I ride with a half helmet and no windshield. I just don't like the looks of a full helmet or a windshield, and I kind of like the wind on my face. Just wondering what are some of the worst injuries some of you guys who still wear half or no helmets and don't have windshields have received. In other words, I'm talking injuries from flying pebbles to the face or things of that nature, that could have been prevented had you had a full helmet or a windshield on your bike. It's just that I've started to think more about things lately and have been thinking about either going to a full helmet or maybe even trading in my Fat Boy for a Street Glide or something that I think looks better with a windshield because of the thought of catching a rock to the face. What am I looking at here? Just a good cut? Bruise? I can take that, but I'm going to rush to my nearest Harley shop and buy a full helmet if you guys start telling me about broken jaws, having teeth knocked out, etc. I'm not a sissy, but I'm also not stupid either.

I'll start... I've only been riding for a little over two years and, luckily, the worst pain I've experienced is being caught in a rain storm and being stung by a bee. Granted the bee got stuck between my ear strap and my neck so I got stung for several seconds before I was able to swat it away, but that was really nothing, I'm afraid, to what some of you guys may have experienced. And I think we all know what being caught in a rain storm feels like going 50 mph+ with no face protection and nowhere to pull over.

 

I though you meant by an object like a plant pot or frying pan. Guess that's a different topic.

 

Bahahah! Hell, feel free to include those stories as well. I very nearly had one of those stories to share. About 6 years ago my wife hurled a heavy duty ceramic plate at my head while we were arguing. If it wasn't for my cat-like reflexes I might actually be dead. It's funny, but I think I really could have been killed had it hit me squarely. This plate was heavy s*** – if you saw the dent it left in the wall, you'd know what I mean.

We are still happily married today.

 

On the Sporty with no windshield--Wasp hit me right at the collar of my jacket and stung the crap out of me. I swatted it away, but when I got home I had to pull the stinger out with tweezers.

On the RKC WITH the windshield ON--something hit me in the upper lip. It was a probably a rock, but it was so sudden and so severe and I saw nothing coming, I actually wondered if some kid had fired a BB or pellet gun at me. (I was on a country road and there was no one in front of me to have a tire throw a rock.) It hurt like an SOB and swelled up as I was riding. I never did figure out exactly what it was, especially since the windshield was on. I iced it down when I got home a couple hours later and no harm done.

 

Man. Where do you ride?

 

7 stings from a hornet on my back, SOB went in through my sleeve

 

I call 3/4 helmets bee catchers because they tend to collect hornets near my temple.

Closest I ever had to a full face was a 3/4 with a bubble shield in the 70s. I remember a bee walking around on the inside of the glass while I was trying to slow the bike with 1 hand & unfasten the D-ring with the other.

Otherwise I've been unharmed. Unless I'm caught in the rain, I prefer the wind.

 

Dodged lots of nasty flying stuff biggest that got a piece of me would have been the chunk of tire gator that came off the *** of a trailer and took my windshield off , bruised up my shoulder fair when it bounced of . Worse direct hit was big bird of some kind at dusk slammed me in the chest at 70 , thought I'd been shot .

 

Only a few come immediately to mind:
-Sparrow in the shoulder at about 70 mph, that was a heavy thump.
-A dozen wasp went down my shirt at the Grand Canyon. Luckily there were some Hippies with a VW bus and ointment cream.
-A Pheasant in the windshield, cracked the shield and it's neck
-An 8 foot tall tumbleweed at 75 mph and due to traffic nowhere to go, sounded like a glass chandelier shattering
-there are at least 3 rock chips in my current Electra Glide fairing
-rode through a cloud of Anhydrous Ammonia accidentally released by a farmer. Had a full face on that day when I was knocked out for a few seconds. Stayed upright but bounced my head off the handlebars (I think)
-I hit something alive and green with my left knee and it splattered up behind the bat wing fairing. I mean it was big and made a mess.
-last week I took something in the wrist that had a stinger, pulled it out but it swelled up and started to look infected. It cleared up on it's own.

Probably another hundred things over the last 34 years on the road. I don't leave town anymore without a windshield or fairing.

 

Had a truck drop or maybe kick up a golf-ball size rock, hit me square in the nose. Lucky I was only doing about 20 mph at the time, slowing down for a stop. Managed to get it stopped upright. Bloody nose, black eye, hurt like hell. An inch either way would have been much worse.

Scary one actually didn't hurt much. Riding my old sportster with the "eyebrow" headlight support, about 70 mph, some kind of large bird struck right at the edge of the "eyebrow", nearly cut it in half, then it bounced up and hit me in the chest. Pretty good thump, and when I looked down, my white t-shirt was splattered with bird guts, blood and feathers. For a minute i thought it was all mine.