

Take care.

[Medic]

Actually, I’d like to see that pic. It’s work safe for me.
I worked ICU briefly for school, and one of my patients did die from a motorcycle accident. He was pretty messed up, and he wasn’t the only guy in the ICU for the same reason at the time. Actually we had several, and I think 2 of them didn’t make it. And I was only there for a month.

So nevermind the picture, ever SMELL a necrotic thigh? I can tell you, it’s not a pleasant thing. That guy died when they tried to amputate his leg actually.

All that said, I’m still not big on leather pants. And chaps? Hahaha, not so much, just not for me. I agree with the lack of protection there, too.
I need o get to a bigger bike/biker store so I can try some things on and see what works. I know how important it is, but buying stuff I’m not going to wear is pointless and a waste of money. I’d rather spend more and get it right the first time. So back to google to find a local place.

[Author]

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