Do you wear a Helmet?

[Scott in Ok]

ATGATT
All
The
Gear
All
The
Time

I do my best, which is 99% of the time. I just aquired a new Fulmer M1 Modus, modular helmet, that actually fits my big 3XL head. A comfortable, well fitting helmet makes the decision much easier!

Like Mike, I'm pro helmet, anti helmet law.  If you don't want to wear one, that fine by me but my wife and I always wear our gear.

-Scott

[junior]

nope, but only when i have to..............let me ask you this,(and i aint trying to be a jerk) if most fatal accidents happen at home in the bathtub,how many of you guys have them anti slip flowers on your bathtub floor?

[sugerbear]

yes, i have a no-slip mat in my bathtub, and, i also wear a fulmer modus 3x. had mine for about 2 years now. about ready to replace it with another.
(it's been dropped several times)
two accident in as many years. both w/fullface rt side hit first both times then the chin. have one of the helmets as a reminder.
according to a study done by ??can't remember who (hurt updated?) most expensive are not necessarly better.
google it and see for yourself.

[Jack]

nope, but only when i have to..............let me ask you this,(and i aint trying to be a jerk) if most fatal accidents happen at home in the bathtub,how many of you guys have them anti slip flowers on your bathtub floor?

I do, Junior.  Apparently, you are one of the lucky bikers who have never fallen or been knocked off your bike.  When  it happens, you will wish you had a helmet and a jacket.

[Andy]

nope, but only when i have to..............let me ask you this,(and i aint trying to be a jerk) if most fatal accidents happen at home in the bathtub,how many of you guys have them anti slip flowers on your bathtub floor?

I don't have flowers but a big suction cup adhered (sp?) mat 'cause I slipped in the tub and moved the toilet sideways with my lower back as I fell out of the tub/shower. Weeks of physical therapy later and all was well. Helmet wouldn't have helped, kinda hard to wash your hair with a helmet on. Iowa and Illinois helmets are by choice and I choose not to wear weather permitting.

Granted, I've only been riding for 7 years consistently. Maybe those that have layed their bikes down should think about their riding style? You can't predict the actions of the other vehicle operator so wearing a helmet just in case is a good arguement!!!! But with logic on my side folks should give up driving all together 'cause you just never know and forget about flying ever again. You could go hunting with friends and be shot accidentally. You could be walking to church and be hit by a vehicle. You could eat tainted food at a restaurant and die.  I hear it from my soon to be 73 year old mother/77 year old father every time I pull in the driveway. They have lived life cautiously as long as I can remember, in other words they haven't really lived!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fudgie]

Well I (we), like junior are the odd ones out. My x wife always wanted me to wear it. I work EMS and would wear it to work, outta State or on the Interstate. But not in town. I'd say 70% of the time. I have a 3/4 helmet. Rode almost the whole way through NE without one before I knew it was a helmet state!  Got rid of her in 05 and found Kit in 06. She was strickly anti-helmet. So I kinda did to. In 07, her 1st trip to Sturgis she wore it out. On the way back we did not. And to tell ya the truth it was nice!!  100 deg temps and having wind blowing through whats left of my hair felt good. Since then we have now been 1%er's. Only wear it in helmet States and if it rains. We try to avoid helmet states if we can.
Do we care if we get hurt? Yea, but we love riding and if we go out that way, its fine with us. I rarely have fear on the bike. If I worry to much I can't enjoy myself. Fear is how you fall they say.
I have seen alot bike accidents in my career. Of all the fatalities I had, they had helmets on. Same with seat belts. I see people die from a low impact crash with belts on.
I have had friends crash, some twice. It makes me stop and think. But I ain't giving up my bike...

[junior]

nope, but only when i have to..............let me ask you this,(and i aint trying to be a jerk) if most fatal accidents happen at home in the bathtub,how many of you guys have them anti slip flowers on your bathtub floor?

