Put it on. 6/29/2006
I have been using a helmet when riding all through my riding career. Although it was mandated by law, I initially had that “rebel” thing going, and would ride my bike without a helmet any chance I got if I thought I could get away with it without being caught. I’ve certainly ridden some distances on very deserted roads, sans helmet. I’d strap the helmet to the back seat, and ride along, just wearing sunglasses for protection.
This is, as I know now, a bloody stupid thing to do. The human skull, which is in itself a masterpiece of safety design, is simply not meant to take the impact of hitting the tarmac at anything much over 10 miles per hour. Even then, you’re likely to shake your brain around and give yourself severe migraines for a long time. Or the rest of life, whichever comes first. And let’s not mention the road rash, and what your face is likely to look like. Try an image of scraping your face against a grater, and you’ll have a good idea of what it feels like.
I started with a cheap, locally produced open face helmet. It didn’t cost much. In fact, it cost me nothing at all, because the shop I bought my first bike from threw it in free. I used it for a few months, because, really, that was all I needed. Full face helmets were illegal here at the time. In many cases, they still are, because they do not have the local standards sticker stating compliance for safety testing. Even though they might have a DOT, Snell, ACU, AS, EC, or JIS sticker on them. A local traffic cop, if he really wanted to be a bastard, could cite me for for wearing “non-approved” safety gear, even though the gear has been tested to an overseas standard which is equal to the local standard. Or in many cases, much higher.
I bought my first full face, a Shoei, a few months after I started riding. Mainly because I got real tired of getting my daily supplement of protein from catching bugs in my teeth. That Shoei cost me a few hundred in local currency, a very princely sum in those days. Still is a princely sum, for many of the riders I know. The justification of putting premium protection on your head is something that evades many riders here, who wear head protection purely to comply with the law, not to protect themselves.
I used a few other brands after that first Shoei was retired. The one I hated the most was a British brand called Griffin. It used snaps to keep the visor on, and they were fiddly in the extreme. The wind noise at speed was horrible. And the visor fogged up if you went into a tunnel. I traded the Griffin in for a front tyre, and was glad to see the back of it.
I used a Bell, which was good, in spite of what it cost me. An Arai followed, because a certain Mr F Spencer, from Shreveport, Louisiana, was much in the news at the time. That first Arai, and the ones that followed after, were among the best helmets I have ever used. The fit and comfort were excellent. The price, on the other hand, was heart stopping. For a starving university student, the price Arai was asking for one of their top of the line helmets represented a lot of beer and pizza.
I went back to Shoei after a while, and stuck with Shoei products till the mid 90s. The best Shoeis I ever used were the RF-800, and the TX. And if anyone can remember the TX, and what made it special, I would be very surprised. I then reached that stage of my professional and riding careers, where I could actually think about dedicating helmets to specific purposes. And multiples of them at that.
I currently have 2 low end helmets, made in Taiwan I think, bought for a little under US$100 each. These are used for daily road work, i.e. the daily commute. I tend to use them for about a year, and then dump them, getting another model from the same line. The accumulated sweat and grime makes them uncomfortable to wear after a while, and the stink would be enough to make a groundhog gag.
I have several other helmets, the latest additions to which are a Korean brand, in black chrome, and an Icon Mainframe Skull. Both are definite “fashion victim” helmets, and I am sometimes a little reluctant to wear them, because of the attention they attract. Aside from those, I have helmets I use only at the track, which were purchased on the basis of their fit and safety.
The point I’m basically trying to make is this…I don’t ride anywhere without a helmet on. The contents in my head are more valuable to me inside my head, rather than on the outside.
- Posted in : Road rash
- Author : thesnark
Comments»
I reckon the average idiot who chooses to go without head protection is imagining himself as some sort of easy-rider or Marlboro Man (the movie, not the ciggie ad). The average idiot tends to forget that the easy rider on TV chugs along a more or less straight, smooth road with almost non-existent traffic.
Riding without a helmet is like shagging bareback; by the time one sees the light it’s almost always too late.
