Hello, I am Nancy, your new Motorcycles editor.

My first question to the readers is: Why do you wear a helmet or not when riding?

In some states this is a personal choice, so I am asking our readers to share their thoughts and experiences on why they do or do not wear a helmet? This could provide for some hot debate, so everyone should be overly respectful of each other's opinions and rights.

Hope to get some interesting perspectives!

You can tell the guys(or girls) who have never been in a really serious crash. They're the ones wearing the novelty helmets or no helmets at all. Bikers who have had "the wreck" are wearing leathers from the neck down and DOT from the neck up.

Check out the guy in this video

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Evo,

A picture is worth a thousand words! Regardless, people will do what they want to do. I like the feel of the wind in my hair, (doesn't everyone) but if for example a Soccer Mom that is driving a minivan and talking on a cell phone, inadvertantly cuts me off and I go down, I want to protect the hair and skin.

Again, thanks. Very impactful.

Helmets in winter aren't so bad, but in the summer they really bug me. They are hot as all get out! Those silver ones may not look that great, but they are more comfortable in the blazing hot sun.

Hi. I just stumbled on this site and forum and this thread caught my eye.

I wear a helmet and gloves everytime I ride. 95% of the time I also have my jacket, boots, and maybe riding pants on. I have ridden for 2 and a half years and put on over 20k miles on my SV. I have not gone down. Yet. I probablly have more motorcycle gear than anyone I know. 4 helmets included. The one time I actually rode on the back of someone's bike, I had a 3/4 helmet on. My eyes where swimming in my head and I really wanted the protection of my full faced Shoei. How do people ride like this? Or with no gear or protection? The skin was crawling on my arms, I couldn't see, and it made me just plain miserable.

I lived in Phoenix for 2 years. I wore my leather jacket and full faced helmet all year long. Yes, in the summer too. It keeps your skin more cool then textile or with nothing on at all. The jacket can of course, stand on it's own now, and I have replaced it with another leather jacket, but I wear that everyday I ride too. Now with full gaunlet leather gloves. As long as I am moving its great. It's the stop lights that kill me. Why do I do this? Well, #1..I like my skin. And my tattoos. And if there ever is a chance I go down, then I want to make sure I have taken all the precaution I can to make sure I will be ok. #2..I am a single mom of 2 little kids, ages 6 and 10. I have to make sure I come home to them. Plus, I want them to see how much I enjoy riding, and I am doing it safely.

The debate can go on and on. In a perfect world, yes, I would like to feel the wind in my hair. But, it is not perfect and there are too many factors against motorcyclist. There are circumstances that a helmet isn't going to save your life. But, for the most part it is. And I'm not talking about little brain buckets. All they are designed to do is satisfy the law. I have been in the motorcycle industry since I purchased my motorcycle. I am currently a a motorcycle mechanic and Service manager of a BMW Dealership. When I was at MMI, I worked for Cycle Gear who trained me on every part of their store. I took helmets personally. I learned everything I could about them. So yes, for the most part, it is your decision. But it is also your head, it's a no brainer. And for the ones that don't wear helmets, they should have to carry enough medical insurance to cover them if they do get into an accident. That way, no one else's motorcycle or heath insurance goes up because it has to cover someone who chose not to wear a helmet.

Ok, that's a bit much. Hi everyone...

I live in a helmet state so that's how I got started wearing one. I do, however, commute 50 miles daily in a non-helmet state. It is not only leaving and returning to a helmet state that keeps me wearing one though. I'm more comfortable in a helmet.

One, it reduces wind noise.

Two, I don't find it hot in the summer, except maybe in a traffic standstill, and you're going to be hot anyway in a jam. Plus you can take it off in a jam. Another factor is I wear white helmets which reflect the sun's heat.

Three, at the speeds I travel I find it much more comfortable in a helmet. Maybe it's different for skinny folks, but when I get going at supra-legal speeds without a helmet (I lived in CO a while) my lips get mashed and flobble around, the flesh on my face gets pushed around like in those g-force pictures and when I look over my shoulder my shades blow off (well, not any more, I learned to hold them on when turning 20 years ago.)

Four, the general principle that there are two kinds of riders, those who have crashed and those who are going to crash. I was lucky enough to get one out of the way earlier this year (when you haven't crashed in twenty years you start to worry how it will be this time). Took a small diver stopping in a right turn merge - I could see that curb coming the whole time until I bongoed the side of my head into it. Wearing a good helmet, no problem.

I wear a full face helmet. Most of the year I leave the wind screen off, 'cause I like the breeze too. I'll tell you what tho, a windshiled feels just fine on 32 degree mornings and even better during 35 degree rains.

