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View Poll Results: Helmets? | |||
My state requires helmets and I always wear them! | 44 | 58.67% | |
My state doesn't require helmets and I always wear them! | 26 | 34.67% | |
My state requires helmets and I sometimes wear them! | 2 | 2.67% | |
My state doesn't require helmets and I sometimes wear them! | 3 | 4.00% | |
My state requires helmets and I DO NOT wear them! | 0 | 0% | |
My state doesn't require helmets and I DO NOT wear them! | 0 | 0% | |
Voters: 75. You may not vote on this poll |
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Thread Tools |
August 7th, 2013, 05:52 PM | #1 |
Towster ['__'`,-,
Name: Josh
Location: San Diego, CA
Join Date: Jan 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Green Ninja 250 SE Posts: 379
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Helmet or No Helmet?
I am interested to know. You guys go helmetless?
Just visited Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri last week and I was VERY astounded to see motorcyclists without helmets. I always assumed it was a nationwide law. Since this was my first trip east of the mississippi since I have started riding, I immediately noticed it. I have no idea why people would ever think it is safe. It makes no sense to me. Even crashing at 25 MPH without a helmet is surely deadly, let alone at highway speeds. Anyone who does not wear a helmet: explain your logic for the rest of us. |
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August 7th, 2013, 05:57 PM | #2 |
Private Joker
Name: Ben
Location: Towson, MD
Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): '99/'01 Ninja 250 "sketchy", '13 Ninja 300 "yoshi", '03 GSXR 600 "merlin" Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '14
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as someone who always wears a full face helmet and has had a visor broken by a rock kicked up from a truck. I like being able to see and would much rather buy a new smoked visor than lose an eye, not to mention all the other things that would regularly hit my face (bugs/dirt)
to not wear a helmet to me is like going out on a very uncomfortable suicide run |
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August 7th, 2013, 06:02 PM | #3 |
Towster ['__'`,-,
Name: Josh
Location: San Diego, CA
Join Date: Jan 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Green Ninja 250 SE Posts: 379
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August 7th, 2013, 06:04 PM | #4 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Fish
Location: co
Join Date: Apr 2013 Motorcycle(s): 250/300 Posts: A lot.
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what can I say. i like to feel like the Taliban.
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Hey Unregistered never go faster than your brakes can be applied... |
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August 7th, 2013, 06:08 PM | #5 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Garrett
Location: Illinois - Midwest USA
Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): ZX-3R (ok, ex300) Posts: 160
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Pretty uncommon for people to wear helmets here. You can definitely move around better and see better. If I'm just commuting/joy riding I don't wear one. If I'm going out to ride aggressively I'll wear one. It's a trade off between comfort/freedom and safety. Nobody is claiming that it's safe or smart, but it definitely feels better off. You definitely need to understand the risk, and most people will tell you "yeah I know I should but..."
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August 7th, 2013, 06:08 PM | #6 |
dirty old man
Name: Chris
Location: Hazel Green, AL
Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): Blue '08 Ninja 250 Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
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Only helmet I have ever worn is a full face,
Well said Sirref. nb
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Death tugs at my ear and says, "Live, I am coming." -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894) www.friendsofsanonofre.org |
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August 7th, 2013, 06:09 PM | #7 |
I ride like a granny
Name: Isabelle
Location: Minneapolis
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250R - EX250F Posts: 521
Blog Entries: 1
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Oops. I voted for "My state requires helmets and I wear them!" but Minnesota does not, in fact, require helmets.
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WANTED for 88-07 Ninja 250: Corbin Gunfighter & Lady seat |
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August 7th, 2013, 06:11 PM | #8 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Garrett
Location: Illinois - Midwest USA
Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): ZX-3R (ok, ex300) Posts: 160
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August 7th, 2013, 06:36 PM | #9 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Aaron
Location: New Orleans
Join Date: Oct 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2013 Ninja 300 Posts: 159
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I've been hit by enough bugs and rocks both on the motorcycle and on my mtn bike. On the former, I have a jacket and full face helmet and it only hurts when they hit my arm. On the latter, all I have is my ice-chest on my head and a set of sunglasses and those bugs & rocks hurt. Given the option, I'll wear the helmet. Rocks hurt, blindness would suck.
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~B. |
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August 7th, 2013, 06:47 PM | #10 |
Certifiable nontundrum
Name: Harper
Location: NC Milkshake stand
Join Date: Mar 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2013 SE NINJA 300 Posts: Too much.
MOTM - Sep '13, Sep '16
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Florida doesn't require one for folks of a certain age, I'm over that age but I def wear my helmet most anytime I'm on my bike. If I'm just going slow around the Parkin lot, moving around I may not put it on, but if I head out into the wide world it's on like bing bong
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August 7th, 2013, 06:49 PM | #11 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Justin
Location: Fresno CA
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): 12' Ninja 250 Posts: 831
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August 7th, 2013, 06:51 PM | #12 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Garrett
Location: Illinois - Midwest USA
Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): ZX-3R (ok, ex300) Posts: 160
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I'll give you that. I have one helmet and it's a cheap one. I plan to buy a nice one on vacation here in a couple weeks. But no helmet is still more comfortable than a nice helmet.
