The recent thread (Why don't people wear helmets?) got me started thinking in a different direction. It's no secret that Harley riders are the most likely of all bikers to ride without helmets. Cruiser riders in general but Harley riders in particular. Here in Ohio I notice that it's rare to see a Harley rider wearing a helmet and when you do it's almost always a half helmet. On the other hand, I rarely ever see a sport bike rider without a full face helmet and most of them are also wearing protective clothing. Why do you suppose that is?

 

For me, when I was on sport bikes I tended to push the limits a little more, which made me want to wear all gear because I felt like there was a better chance of something happening. On the Harley, I just ride the bike. When I switched from sport bikes to harleys I rarely wore my helmet, but in the last couple years I've gone back to always wearing a helmet (3/4 helmet). This year I went back to a FF and now can't remember why I ever stopped wearing it. (except it gets hot in temps over 85*)

 

I have noticed the same about California. Although helmets are required here, and everybody wears one, it is true that the sports bike riders seem to always have fullface helmets and often wear florescent vests and other protective gear that you rarely see Harley riders wear.
I don't do florescent vests, but I absolutely think that a fullface helmet is the way to fly. As one wag said if you have a $10 head, by all means wear $10 helmet. I have my Sena sound system all squared away in my fullface helmet and I enjoy wearing it.

 

It don't make no difference if you go down at 80 mph on a sport bike or a touring bike, the blacktop plays no favorites.

ATGATT......

 

Great comment and I'd say that describes my take on it too.

The ATGATT lectures get really old too.

 

i tend to agree. sport bikes makes you want to push the edge quite
a bit more than what a harley / cruiser would. i ride mine like a
grandpaw. slow as you go. obviously not a hindrance to traffic or
anything like that, but i'm certainly not carving corners on the way
to work, splitting lanes, or speeding. if i was on a crotch rocket, i'd
be more inclined to maybe act a little crazy. in any case, i realize a
helmet is the safer choice. sometimes, i just don't feel like wearing
one, so i don't. most of the time i do.

 

Everyone is entitled to enjoy their ride the way they see fit.

One common thread I have seen reading these forums is that after surviving a crash, most of the riders comment that they will begin using safety gear. My wife and I decided why wait.

 

Great point. Besides the helmet, and a good jacket and gloves, any other thoughts about the type of safety gear you are referring to?

 

Sport bike - little or no fairing; either no windshield or one of those silly postage stamp size "windshields"; rider leaning forward with face in the wind; perhaps mph slightly higher than normal = full face helmet

Cruiser - full or partial fairing; windshield [perhaps detachable]; rider sitting upright [hopefully out of wind-stream]; speed generally commensurate with the scenery [better the scenery, slower the speed] = riders choice re helmet

That's my speculation; however, even if I'm in a no-helmet state [eg., CT], for me I'm still wearing some helmet. To each his own!

 

As I said in the other thread, I have decided starting today to always wear my full face helmet. I ride a Road Glide with a Madstad so I get pretty good wind protection but not near as much as, say, a Goldwing with their big old windshields. I was wearing my full face a few days ago and a big bug splattered all over my face shield. It reminded me of an experience many years ago when I was riding with no windshield and a full face helmet. I came up behind a dump truck and he threw a rock at me. The rock hit me in the face shield and split it in two. Had I not been wearing a helmet it would've hit me right between the eyes. That would've been a major owie. It was like slow motion. I saw the rock coming but couldn't avoid it.