[Darkstang]

Just a friendly reminder now that warmer weather is here.. Don't be tempted to leave the jacket or gloves at home or in the side cases.

Wrecked my other bike wednesday and my gear saved my arm and hand from getting broke after tboning a jeep cherokee.

ARAI helmet, Cortech adrenaline gloves and fieldsheer congo
jacket. The armor in jacket and gloves did their job!

 

[Bugzy]

Not sure gear really prevents broken bones. The armor protects knees, elbows, shoulders, back, and protects from abraison etc, but any direct impact to a limb will still break bones. You likely just got lucky.

I would still recommend wearing all that gear though.

 

[coral_snake]

I don't leave home without it.

 

[CHUPACABRA]

In El Paso gear consists of shorts & sandals. It's to damn hot for gloves:flaming_devil:. Just watch your surroundings, don't be an idiot, and learn to ride.

 

[PTRider]

Not sure gear really prevents broken bones. The armor protects knees, elbows, shoulders, back, and protects from abrasion etc, but any direct impact to a limb will still break bones. You likely just got lucky.

I would still recommend wearing all that gear though.

A superior back protector does more than just abrasion protection...SAS-TEC, Knox, etc.
SAS-TEC Back Protector - RevZilla

 

[Scott E. Bonds]

If you think its too hot to wear your gear and that "learning to ride" will save your arse....then God be with you.

The more I ride, and wreck, and learn....the more not less gear I wear.

A good buddy suffered severe road rash...he ended up in the burn ward for repairs. That would be a nice place to discuss how "hot" your gear is that you left at home.

Good gear is not hot unless you are sitting in traffic. I do not deal with traffic unless I make a misstake so....I wear my gear. The more obnoxiously bright it is the better.

 

[patricjft]

In El Paso gear consists of shorts & sandals. It's to damn hot for gloves:flaming_devil:. Just watch your surroundings, don't be an idiot, and learn to ride.

I grew up in El Paso and road there all the time in the 100+ degree heat. You would be surprised but I always found mesh gear to actually be cooller than the sun hitting my skin directly.

 

[CHUPACABRA]

If you think its too hot to wear your gear and that "learning to ride" will save your arse....then God be with you.

The more I ride, and wreck, and learn....the more not less gear I wear.

A good buddy suffered severe road rash...he ended up in the burn ward for repairs. That would be a nice place to discuss how "hot" your gear is that you left at home.

Good gear is not hot unless you are sitting in traffic. I do not deal with traffic unless I make a misstake so....I wear my gear. The more obnoxiously bright it is the better.

Quit wrecking or quit riding! I've been riding for over thirty years and have never once wrecked on the road. When I used to race I wore full gear. But it sounds like you could use a rider course to improve your skills or lack there of.:var_6:

 

[Scott E. Bonds]

Quit riding? out of the question

Quit wrecking? I try that everytime I leave home. I put all the odds in my favor.

Take training...your first good advice. Already have. MSF twice. Practice heavy braking and crash advoidance manuvers more than most I know. At MSF...which I assume you took, I missed the part about sandals and no gloves. Maybe I was picking my bike up at the time.

Racing? yep thats great too. I did mine in the dirt when I was young enough to heal quickly. Still ride my rather beaten up XR400r...wuss bike I know.

30 years...thats impressive. No wrecks...even more so.

I have 42 years if you count from 8 when I got my mini trail. 34 on the road.
Three serious wrecks and three I got off easy. One was my fault.

I will follow other advice. But thanks for caring about my welfare.

 

[CHUPACABRA]

Cool Beans!

 

[Darkstang]

Did not mean to start a pissing match...
1. Not all wrecks are preventable on your part. A lot are but you actually know better.
2. Armor will not prevent broken bones in some situations, but in a lot yes it will, again don't kid yourself as to it's effectiveness...but no it does not make you unbreakable or bullet proof... Ever chipped the bone in your elbow??
3. A good mesh jacket can be cooler in the hot sunshine...

Next some of you guys will recommend open face helmets....

 

[tytek]

My dick is bigger than yours... :headbang:

All gear all the time!

