PSA: Wear a helmet, save your noggin...

[Spock]

ATGATT, all the gear, all the time, is the only way to go. You have a choice, sweat or bleed.

[gabester]

I like the idea of tying riding without a helmet to a signed organ donor card... also have some kind of proof of 3rd party disability insurance etc to ensure that taxpayers aren't on the hook when the accidents inevitably occur.

I'm really anti-motorcycle. Is there really that much more of a rush you get off those loud bike pipes than from a regular bicycle? No one else wants to hear your noise. No one else wants to worry when they're driving around you that you're gonna do something stupid / foolish and we're not gonna see it in time and now we're going to have lifelong trauma from injuring you on your bike.

Just a bunch of noisy show offs who put their feelings of importance and freedom above the good of society.

[wurm]

Careful with that wide paint brush, gabester. Many of us riders are very careful, conservative riders who are likely more aware of our surroundings on the road than those drivers on four wheels. And I for one abhor those obnoxiously loud bikes. I don't ascribe to the 'loud bikes save lives' theory. More often than not, they scare the bejeesus out of me whether I'm on the bike or in my car. Frankly all it does is piss me off and make me more annoyed.

And don't get me started on the morons doing wheelies, weaving in and out of traffic way too fast, and yes, even lane splitting. It may be legal in some states, but all I see it doing is aggravating a driver who's sitting in traffic possibly looking for revenge.

[robfilms]

ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time) is the only way to ride.

40+years riding motorcycles.

Thumbs up.

Rob

[gabester]

wurm wrote:
Careful with that wide paint brush, gabester. Many of us riders are very careful, conservative riders who are likely more aware of our surroundings on the road than those drivers on four wheels. And I for one abhor those obnoxiously loud bikes. I don't ascribe to the 'loud bikes save lives' theory. More often than not, they scare the bejeesus out of me whether I'm on the bike or in my car. Frankly all it does is piss me off and make me more annoyed.

And don't get me started on the morons doing wheelies, weaving in and out of traffic way too fast, and yes, even lane splitting. It may be legal in some states, but all I see it doing is aggravating a driver who's sitting in traffic possibly looking for revenge.

All that sounds fine by me. I'll try to narrow my brush.

I suppose we only notice the problematic motorcyclists, so it's definitely a problem of confirmation bias!

There's a guy (or three, I'm not 100% it's the same guy) in my town with a Harley loaded with a sound system who rumbles around town with his tunes blaring - how it isn't a noise violation that gets him cited is beyond me (or maybe he does and just pays the fines regularly.)

[kj]

gabester wrote:
[quote=wurm]
Careful with that wide paint brush, gabester. Many of us riders are very careful, conservative riders who are likely more aware of our surroundings on the road than those drivers on four wheels. And I for one abhor those obnoxiously loud bikes. I don't ascribe to the 'loud bikes save lives' theory. More often than not, they scare the bejeesus out of me whether I'm on the bike or in my car. Frankly all it does is piss me off and make me more annoyed.

And don't get me started on the morons doing wheelies, weaving in and out of traffic way too fast, and yes, even lane splitting. It may be legal in some states, but all I see it doing is aggravating a driver who's sitting in traffic possibly looking for revenge.

All that sounds fine by me. I'll try to narrow my brush.

I suppose we only notice the problematic motorcyclists, so it's definitely a problem of confirmation bias!

There's a guy (or three, I'm not 100% it's the same guy) in my town with a Harley loaded with a sound system who rumbles around town with his tunes blaring - how it isn't a noise violation that gets him cited is beyond me (or maybe he does and just pays the fines regularly.)
Harleys get a pass, and I also wonder why. I’ve always figured it’s because the cops ride them too. But I have to rewind/relisten my tv when they go by. Cool noise bro, where’s the armor piercing ammo ;-). I feel like following them home with an air horn.

[Fritz]

back when I worked at a night club/disco/bar/restaurant in the early 80s, the place was owned by a couple of kooks (IE: I don't have to pay taxes) one of whom was a biker. Not an Angel but a LI biker.
His collection of loud-mouthed, Bud drinking, kindergarten drop-out, dumb as a box of rocks, icehole friends were there every night, 10p til closing. Road into a 25MPH town at 60, right by the popo.

Their bikes could be heard over the level of the house PA, 300' from the front door. The PA was formerly Tom Pettys 4 way side fills. The Crown amps easily pushed 105db most nights.

I never saw a one without a helmet. And not some smart ass football helmet, but something that would be MIPS today.

[RAMd®d]

I'm really anti-motorcycle. Is there really that much more of a rush you get off those loud bike pipes than from a regular bicycle? No one else wants to hear your noise.


I'm really anti-idiot.

This is the type of thinking racists use, applying a stereotype to every motorcyclist riding, because.

There are millions of bikes out there with factory exhaust/mufflers that don't make much more noise than than an average factory car.

But idiots don't care, the rider that respects others must be an exception or aberration in their mind, or that passes for one.

On average, I see or hear more cars with exhaust modified for noise then a bike with loud pipes.

And as far as donor cards, go, every driver who had a license should be required to be an organ donor regardless of vehicle or insurance situation.

How's that for blanket rules and regs.

Or how about every passenger vehicle (cars, trucks, etc) that is responsible for a collision with a motorcycle forfeit a $500,000 bond for injury and a $1M bond for severe injury or death.

Ya know, since we're pulling legislation out of our ass.

There will always be some riders with loud pipes who like them loud.

That's common with a fair amount of sport bikes, and some H-Ds.

It's far from all.

There will always be cars with 1.5KW sound systems that want to serenade the public.

That's not all cars with high-end audio.

The list goes on.

It's tiny minds that think it's ok to stereotype.

Everybody has an example of something that bugs them; why is that?

Because life ain't perfect, and haters gonna hate.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

RAMd®d wrote:
Back when I started riding there were no helmet laws in CA.

It was great, wind in my hair, etc.

Then came helmet laws.

I was not a fan, but am nothing if not a law-abiding citizen, I complied.

A lid (no, not that kind; I don't use.) became second nature, like using a seatbelt, which I did even before they were standard govt. issue.

Then In MT, where there were helmet laws didn't apply to me, I went lidless a couple of days, on surface streets.

If CA repealed it's requirements, I'd probably continue wearing a helmet 99% of the time.

There would be the occasional time, I think, that I'd ride unadorned.

Because it's still a great feeling, and it's much quieter then when wearing a helmet.

Think of it as a recreational skin-pop.

And no, I don't use.

My early riding experiences were similar to yours. These days I occasional miss that "wind in your hair" feeling, but I too would choose to continue to ride with a helmet - I like the shape of my head as it is.

[Fritz]

RAMd®d wrote:
There will always be cars with 1.5KW sound systems that want to serenade the public.
That's not all cars with high-end audio.

in the Bahamas that'd be just the bottom, mahn.