I started wearing a full face more than 25 years ago. I was watching a stunt rider jump some cars. He made the jump, but not the important part - the landing. He endoed and slid down the track on his chest and face. He got up and his face was fine - he was wearing a full-face and the chin bar and wind screen saved him from major shredding.

Where it is legal I might ride without a helmet in the city or for a jaunt down to the convenience store, but for commuting or pleasure riding it's a brain bucket for me.

I'm all about helmets... I was very glad to be wearing one when a truck slammed into the back of me. I can't understand the logic of not wearing one simply to feel the wind in your hair. get a car, roll down your windows and stick your head out if you want to feel the wind. It's safer that way.

with out a doubt, you are safer with a helmet than with out.

I have been riding for 30 years, no crash....yet, but I always wear the full face helmet, gloves, boots and total coverage even though my bike is only a 250 and I don't go on long trips. My brother who has a LOT more miles than me (He's an Iron Butt) did crash once and the chin of his full helmet cracked, but his face was OK. That convinced me to ditch the little helmet I was using and get the big one. My state reversed their helmet law a few years ago, but I am too fond of my head to ride without protection.

I love the responses and that everyone is so open and are relating experiences. Thank you for sharing.

I'm a pretty new rider, but I definitely wear a helmet every time. I know two people that have been pretty messed up in accidents, and they might not have been as bad had they been wearing helmets. They are the reminder, I guess.

I have to admit that I am more sporadic about wearing other safety gear. Damn, it's hot in Florida in the summer!! I think I've been motivated by FrankJBN though.

Froggie

Thank you for sharing and standing up for what you believe in. Wearing a helmet and safety gear can be a drag, but just in case....I am becoming pretty skilled but I worry about other bikes, other vehicles, and even worse - wildlife. I personally know a guy that has ridden all his life and is fantastic, however, he has hit two deer, and has many pins holding him together. Ugh!!!!

I always wear a helmet while riding, but I don't think it should be the law to do so. I don't agree with the seat belt law either. Personal safety should be one's own choice.

I'm kind of with you on this. I think it should be mandatory for anyone under 18 to wear helmets though. And seat belts for that matter. An adult can choose for him/herself, but children should be protected at all costs.

Where I have ridden, and will ride again, it's mostly just cars you have to worry about (which is bad enough). It's pretty city there. But Nancy is right about wildlife and other hazards. I always worried about rocks popping up and hitting me too. I had one hit me in the eye (I was wearing sunglasses, so no harm). But, you never know what might pop up smack you upside the head.

My dad hit a deer once when I was a kid. He was Ok. Just kept on riding to work. He called it in to the Sheriff, and by the time the Sheriff got out to where the deer should have been it was gone. So, I guess both parties were lucky in that one!!

Oh yeah, I definately agree that kids should be required to wear seat belts and helmets on motorcycles. Once you're an adult though, it just seems silly to me that the government can control your own personal safety choices.

its the law here in Massachusetts

a friends son did a wheelie with out a helmet, wiped out, now he has brain damage

That's a horrible situation, but I'm the kind of person that doesn't place blame on the lack of helmet, but the idiocy of certain riders.

Another great point. I see motorycles doing wheelies in D.C. on I-270 which not a walk in the park, darting in and out at high speeds, changing lanes with no signals, doing wheelies. How smart is that? Gives us all a bad image and name.

Nancy

I figure that the government (ie taxpayers) must end up paying for some of the costs incurred by various auto accidents, especially if there is a fatality. I'm fairly certain that if money weren't an issue they wouldn't impose the laws.

I agree that this sort of riding does give us a bad name. I hate it when I see people riding like this. It pisses me off!!

I garauntee you that money is the motivating factor for those laws, just like most laws.

Off topic, but just a few more days until I get my new-to-me Yamaha V-Star! Yay!!

Froggie

Please post a pic, I can't wait to see it.

I'll try to put some up soon. The gas tank is actually a bit dented. The guy I bought it from wrecked it. No big deal though. The price was right, and everything else works well.

for me helmets are really really important because thats the only thing that basically protects your head if in case you have an accident. motorcycles are really dangerous as well, but it also has its advantages cos you don't get stick in traffic. you can just swerve your way out of traffic. but the risk you have in exchange is your life...you never know what will happen next in a motorcycle ride...

That is also what makes it exciting! I love to ride, it is relaxing for me but I try and stay out of high traffic areas whenever possible.

We always wear full helmets when we ride. We know too many riders who crashed. If you ride a ton of miles, it is likely you're going to hit a situation where you cannot avoid a crash. There are so many deer out there and with their speed if they leap out right as you pass you simply cannot avoid them. We like our brains

I generally do not wear a helmet when riding because when I was on my learners permit I had to and almost got hit. My helmet blocks my view. However, I recently learned about the Snell helmet and am going to look at them. When I was writing about them I learned the vision problem may be because the helmet is not a proper fit.