 

[The Golden Monkey]

Quit wrecking or quit riding! I've been riding for over thirty years and have never once wrecked on the road. When I used to race I wore full gear. But it sounds like you could use a rider course to improve your skills or lack there of.:var_6:

If all wrecks were avoidable, then only unskilled/inattentive/dangerous riders would crash. But we all know that's not the case. You do know that, don't you?

 

[DrPaul47]

Interesting new #'s coming out in MC rags. The inital Hurt report stated that the most infrequent mc accident was being rear ended. Now it is becoming one of the most common. Not much you can do when folks are texting or talking on cell phones.

 

[rmcclure]

While a lot of places have laws against using cell phones while driving, it sure seems that they just don't get it. You still see them using them all the time.

 

[swingset]

Quit wrecking or quit riding! I've been riding for over thirty years and have never once wrecked on the road. When I used to race I wore full gear. But it sounds like you could use a rider course to improve your skills or lack there of.:var_6:

My brother's boss had over a million miles and 25 years of riding under his belt, a very good rider with a racing pedigree, and he is a physical mess because he hit a patch of spilled diesel and went down, got hit by another car on his slide.

You have a contingency for that? Years of riding and skills don't always work to keep you alive, I didn't need 30 years to learn that.

 

[Stromin'Nroman]

Wrecked my other bike wednesday and my gear saved my arm and hand from getting broke after tboning a jeep cherokee.

Sorry to hear about your crash.

You don't need to hear my affirmation of your decision to wear the gear, I'd be preaching to the choir.

Care to share anything more about the mishap; like which bike, what kind of damage to the bike, where this happened and if the Jeep turned left in front of you?

Any chance you might swing by the Iron Horse this weekend.

If you see a silver 650 with Dunkin' Donut tank magnets, that might be me.

Good luck with the bike.

Norm

 

[Midnullarbor]

.
Not so sure about PTRider's recommendation about the back-protector.

Certainly, a back-protector - in fact any extensive plating of hard plastic mimicking a knight's armour - appeals to commonsense as being of potential value.
But when I was googling "back-protector" earlier this year, there wasn't much (that I found) that did support back-protectors (in terms of evidence).
Apparently almost all spinal injuries were caused by rotational forces exerted on the spine (i.e. leverage from pelvis or shoulders) - something which a conventional "back-protector" would not help. [Admittedly there were some high-speed racetrack crashes where investigators felt that a back-protector had been useful - but few in the common category of ordinary road crashes.]

Hard armour (with some internal padding) should reduce the "end-on" crash-forces by 75+% on elbows & knees (and to a lesser extent on shoulders).
Obviously it won't help against a sideways force on the midsection of a bone.
(I don't know whether the riders' common or classic "midshaft of femur/thighbone" fractures come from sideways force or from knee-impact.)

Still, knee/elbow/shoulder protection are relatively small & light, and don't in themselves impede airflow much [in hot weather].
Haven't found much on the market that gives good thigh protection - I guess overpants with a bit of padding are better than nothing - but probably the manufacturers know that something highly effective, and resembling thunderthigh-Michelin-Man, just won't sell.
.

 

[Stalky Tracker]

What is that old saying? All the gear, all the time.

ATGATT

 

[Darkstang]

Sorry to hear about your crash.

You don't need to hear my affirmation of your decision to wear the gear, I'd be preaching to the choir.

Care to share anything more about the mishap; like which bike, what kind of damage to the bike, where this happened and if the Jeep turned left in front of you?

Any chance you might swing by the Iron Horse this weekend.

If you see a silver 650 with Dunkin' Donut tank magnets, that might be me.

Good luck with the bike.

Norm

It was a 83 GS1100 that I had just finished painting, powdercoating and doing a 08GSXR front fork and tire conversion along with rear tire conversion as well. Literally my first ride since finishing. She did a left turn, stop halfway....enough for me to get off the brakes to drive around her...then she takes off...

Bike can be fixed. New forks and some cosmetics. I hit her drivers door with my left side.

What time will you be at Iron Horse? I got some company coming over this weekend.
We need to have a WNC meet and greet.