(sniff), “well, ya can’t wear one of those, on a Harley”, Al said, when he saw my shiny new full face motorcycle helmet. It appears that one must wear an open face helmet when riding a Harley. (for the record, I did wear an open face helmet when I rode a Harley).
I just received a pair of pants (why is a single pant known as pair?) designed to give some protection in the event of a motorcycle accident. Denim, lined with Brazilian leather (do ya suppose Brazilian leather is different?) and CE armour. All of the additional stuff is intended to protect the import bits after an unplanned come-off. The pants are cut specifically for motorcycle riding comfort - think of a somewhat crouched position - so the cut is what I would describe as baggy arsed. Between the leather and the cut, I look like one of those kids that just took a big dump in diaper. It is not flattering! I was ready to send the pants back.
Then I thought about Al’s comment. Protection VS appearance. (Hell, I am as vain as the next person). Then again, I never did give a shit what others think and it is to late to change. I now wear a full face helmet because it is safer.
The guy who was wearing this helmet had an accident. That’s his helmet after he suffered a crash in West Virginia. He came out of it just fine—thanks to his full-face helmet. No facial reconstruction was needed. In fact, because he was wearing full gear, he was able to ride home!
The diagrams below show the impact areas on crash-involved motorcycle helmets. (Source: Dietmar Otte, Hannover Medical University, Dept. of Traffic Accident Research, Germany.) Note that 35% of all crashes showed major impact on the chin-bar area. This means that if you ride with an open-face helmet, you are accepting only 65% of the protection that could be available to your head.
If you ride with a shorty or half helmet, you are accepting only 39% of the protection you could obtain. You are literally throwing away 61% of the protection you would have had had you chosen a full-face helmet.
And, of course, if you ride wearing a “novelty” helmet or no helmet at all then you have none of the protection you could have chosen.
You decide.
Thanks to Jeff Dean for this information - the dean of BMW motorcycle sites.
11 May 2008 at 09:33 pm | #
I gotta admit that it must take a man pretty confident in himself to describe his new riding pants as making him look like he just took a dump in them.::)) As long as you stay with the Beemer you’ll be okay, coming off from that height we’ll forgive you a little extra padding.