I do, Junior.  Apparently, you are one of the lucky bikers who have never fallen or been knocked off your bike.  When  it happens, you will wish you had a helmet and a jacket.

well Jack i consiter myself real lucky........... i have been in several 5 to be exact accidents with motorcycles and i am still here to talk about it. i dont diss anyone for what they do to make themselfs safe, its all a risk .............. and one i am willing to take

and the last safey engeneer that told me just how to be safe caused me to loose part of my right hand, and no i dont have antislip mats or flowers in my bathtub ether

[John Schmidt]

My two stepsons even fussed at me for requiring them to wear seatbelts when riding in my car. Said it's too confining. I simply told them it's not as confining as a wheelchair. Same thing with a helmet....

[junior]

like i said its all choice,and if you sit around thinking about all the bad juju that could happen you wouldnt be doing nothing.....my 2 cents

[Popeye]

I would say 60/40, 60 being not wearing it. I rode across Nebraska once with a fullface helmet in July, never again.  The minute we got to Colorado, I stopped and pulled it off.  Since then I have bought a 3/4 and 1/2 helmets, wearing the 1/2 the most.  When it turns cooler, I might wear it going to work but
probably not riding home.

Lizzie works at a hospital, yet she does like to wear a helmet either.

Let those who ride decide.

[pedsman]

I have two kids... I wear a helmet on the Valk and on my non-motorized bike.  Kids look up to their parents and if I don't wear a helmet how can I tell them to. 

[T.P.]

YEP ! Always, full face Shoei, MRS.T.P. HJC Flipup   

[Jeff K]

I don't wear one unless "the man" tells me I have to. Or in the pouring rain. I wonder how many of the safety Nazi's Smoke cigarettes? That crap is gonna kill ya but I don't see much concern about it. I guess that is an "acceptable risk" type of life style.

[Big Rig]

3/4 for me...your sking can grow back...your brain??? I love my wife and children and that is reason enough for me...

Mine did, almost 20 years ago now...would not be here today if I did not have the helmet on...clear sunny day...out for a ride on my lunch break to look at new helmets....ironic...got the new helmet two weeks later...6 inch gash in the back of the old one....

I also have insurance...just in case...

[houstone]

I have 4 "lids", and none of them are comfortable.  Sure, they're a great thing to have if you wreck and whack your head.  Had 2 SERIOUS crashes, lid made no dif in either, so who can predict?
I am glad most folks are smart enough to wear one, guess I'm not unless it's raining HARD, or have to.
I'm also glad I can still choose!

[Serk]

The deal I have with the spousal unit is I wear it 99.9% of the time, and the 0.01% of the time I don't she doesn't harass me about it...

Every spring we head down to the Houston area for HotGlue's wonderful BBQ, and I enjoy making one pass up and down Seawall Boulevard on Galveston island lidless... I'll sometimes make short impromptu trips 2-3 miles tops without one too, but the VAST majority of the time I've got a lid on...

As most have said, I choose to wear, but I'm 100% AGAINST being forced to wear one! (Just as I'm against being forced to wear a seat belt, even though I'll ALWAYS wear it while in a cage)

Currently wearing a quality 1/2 helmet, trying to convince myself to switch to a modular, but I just feel too bottled up with anything more than a 1/2 on...

I do know every time I've ridden any distance without a lid, especially on the freeway, I've been so self conscious and worried about it that all the fun and joy was sucked right outta riding...

[3fan4life]

Yes, I wear my helmet 100% of the time.

Of course Living in a state with a helmet law has something to do with that.

I still wear my helmet even when riding in a state that doesn't have a helmet law.

If Virgininia didn't have a helmet law I "might" choose not to wear mine if I was only running to the corner store (which I have done in non- helmet law states) but, I would ride with more caution.

In warm weather I wear my half helmet when I'm riding my VALK.  If it's cold, raining or I'm on my Nighthawk I wear my Nolan Flip Face.

Same with seat belts. I see people die from a low impact crash with belts on.

Fudgie,

I'm surprised to hear this.... I've been in EMS for the last 29 years and in the thousands of wrecks that I've worked over the years, I've only unbuckled two "DEAD" people.

