| Author | Message | ||
     Lovedabueller |
Riding without gear is attempted suicide. +100000000000000 | ||
| Rainman |
Gear can be had cheap. I have First Gear mesh tunic with upgraded CE armor for $50, Tour Master textile overpants for $80, mesh riding jeans $40, boots $40, gloves $17. Go to newenough.com or motorcyclecloseout.com or any other that sells gear en masse. Keep looking for bargains and you'll find them. My outfit for winter riding cost $170 including winter gloves, jacket, pants, boots. My Summer commute gear cost $130, including gloves, pants jacket/tunic, boots. (Message edited by Rainman on September 16, 2009) | ||
| Court |
Point well made . . . . I prescribe ONLY for myself. I've got a better life going than I could have ever dreamed of . . . I've no desire to check out prematurely. You choose for yourself. Frankly, when I see these kids die (and it bothers me some) I just don't care anymore. They exercised their right to gamble and do something stupid . . . they just lost the bet. I'm perfectly willing to go when my time gets here but I don't want my head run over by a Toyota Altima and have my watermelon brain made a photo op. | ||
| Rubberdown |
"I printed "IDIOT" on an 8" x 10" cardboard and stuck it between the candles." This seems wrong to me. What did you expect to accomplish by disrespecting the deceased's memorial? Did it make you feel better? | ||
| Fast1075 |
Living in Florida is an eye opener..I saw a guy hit an oily spot in an intersection while making a turn after stopping at a traffic light....he was going maybe 15mph. Low sided into the curb...faceplant on concrete...literally nearly tore his jaw off..no head gear other than a Do-Rag...never mind the comparatively minor matter of the road rash. Saw the aftermath of a blow-over...some young guy on a boosted Busa..wheelied over at high speed...wearing a tank top, shorts and flip-flops...dude died...tore all to hell. I won't ride to the end of the driveway without gear..mesh pants (or liner for my jeans) and mesh jacket with armor, helmet, gloves, stout boots in really hot weather...better armored Buell adventure jacket and pants if it's cool out...I will be buying ventilated leathers soon...sooner if I can work out a deal on an XB  | ||
| Tbenson |
"I printed "IDIOT" on an 8" x 10" cardboard and stuck it between the candles." "I've no desire to check out prematurely." If one of their family members find out you did this, You probably just did!!! No joke, I hope you get yours on this one!!! Maybe you can ask them if they know who you are and how successful you are (you are your biggest fan)? | ||
| Metalrabbit |
This Topic should be "1125R Rider Manners" (Message edited by metalrabbit on September 16, 2009) | ||
| Court |
>>>This seems wrong to me. It was. It was wrong for the kid to act like a frickin' idiot, run an old lady off the road and then (attempt) to do the wheely as he heft the scene of her accident. Unfortunately in addition to being an idiot he was a •••••• rider, dumped it over backwards and was run over. If he'd had a helmet on, he'd be sore and embarrassed. He had one of this "buckets" on and as a result ended up looking something like a grapefruit dropped from the 9th floor. I may get mine in the end. I've been shot 3 times, tossed from a moving car and stabbed and somehow have grown this old. I guess age has diminished my tolerance for folks who act stupid and leave nice folks like you and I to pay the insurance premiums. My best one . . . to date . . .and it was long before your time . . . was the idiot who wheelied past my wife in traffic on the Garden State Parkway . . . He (likely) didn't plan on me sitting their with a high powered Nikon and getting a magazine qualify shot of him, his helmetless face and license plate standing on the pegs. I paid the $9.95 to run the plate on the internet and sent the 8"x10 glossy to his insurance companies underwriting group. Let's face it . . . he was an idiot. My goal was not, nor is it, for you to like me. | ||
| Rubberdown |
Feeling defensive? The kid is dead. It's about his family. You're not educating anybody with such behavior. "and it was long before your time " When? I'm almost 50. (Message edited by rubberdown on September 16, 2009) | ||
| Crowley |
My wife runs the Therapies Dept in a large Orthopaedic hospital. Guess what she tells me. I won't even ride in textile gear. Full Kangaroo Arlen Ness kit for me and I've walked away from some impressive crashes when I've used it on tracks. I really like some Dave Aldana rep leathers  Court, you're the only other person I know that's been shot. I collected one in the hand (it wasn't aimed at me, it was just bouncing around) and it hurt like fek  | ||
| Dirty_john |
Full leathers with CE armour built in,back and chest protectors, Arai RX7 and the best boots and gloves I can get. I will not tempt fate and have been riding bikes since 1975. Idiots who pull wheelies in town/traffic and ride like the fools that they are will hopefully get pulled by the police dealt with effectively. Speed doesn't necessarily kill but not wearing the correct gear will increase the risk - anyway its too cold not to wear the right gear in the UK usually | ||
