Do you wear a helmet even tho you don't have to?

[Fritz The Cat]

I'm in south Georgia. To the north is South Carolina, a no helmet state. To the south is Florida, a no helmet state. In Georgia, wearing a helmet is mandatory but I do quite a bit of riding in SC and Florida. I always wear a helmet whether the law requires it or not because the logic for doing so is rock solid. But I was wondering what others do, especially those who live, and ride predominantly in a no helmet state.
 

[PAVALKER]

A few years ago PA repealed the Helmet mandate law, and I did go without a helmet on more occasions that with.  That grew old and I now wear a helmet, except for a rare few occasions.

[wdvalk]

most of the time

[old2soon]

In the show me it is the law-wear a helmet. last July i was in Illinois-helmet optinal-and could not bring myself to not wear it. Do not want a 5 M P H come off the fat girl and slap my gourd to take me out. Sides- i'm too pretty to screw up this face. RIDE SAFE.

[wiggydotcom]

I live in Illinois, a no helmet required state. I used to always wear a helmet while riding with my wife on board but would sometimes go without when I was by myself. After my crash in which a 17 yr old girl pulled out(or ran) a stop sign into my path, I suffered facial fractures after being launched through my fairing and windshield into who knows what. I also carry a small scar on my forehead that extends up into my hairline. It required 29 stitches and 28 staples. I'm not mentioning this to gross anyone out, but I also had a shattered left wrist, a broken right hand and a broken t5 vertabrae.
My bike was totalled and I could have been. My helmet was in the trunk but it wasn't doing me much good there on that morning.
One of the conditions on me getting another Valk--my family was dead set against it..was that I'd wear a helmet religiously. Not trying to preach to anyone else.
But as I can now say, there are those who've been launched from their bikes at 45 mph and those that haven't.
My only wish is that I could have seen the non-existant video ONE time...to see exactly how I flew and what I hit. 
She had a 99 Cougar that had to be towed from the scene so the Valk did inject a little bit of wrath.
That was in Jan of 07 and so far so good in re-writing the story with a happier ending to Dragon II.

[Hoser]

Yes, and an armored jacket and gloves and boots.  Hoser

[BigAl]

Brain Bucket will save your life to the point it is still worth living,

They don't crimp your style, if it does get a open faced helmet.

They keep my bald head from getting sun burned.

Imagine road rash on your head.

Looking cool riding around without a helmet, for people that could care less if you were dead. How smart is that.

YES when the state law is optional on helmet I still wear mine.

[Canuck]

Yes, and an armored jacket and gloves and boots.  Hoser

+1 

[highcountry]

Colorado is a no-helmet state but I always wear a FF helmet.

[Grumpy]

Since I went bouncing down the interstate at 65 mph after a side swipe, I will not go around the block with out a helmet.

[valkyriemc]

Always here in Fla.

[BF]

In Florida.  Don't have to.....but do.  HJC half.  Won't ride without it.   

[john]

                             no                                                              
give'in it serious consideration .....       

[Chrisj CMA]

full face always

[gregc]

 Yes I wear a helmet, in a helmet free state.

[vanavyman]

We always ride with a helmet, armored jacket and gloves.  I wear XXXXL gloves so they are hard to find but I buy a new pair of mesh gloves every year so I can't use that as an excuse to go without.  Even picked up a bright Orange armored jacket at the TN rally last weekend that you can see from a 1/4 mile away.  Helps with my dark Black/Tan Valkyrie.  Safety is always important for us.  We worked too darn hard to get close to retirement to let some distracted driver steal our retirement years.  We plan to spend a lot more years riding in TN, NC, and WV.  Never get tired of those roads.  Wish I could convince myself to ride with a full face helmet all year and keep the jaw protected.  It is great in the colder months but I end up using a half helmet in the summer.

Dan

[HayHauler]

Yes.  I don't ride to the mailbox without it. 
YMMV. 

Hay
Jimmyt

[Tailgate Tommy]

I live in Colorado - no helmet law state. I always wear a (half) HJC helmet. My wife makes me. She's smarter than I am 

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I'll stop at the " WELCOME TO " in the summer months and take mine off.I love The Great State Of Tennessee and would not live anywhere else but I hate those hot ass helmets when its 100 degrees with  95 % humidity.

[SpidyJ]

Absolutely

[Chattanooga Mark]

Arai full face helmet
leather mc gloves
Oxtar mc boots
Joe Rocket mesh jacket when it's hot, Carhart when it's not

99.999% of the time.

Mark

[KSDragonRider]

Funny you should ask.  I rode 70 mile today just to buy a new helmet.  The one i wanted was not local so 70 mile to the nearest town that had a dealer for them.

In the last 2 weeks i have updated most of my summer riding gear to try to be safer on the road.  I bought a new Scorpion EXO-100 Helmet, Field Sheer High Flow II mesh Jacket, and the new Mechanix Mpact gloves.

