Wear that Helmet!

[Mikekoz13]

Guys.... I know there are some guys that ride bikes on the Forum....... including myself. I always wear a full face helmet even though there is no helmet law in Pennsylvania.

Last Sunday evening one of my best riding buddies hit a deer. He was only going about 35 miles an hour but he got thrown over the handle bars and wound up with a couple of broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a broken scapula and a collapsed lung.
He'll be fine but he's pretty beat up. When I went to see him the other day I saw the half shell helmet that he wears. One side of it was ground down about a 1/4 of a inch from skidding on the asphalt. It could have easily been his head.

This was just a reminder to me that our helmets are the single most important piece of gear we wear when we ride. I don't like to preach to other riders so I won't .... but PLEASE at least think seriously about becoming an all the time helmet rider.

The more helmet surrounding your head the better.......

Ride safe ......

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Haven't been on a bike since my oldest was concieved, 32+ years, but your words are true now and they were then and will be 30+ years from now--helmets bikers--wind on the skin may feel good briefly--riding feels better long term.

[andrew]

That's great advice Mike.  I stopped riding bikes (street and MX) after my best friend was killed on one at age 18.    He wasn't wearing a helmet ...

[basikbiker]

Racing DH I wear a full face(Troy Lee and wear a leatte brace as well.( device that combined witha full face limits your neck movement to prevent snappage). Seen people paralyzed from crashes. Always wear a helmet if you are actually gonna go ride.

[basikbiker]

And literally every time i swing a leg over my moto i slap a helmet on cause man those things are SCARY fun

[aarrggh]

    Hey :: Thanks for caring...Minnesota has fought hard too stop helmet laws over the years...Which is amazing since Minnesota is one of those official NANNY states........
    I`ve noticed that most Harley riders do not wear helmets and most ricers do wear them....So its probably 50/ 50 on the roadways.........
   Sure it would be smart too wear one at all times --but so many of us want too actually enjoy the ride.....Yeah most of the time i dont wear one but there are conditions when i know its a must...............
       Keep up the good posting .................         

[Mikekoz13]

I'm a Harley rider and always wear a full face. My current helmet is a modular which I like because the face can be flipped up...... but I'm getting ready to purchase a regular full face...... just because that is what I'm most comfortable with.

I catch some looks from old school Harley guiys now and then because of my helmet choice but I don't care....my head.

By the way AAARGH.... even with that helmet on, riding is full freedom to me..... and thanks for the compliment.

[hammerdrill376]

Great advise. During our bike weeks in Myrtle Beach we usually have at least one person killed due to not wearing a helment. Albeit helments are now mandatory in the city limits of Myrtle Beach as part of our over zealous mayor and city coucils efforts to do away with bike week which they have almost suceeded in doing. That being said I did have a Masonic brother who was killed in spite of having full safety gear on. None the less the better protected the less chance of injury. My only desenting opinion is I still believe helment laws should be a matter of choice and not mandated. Give the government an inch...and they will take a mile.

[jrppsuobx]

I'm with Mike with helmets! Wear them !!! If not make sure you are an Organ donor! RIDE SAFE

[Paul]

Had a friend who always rode with full geat.  Hit a deer near sundown, threw her from her bike.  Killed her helmet and all.  If it's your time, it's your time.

[Mikekoz13]

Had a friend who always rode with full geat.  Hit a deer near sundown, threw her from her bike.  Killed her helmet and all.  If it's your time, it's your time.

I fully agree but the idea is to tempt the Grim Reaper a little less............

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Had a friend who always rode with full geat.  Hit a deer near sundown, threw her from her bike.  Killed her helmet and all.  If it's your time, it's your time.

I fully agree but the idea is to tempt the Grim Reaper a little less............

Koz scores, tempting that guy never seems to work long term, and fun should be long term.

[jamesh75]

Thanks for the post Koz.  I wear a half helmet almost all the time.  The only time I wear a full face is if it's cold out.  I do ride a Harley as well, and in my area, riding a Harley with a helmet on is the minority.  However, I am seeing more people with helmets this year than years past.  I've been on group runs before with 500 bikes and been the only one wearing a helmet.  But nobody has ever said a thing to me about it.  I figure its your head, and your choice.  I have two friends that have gone down and both hit their helmets on the ground pretty hard.  I can't say for sure that it saved their life, but I will say that it prevented a lot of extra pain and possibly some long term damage.  With more crazy drivers on the roads, I have been tempted to wear my full face more often.

I say all of this, but today I ran up to get some gas in the bike and didn't wear a helmet at all.  I'm an

[petree dish]

People who don't wear helmets are idiots. And those little Harley skull caps don't count as helmets.

[tomgallagher]

I used to work in the ER of a major hospital one of the prevalent jokes was "what do you call a motorcyclist that has been in an accident?...an organ donor."