Petrol stations and helmets again.

[ophic]

Winter, M62 over Pennines, yeah, balaclava with neck scarf over it, plus so many layers under your jacket and trousers you can barely get on or off the bike in the first place. If I was Scottish I'd probably just wear a T-shirt and leave it at that. It all gets creased and loose and draughty if you don't tuck it all back in properly after removing lid. Funnily enough I don't recall seeing any other bikers during those months.

Long hair also needs tucking back into your jacket. Fixed that with a razor.

[Bibio]

you must have loved your job to put up with that.

think the coldest i have rode into since i got back into bikes was mid November and yes there aint many bikers about. thats when i decided heated garments were the order of the day and my lordy lord they are worth every penny.

[Trev B]

Mate of mine stayed on his bike to fill up,some petrol got spilt onto the sleeve of his textile jacket and static caused it to ignite,lucky he had his side stand down and in the panic he ran around the forecourt flapping his arm to extinguish the flames,there just happened to be a police car passing,they stopped and arrested my friend for waving a fire arm in a public place!!!

I try to fill up whilst sitting on the bike whenever possible, kickstand always down ( what reason could you have for not having it down?? ), and any spillage I've had has ALWAYS been just around the tank cap.

Never the exhaust, never on my jacket or trousers. I'm sure it only needs to happen once, but I'm finding it to be quite an achievement to dress yourself in petrol.

[MisterTommyH]

TBH if I'm out on a long ride with several fills I'm usually grateful to get to a fuel station so that I can take my lid off.

There are exceptions in which I do take umbridge at being told to take my lid off. These are:

1 If it's really busy at the garage, there are people behind getting annoyed etc;
2 If it raining.

My stance revolves around the fact that I wear glasses and a full face helmet. When it's busy I really just want to fuel up and push my bike out of the way so someone else can use the pump (I know I don't have to, but I just find it annoys drivers less) - having to remove the lid just slows this down as I have to put it somewhere, push the bike, go back for it etc etc etc.... having to do this with glasses is a real b*ll ache as I am trying to find somewhere to put my glasses while I use two hands to removed the lid (not many flat surfaces on an SV when it's on it's side stand).

When it's raining it's the same issue, but also the fact that putting the glasses on any surface will get water on the lens, so I then have to dig out a glasses cloth, wipe etc.... - oh and the fact that the PITA of having to do this will make be breath more heavily, which will then probably steam the glasses up more.

I avoid Morrissons stations for exactly this reason.

[Jayneflakes]

I feel that I need to clarify a couple of points.

Firstly, I am well mannered and if spoken to politely will respond equally politely, a person who is nice to me deserves a nice response even if I disagree with them. On the occasion in question, the shop girl wanted to see my face for the security camera. I explained politely that I had a flip front helmet, which you would have thought was obvious because... she could see my face. It was at this point that she said "Oh yeah, I had not noticed!"


The reason I do not like taking my helmet off is because first of all it is really very expensive and a gift from the wife. It fits perfectly on my noggin and that seems like a perfectly safe place to store it while filling my fuel tank. Placing it on my mirror does not seem like a very safe thing to do with my beautiful Shoei lid and I am not putting it on the pump because that is flimsy curving plastic. The floor infront of the pump was covered in sand that had been dumped on spilled diesel. Normally I would not use a pump that was in this condition, but I was in a hurry and there were no other pumps available.

I took the money from my purse and walked in to pay. I did not require a receipt and I had the right money in my gloved hand (gloves that are tucked into the sleeves of my jacket and support my damaged wrist), along with my bike key. I will point out that they required my face for the camera once I had handed over the money. So at this time I had not only ended our transaction, but had done so politely and with in the parameters of decency.

The petrol station has cameras on the forecourt and they can not only see me, but they can see my number plate. Should I decide that I wish to fill my bike and not pay, they have me on tape and my bike registration which the Police can use to locate my address. I am a law abiding citizen after all.

There is one aspect though that is personal to me and that is taking my helmet off is difficult for me. I have a spine and shoulder injury that makes putting my right arm up high painful. My leather jacket is very special, it is an old one now and before I got it, it belonged to my Father in Law, who was himself an old school biker and also a Paramedic with the NHS before his death. He rode to work every day on various machines ranging from 125cc Hondas to 750cc Yamahas and because of his job, he always insisted on good quality riding kit. He regularly scraped up the bits of people that came off them when they crashed in inferior kit. The jackets collar is a snug fit around my neck and sits nicely with the helmet strap. I also wear a tubular neck gaiter that tucks into my jacket and up inside my helmet. If I take my helmet off, I need to replace the neck gaiter to cover up my long black hair, which means taking off my jacket. The jacket is heavy, armoured and stiff and because of my spine injury I find it hard work to get on and off at times.

The big thing is that disabilities that are nearly invisible get ignored. If the girl behind the counter was to ask me why I walk with a slight limp, carry my arm at an odd angle and then struggle to hold open a heavy petrol station door, while holding all of my belongings in my good hand, I could explain it to her. All the while the people in the queue behind me can stare hatefully at the back of my head and into my long lustrous black hair as I slowly and painfully get dressed again.

It is obvious when I walk that some days I am less able than others, yet I manage to ride my bike when I can. Assuming that every person in the store is a criminal is sadly one of modern life's issues, but asking for my picture after I have paid in full is down right odd. We are becoming a Police state.

Thankfully my usual garage is open again now after a refurbishment of the pumps and storage tanks. A garage that has staff who greet me with a smile, wait patiently for me to do what I have to do to get into the shop and then wish me a happy ride as I leave.

As to the question as to whether I am one of those nice kinds of bikers or not, I shall leave you to decide for yourselves.



Yes, that is a picture of a pointy on my sweatshirt.

[NTECUK]

Hanging your lid on a mirror is a bit risky. I have dropped one doing this.

[Bluepete]

My take on this is that if a Police Biker Cop can go about his or her business with a flip face helmet, then it should be good enough to buy fuel.

I lost my rag a few years ago at Tesco. A very rude woman shouted at me over the tannoy to remove my lid. I honestly couldn't hear her properly cos I had earplugs in as well. She sent her colleague out tell me I had to take it off to prove I was old enough. Never mind I was in about a grands worth of Heine Gerike kit on a new, expensive bike!

I've never filled up there again, simply cos the owd biddy was just soo rude!

I'm sensitive you know!

Pete

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by NTECUK

Hanging your lid on a mirror is a bit risky. I have dropped one doing this.

never ever dropped my helmet from hanging it off a mirror yet. i have however seen lots of them being dropped from seats and petrol tanks.

[NTECUK]

Hey I'm just awkward and the mirrors on The Aprilia were small.