| Fast1075 |
As one of my most favorite comedians (Ron White) so aptly put it..."You can't fix stupid". | ||
| Tbenson |
If you don't have time to make friends, how do you have time to make enemies??? "I've been shot 3 times, tossed from a moving car and stabbed" I can only guess why? Court, if you really can't see where your actions were wrong, anyone for that matter, this discussion is truly meaningless! It is very easy to point out others downfalls and mistakes, with failure to seeing your own! "My goal was not, nor is it, for you to like me." I don't know you, so why would I make that decision,from one action I don't agree with, I don't judge people that way? Troy | ||
| Slojon |
Manners seem to have gone out of style along with personal responsibility. When I started riding in Cheezeland there was no helmet. Moved to FLA with a H-law & got a full unit. Did not care for wearing a lid, but figured if I HAD to, I'd go fully protected. Got the leathers, all the rest of gear. Tis difficult to get me out on a machine WITHOUT all the gear; no matter how hot. I never know what could happen. Just don't expect to see me at a Benefit Run for You who do not ride prepared. FREEDOM OF CHOICE. Do what U want | ||
| Jpowell490 |
Court, Wow I can't believe you posted something like that. Kids will be kids, nothing we can do about that, you have done it and so has everyone else in the past when we were kids. Stupid things I mean. If that were my child and you wrote that on the cardboard and put it there and I saw you, I would have kicked your ass so bad it wouldn't have been funny. So the kid rides a wheelie past your wife on the road and you deemed it necessary to play "arm chair quarterback" and get him in trouble? Unbelievable. You post stuff like that and then you defend the pieces of shit Buell puts out left and right like they are God or something. We know what side your palm is buttered on for sure. Would you rather a kid die on a Honda CBR doing 130 acting stupid, or someone die on an 1125R because of all the issues that happen to them and Buell and the dealers turn their heads to the issues to make a buck? Would that make you feel better? | ||
| Daggar |
What issues has Buell ignored? What issues with the 1125R have caused someone to die? Just because you are having problems with your bike, doesn't mean they are "pieces of shit." I have an 08, May build, and it's an awesome bike. I've had a few of the common problems, but nothing that would cause me to die, and all were taken care of by Buell and my dealer. And I think it's hilarious that Court put that little sign there. Too bad the kid died but it was his own stupid fault. | ||
| Tonedeath |
wow this has gone to far thats cruel to the loved ones moorning the loss what a knife in the back  | ||
| Geforce |
I cannot count the number of times I have called the Highway Patrol to report a possible drunk driver and included the plate number, vehicle description, etc. Does that make me a bad person too? | ||
| Bri |
JPowell, I think is this what you were trying to say? If so I agree a hundred percent "Self-righteousness (also called sententiousness) is a feeling of smug moral superiority[1] derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person. The term "self-righteous" is often considered derogatory particularly because self-righteous individuals are often thought to exhibit hypocrisy." :wikipedia | ||
| Fast1075 |
There is an old saying in racing...the throttle goes both ways...I have been on both ends of that one...and came out mostly lucky...the worst injury I have had on two wheels was a bicycle crash when I was eight...was in a coma for a week...but i'm Ok Ok Ok Ok now...tore a few ligaments, lost some skin, a nick here and there...some cold mornings I am stiff...but thats partly from being an old fart anyways. I have lost several close friends that died in crashes...a couple while racing, and the rest on the street...I mourned them all...but it still didn't change anything...it was their choice to ride...it's the risk we all take...the danger is part of the excitement. | ||
| Jpowell490 |
Bri, Something like that, that was just way over the line and I don't condone that from anyone, anytime. That is terrible, just terrible. Had to vent there on the last post, I don't regret it at all. I just cannot believe someone would post that. | ||
| Imonabuss |
Some may think they look cool riding without gear but to real riders they look like idiots. Really. And I do preach gear to kids riding in the dirt and enforce it too. Helmet, gloves, boots, long sleeves for them. | ||
| Crackhead |