They were in the same vehicle, in the same wreck and it was most definately an unsurvivable wreck.


My experience with seatbelts has been that in highspeed wrecks they usually make the difference between living and dying.

and in lowspeed wrecks they usually make the difference between being injured and not being injured. 

[f6john]

I'm quite surprised to learn that this many people do wear a helmet most or all the time. I seldom wear mine in Kentucky but have to slip one on in Tennessee. I swear that riding is such a joy without a helmet to me. It's a big part of the freedom I feel while riding a bike. Probably the main reason I don't wear one regularly is that I have failed to find a helmet that fits and is comfortable. Where does one go to find the assortment of sizes, styles, brands, ect. to try on so you know what works? I have 3 helmets and not one fits or feels good enough to want to wear them. The latest and best fit is a 3/4 Fulmer with a flip up shield that was only $90.00. I'm not anti-helmet, I'm just anti-uncomfortable. Yes, I have had a couple of "incidents". I ran into the back of a pick-up once, I almost got stopped, had a 3/4 helmet on, force sent my head into the top of the windshield causing the bridge of my glasses to jamb into my nose. 2 stitches, I was lucky. Hit a deer once, glancing blow to the deers head, broke my right front turn signal off, then the deers head snapped back and hit my wife's right leg which she said was quite painful.   

[Gary]

Only in helmet law states, never by choice other than complying with the law. 

I pretty much hate them. I've been riding for many years, have scars, had screws put in and later taken out. Have gone down on a freeway in So Cal, down on the streets of So Cal, in all cases with no helmet. Lucky? Sure, just as is the helmet rider that survives.

Never wear one in a no helmet law state unless I've just come from a helmet law bordering state and haven't had a good chance to pull over to remove it.

I don't wear a suit of armor either, I suppose if that too was mandated, I would no longer enjoy the ride I have known and grown to love over the past 30 plus years.

[Black Pearl's Captain]

This:



Plus this:



Without this:



Probably would have killed me.

Do you know how high the Valk flew to fill a tailpipe 10 inches with dirt? the front end was as bad as the rear. Notice the grass packed in all the openings of the helmet. The flip face came off sometime during the crash, I assume near the end as I had not a scratch on my face. Notice the scratches go two seperate dircetions on the helmet.

Needless to say I'm ATGATT 99.99 percent of the time. I was before the crash and I damn sure am now. I had on a Vega Summit flip face helmet, Joe Rocket Meteor 5 jacket and leather chaps with leather gloves when I crashed. No road rash but when I hit the ground ragdolling over and over I did get several broken bones. For those that may not know I was riding with windy conditions gusting up to 40 MPH and I was blown off the road. I was going down the road near the centerline one second and looking at the ditch the next.

I do agree though, it should be your choice not a law.

Raymond

[BF]

I put the cigarettes down in '95......have the little non-slip flowers in the tub (really  ).  Try to eat fairly healthy, stay away from sweets, drink in moderation and try to exercise a couple of times a week.  Also have flood insurance on the house (did I leave anything out?).   

I live in Florida....grew up here too...which is currently, a non-helmet state.  Growing up here, it was mandatory back then to wear one, and back in the day, always wore a 3/4 with one of those flat snap-on shields or one of those old style bubble snap-on shields. 

These days, even though I don't have to wear one, I feel totally naked without one on.  It gets veeeery hot and humid here...and even though my head sweats bullets while wearing a helmet, I just can't bring myself to ride without one on.   Sometimes, as hot as it gets, I'd like to have that wind in what's left of my hair feeling, but it just ain't worth it to me. 

I'm not an ATGATT kind of guy, but I do always wear a helmet.  I do wear jeans when riding (it took only once with shorts on on a Valk to convience me that was stupid) and usually just a t-shirt when it's hot.  I do wear jackets when it's cooler, but not when the weather is warmer......it's just too freakin' hot and humid here. 

