[fireforeffect49]

a lot of people who ride sport bikes are poor.

:wtf Sorry, but that's flat out horsesh-t. And a lot of black people are drug addicts. And a lot of latinos are illegal. That's the worst generalization I've heard on a bike forum in a while. :hammer For some folks it might hold true, but scrimping and saving is one thing. For the majority of the rest, regardless of type of bike it comes down to personal choice based on what they think they need to look like. Face it, bikes are seen by John Q. Public as ridden by those wanting to appear to be rebelling. ("What are you rebelling against?" "Whaddaya got?") I've ridden for years w/ only a vest on on my HD and a 1/2 helmet on warm days for long rides, and full leathers when weather or distance dictates. I know the risks and it's my choice. But there's a huge difference between risk and gamble. I won't gamble anymore, prefer to take mitigated and calculated risks. Having gotten older (35) w/ 2 kids now, I tend to wear protective gear more often. I won't ride in shorts, but do ride the 1 mile to the gym in a Nomex flight suit in the summer. But when I'm out riding (I mean riding, not cruising) I wear a full-face helmet, full gloves, boots, and an armored jacket, whether mesh (humid summer days), leather (spring and fall) or 3/4 leghth Rocket insulated touring jacket (yup, these sub-20 degree mornings right w/ the Korean winter). Still choose to wear jeans a lot, but again, my choice. I've picked up too many rocks and stray bugs to ever want to wear shorts again on a bike. Denim at least deadens the impact... a little. I ride year round, every day back and forth to work. But it all comes down to personal choice for most folks. It ain't because they're poor. Sorry, but that just doesn't cut it.

Here's an idea, don't hold other folks to your personal standards. You won't get pissed off when they fail to meet your standards then. But then, we're all -- as bikers or M/C enthusiasts -- held to the same standard when being judged by folks that don't ride. Doesn't matter that I'm a safe and responsible rider wearing full pro-gear, the fact that I ride an old Gix 1100 means to your average soccermom trying to cut me off in traffic that I'm a wheelie-popping hooligan. Or if I'm on my HD I'm some kind of Hell's Angel.

Perceptions. And personal choices. Get used to them. And face the facts that most younger riders don't know the difference between risk and gamble.

Just my .02 :cursing

 

[fireforeffect49]

First of all, let me preface this by saying - don't put words in my mouth. I never said blacks were drug addicts, or latinos are illegal. :rolleyes .

Okay, 1st of all, I wasn't putting words in your mouth. Not sure how you got to that... I was pointing out a blatant generalization that you posted on a web forum.

Most certainly a great majority of the sportbike crowd are younger people who don't have the best credit, or the best high paying jobs.

Won't disagree w/ you here, for the most part.

We're not all balding, middle aged guys on 80's sportbikes.

Neither am I.

It may be a generalization but it's certainly true : Owning, maintaining, and riding sportbikes is an expensive hobby. A lot of people want to ride, but don't have the serious cash to dump down on quality gear, so they go cheap or go without it. A lot of young people ride sport bikes, and they aren't rich by any stretch of the imagination. This isn't the only reason why people don't have gear or good gear, but i'm sure it has *something* to do with it.

Do agree w/ you on this. When I bought my 1st bike, I had already bought gloves, boots, jacket and helmet before I picked the bike up. But then that was a personal choice. I didn't have to and I didn't exactly have the money. Everything went on the credit card since I took a small signature loan out for the bike (I was in college at the time).

Preference is one thing, but gear isn't cheap. I paid 1/5th of what I spent total for my bike on gear. I really do believe money is a contributing factor as to why some of these people don't have gear on. Style/preference also is a factor, but money surely plays a part somewhere along the line.

But gear doesn't have to be expensive!!! All you have to do is look around and anyone can find decent deals on quality gear. Ebay. Closeouts. Shops going out of business. Buddies looking to trade up a notch w/ gear. Magazine loss leader ads. Hell, BIKE(UK) magazine did an article a few months back and the price difference and quality comparison of two complete riding gear setups. One was somewhere around $3k and the scrimp price was close to $600. Quality comparisons were damn near the same except for a few, "these boots are a little stiff until broken in" and "the helmet is a little loud at first" kind of stuff. In many cases the lower priced stuff came out ahead quality-wise to the expensive name-brand gear. Too often you're paying for the name on your jacket instead of the quality built into it. I'd hedge my bets that a lot of folks are waiting until they can get exactly what they want (I call that "style") instead of buying gear that's w/in their price range but just isn't cool enough to be seen in. Ain't becasue they're broke. Smart and savvy trumps broke any day of the week, but then a lot of younger folks aren't smart or savvy because they don't listen or no one is looking out for them.