there is no excuse not to wear atgatt including the HD guys. You never know when a car will tag you and send you flying. I have Tourmaster mesh gear with rain and insulated liners. Takes 2 minutes to throw on my over pants, zip my jacket to the pants and tie my boots. In the winter time it takes longer for my blast to idle down then it does for me to put my gear on. I have 3 pair of gloves. one set is mesh for the 90+ days, leather for most days and insulated for 40ish days. Putting markers at the site is a little over the edge. It doesn't help stop the other riders that don't wear all the gear. Maybe sending your state legislator pics off all the people that would have lived if they had worn all the gear would help enact laws to require all the gear. The HD riders will cry the same way they did when helmet laws were enacted. | ||
| Daggar |
Laws making gear a requirement is a bad idea. Don't look to the government to keep people safe. If someone wants to ride without gear on a bike, or a seatbelt in a car, that's their choice. Government shouldn't be involved. | ||
| Dirty_john |
yep even when I am riding my HD instead of the 1125R (she doesn't like the pillion seat on the Buell) we wear at least leather jackets with CE armour and back protectors, Dragging Jeans, good boots and gloves and of course decent full face helmets | ||
| Crowley |
Putting the sign on the crash site would be tough on the family (maybe too tough) but before you judge the action I'm pretty sure that the stiff kid had many friends who mourned his 'tragic accident' and may see his death as heroic. The sign may make them take a step back and realise the kid was a complete tit and they may hopefully take some sense on board. If it made them think for one moment, it would have been worth it; otherwise it's just proving that Darwin was right. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Well, we knew this was coming. The 1125r was bound to bring more squids into the fold. People that ride in shorts and t-shirt are simple minded (and that's putting it nicely.) | ||
| Borrowedbike |
Reposting, (Without approval I may add) Long, I'd say its worth a read, but that just my CHOICE... Riding without boots and crashing might cost you some road rash or foot mash or even in an extreme case might lead to amputation. You might never walk without a limp. You might battle a weight and fitness problem for the rest of your life. You might never walk without pain. But it probably wouldn't kill you. Riding without gloves and crashing might cost you some road rash or a munched hand or the severe, excruciating pain of mangling a body part rich with nerve endings. Or you could lose a finger or two. It could cost you the ability to play ball with your son, or to hold a beer. But it probably wouldn't kill you. Riding without at least an armored jacket and leather trousers or full leathers or an Aerostich or even just a leather jacket and jeans and crashing might cost you serious road rash. You might grind off a nipple. You might embed gravel in your elbow. You might get beef jerky all over your back. You might grind off your kneecap or have a scar resembling Australia on you calf like a friend of mine does. You would be scarred for life and not be able to walk on a beach shirtless without feeling self-conscious. You might end up like Kevin Spacey's character in "Pay It Forward" and have to deal with the same awkward moment every time you remove your clothes with a new lover. But it probably won't kill you. Riding without a back protector and crashing in all but rare crashes would be inconsequential. However, there are so many variables out there- curbs, fenders, poles, guardrails, debris in the road- any one of these could be the golden BB that nicks your spinal cord in just the wrong way and leaves you in a wheelchair for life. Or, maybe you just have constant sciatic pain in one leg. Or you can't move your legs. Or you have to wear diapers for when you shit yourself, and/or a colostomy bag you have to pull out of your pants leg and squeeze your waste out into the toilet at a bar like a guy I know. Or you can't move from the chest down. Or from the neck down. Are you good at working joysticks with your mouth? Or maybe you might need a respirator? Or 24 hour care? Certainly, there are impacts that are completely foreseeable that would permanently injure you even with the best back protector in the world. But there are crashes and subsequent impacts that even mediocre back protectors can make that little bit of difference in- the ones you get up and walk away from, sore all over, but *walking*. Do you want the last time you walked to be when you walked out of 7-11 with a pack of smokes and then got on your bike? Those precious few steps out the door and over to the bike to be the five steps you remember the rest of your life because the next time you were off the bike you were lying strapped to a backboard staring at the headliner of an ambulance, tears running down your face because you couldn't feel the little piggies and you were almost ready to vomit at the stench of your shit because you lost control of your bowels? Riding without a back protector and crashing might not make a difference, or it might make all the difference in the