Older brothers are an awesome resource.

Inexperienced squid that he was, he borrows his friends dirt bike one summer day, wearing a t-shirt, cut-off jeans, and flip-flops (hey, you know, it gets hotter than shit in Missouri in the summer).  No helmet.  It was just a little "jaunt" down the road.

You guessed it - he wrecks.  On the asphalt.  Broken arm.  1 cracked vertebra.  Good bonk on the head.  Major road rash.

I got to visit him in the hospital in between my sophomore & junior year in high school.  Got to see the skin grafting process (it's kind of cool, in a gross way, when it isn't you lol).  He came out of it ok, thankfully, with some 'cool' scars.

He learned his lesson.  I chose to learn from it, too.

I wear my gear, all the time.

part of the fun in motorcycle riding is the thrill of it. You dont see everyone wearing all this leather when riding, if you get hit by a bus I doubt that leather will protect you anyway, I wear most of my gear anyway but im not getting into moto gp gear just to go to the gym sorry thats not me. do mountain climbers wear full leathers when climbing? nope. actually some do it with no rope at all! its all part of the rush the adrenaline rush. I think most people that wear a ton of moto gp gear just to go get some coffee are posing, trust me.if your gonna wear body armour and all that gear just drive in the car instead seriously and wear your seat belt!!!

what's the difference between going down at 40 mph on a tight twisty road while your riding hard and going down at 40mph in town?


When G took the MSF course, since she had been riding pillion for many years she had lots of her own gear, and had two complete sets of leather with her.   Due to peer pressure (including the instructor..booo), she wore jeans and one of her jackets.  She still got shit for her "race gloves"

sure enough, she dropped the bike at a complete standstill.   on her knee.   right where the cupped knee armor is on the leathers which were in her truck.   Knee blew up like a grapefruit and had very bad abrasions.

Now you manly men might not care about such a minor injury and that's where the trade-off comes in ...personal decision and all.   G had a hell of a time with her next couple 12 hour shifts in the ER.

I think the ones who are posing are the ones who don't want to 'look' a certain way while riding.   But that's fine...I'm the one who has no problem if guys just ride down to Starbucks if it's what makes them happy...not my ride.

Almost all accidents are avoidable...we can look back and see what we did wrong or what we could have done differently.  Almost all double vehicle accidents are the technically the car's fault too....which is convenient...it gives us someone to blame for everything that happened to us.

Quote from: someguy on September 30, 2008, 09:33:35 PM
When was the last time you fell off?

That's a tough question to get answered around here....

My first bike so I don't have much of gear yet in the first year of my riding.. cost was a major factor so I have got this setup for now:

Alpinestars knee guards


EVS body armour shirt with protection for back, chest, elbows, shoulders and kidney belt  - covered with regular leather jacket


Some regular motorcycle gloves and an IXS helmet.

Would like to buy a two peace leather suit next season but I am not sure if it is going to have as much protection as the body armour has for impact.

Quote from: semyhr on October 01, 2008, 06:32:00 AM
My first bike so I don't have much of gear yet in the first year of my riding.. cost was a major factor so I have got this setup for now:

Alpinestars knee guards


EVS body armour shirt with protection for back, chest, elbows, shoulders and kidney belt  - covered with regular leather jacket


Some regular motorcycle gloves and an IXS helmet.

Would like to buy a two peace leather suit next season but I am not sure if it is going to have as much protection as the body armour has for impact.

The suit won't have the chest and back protection, most likely, but it will cover all the other areas.

Studies show that car accidents are more likely to happen close to home, I would imagine it is probably similar for motorcycle accidents.

Progressive Insurance study (2001)

QuoteProgressive asked 11,000 of its auto insurance policyholders who reported accidents in 2001 how close to home they were when the accident happened. Fifty-two percent reported they were 5 miles or less from home, and an astounding 77 percent reported they were within 15 miles of home.

Progressive says the majority of people do most of their driving near home, so if you live in an accident-prone area, insurers will assume your risk is higher.

