Ian F wrote: Yep. I love the the "loud pipes save lives" arguement... how the hell do they save you when the people who are annoyed are behind you???
Every time I hear the "loud pipes" crap, I am reminded that I need to buy this T-shirt:
http://www.pjsparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=485
my buddy rides in full leathers on his harley. with no helmet because "it doesnt look cool"
my sister rides her scooter in full boots, pants, armored jacket, and helmet because she is smarter than he is.
GrantMLS wrote: your on a bike that can outbreak and out accel 99% of the soccer moms out there.. its not an issue.
If you think that, you're a statistic waiting to happen.
When I ride, in my mind, every 4-wheeler out there is trying to kill me. It's like a game of dodge the zombie....anticipate the zombie.... get the hell out of the way of the approaching zombie. I can't eliminate the chance that I'll get plowed into at some point from a text-zombie, but I can lessen the chances.
ATGATT is a choice. I don't think folks not wearing gear are stupid, they are just taking more chances than they have to. If I thought they were all stupid, I'd have to say that riding in general is stupid when I have a (much safer) car. You take your chances, you pay your price.
Now I have seen a couple of Harley riders TEXTING WHILE RIDING! 
One was on the interstate in Denver, the other on a very twisty road here in Florida. Now those guys= stupid!
Javelin wrote: I wish i could agree with you, but I can't. My BIL has been riding for 25 years, had never had an accident, and always looks out. He got run over ~2 years ago and very nearly died as a result. I saw the security camera footage (parking lot at his work) and there was just no warning and *nothing* he could have done.
Shortly after I graduated HS, one of my classmates was killed in Philly. He was sitting at a light on his sport bike and a driver making a right turn from the cross street went wide and plowed through him. Not a damn thing he could have done.
I will admit situational awareness is an important factor, even driving a car. I've manage to avoid more than a few accidents by having an uncanny ability to read the "body english" of drivers around me. Don't ask me how, but I've done it numerous times in my 20+ years of driving. Yet my g/f still looks at me funny when I'll be in the passenger seat and say, "watch that guy... he's about to do something stupid..." "You don't know what are you're talking about".... and then he does something stupid. She's pretty thick sometimes...
Of course, I say all of this as a bicycle rider... and I've come to the terms with the fact I'll probably meet my end on the grill of some texter-driven SUV...
Anti-stance wrote: Driving through SC almost makes my stomach turn seeing guys riding sportbikes with nothing but sunglasses on at 80mph.
Leave'em alone. They're our organ donors.
93EXCivic wrote:RealMiniDriver wrote: Funny, I wear chaps frequently, boots, armored jacket and full-face helmet, when riding my Harley, yet I see plenty of clowns on crotch rockets in shorts, flip-flops, tank tops and baseball caps.It is funny I see way too many Harley riders wearing leathers and no helmet (back in KY) and way too many crotch rocket riders wearing flip flops, shorts, tank tops and helmets.
I was just about to post the same thing! Up here in ND, it's not uncommon to see a harley rider in full gear, except for a helmet, and some 18 year old wearing no gear but a full face helmet.
Both seem unaware that they will probably not make it through the crash, but they will at least have one or two well protected parts left on their corpse! 
spitfirebill wrote:Anti-stance wrote: Driving through SC almost makes my stomach turn seeing guys riding sportbikes with nothing but sunglasses on at 80mph.Leave'em alone. They're our organ donors.
In reality, I wonder what the fatality rate is for these types of guys versus a full gear dudes. It isn't like 50% of the foolish riders eventually die in motorcycle wrecks. I doubt even 1% do.
Otto Maddox wrote: In reality, I wonder what the fatality rate is for these types of guys versus a full gear dudes. It isn't like 50% of the foolish riders eventually die in motorcycle wrecks. I doubt even 1% do.
I was actually reading an article just the other day discussing the skyrocketing motorcycle fatality rates and their correlations to states with no helmet laws, etc.
Some linkages if you're interested:
Today I saw a 40+ fat dude on a Harley in traffic in shorts, no shirt, no shoes, no helmet. The sight of it was ugly and stupid, redneck nirvana.
Retch. That's a mental image I really didn't need right now.
lulz at all the guys saying they will stay off-road.
When I still rode sport bikes, all my buddies that got hurt.................not on the street, not at the track..........but out on the trails on their dirtbikes.
z31maniac wrote: lulz at all the guys saying they will stay off-road. When I still rode sport bikes, all my buddies that got hurt.................not on the street, not at the track..........but out on the trails on their dirtbikes.
I fell off of my 4 wheeler several times. I actually got use out of my safety gear.
Motorcycle safety is not only what you wear or how you ride, but WHEN and WHERE you ride.
Obviously it affects practicality, but not riding at night, bad weather, in heavy traffic etc. can make a huge difference in the danger involved.
There are clearly situation where there is nothing you can do, but this applies to cars also. Be aware that death and dismemberment is near... act appropriately.
I guess we need some video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIUTXIsJz3o&sns=em
z31maniac wrote: lulz at all the guys saying they will stay off-road. When I still rode sport bikes, all my buddies that got hurt.................not on the street, not at the track..........but out on the trails on their dirtbikes.
Have to agree. Never had a problem on the street. Hit a tree in the woods on Sunday 
one of my fav memories in Panama city, FL... some squid in a tank top and flops almost crashing in a turn because he was to busy holding his helmet on the back seat (making sure it wasn't going to fall off)... it was priceless
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