Sheri

Yeah, ideally a helmet shouldn't block your view. I've never used a full-face helmet before... I would think that those would, but possibly not. I've never had any problems with my helmet.

I wear a full face helmet also for most of the reasons that FrankJBN stated. It does get hot but the helmet has vents. Also, I wear a leather perforated jacket in the summer. To keep cool, I take wear a couple of thin t-shirts and keep them doused in water. That way, the wind cools you as you are riding through the perfs. Works for me. By the time I get where I am going, I am almost dry underneath and still cool.

Yep, from seeing how hurt the human body can be, I have always worn Full face helmet and Full leathers riding. When I see some guys in England on their bikes with only shorts and a light jacket, I cring thinking of what could happen if they should crash, even at a low speed.

I'm in the UK and helmets are compulsory. I have been round farm land on rallies and that sort of thing without one though.

A few years ago I was thrown when a car pulled out at a junction and landed on my face and upper body. My full face was wrecked but apart from sore I was fine.

I wouldn't ride without a lid now.

Good thing you were wearing a helmet then, anyway!!

My cousin had a finace that was killed in a motorcylce accident. From what I remember, he was going down the road on a motorcycle and a car backed out of someplace and threw him off the bike.

He died from a bodily injury - not a head injury - cannot remember what part of the body it was now.....but all in all - I would rather see people wearing helmets.

Robin

Thanks for your response. I am safety first always. Funny, as you grow older safety is more important because you are certain you have less time.

Juniper

Thanks for the testimonial. Boy were you lucky. Not only could you have been killed but also disfigured.

"My helmet blocks my view. When I was writing about them I learned the vision problem may be because the helmet is not a proper fit."

SSheriAnn you recognized your own problem and thereby stole my thunder - yes, there are only three reasons a helmet would block your view - it is poorly made, it is worn improperly, or as you note, it is poorly fitted.

"I recently learned about the Snell helmet and am going to look at them."

Snell is a rating organization, not a helmet manufacturer. many different helmets are Snell rated.

"To keep cool, I take wear a couple of thin t-shirts and keep them doused in water."

Nancy,

This may be the first time I have said this about the concept of women in wet t-shirts but YUCK.

A couple of wet t-shirts under your leather? Yup, yuck again.

" I've never used a full-face helmet before... I would think that those would, but possibly not"

Froggie, you may have noticed that all motorcycle racers wear full face helmets. Do you think having unrestricted vision might be important to them?

Again, a properly made, properly fitted, properly worn, full face helmet will not restrict one's vision.

Yup definitely we go with full face and leather gear, we like our bodies with all their parts

Frank

you are the first to say that. Anyway, I use them with a perfed leather jacket and when I get to where I am going I change. Funny, but a male that has been riding for about 40 years told me about this.

Yeah, but we men do nasty stupid stuff all the time.

i may have been the first to say it but not the only. I related your story to a couple of women at the parts counter at the local Beemer shop this weekend and they concurred with my "Yuck" analysis.

Doesn't your jacket get kind of swampy?

Not yet.

The only reason I wear a helmet is because it is required by law in my state. I don't like wearing a helmet for personal safety reasons. I have a bulging disk in my neck and any trauma to that particular place will cause me to be paralyzed from the neck down. If I crash (and, YES!, I have crashed before!), I have a 50/50 chance of hitting that spot on my neck. If I am wearing a DOT approved helmet when I crash, I have a 100% chance of hitting that spot. Every DOT helmet I have ever tried on hits that precise spot on my neck. The slightest bump to one of those helmets while it is on my head and it's bye bye to everything from there down to my toes. Because I am required by law to wear a helmet, I wear a half-helmet that doesn't come all the way down to that spot on my neck.

The way I feel is.. if I want to take a chance on becoming paralyzed, that is my own business. I don't want someone else forcing me to up the odds. I prefer a 50% chance to a 100% chance of paralysis.

On to the rest of the reasons... restricted peripheral vision, subdued hearing, and all the rest of the same reasons that have been hashed out over and over again. The biggest being the removal of the freedom of choice. I am not a child and I don't like being treated like one. Being told to do something "for my own good" irritated the hell out of me when I was 5. At 50, it still irritates the hell out of me.

PK

PK

You certainly have some reasons. It appears that almost anything you do, you may be playing a [censored] shoot. Here's hoping that if it doesn't get better, it sure doesn't get worse. Ihave a sister that shares your same sentiments about not being told what to do or what to wear. She worked at a clothing store new management wanted assistants to wear a uniform, she ended up wuitting because it wasn't for her. To each their own and having the guts to stand for what they believe in.