I have a couple different 1/2 helmets (Fulmer and HJC) that I wear pretty much year 'round, but I also have a full-face HJC that I wear as a cold weather helmet.  Admittedly, the full-face doesn't get much ride time.  However, even when wearing the 1/2 helmets, I've always got eye protection on, day or night.  Some of the bugs here hit my windshield with surprising force.  They make bugs bigger in Florida for some reason.   

Even though I can definitetly see and hear better with a 1/2 helmet on, I know that if I ever go down, that I'm gonna want a full-face on.  But still....I won't ride without at least a half-helmet on....ever. 

[Ghillie]

I always wear a helmet, half to full face depending on the ride and the weather. I repossessed a beautiful Big Dog from a guy earlier this year. He bounced his head off a curb at 40 mph when someone changed lanes on top of him. He wakes up every day remembering almost nothing of the last two years. He has been at home under a nurses care for over a year and thinks he got home from the hospital a week ago. I knew I would never go lidless again.

[Cajunbone]

Sure do...don't go on the bike without one

[solo1]

I always wear a helmet now.  I didn't back in 1948, none were available. 

I mostly wear a modular and occasionally a open face.  I feel uncomfortable without one.

It's probably just me but did you ever notice that HD riders with loud pipes don't wear helmets, just dew rags,  while HD riders with stock pipes wear helmets.  I really believe that conformity ( bad guy image) is more important than anything else.  My .02.

But who am I to know at my advanced age.

[fudgie]

Same with seat belts. I see people die from a low impact crash with belts on.

Fudgie,

I'm surprised to hear this.... I've been in EMS for the last 29 years and in the thousands of wrecks that I've worked over the years, I've only unbuckled two "DEAD" people.

They were in the same vehicle, in the same wreck and it was most definately an unsurvivable wreck.


My experience with seatbelts has been that in highspeed wrecks they usually make the difference between living and dying.

and in lowspeed wrecks they usually make the difference between being injured and not being injured. 

Maybe age had alot to do with it. All mine were elderly people. And these were low speed. 30ish mph maybe. Latest one was last winter. Icey out so you would figure them to go slow. Slid and rolled onto the roof off the car. She was partially ejected, still belted in. Dead. Had to cut the belt and pull her out of the way to gain access to him. Something I hate doing. I kept apolagizing to her as I pulled her away from the car.....

But all my mc fatalies had helmets on. The ones that didn't have them on had a foot aputated and a leg. Had about half a dozen friends hurt on bikes in the last 5 years, some serious, but they all ride still today.

Thx for your service and Happy EMS week!

[bsnicely]

Always, flip front full face. I can be in Ohio or KY in 10 minutes from here, neither have helmet laws but I always wear mine. Thats my choice..........

[franco6]

always, in winter a full, summer a half. funny thing is when i get on the bike i catch myself looking down for a seat-belt! (convertibles driving habit)

[Windjammer]

For me it all depends on were I am riding and who with? and if the SO is with me. SHE however does'nt like a lid on at all. Sometimes we start out with it, but after a couple of hours she is back there holding it?? OF course this is all out the window if in a Helmet law state. Then she just gets  That is when I crank up the tunes!

[GreenLantern57]

Depends on my feelings at the time.  On a long trip, usually.  If I didn't have a screen, I would probably wear one full time.  Full face when I do.  Doesn't depend on the weather, hot or cold it is the full face.  Glad I live in a state that lets me choose.  Course I have to fufill certian criteria to do so, but I still have a choice.

[TearlessTom]

Yep, Always.  Well at least 99.999%

I feel naked without it.

 I mostly wear a modular but sometime I will wear my 5/8's.

Tom

[Nickster]

Up here in Alaska we have the right to wear a lid and the right to not.  I generally dont wear one.  Its my right to chosse so.  Some days I wake up and feel like wearing one somedays i dont.  Its my right to choose and thats what living in America is all about.  I dont look down on people if the wear one or if hey dont its there American right to choose.
AkNickster
Let those who ride decide.

[fordmano]

Kalifornistan  (California)   
 

NUFF said!!!!