world. It might not kill you, but it might make you wish it had. And, finally, helmets. Riding without a helmet and crashing might be of no consequence. You might never even touch terra firma with your head. Or you might give yourself an asphalt facelift. You might get a concussion that results in only a bad headache the next day. You might get a serious concussion that lands you in the hospital for endless CAT scans and MRIs, and for the rest of your days be plagued by migraines. You might fracture your orbital and lose your vision. You might fracture your skull and end up fully functional but with a horrible Frankenstein like scar and a metal plate that bothers you on cold days and sets of metal detectors in airports. You might have a closed head injury from which you don't awaken from for hours or days or weeks or months- all the while your mother, father, sister, brother, children, workmates, and/or riding buddies come a visit you, filling an utterly depressing hospital room into a gauche jungle of flowers and bright card saying "get well soon!" that you never see or smell. Sure, you might awaken completely normal besides the hole drilled in your head to reduce pressure. Or you might awaken a little fuzzy, unsure who these people are. Or you might awaken and have to re-learn everything it took you all your life to learn, eventually returning to normal or even better like Harrison Ford in "Regarding Henry". Or you might awaken a man-child, drooling and laughing as you try to stack blocks, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt signed by your mother, father, sister, brother, children, workmates, and/or riding buddies- which you will never read. Or you might have an open head injury, from which the "you" you know will most likely never return. The rest of your life -be it a day, a week, a month, a year- will consist of feeding tubes, the endless beep and whoosh of the heart monitor and respirator, and the drip-drip or IV fluids, catheters in your rod, and feeding tubes. Of course, you won't mind all of this; you'll be in a dreamland no one knows about. Your body will waste away and atrophy. Eventually, the shell that used to be you would give out, and your loved ones would have to make the most grueling decision of their life. Or, you might die on the road, fluffy gray brain matter mixing with blood and cerebra-spinal fluid. Perhaps your last ride would be twenty miles an hour down the street by your house combined with an impatient young driver and an ignored stop sign. Or perhaps it would be a ride on the freeway and a pothole denting your rim and popping the front tire off the bead sending you into the guardrail. Or you might go out in a blaze of glory with a 100 mph wheelie ending the wrong way. Whichever way, would make maybe a 10 second news story depending on where you live, maybe a paragraph buried on page 32B of the paper. Riding without a helmet could be of no matter- or it could mean the difference between going on as you are now, or having life taken away from you as if God flipped a switch. I can live without toes or a mangled foot- but I choose to try and prevent that. I can live with a hand that looks like a burn victim's and maybe relearn to write with my left hand- but I choose to try and prevent that. I can live with a scar in the shape of Australia on my calf- but I try and prevent that. I can live with road rash on my torso and arms- but I try to prevent that. I could live in a wheelchair, agonizing through every day, but I chose to try and prevent that. I can't live as a man-child. I've already played with blocks. I only drool when I sleep. We all make choices. Gear can't always save you. All the best leather, denim, Cordura, Kevlar, fiberglass, and plastic are useless when fate throws the Immovable Object or the Irresistible Force in your path. But I choose to stack the deck in my favor. If it all ends up for naught and the stacked deck and the cards up my sleeve end up losing to Fate's royal flush, so be it. But I'll try. -Author unknown- | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
•••• it. I'm parking my bike and staying inside. R | ||
| Bri |
Was at Laguna seca this summer for Moto GP. Was surprised at the amount of equipment people wore and how hard they ride. Wish the media focused more on that then stunters in wife beaters and cruiser riders in the obligatory cruiser uniform. I think setting a good example, education from each other and changing the paradigm of what a biker looks like is the only effective answer. As someone who has crashed myself and as an emergency room nurse in florida and now as a flight nurse in arizona I have seen a lot of the aftermath of motorcycle crashes. I have also seen the pain of families who have just lost a loved one . To intentionally inflict more pain is not only useless but incredibly cruel. So far, in my opinion the best post on here belongs to Xodot, in response to the original post, "...probably due to "getting older"! Let's do a lot more of that my friend!" X |