I always wear steel toed boots, so that is never a problem, and I always have jeans on.

I was in a good wreck 10  years ago with shorts, tennis shoes and a tank top on, no bucket.  That was my road rash lesson.  I has not gearing up all the way last year thinking we where not putting many miles on, but by the time the 12 months is up June 1 from the time I bought this bike, I will have put over 7K on this bike.  Thats more miles than I put on my pickup last year.  Time to gear up this summer and do it right.

[Karen]

I'm with you guys, I keep the face shield up, but the lid stays on. Boots, gloves, armored jacket & kevlar jeans is the uniform of everyday. Didn't used to, but seeing the results of other folks accidents has made me more careful.

[Rams]

Don't have to but do religiously.  Basically, I'm just to good look'n to mess this head up. 

Doesn't hurt that the spousal unit is Director of Brain Injury for the State of Kentucky (I think that's her title but, you get the gist.), I surely don't want to embarass her.   

[Willow]

In August 2008 I totaled a Ford Focus and went airborne for who knows how many feet.  I landed flat on my back at which time my head snapped back and popped the pavement.  Had I not been wearing my HJC half shell I'm convinced it would've crushed the back of my skull.  Had I not been wearing my Joe Rocket armored mesh I'm convinced I would've suffered some serious spine damage.

I wear a helmet in a non-helmet state the vast majority of the time.

 I has not gearing up all the way last year thinking we where not putting many miles on, but by the time the 12 months is up June 1 from the time I bought this bike, I will have put over 7K on this bike.  

The road doesn't know how far from home you are.

That said, I've been known to roll the dice, but it's on rare occasions.

[Phil57]

My fullface helmet ground down on the side to the rubber seal. The latch on the left ground almost off. There is a spot on the back left that would keep a person drooling on himself if it didn't kill ya right off. Me I will get a new one when I get a great deal on the new Valk of my dreams.

[Alien]

I always wear mine even when I lived in a few states that didn't require it.  Why?  I still have the old Bell full face with the snap on visor that saved my dad's life in 1980.  It sits on a shelf right next to the Shoei full face that saved my life in 2005.

I don't judge those who prefer to go without a helmet, but for me it's no contest.

[Prometheus]

No matter where I ride I wear all the gear, all the time because my family and friends are worth doing it for and besides, I'm worth it.

[Tropic traveler]

We rode 900 miles round trip on vacation to the Florida Keys. We wore our helmets the whole way down & back. Rode around KW without a helmet for a total of about 6 miles. Stupid but we looked real cool.  
This is a weird state that requires seat belt usage, but with proper insurance {which we have} no MC helmet requirement. I don't agree with mandatory requirements for either. I'm pro-choice when it comes to seatbelts & helmets.  

[f6john]

     I ride sans helmet most of the time. I have become more conscious of the risk of late. I own 4 helmets none of which are comfortable for any length of time.

[Gear Jammer]

99.9 %

[olddog1946]

yes, yes and yes

[DirtyDan]

maybe i ride a bit more than most, i dont know

i do know that the helmet protects you from much more than crashing

wind, sun, rain, sleet, hail, bugs, birds, rocks, flying ice {off car in front of me}

my helmet has stopped all of these

PS kneel down, put your head on the ground and drag you head accross the asphalt a few inches
them imagine 30 mph

you already look cool if you are riding

dan

[musclehead]

yep, 99.9%

[John Schmidt]

Always....period. A wheelchair is much more restrictive than any helmet. Granted, helmets aren't the total answer, but in my 60+ years of riding I've seen plenty of times when they would have been.

[Bugslayer]

I wear a modular full face all the time.... even though I don't have to.

[FloridaValkRyder]

Yes and proud of it. No helmet law here in Florida, God knows why. Retired Fireman/Paramedic, seen too many dead from head injury. Lost 2 good friends who were being "Cool" and died from massive head trauma from motorcycle crash. Do what you want. I'll keep my helmet, gloves, jeans and long sleeve riding shirt on ALL the time.

[Gangman036]

Yes.................all the time even tho I don't have to in Indiana.

[Oss]

yes
shoei r1000 its gettin a bit long in the tooth maybe 5 years old now
10 yr old half helmet, no foam left in it maybe its an HJC, kinda big on me without the padding
maybe if I can find the scorpion at americade in june I will get that in white with that cool sunshade

I dont think I have been 3 times without some kind of helmet
didnt hit my head in either crash but it coulda gone either way I suppose

gonna get the new hit air mesh jacket also they have a new model out you can wear at 95 degrees or so they say.
draggin jeans either with or without the knee armor

found someone to put soles on my favorite mc boots  almost always wear them they are high and waterproof to the point I can walk in a stream or lake no worries,

[Thulsa Doom]

Yes