I have to admit I would wear one even if the law said I did not have to.. LONG LONG time ago I had a friend t-bone a car and when he hit the ground his face was the first to arrive at the scene (asphalt roadway) and he scrubbed off a bunch of his helmet. Even if it had been a 1/2 helmet he would not be here today,, I am sure of that, I was the person that recovered the helmet from paramedics YUCK what a mess inside and out. Even if you hate them or what they stand for PLEASE wear one ALL the time.

Sorry I came in late on this thread and I have to admit I have not read all of it yet.

[CCruiser]

I always wear a helmet.  I ride a lot with my son on the back.  Here in Florida kids are required, but I want to set a good example.  I do some humid AM's force myself to put it on because I know if I rode without it I would put it on less and less.

My buddy is a dew rag wearer.  He was coming home late at night from work and got cut off.  He was going about 30 MPH.  Broken arm and hip but a bonk on the head.  They had to remove part of his brain due to swelling.  He is not right.  He will never be right.  His kids are grown and gone, but he has put his wife in a horrible position.  She is left to run a bagle store and business by herself in tough times.  These guys work 20 hours a day.  She is trying to take care of him and run the business.  I don't think it's going to work. 

The shame.  This one is one that if he had a helmet on, broken arm and hip.  I guess it's about managing the risk to your own satisfaction.  I will always have a hemet on.  The head does not take impact very well.

[TearlessTom]

My Harley Riding Buddies. ( we have a harley now to so not casting stones)  will only wear a half helmet rather than a full or 3/4.

My wife and I wear modular most of the time.

Their logic is that if in an accident the back of the full helmet will snap the neck and leave you paralyzed.

I guess that is a possibility but I would think the chances of that are far smaller than brain damage.

Besides I like my wife's face just the way it is.  Mine on the other hand ... a good asphalt rash may be an improvement. 

Tom

[Varmintmist]

Yep. About the farthest I have been w/o is 2/10's of a mile down the road in front of the house. Not a bunch of traffic though a calf or deer could bounce under the fence. I did take a bounce many moons ago that convinced me not to ride anymore where I slid a ways on the helmet.

There is really no reason not to and, I dont think it should be mandated. If you choose not to fine, dont try to justify it, you have a higher acceptable risk than others. Doesnt mean you are right or sensable, or that the other side it 100% correct. Just that you choose to place yourself at a higher risk. No skin off me if you dont want to wear one.

If you brain bucket in not comfy, buy a better one. I dont care for the HJC ones I tried, ended up with a Nolan N42 at 2X+ the bucks. Fits good. Buy a color that will not absorb heat. Wear a doo rag under it to absorb sweat. I have been blessed as one of the perfect red haired persons  , though with the benifit of a magnificent mane, comes the downside of "tan" means I turn deeper shades of red. I learned to dress for sun as well as snow. My leather is light brown, I can wear it in full sun and be cooler than without when I am at speed and the sleeves and vents are open.

(edit, am having a heck of a brain fart with wear/where for some reason as I type lately).

[Ken Tarver]

i ALWAYS WEAR IT.
Last weekend of March was in Birmingham and hit the pavement at 50mph. Was wearing a new HJC 3/4 helmet. Knew that meant another new helmet was now on the purchase order. Opted for the HJC Sy-Max II, (modular full face). Also had on chaps, boots, gloves, heavy denim shirt, heated jacket liner, windbreaker. Saved lots of skin, unlike this young lady.

HERE'S THE HELMET....not REAL bad, i've seen worse, sure glad I had it on though!!

[Evil One]

If I am leaving the driveway... I have a helmet on.
Years back when in a no helmet state I decided I had to try it.
I couldnt hear the sounds around me, the wind around my glasses decreased my vision, and the insects, grit, and stones in my face spoiled the riding experience.
Full face or modular for me, thanks.


Jim

[Ken Tarver]

cousin died within 1,000 feet of his driveway.....no helmet

[Huey]

I live in North Carolina a helmit law state. Yes I wear a helmit a haft helmit not the best choice. I feel trapped in the full faced helmit and can't breath. There a word for it but well I can't spell to good either lol. I alway got my lid though.