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

[jellyrug]

I can't imagine riding a Busa without a helmet on the street. ???

In the city, where the limit is 45mph, riding to Starbucks, do it without a helmet on the Harley all the time. If I fall off at that speed and hurt myself, it is time to retire and become a couch potato.

 

[Schism]

to each his/her own. i can see why it's nice not to rock the lid but my state requires it and i am pretty certain i would wear it regardless.

 

[alexx]

Apparently there's an up-side for not wearing a helmet:

“Motorcycle fatalities are not only our number one source of organs,” said one surgeon. “They are also the highest-quality source of organs, because donors are usually young, healthy people with no other traumatic injuries to the body, except to the head.”


The study, “Donorcycles: Do Motorcycle Helmet Laws Reduce Organ Donations?” [pdf] by Stacy Dickert-Conlin, Todd Elder and Brian Moore from Michigan State University, takes a look at this link. Here is the abstract:

Government traffic safety mandates are typically designed to reduce the harmful externalities of risky behaviors. We consider whether motorcycle helmet laws also reduce a beneficial externality by decreasing the pool of viable organ donors. Our central estimates show that organ donations due to motor vehicle fatalities increase by 10 percent when states repeal helmet laws. Two characteristics of this association suggest that it is causal: first, nearly all of it is concentrated among men, who account for over 90 percent of all motorcyclist deaths, and second, helmet mandates are unrelated to organ donations due to circumstances other than motor vehicle accidents. Our estimates imply that every death of a helmetless motorcyclist prevents or delays as many as 0.33 deaths among individuals on organ transplant waiting lists.

See, people are literally dying for the helmetless rider's organs...

 

[kromdom]

Motorcycle fatalities are not only our number one source of organs,” said one surgeon. “They are also the highest-quality source of organs

ahhh, the "silver lining".......good one, alexx

 

[Goatkart]

LOL, alexx you nailed it, i say freedom for all..

I may need some of those organs in my old age....


Like a few people i have a destroyed helmet as well... Low side in gravel i never saw...

Bounced my head squarely on the pavement... and slid down the road a ways...


I wouldn't be nearly as pretty as i am today if not for that....



Besides, if there is one thing i know....

If i went on a ride without a lid on, had a wreck and survived.... My girl would finish the job....

 

[Vonderbach]

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.

But you already pay a higher tax and health insurance rate due to motorcycle riders in general. Are you prepared to make the same statement pertaining to everyone on the forum? We are 14 times more likely to die, and I'm sure the stats are similar to severe injury.

 

[StwBusa]

Apparently there's an up-side for not wearing a helmet:

“Motorcycle fatalities are not only our number one source of organs,â€￾ said one surgeon. “They are also the highest-quality source of organs, because donors are usually young, healthy people with no other traumatic injuries to the body, except to the head.â€￾


The study, “Donorcycles: Do Motorcycle Helmet Laws Reduce Organ Donations?â€￾ [pdf] by Stacy Dickert-Conlin, Todd Elder and Brian Moore from Michigan State University, takes a look at this link. Here is the abstract:

Government traffic safety mandates are typically designed to reduce the harmful externalities of risky behaviors. We consider whether motorcycle helmet laws also reduce a beneficial externality by decreasing the pool of viable organ donors. Our central estimates show that organ donations due to motor vehicle fatalities increase by 10 percent when states repeal helmet laws. Two characteristics of this association suggest that it is causal: first, nearly all of it is concentrated among men, who account for over 90 percent of all motorcyclist deaths, and second, helmet mandates are unrelated to organ donations due to circumstances other than motor vehicle accidents. Our estimates imply that every death of a helmetless motorcyclist prevents or delays as many as 0.33 deaths among individuals on organ transplant waiting lists.

See, people are literally dying for the helmetless rider's organs...

You know for all the insults etc that have been slung my way for asking "such a stupid question"... I find it interesting that it has at least created a viable and interesting debate.. At the end of the day that was my intention.. Of course I fully understand the inherent risks of both riding a motorcycle AND doing so sans helmet .. It appears to be a risk I accept does it not??? I do not claim that people who wear helmets are sissys so therefore I do not accept that NOT wearing one makes me a squid.. I have been riding for 35 yrs and I have taken many classes including the MSF,Riders Edge and MSF advanced Riders course... For those who can only resort to insults... I feel sorry for you... for all the other considered and meaningful responses I truly thank you....all I am doing is expressing an opinion....

 

[GSXcite]

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 )

semi, you know I love ya bro, and I do appreciate that you always seem to have your helmet on when you ride with me. We have thousands of miles riding together on our busas, and we have never had to pick one of our group off the pavement, and I hope we never have to, but if it ever does happen, I want my pals geared up like a power ranger!

