The other day when it was quite warm I saw a bloke riding a Hornet in jeans and a t-shirt. At the traffic lights I asked him why he wasn’t riding with proper attire and he seemed a bit offended.
Personally I won’t ride with anything less than decent trousers and an armored jacket, which may be unzipped but will no less be worn no matter what the weather.
How do you folks handle the safety gear question in summer? Do you always ride in leathers no matter how hot, or do you let things slide a bit and ride in shorts and a t-shirt when it gets too steamy? Or something in between?
In the Summer last year I was getting hot and bothered and almost gave in to the heat and rode in lighter day wear…then a serious “off” brought me right back down to earth…the gear I had on saved my sorry arse and never again will I moan at the cost and the feeling of being uncomfortable where proper protection is concerned !!!
He was probably a bit taken aback by someone in an open face helmet asking him why he wasn’t wearing decent protection…
That said, personally I don’t understand all this never getting on a bike without full leathers & body armour attitude, it’s a motorcycle for gawds sake, it’s supposed to have an element of risk & danger, that’s why it’s exciting.
In town I’ll generally be wearing helmet, boots gloves & textile/leather jacket depending on the weather, I may wear leather trousers if I’m going to be on the bike all the time, if I’m going someplace or likely to be walking around, then I’ll wear jeans.
If I’m heading out of town & therefore doing higher speeds, then likely to be full leathers, or textile stuff in the winter.
In the summer if it’s hot I may well end up in jeans & T-shirt, but NEVER ride without gloves & boots - ankles are very complicated bits of kit & very easy to damage badly &/or permanently in a bike accident - it amazes me the number of people I see riding in shoes/trainers.
I do have back protector someplace, can’t remember the last time I wore it though, think it was probably a track day years ago before my one-piece leathers started shrinking !
I think it’s just a personal thing. Most of the time I wear gloves lid and jacket but not offten boots. I really dont care what people wear as long as they know what they are risking not properly kitting up.
we live in a free society and people can choose what the f**k they want!!
Leathers it is. As a spotty youth in South Africa I rode in shorts, t-shirt and flip flops, I came off! Now it’s leather all the way as I hate road rash with a passion. It is individual choice but it’s a clever one.
Agreed, as long as those people provide a waiver to the NHS they do not need to attend to their injuries. After all if they can refuse to help smokers and soon fat people, why not people that won’t minimise the risk of injury to themselves.
Pick the phone up and dial the Local Hospital, Tell them your Son, Daughter or Friend for that matter has taken an Overdose or is Drunk and Injured and ask for an Ambulance…see what they say !
I used to just wear jeans, jacket, boots and gloves but after speaking to alot of ambulance crews at work and hearing some of their horror stories about dealing with bike accidents, it’s leathers all the time for me now!!
So by your logic, you think that next time you have an accident on your bike, that the NHS should refuse to treat you because by choosing a form of transport that is more than 20 times more likely to result in death or serious injury per mile travelled than travelling by car, you obviously haven’t minimised your risk of injury ?
Perhaps therefore, the govt should make it compulsary that a bike licence is only valid if the appropriate waiver to NHS treatment in the event of an accident is signed ?
The view was that if you was to be found on the road with ya bike mangled and rolling around wearing a pair of shorts, flip flops and sunglasses !!!..I think the bottom line is that would there be a strength in a law which follows the same line as the Helmet situation ?
Compulsary Protection ??
The suns out and Im protected so Im off this topic and on the bike…
Do you think the NHS makes any differential between those smokers that are filling their lungs with unfiltered smoke from Woodbines, or those puffing delicately on Silk Cut Ultra-lights ? No, as far as they’re concerned all smokers are partaking in a dangerous habit.
I’ve heard of a few cases in the states were health cover is provided by company schemes & the schemes have expressly excluded cover in the event of injuries sustained whilst riding (or pillioning) a motorcycle, makes no odds if the claimant was dressed head to toe in the finest protection money could buy, or pillioning around Daytona in a G-string & a couple of pasties (& no I don’t mean the Cornish variety !).
Hit the post again !!!..would it be right for the government and insurance companys to stipulate that riders in proper protective clothing would have prority ?
Alternatively…people found to be riding in non protective clothing would as a result be breaking the law and rendering their insurance coverage “nul and void” !!
Dammmm if that aint in Laymans terms then Im SHEESH KEBARRRRRRRB !!!