You know what? You are ABSOLUTELY right! I was driving along home after fetching kids from school and say this man with two daughters at the back of his bike…sans helmet. Daddy had his helmet strapped on safely, of course…but not his daughters! I was trying to overtake them but didn’t cause I cant imagine what wouldd happen to them if I as much as drive too fast past them.
Driving without helmet is always a big NO NO NO NO NO!! Even driving without a safety belt is a NO to me too. When one is mobile in a vehicle, one can never be too sure!
dude… i agree with you completely. when i got my Duc, i also picked up diadora gauntlets with kevlar knuckle dusters, and an arai full face. the price, as you aptly put it, was heart stopping. but the time when i got myself in a bend at a bend (!!:>) that helmet more than paid its cost back! heck.. it was worth its weight and more in platinum (which i just found out is 3-4 times more expensive than gold!! engagement ring shopping and all that..:>). i hit the ground backwards so hard, my head bounced back up to the point where i was upright!!!! i just cant imagine what the effect would have been if i had been wearing my crapshit $50 helmet that had all the right stickers on, and would get me past the cops anytime. now if anyone asks me about riding, the first thing i mention is safety gear… and hopefully it gets thru to em before watever is inside their head is spilt all over the road…
Kiran
I’m just wondering, is there enough air in there? By looking at it, I got myself suffocated.
bugs in your teeth? you must always ride with a huge grin I assume.
KY : The grin is due to the windblast. You don’t think that motorcycling is an enjoyable activity do you?
And it HAS TO BE full face, demmit. *Scratchs stubble on chin left from accident*
Hi Snark,Great read,& to say the least life saving advise.You are missing your calling,you need to write articles for motorcycle magazines. Here is a link for more on helmets,& many other things I thought the gang here would like.later…Dom
www.webbikeworld.com
Snark, I don’t doubt that wearing a helmet is the best policy for the various types of riding you do, and I choose to wear a good solid helmet most of the time, too. But I think people need to seriously back off on calling other people idiots. (I’m reacting more to the comments than to the post itself.)
A lot of the guys you see riding helmetless probably are buying into some dumb macho image thing, but some people have other, better reasons, and it’s not like people don’t realize they’re taking a risk. If the risks other people are taking look idiotic, it may be that they’re just idiots, but it may be that there’s something about their situation you don’t understand, and people should seriously STFU until they’re sure which it is. Lots of people make the same stupid judgement about motorcycling in general. After all, it’s a dangeous activity. (I agree with Marsha 100% that putting kids on a bike helmetless is unforgivable.)
I often wear a half-cap type helmet in the summer when I’m not planning on doing any high-speed riding, and I’m aware that I’ll be in much worse shape if I get into an accident. I have neck problems, so the reduced weight cuts down on the stress of riding, and I don’t deal with heat well, so the added cooling makes me a lot less likely to pass out or ride too fast in an effort to cool down.
Even if none of that were true, sometimes the feeling of wind in one’s hair is worth the risk. Sometimes the thrills outweigh the risks, or we wouldn’t be riding at all. If you ended up dying in a bike accident, even in all your safety equipment, would you regret having chosen to ride? I know I wouldn’t.
Ben : I used to ride a Gold Wing wearing a half cap. And I wasn’t no slouch on the Wing either. I think I’ve stated elsewhere in this blog that motorcycling is an inherently dangerous activity, and those of us who ride, have measured the risk, and accepted it. Riding with a helmet is a smart thing to do, and even a half cap will afford some measure of protection, as opposed to riding with nothing on your head. And if anyone wants to call me an idiot, I’ve done 2 laps of a racetrack, with no helmet, at 9/10ths, on a Fireblade. Well, I did have sunglasses on.
I do light riding in the DC area, and with the traffic and such I dress head to toe in gear. When I was younger I didn’t, but as you age, you hear about more and more horror stories that build up. I’ve as gotten wiser about purchasing too. My advise to cut the costs, are to try on some gear at your local supplier to find the size you need and then go to an online discount store like http://www.ridersdiscount.com . If you have a popular size you can try to pick up good used equipment at places like newenough and even ebay.
Anyway, ride safe; have fun.
Jone H.
I wonder how to get rid of the stinks from the helmet? any ideas? thanks