Google <Los Angeles Crest Highway Motorcycle Accidents> and you get over 30,000 hits. To qoute one article "Police say that there is usually at least one motorcycle accident on the Crest every weekend . . . " Fatalities seem run about 3 to 5 a year, and frankly I'm surprised it's not more . . . significantly more. A wonderful, beautiful ride; but a racetrack it is not. Same can probably be said of any number of roads in the Santa Monica Mountains "The Snake" being only one of them.

 

I wear all the gear all the time -- some think I am silly -- others say they should wear it, but its just too hot -- my response, its a whole lot cooler than scraping your skin off and the healing process associated with it.

Everyone makes a choice as to what they believe they need to wear --

 

I'm with you a hundred percent on the ATGATT. I wouldn't even move it off the pad unless I had all my gear on and some accessories on my Sportster to help avoid a crash, such as a headlight and brake light modulator, all the better to be seen by the tailgater behind you and the guy coming at you from the intersection up ahead. I also have confidence in my highway (Crash) bars if the situation goes South in a hurry... and last if not least my 129 Decible air horn to wake up the daydreamers and the distracted Texters.

For those of you that noticed my use of the word Crash instead of accident, there is no such thing as an accident; people crash because someone F-ed up and made a minor fenderbender into what could be a potentially fatal error. In the meantime...

Ride Safe - Ride Smart


"He Who Lives In Joy Does His Creator's Will".
The Baal Shem Tov, Founder of Chasidic Judaism... ca. 1750's

 

I don't think that full riding gear had everything to do with the rider walking away.

The red Suzuki sport bike was ripped into two pieces. The hollow frame absorbed most of the impact from the looks of it.

The Suzuki took most of the impact energy and dispersed it before it could effect the rider.

His hard candy blue 883 Sportster was missing a front fender, had a flat tire and a bent fork. It held up extremely well considering the impact

The Sportster wasn't able to absorb and disperse the impact energy as well so the Harley rider had a much harder impact than the Suzuki rider did.

 

This line from the story infers that it was the Suzuki rider that crossed the line. Not too many Harley riders dragging knees in corners.

 

In order to be able to drag knees around corners takes a lot of skill from the rider. Those riders already see where the corner ends before they lean into the beginning. It is all about taking the correct line through.

Judging by the damage to the Sportster, it looks like it was going straight right before the impact.

 

I see a LOT of people misjudge a corner and cross over the solid line. Crossing the line anywhere will get you a ticket at Deal's Gap. They enforce this law because of all the people that have died over the years resulting in this mistake.

 

The article is pure conjecture. ATTGAT will not save you from a severe contusion/internal bleeding/broken neck, etc. We have no idea what the Sportster rider's injuries were from. But it's hard to argue that ATTGAT isn't doing the most you can to prevent injury.

Riding itself is a calculated risk. Then, as riders, each person has to decide for himself what riding apparel he will wear. I used to be ATTGAT. Frankly, the process of gearing up cut into the fun and there were times out on the road that I was jealous of the carefree Harley riders in their jeans and T-shirts. Not long after that I bought the 11 Ultra and let my standards slide and even rode without a helmet on occasion. However, when I know I'm going to be in a dicey situation, like riding in Chicago, it's all the gear. A ride in the Wisconsin countryside, maybe a little relaxing of standards.

That said, we are back to wearing helmets all the time. The shorties are much better than nothing (depending on where you land of course) and very comfortable. They don't cut into the "experience". We have mesh riding jackets and gloves as well. Boots always.

Hopefully our luck holds out.

 

While I agree that more safety gear is....well, safer...there's a line between how much is too safe to the point where it makes whatever is being done impractical. If I had to wear full leathers in South Florida humidity, every time I rode, I'd quit riding and by a convertible 911.

But then.....................are convertibles truly safe? What if it flips over? There's no head protection.

Okay, convertibles are out.

So, I'd get a lifted pickup truck.

But then, are they safe? They can flip over easily because of the weight distribution.

Okay, trucks are out.

There comes a point in life where we must decide what a "REASONABLE" amount of safety precaution we take in order to be safe enough, but not TOO safe where the activity is no longer enjoyable.

I think everyone can agree on this.

 

ATGATT would mean that it would take longer to gear up than it does to go to the store, post office, etc. and back. No thanks that would ruin the ride for me. Been riding half a century without it already and not about to change now.