Miles from home         Percentage of accidents
1 mile or less                  23 percent
2 to 5 miles                     29 percent
6 to 10 miles                   17 percent
11 to 15 miles                  8 percent
16 to 20 miles                  6 percent
More than 20 miles          17 percent

In addition:
    * Accidents were more than twice as likely to take place 1 mile from home compared to 20 miles from home.
    * Only 1 percent of reported accidents took place 50 miles or more from home.
    * The region with the highest percentage of reported accidents occurring less than 5 miles from home was the Northeast, followed by the Midwest, West, Great Plains, Gulf, and Mid-Atlantic.

Churchill Car Insurance study (2005)

QuoteA report released today revealed that a third (32 per cent) of all car accidents happen within a mile of the driver's home and a further third within five miles.

The Churchill Car Insurance* poll revealed that drivers experienced a 'switching off' syndrome on familiar roads which is a common cause of car accidents.

Journeys within a five mile radius of the home are typically made up of short trips to work, the weekly supermarket shop and taking the kids to school.  The report shows that during these trips, drivers' minds are wandering, thinking about work, family or home chores.

Almost three quarters of respondents (72 per cent) admitted to paying less attention on local roads and 60 per cent said that their driving became lazy when they neared their home.  Despite recognising that their driving was becoming more relaxed and erratic, a quarter of drivers believed they were unlikely to have an accident close to their neighbourhood.

I believe this is appropriate here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBgdMb3ATCc

Quote from: That Nice Guy Beck! on September 30, 2008, 09:29:17 PM
you really wear ALL that stuff just to ride say 2 miles to the gym and then 2 miles back?
I dont. sweats, t shirt, and helmet. if im going on a ride ride i wear boots jeans dainese jacket and helmet and gloves

By the way, I agree, it seems silly to gear up to go 2 miles to the gym.  I wouldn't bother either.






I'd either jog or ride a bicycle.

Quote from: someguy on October 01, 2008, 07:28:21 AM
I believe this is appropriate here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBgdMb3ATCc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-SxHxW5xcQ&feature=related

this one makes me think, and it has a duc in it

Quote from: msincredible on October 01, 2008, 08:07:53 AM
By the way, I agree, it seems silly to gear up to go 2 miles to the gym.  I wouldn't bother either.






I'd either jog or ride a bicycle.

and all the college kids that ride vespa's all over town, should they wear moto gp gear as well? come on now.

I went down at around 35 mph 2 years ago i had my hooded sweater on jeans gloves boots and helmet

If the question was directed towards me do I wear all that to go two miles the answer is yes. If you are going to the gym you have to change pants anyway right? I wear arborwear pants with knee armor from aerostitch when I am going somewhere and don't want the heavy duty motorcycle look. But pants, gloves, jacket and a helmet take no time to put on, especially if the pants are such they don't look the power ranger part. Icon, Aerostitch, Fieldsheer, Draggin Jeans, etc all offer pants that are better than jeans, I wear the ballistic if I know I am riding all day and not going anywhere else.

Quote from: Henecton on October 02, 2008, 03:21:46 PM
If the question was directed towards me do I wear all that to go two miles the answer is yes. If you are going to the gym you have to change pants anyway right? I wear arborwear pants with knee armor from aerostitch when I am going somewhere and don't want the heavy duty motorcycle look. But pants, gloves, jacket and a helmet take no time to put on, especially if the pants are such they don't look the power ranger part. Icon, Aerostitch, Fieldsheer, Draggin Jeans, etc all offer pants that are better than jeans, I wear the ballistic if I know I am riding all day and not going anywhere else.

What is so dificult to understand folks? This whole thing was about full leathers... LEATHERS!!!! Not riding pants, not armor, etc. etc. LEATHER!!!!

Quote from: cgos4r on October 02, 2008, 08:49:21 PM
What is so dificult to understand folks? This whole thing was about full leathers... LEATHERS!!!! Not riding pants, not armor, etc. etc. LEATHER!!!!

just lock the thread if you don't want people misunderstanding the question.