 

[semi]

semi, you know I love ya bro, and I do appreciate that you always seem to have your helmet on when you ride with me. We have thousands of miles riding together on our busas, and we have never had to pick one of our group off the pavement, and I hope we never have to, but if it ever does happen, I want my pals geared up like a power ranger!

love you too brother! i think you hit the nail on the head, i try to understand who i am riding with and the type of riding we are going to be doing...would i go on a spirited ride without full gear? absolutely not because i am going to be pushing my limits of skill and ability and i also cannot predict what is going to happen among the other riders

however, i will take a ride along the MS River with a friend on the back without gearing up all the way...first, i will never push the limits with someone else on the back...second, i know the road is always covered by LEO's so i'm not going to be tempted to do any high speed impromtu runs...i guess that's my way of putting the odds in my favor as much as i can and still living life my way

i am by no means encouraging anyone to pull their helmet off as it is safer to ride with one on...i am just trying to show that some of us are ok with the added risk and don't deserve to be slammed any more than all of us get from our parents, significant others, and friends who think we are all idiots for climbing on these "killing machines"

 

[semi]

btw, i don't think any of you want to apply to receive any of my organs...i'm doing my best to wear them all out

 

[snapperhead]

Dress for the slide, not the ride. My last Arai RX7 corsair is the only reason I still have a functioning brain (well this hasnt officially been confirmed???). Skin coloured protective gear has limited qualities when skidding down the road and into stationary objects. Make sure you have great crash stories to tell your grandkids by still being here, alive and well. Please always wear a good quality fullface helmet. Peace out

 

[k03gsxr750]

The day this picture was taken was all the convincing I ever needed. The way I went down I whipped my head straight into the pavement. Might have lived, might not but I know I didn't have to worry about that because my Arai saved me all that. Was it fun paper weighting $500+? Well no, but anything less on my head and the cost would have easily been much higher never mind the pain.

 

[Troppo]

There certainly are a lot of nazis on this board.

If someone wants to ride naked, who cares?

It is their decision.

Are they hurting you?

No.

So let them make the decision.

 

[Vonderbach]

I will say this. If nothing else, the pics in this thread have pretty much cemented my beliefs to wear my helmet 100% of the time instead of 99.5% of the time. I appreciate many of you that shared your stories without resorting to name calling. Testimonials can be some powerful stuff.

 

[Schism]

There certainly are a lot of nazis on this board.

If someone wants to ride naked, who cares?

It is their decision.

Are they hurting you?

No.

So let them make the decision.

i always wanted to do that once but i'm in fear what the charges would bring me.

 

[skydivr]

There certainly are a lot of nazis on this board.

If someone wants to ride naked, who cares?

It is their decision.

Are they hurting you?

No.

So let them make the decision.

Not exactly. If they die, you are correct. If they live and go on the government dole to pay for their medical care and disability for life...then that comes out of the taxpayer's (my) hide....

 

[jellyrug]

love you too brother!

Slow down guys, with so much love going around, I'm getting emotional. Sniff Sniff. ???

 

[GSXcite]

There certainly are a lot of nazis on this board.

If someone wants to ride naked, who cares?

It is their decision.

Are they hurting you?

No.

So let them make the decision.

Who cares? Me

Is it their decision? Absolutely, but I hope they make the best decision and wear a helmet.

Are they hurting me. Yes, it hurts me alot when I see a member killed or injured riding his or her bike. Will gear save you everytime, no. we lost a very special person on this board a couple of years ago, and myself as well as many others still hurt everyday because of the loss, and he wore all his gear all the time. He was one of the best riders I have ever ridden with, with over 45 years experience, but a freak thing happened and he is gone. You can't make motorcycle riding 100% safe, but you can make it safer with gear. I just can't buy into any arguement that it is safer without a helmet, can't see, can't hear bla bla bla.

If this makes me a gear Nazis, I'll wear that title with pride!

Hope you all get the best helmet you can afford, and wear it every time you get on the bike, even if it's just to go up the block to the store.

 

[cqt1414]

Because of wind and the elements, I always wear one of my full face HJC helmets.

I know HJC's might not be the coolest. But my CL-SP fits me well and the tint allows me to focus.

 

[GSXcite]

Because of wind and the elements, I always wear one of my full face HJC helmets.

I know HJC's might not be the coolest. But my CL-SP fits me well and the tint allows me to focus.

Nothing wrong with an HJC. Fit and comfort are the most important thing for a helmet if it meets safety standards.I have helmets that cost five times the cost of my HJC helmets, but I have every confidence that the HJC will protect me in a crash.