I love riding without a Helmet...Wrong??

[Fate]

I have owned bikes since around 17 and am now 36. I did not even own a helmet until I was around 20. I always rode without one. I had to borrow a helmet to ride from Illinois to Michigan and then to Louisiana. I had one wreck and was lucky enough that it was minor and did not hit my head. When I was in my late 20's I had family and also lived in Missouri where there is helmet law. I was in wreck where I high sided and hit a pointed, cu off sign with my head. Actually stuck into my helmet. the point touched my temple but did not penetrate. Since then, I have moved to Florida where there is not a helmet law. I admit, I do not always wear my pads, but 99 percent of time I wear a helmet. In a neighborhood environment under 15 miles an hour or maybe once in a while at beach, I take it off, but not much. There are people that have died when their bike fell over, not even moving, so speed is not as huge a factor as you think. To each their own. But from a reformed guy that never wore a helmet, I am a believer in them now. I always use to say that with or without a helmet, in a bike wreck your screwed anyway. Well helmets save lives. I am a believer now.

 

[Acehole]

Let me quote the Mission statement that proceeds the rules each and everyone of you agreed to:

Hayabusa.oRg Mission Statement

To provide a safe, clean and respectful atmosphere for Hayabusa enthusiasts to communicate with each other and stay in contact. The website is to be used for the following but not limited to: sharing stories, technical assistance, updates on personal lives. No member should be in fear of safety or made to feel oppressed because of negative statements of others.

 

[badazgtp]

It's your choice man. I personally wear mine all the time. Everytime I look at the front of my helmet and see the rock chips, I am glad I had it on or those rocks would have been hitting me in the face. Of course my state has the helmet law, but if it didn't, I would still choose to wear it all the time. Being military I have to anyways. But, I have a wife and kids that I enjoy going home to and telling them about my outing.

 

[2Wheels2Live]

I can't help wondering if this guy is a troll, coming over from the ZXR forums.

Well our favorite crowbar is gently reminding us to mind our manners, in other words we need to be more open minded I guess about these type questions, just like the busa as a first bike stuff, and go along with it even if it seems like something so obvious that somebody of legal age should really already have the common sense to understand I guess patience is the key And these type questions definately develope the patience
Thanks for the reminder Ace

 

[skydivr]

Jerry Seinfeld on helmets and helmet laws

"...Skydiving was definitely the scariest thing I've ever done. Let me ask you this question in regards to the skydiving: what is the point of the helmet in the skydiving? I mean, can you kinda make it? You jump out of that plane and that chute doesn't open, the helmet is now wearing you for protection. Later on the helmet's talking with the other helmets going "It's a good thing that he was there or I would have hit the ground directly."

There are many things that we can point to that proof that the human being is not smart. The helmet is my personal favorite. The fact that we had to invent the helmet. Now why did we invent the helmet? Well, because we were participating in many activities that were cracking our heads. We looked at the situation. We chose not to avoid these activities, but to just make little plastic hats so that we can continue our head-cracking lifestyles.

The only thing dumber than the helmet is the helmet law, the point of which is to protect a brain that is functioning so poorly, it's not even trying to stop the cracking of the head that it's in..."

First, most of us here are reformed gear nazi's, i.e., many of us in our younger days rode with less than what we should have, but have gained perspective over the years and now pretty much AGATT, so you won't get too much sympathy here. No offense, but you might do a search on this topic before pouring gas on the bonfire.

Second, to respond to the above since I obviously jump out of perfectly good airplanes for fun, I know Seinfeld is making comedy, but I just have to respond: Wearing a helmet while jumping has little to do with head-ground contact (while wearing a helmet during landing does help), and more to do with getting kicked or hit in freefall while doing RW (Relative Work) so you don't get knocked out while in freefall. I've seen it happen. P.S. You'll notice I'm NOT wearing a helmet in my avatar pic - was only 3 people and I knew what we were doing, so I accepted the additional risk.

Yes, we are engaging in a dangerous sport. Mitigating the risk is one way to help increase your odds of surviving (and continuing to enjoy) it.