As a point of dis-interest, I just had a jacket custom made for me over here in Korea: 1.5mm leather, vented, full armor, etc... and it fits my 6'5" frame for $250. I took advantage of the exisiting situation. Guy that made the jacket also makes production jackets for Icon and A*. I paid attention. And I had a pair of calf-high size 15 boots made for $140 that fit like gloves. Again, paying attention and not high prices. But it was my choice to do it. I can go out and pay retail prices for stuff, and even over here the prices are similar to the States for name brand gear unless it falls of the back of a truck. I choose to spend my money wisely and get the best quality I can for the buck I pay. I can and is done by a lot of folks on this forum and in the bike world in general.

 

[fireforeffect49]

i wear t shirt , wind pants , new balance , no gloves but a helment because of the damn law ....why does everyone dress for the freaking race track just to go out cruising ???? whatever i guess

BING!! BING!! BING!!

We have a winner!!

:wacko

Point proven, case closed.

Next!

 

[fireforeffect49]

I'm sure they don't. Just saying "Florida" in the sentence says it all. When I used to ride down to the panhandle on long day rides, I'd see guys riding w/ no shirts on, flip flops, shorts and invariably I'd see or hear of a bike wreck where the rider was wearing shorts and a tank top and no helmet or gloves -- 1 vehicle accident or victim of a magic left. Being "cool" is one thing no matter what the meaning of the word; protecting yourself from possible incapacitation is another. And w/ the way I saw most folks riding in normal traffic, it didn't surprise me. Couple the flipflop-no-helmet-wearing rider w/ a too-fast-to-react-in-and-out-of-traffic riding style and Darwin will catch up sooner than later.

 

[fireforeffect49]

This won't go over real popular here, but there are a couple places that make leather "overpants" for harley/cruiser riders that may be more along the lines of what you want for back and forth "to work" riding. Similar to chaps but includes the crotch and external pockets and zips down the outside leg. If you buy textile pants 1 size big, should accomplish the same thing.

I took a picture of a pair of FAAMZ pants to a local guy down outside Osan Airbase (same guy that did my jacket) and he knocked 'em off for $200 using 1.3-4mm leather w/ expansion panels and neoprene at the crotch and behind the knees. Fit like a glove. But, I'd never be able to get that done at home. Oh, the things I'm going to have made before I head home later this fall, like a 1-piece suit (try finding one off the rack for a 6'5" guy w/ a 52" chest and 36" inseam!).

 

[fireforeffect49]

I still don't agree w/ making a law to enforce full gear. Again, comes down to personal choice. I wear a seatbelt and I wear a helmet all the time, not becauese the law says so, but because I have enough common sense to know the repercussions of not doing so. However, a law will never be passed telling folks what they can and can't wear clothes-wise -- it's too much of an infringment on civil liberties and would be declared unconstitutional very quickly. All we can do as responsible riders is continue to point out to the retards that what they're choosing to do is irresponsible. If they choose to not listen, their choice, not ours. As for the guy that bought his friends leathers, props to him, he's a hero in every sense of the word. Selflessness along those lines is rarely seen anymore.

 

[fireforeffect49]

I recall an argument where the guy said something to the effect of "its because I've been riding for xx years and I've gotten really good at riding wheelies. I've just gotten so comfortable with it that I know I'm not gonna go down.

Name Indian Larry mean anything to anyone? I'm sure he wasn't planning to lose control and crash, but it happened and he's dead from head trauma.

 

[fireforeffect49]

In response to the original poster I think its not your place to judge the people not wearing gear. Let them do what they want and if they learn the hard way then oh well.

Wrong. It's a personal and subjective judgement based on our personal experiences and beliefs. It's our right to judge. And it's your right to not agree w/ our opinion.

 

[fireforeffect49]

But that's what I'm talkin' about. Typical American Beers.

I was wondering that too until you qualified it. American "domestic" beer is nothing short of watered down horse piss. Having a wife that's a Brit and being stationed in Germany twice will change your taste in beer in a heartbeat. Love Guiness (pint after pint!), Castlemain XXXX, Newky Brown, McEwan's Export (good 'ol Red Death!) and the nastiest bier in the Fatherland, Purminator. Beer w/ body and flavor makes US domestic beer taste like water... which is mostly is.

And Street-Assassin, it ain't about feeling better about yourself if/when you judge folks. It's a basic human reaction that helps you quantify and understand others. You're categorizing things based on your experiences and beliefs. I'd probably still ride w/ you even if you don't wear gear, but would wonder why a lot.

 

[fireforeffect49]

You wouldn't be disappointed. There are so many micro-breweries w/ local only beers that it leaves the possibilities entirely open. There's one in teh PacNW that will not bottle its beer, Edgefield Brewing. They own a chain of small pubs in Oregon only called McMenniman's and do typical pub grub. They have a stout, Terminator Stout, that is to me hands down better than Guiness, but I can only get it when I go home on leave, and that isn't all that often. Spent many a long summer evening w/ my closest friends drinking beer on their outdoor patios or winter evenings while I was in college sunk into a deep overstuffed chair next to a fireplace drinking Terminator.

I really miss it. A lot.