Who rides with tennis shoes on?

i'm happy to see you all worry about my feet.
i usually wear my black vans(skateboard shoes),and when i run up to the corner store, i wear my teva sandals. i have a great rx7 helmet, i wear only to keep my head warm. i own no leather, i have crashed and suffered a little. i have great medical and death insurance. the best thing, is i live in america, where i am free to wear what i want. i don't lecture the goof balls in here who ride in freeway trafic at 3 times the speed limit. or the guys that need to practice wheelies and then drop their bike, and charge their insurance so all our rates go up. land of the almost free!!! save your safety speeches for your children.
 
I hope noone thought I was lecturing! Motorcycling is all about risk tolerance and we all have different degrees. Just riding a motorcycle is enough for a lecture from most non riders...much less a motorcycle like the Busa. Having ridden off road for many years and having had numerous crashes, I remember the pain so I dress to try and avoid that as much as I can. I am sure that a good study would show that most who have crashed and gotten hurt due to inadequate protective equipment tend to start using better equipment afterwards. All the protective equipment in the world won't help you in a bad crash, but in many crashes it will help keep skin protected and ankle bone from being ground off in a slide along the pavement. So we're all nuts to ride motorcycles and it's a free country, but if you have a nasty crash in tennis shoes it's probably really really going to hurt a lot. See, no lecture. Just observations. If you think this is a lecture then you are feeling guilty :)
 
I've ridden w/ both full type of gear and w/out any real protection at all. Just last week I was toolin' down R53 South w/ my T-Shirt, sweat pants, Nikes and a 'busa @ about 145mph until traffic blocked me. That was quite fun and I felt I got up to speed faster than when I wear my full face helmet, ballistic armored jacket, over the ankle leather boots and jeans.

I only ride w/out a helmet rarely and when I do I almost never go on the highway. I needed to get home in a hurry at that time and the highway was the best option. I got a couple bugs in the forehead before and after the highway which wasn't pleasant. The tennis shoes weren't a hinderance as long as I didn't stop along a grease trail at the lights. Or when there was grease on the ground kept that particular foot on the 'busa.

I've spoken to a quite a few squids since riding the busa and they will almost always admit that riding w/out the protective gear provides more convenience and comfort. But, isn't there always a but, they will also admit that the risk is 10x greater of fatality without the right gear. With the right gear being mostly a proper helmet.

We all take our chances I guess. Good Luck with yours and safe riding.
 
I will fess up and admit I've ridden without a jacket a few time times. In the summer, it is very comfortable not being inside a thick leather jacket. The jeans, boots, gloves, & helmet don't bother me. In fact, I LIKE having those items on. To me, they are actually for my own comfort. Ever get hit by a small rock at 50 mph? How about a small rock on your bare fingers at 50 mph? A bug right on the your bare knee at any speed is still painful. I can't even imagine what a fly would feel like when it hits & explodes against your face.....OUCH!!

As long as I'm riding around town at less than 50 mph, I don't mind riding without a jacket. But I gotta have a helmet, jeans, & boots at the very least. At higher speeds, the flapping of a loose T-shirt against my skin is enough to get me to wear a jacket.
 
Anyone try those draggin jeans and shirts? If so, what do you think of them?
 
Commuting back and forth to work I wear dress shoes and black socks. Tie is optional depending on how hot it is. I have worn a grass skirt while riding too. Word of advice, ride fast so the skirt doesn't hit the exhaust pipes.
 
Wear tennis shoes almost always. Like feel of shifter. Boots at strip, don't do lots of twisties. I can see where boots would make it easier for medics to find feet, but I'll take the chances and comfort. Wore steel toe boots offroad always, sometimes with missed shift. Any connection? Not racing enought to spring for leathers and would also be the only set in town. Local police would make special note of dress and put 2+2 together. If you wear boots, great!
 
Just a note, seems I've read somewhere that most accidents happen a few miles from home. Does this not put the crashes in city neighborhoods and not on the hiways? I've never had trouble with soccer mom on hiway. Just my .02.
 
Robino, you don't have a monopoly on heat and humidity. I've ridden in Baja California where it can get much hotter than Florida, and the humidity can be almost as bad.

The implication of your post is that if we lived in a place like Florida we would wear minimal to no protection like you. Aint happening, Dude.

Working in a paramedic program for years had no effect on my desire to ride a bike, but it had a major effect on what I wear while doing so.

I won't bother to lecture you, but I will tell you that there is protective gear available that will help a lot if you go down, and will not be terribly uncomfortable even in the hottest weather. Leather is not the only option.

Still, this is natural selection at work, so I won't argue.
 
Slow Hand,
you say you won't lecture me ...but you just did. In any case, I have club raced at Lauden more than enough times to know what it's like falling off a bike with the right gear on...however, If i'm going to go for a nice ride by the beach(in Florida in 100 degree weather) I usually will wear nothing...meaning a t'shirt, shorts, and sneakers. I have a Dainese Techno yellow/black suit which is one of the better ones to buy but other than riding on the track with it, I have never worn it on the street...I think it looks silly unless you are planning to go for a 4 am blast on the highway and back home.
I have found myself doing 160mph(showing on the speedo) in shorts and a t-shirt and that makes me an a**hole BIG TIME, but we've all done it one time or another.
I also own a nice perforated Vanson Leather jacket which keeps you fairly cool in mild weather but I hardly wear that...and I don't even live in Florida...just happens that I'm there often.
Anyway, I hope you stop lecturing me, otherwise I'll come give you a good beatin'...(keep your leathers on...it doesn't hurt as much).
 
S*HIT I can't believe what a bunch of ***** ass riders there are, riding Hayabusa's! Are you all Commuters? Don't any of you ride this bike for what it was built for? Any of you ride the livin p*iss out of your bike? Hell any of your even scraped your pegs, say once? Lets here who out there likes to really ride a motorcycle, especially one that happens to be the fastest bike on the planet!
 
I rode my CBR 1000F from AZ to Key West in 1986. As far as the 'dry' heat factor, I can tell you that 100/80 is NOT as miserable as the 120/10 or the monsoon season of 110/40.
Of course when I was in Fla, I was on vacation so nothing bothers me. As opposed to commuting to work (sucks)
I will ride 'naked' I WON'T change clothes to run to the Walmart 1 mile away.
As far as how others use their 'busas or harleys, etc. That is their own damn business
There are still states that believe in individual rights, to some extent. The yuppie factor has not COMPLETLEY swept the nation.
 
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