 

[semi]

this isn't a stupid question at all but one that shows the OP is hopefully trying to understand the consequences that could occur due to the decisions he makes...i truly believe it should be left up to the individual riders (especially experienced ones) choice whether he or she chooses to wear a helmet (or a seatbelt, etc.) but i happen to be quite rebellious and don't like anyone telling me what to do in my own personal life at all...i am smart enough to weigh the risk/reward and make my own decisions...however, i realize this requires that i see both sides of an issue and fully understand the risks and rewards...that is where we come in, those who choose can help educate those who are looking for information so they will then be able to make a more informed decision...name calling and bashing doesn't do anything to help the situation and actually muddies up the entire topic which doesn't help anyone

now for my personal opinion: riding without a helmet is one of my favorite things to do in this world and i probably won't stop doing so until someone scoops my brains off the pavement...i have ridden with many of you and have helped pick several of you up after you have gone down...i have followed some of you who had no more business on a Busa than anything but all i have ever done is tried to give you a chance to become a better rider either by offering advice or encouragement or showing you how i try to take a corner with my limited abilities...i have helped load friends into ambulances and have gone to funerals of those who have died...i have plenty of insurance, am not married, and none of my children are still alive...does any of this make any difference? no! as an adult, i have the right to put myself in harm's way as much as i would like and that does not give anyone else the right to say i am stupid or should not be on a motorcycle or should be "demoted" to only being allowed to ride Harleys

the goal of this board is to come together, share information, encourage each other, look out for one another, and have a great time...it is easy to slam someone else who doesn't share your ideas or point of view but that usually doesn't do anything except raise the other person's defenses and they leave to go do whatever they were going to anyway...if we truly care about each other, we will take the time to explain our point of view and then accept whatever decision the other person makes as their informed one...don't take offense if they don't do what you think is right, there are always going to be knuckleheads like me that are only going to learn things the hard way and will always push the boundaries

 

[Vonderbach]

this isn't a stupid question at all but one that shows the OP is hopefully trying to understand the consequences that could occur due to the decisions he makes...i truly believe it should be left up to the individual riders (especially experienced ones) choice whether he or she chooses to wear a helmet (or a seatbelt, etc.) but i happen to be quite rebellious and don't like anyone telling me what to do in my own personal life at all...i am smart enough to weigh the risk/reward and make my own decisions...however, i realize this requires that i see both sides of an issue and fully understand the risks and rewards...that is where we come in, those who choose can help educate those who are looking for information so they will then be able to make a more informed decision...name calling and bashing doesn't do anything to help the situation and actually muddies up the entire topic which doesn't help anyone

now for my personal opinion: riding without a helmet is one of my favorite things to do in this world and i probably won't stop doing so until someone scoops my brains off the pavement...i have ridden with many of you and have helped pick several of you up after you have gone down...i have followed some of you who had no more business on a Busa than anything but all i have ever done is tried to give you a chance to become a better rider either by offering advice or encouragement or showing you how i try to take a corner with my limited abilities...i have helped load friends into ambulances and have gone to funerals of those who have died...i have plenty of insurance, am not married, and none of my children are still alive...does any of this make any difference? no! as an adult, i have the right to put myself in harm's way as much as i would like and that does not give anyone else the right to say i am stupid or should not be on a motorcycle or should be "demoted" to only being allowed to ride Harleys

the goal of this board is to come together, share information, encourage each other, look out for one another, and have a great time...it is easy to slam someone else who doesn't share your ideas or point of view but that usually doesn't do anything except raise the other person's defenses and they leave to go do whatever they were going to anyway...if we truly care about each other, we will take the time to explain our point of view and then accept whatever decision the other person makes as their informed one...don't take offense if they don't do what you think is right, there are always going to be knuckleheads like me that are only going to learn things the hard way and will always push the boundaries

Yeah, what he said.

 

[skydivr]

Semi - rebellious? Say it ain't so

 

[semi]

Semi - rebellious? Say it ain't so

just don't ask my parents or ex-wives, they'll give you the whole story

 

[ResidentEvil]

cacophony eh ? lol

 

[GSXcite]

Two years ago, while in a tight right hand turn on a lightly traveled two lane country road, a big deer jumped out of the tall grass in the ditch, right in front of me. I missed the deer, but lowsided off the road and hit a 6" X 6" metal sign post with my head and upper body. Without the helmet, I would not be here today. I guess I'm all for freedom, but if you ride a busa or other sport bike, and believe a helmet will not help make your ride more safe, I reserve the right to think you are living in la la land. We can disagree, but lets have some respect for each other. And semi, your an idiot.

