oh dear oh dear - summertime

I saw a guy riding a quad bike on the M62 with no helmet on in the fast lane! Pretty sure he was just wearing shorts and a t-shirt too. A teenage kid lost 3 fingers in Holmfirth last week when he crashed his quad whilst not wearing any gloves. Quads may have 4 wheels but they're more dangerous than bikes as no bike test needed.

Indeed Quads are BAD. They are so dodgy!

AlpineStarHero - I think its ok riding with the jacked unzipped to about half way. You get a good air flow. Not wearing gloves though... Look at Bayliss, probably the best kit available on a fairly safe track lost a finger... imagine if he had no gloves! I don't want to.

[STRAMASHER]

Had a Goldwing trike go past me as I joined the M/way at about 90-100mph, blasting a bit of RAWK! Jeans and denim shirt. Shades. No lid. Made me chuckle!


...but not as much as when he "hit" traffic. See me filter, see me wave goodbye!

Originally Posted by MavUK

ANyone thinking 'just a short trip' should read big apes 'Alway wear your freaking leathers' link...

My point is that whilst it's certainly still risky, it's much more dangerous to do the same trip by pushbike:

1. Often going quicker- I tend to go further above the 30 limits on a pushbike on downhills than I would on a motorbike.
2. Usually no protective gear other than a lid.
3. Very often only shorts, rather than at least jeans as I'd usually have on a motorbike.
4. Much less visible.
5. No indicators (harder to communicate intentions to other road users) and indicating by hands compromises the bike's stability and your ability to steer.
6. More dangerous position on the road.
7. More people overtake you (being overtaken on any bike is inherently dangerous as if the person overtaking you stuffs it up, they'll invariably plough into you, rather than having a head on).
8. Can't suddenly wind on the throttle to accelerate out of harm's way.
9. More of a temptation to "ride like a k***" as you have no numberplate and little likelihood of prosecution.
10. Typically much less formal training than on a motorbike.
11. No mirrors.
12. No brake lights.

And yet, no one criticises people going 2 miles across town on push bikes just wearing a lid (if that).

I once had to go into a dealers to pick up a repaired jacket when my bike was my only transport with just a fashion leather jacket on rather than a real one. Other bikers who saw me without knowing why might of just assumed I was reckless. Don't get me wrong- I shake my head when a clown does a dangerous overtake at triple figure speeds on a sportsbike they clearly can't handle wearing shorts and t-shirt. I just think that lumping all people not wearing proper leathers together is a bit like saying all people who drink are alcoholics. As an aside, I been injured at sub-30mph round town in jeans (when I'd of been unscathed in leathers/textiles) and saved (escaped with no injuries) by good textiles at a crash at 60mph, so I'm well aware of the risks/benefits of both. I've also come off on a push bike at legal(ish) speeds and sustained worse injuries than I ever have on a motorbike. I was wearing a proper lid, high vis jacket, steel toe capped boots, jeans and 2 long sleeved tops (in addition to the jacket) at the time.

[SoulKiss]

Just remember folks, its only been since 1973 (the year of my birth) that it has been a legal requirement to wear a helmet.

[Sid Squid]

If you were really concerned about safety, I mean really concerned, there are a million things you might not do - you probably wouldn't ride at all, whatever gear you may or may not choose to wear.

No-one takes every possible precaution* every time, so we may all equally be criticised for not doing everything to protect ourselves, the difference between t-shirt man, you and me is that the decision on what's 'right' in any circumstance might be different.

Which are our own individual choices, long may we all be able to make those choices for ourselves.

*No you don't, and you make mistakes and errors when you ride just like everyone else, fortunately most times they never come back to bite us.

[tonyk]

when i used to (sometimes ) pick my daughter from school,
she had to wear gloves and got my jacket, i would ride in a t shirt...
making sure i did not come off, riding very safely...
it was more of, i did not want her to come off...
nowadays she gets on ONLY with full kit....

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

If you were really concerned about safety, I mean really concerned, there are a million things you might not do - you probably wouldn't ride at all, whatever gear you may or may not choose to wear.

No-one takes every possible precaution* every time, so we may all equally be criticised for not doing everything to protect ourselves, the difference between t-shirt man, you and me is that the decision on what's 'right' in any circumstance might be different.

Which are our own individual choices, long may we all be able to make those choices for ourselves.

*No you don't, and you make mistakes and errors when you ride just like everyone else, fortunately most times they never come back to bite us.

And the fact that I make mistakes is the *very reason* I wear as much protection as possible . (Also the fact that others make mistakes )

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

My point is that whilst it's certainly still risky, it's much more dangerous to do the same trip by pushbike:

1. Often going quicker- I tend to go further above the 30 limits on a pushbike on downhills than I would on a motorbike.
2. Usually no protective gear other than a lid.
3. Very often only shorts, rather than at least jeans as I'd usually have on a motorbike.
4. Much less visible.
5. No indicators (harder to communicate intentions to other road users) and indicating by hands compromises the bike's stability and your ability to steer.
6. More dangerous position on the road.
7. More people overtake you (being overtaken on any bike is inherently dangerous as if the person overtaking you stuffs it up, they'll invariably plough into you, rather than having a head on).
8. Can't suddenly wind on the throttle to accelerate out of harm's way.
9. More of a temptation to "ride like a k***" as you have no numberplate and little likelihood of prosecution.
10. Typically much less formal training than on a motorbike.
11. No mirrors.
12. No brake lights.

And yet, no one criticises people going 2 miles across town on push bikes just wearing a lid (if that).

I once had to go into a dealers to pick up a repaired jacket when my bike was my only transport with just a fashion leather jacket on rather than a real one. Other bikers who saw me without knowing why might of just assumed I was reckless. Don't get me wrong- I shake my head when a clown does a dangerous overtake at triple figure speeds on a sportsbike they clearly can't handle wearing shorts and t-shirt. I just think that lumping all people not wearing proper leathers together is a bit like saying all people who drink are alcoholics. As an aside, I been injured at sub-30mph round town in jeans (when I'd of been unscathed in leathers/textiles) and saved (escaped with no injuries) by good textiles at a crash at 60mph, so I'm well aware of the risks/benefits of both. I've also come off on a push bike at legal(ish) speeds and sustained worse injuries than I ever have on a motorbike. I was wearing a proper lid, high vis jacket, steel toe capped boots, jeans and 2 long sleeved tops (in addition to the jacket) at the time.

All good points - I've been quite seriously injured on a push-bike before doing something stupid (racing down busy streets, didn't get hit by a car but the person I was racing) and that's the reason I'm glad I got a bike at 24 and not 17. There may be valid (personal) reasons for doing it, but I wouldn't do it...

[yorkie_chris]

When it's hot I wear a jacket made of stretchy mesh, it's got elbow, shoulder, back and chest armor in it, it's snug enough that I'm confident the armor will stay in place in a slide, and my draggin jean combats which I'm hardly ever out of.

Plus gloves, proper boots and lid.

By proper boots either the wulf sport MX style things, german army para boots, that sort of thing with ankle protection.

Halvarssons outlast insulation FTW while we're on about gloves... I've been riding in my winter gloves for the past couple of weeks for some reason, not sweaty at all even when the weathers been nice.

Anyway that's just me, 30mph speed limits don't bother me, 30mph f###ing hurts. I would advise you to wear your gear, when something so cheap can save you so much pain then why not?

Both crashes I've had on the road have seen leather scuffed from my gloves. I've lost skin on my hands before from burns and it really hurts, they were just little uns too.