Here is a shot of my helmet, and one of me cleaning up my bike after leaving the hospital instead of at the morgue.

 

[busa-saga]

I feel naked without a helmet. My accident few months ago reminds me why I wear one.

 

[busaMD]

i always ride with a full face helmet. Plus, bugs sting too much when they hit my sensitive face skin....

 

[semi]

And semi, your an idiot. QUOTE]

you are 100% correct my good friend and i take that as a compliment coming from you

i mean, who would be dumb enough to take the test ride on your bike after we put her back together after your wreck? oh yeah, me and who took the test ride on Ninja Killer's bike when we redid the suspension after he almost decorated the side of that van right in front of me? oh yeah, me and who was the only one "brave" enough to mess with CAp's computer and pretend to be him threatening to shut down the .org while he was out of his office? oh yeah, me

i see what you mean, i'm an idiot but i have the best friends in all of the world and i would do anything for any of you (except promise to always wear a helmet for the rest of my life )

 

[Ebusa]

Hey unless it's frontyard to backyard helmet always

 

[x-d-x]

helmets save lives. i went down around 70mph this spring and before i left for that ride i was debating on helmet and jacket. i choose the lid but no jacket. i went down in a polo shirt and helmet. the shirt was ripped off of me and i broke my collar bone almost to the point of puncturing my lung and 3 ribs. my lid....that was turned from a nice design into a ball of fiberglass looking crap w a hole in it. never again will i ride without FULL gear on. i learned my lesson. Gear is worth it despite its slight disadvantages. from loooking at my lid everyone has said i would of definately been dead. so i have the lid on top of my tv as a reminder of how well they work. be safe man!

 

[Strife]

Helmet for me!

My vision is just fine with the helmet as without it. I checked few minutes ago. Picked an object on the wall and moved my head to where it is at my max vision. then put helmet on without moving my head and was still able to see it.

That thing above my shoulder is what functions the rest of the body.

Average person will look at you strange with a missing limb,but the average person won't look at you if you missing a piece of your face.

Yeah, I'll wear my helmet so I don't have to worry about those two main things above.

Have I rode without a helmet? YES! But it was on things like up and down the road when taking a kid for a ride as slow speed in the neighborhood.

I've personally witnessed what having an helmet can do to save your noggin.

To each their own,but I'd rather ride,get in the wreck and be able to ride again, not have my brains scrapped off the road. Call it prolonged riding wearing a helmet.

 

[Tnbusa]

This is a great thread. After sitting here and reading the whole thing what amazes me is this......this wondeful site would be much smaller if it were not for a quality helmet. My wife high-sided her GSXR 750 in July 09 and if it were not for gear and especially her Shoie helmet my wife of 25yrs would not be here. She still rides her gixxer every chance she gets and has even done a track day last spring and loved it. Im all for freedom of choice but you will never convince me riding without a helmet is very smart. One other thing I found interesting after reading about all the folks who were saved by a helmet....I havnt read about anyone who smacked their head without one being jus fine.....hummmm wonder why?

 

[skydivr]

and who was the only one "brave" enough to mess with CAp's computer and pretend to be him threatening to shut down the .org while he was out of his office? oh yeah, me

That stunt goes down in the history of the .org - "the shot heard around the world"

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

It's kinda like smoking . I'm all for your freedom and while the smell of your cigs I don't really prefer I tolerate it because it's your freedom to do so.
Same as no helmet . I don't really like it but I tolerate it again as it's your choice.
My only problem really with it is same as smoking I just don't want to be the taxpayer keeping an invalid alive due to them exercising their 'freedom of choice'.
I shouldn't have to pay a higher ins rate because of the smokers and helmetless riders should have to sign a legal document stating if they have no health ins of their own that they will not expect help from others as far as med bills go.
Have at just don't ask me to pay to keep you on life support.