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August 7th, 2013, 07:05 PM | #13 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Kevin
Location: central Illinois
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2011 Green 250R Posts: 346
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Not many wear helmets in Illinois, I'd guess 95% of Harley riders don't wear them and 50% of the rest of the riders don't wear them.
Thins out the Gene pool. Here's a Harley co-worker that low sided in July. |
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August 7th, 2013, 07:12 PM | #14 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Murphey
Location: Eastern Washington
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2002 Honda 919, 2004 Ninja 500R NAKED Posts: A lot.
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NOT wearing a helmet is uncomfortable. Everything is so noisy too. I've ridden around parking lots and what not helmetless and going 25 feels like I'm flying and makes my bike sound like a beast. I'll never legitimately ride without one. To each their own.
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August 7th, 2013, 07:37 PM | #15 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Leia
Location: PA
Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250 Posts: 49
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I voted that my state doesn't require them (but I wear one). My state REQUIRES one within 2 years of getting your M license, but not after that.
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August 7th, 2013, 07:42 PM | #16 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Adam
Location: Ohio
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2004 Ninja 250 Posts: 178
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Here in Ohio I see riders without helmets all the time. At least 50% of the riders I pass are wearing nothing more than a t shirt and shorts. Makes me look like the ATGATT ninja everywhere I go. Oh well.
My uncle is one that rarely wears helmets. He claims that he can see better without one and when the Lord wants him to come home, it'll happen with or without a helmet on. I think both of those arguments are bs excuses not to look silly around the Harley group he rides with, but that's just me. The few times he does wear a helmet, it's a german-style that he bought at Iron Pony on sale. "They were 2 for $30! You can't beat that deal!" |
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August 7th, 2013, 07:49 PM | #18 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Garrett
Location: Illinois - Midwest USA
Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): ZX-3R (ok, ex300) Posts: 160
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And if you go down put yourself under the bike. Skin grows back, paint doesn't.. Lol
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August 7th, 2013, 08:20 PM | #19 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Rick
Location: Alexandria, Louisiana
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much.
MOTY - 2017, MOTM - Jan '19, Oct '16, May '14
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I wear a helmet weather the state requires one or not.
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August 7th, 2013, 08:28 PM | #20 |
Your face
Name: Wes
Location: SF Bay Area
Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2014 Honda CBR650f Posts: A lot.
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Does it count if I wear a bicycle helmet?
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August 7th, 2013, 09:21 PM | #21 |
wat
Name: wat
Location: tustin/long beach
Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): wat Posts: Too much.
Blog Entries: 5
MOTM - Oct '12, Feb '14
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i have in fact crashed @Trailerboy531's 250 wearing no helmet, no jacket, no gloves, no boots... tucked the front! luckily my flip flops saved me from most of the damage.
does that make me a squid?
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August 7th, 2013, 10:11 PM | #22 |
Lays er down
Name: Michael
Location: Maryland
Join Date: Apr 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Lime green Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
August 8th, 2013, 01:39 AM | #23 |
Jersey Devil
Name: Daks
Location: Austin, TX
Join Date: Oct 2012 Motorcycle(s): '06 Ninja 250 Posts: 469
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It's too weird for me to even go glove-less across a parking lot. Less gear has never made me feel more "free". Only more vulnerable.
CA requires them but I'd wear one regardless. My Poppop was made fun of by his Harley friends for wearing a full-face and leathers all the time until he hit a bear in PA and the entire front of that helmet was just gouged full of scratches so deep some went all the way through the plastic. He pretty much vaulted over the bear and slid on a downhill doing like 45mph. Escaped with nothing but a broken collarbone at 67 years old. FULL FACE EVERY TIME. |
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August 8th, 2013, 04:46 AM | #24 |
Girly Gearhead <3
Name: Brittany
Location: Florida
Join Date: Jun 2013 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki Ninja 300 Posts: 129
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I live in FL, home of the helmet-less squids.
I ride geared up EVERY time I ride, I don't even make a trip around the block without my full gear. I got hit in my cage a mile down the road by TWO deer, YES TWO, so I never take chances on my bike for the mere fact you cannot predict the future: how people will drive or how environmental factors will play out.
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". . .No, it's not his. Care to demonstrate your ignorance again?" |
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August 8th, 2013, 06:42 AM | #25 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Not Applicable
Location: hamden ct
Join Date: May 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: 171
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I now wear:
snell shoei qwest gloves with armor for knuckles boots dynasei jacket with thick armor on the back Kevlar pants with knee pads I love walking into a store when it's 85F outside with all my gear on, I get the weirdest looks |
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August 8th, 2013, 07:12 AM | #26 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Fox
Location: Boston
Join Date: May 2012 Motorcycle(s): 08 250R Posts: 881
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no helmet makes no sense.
It's not comfortable to have bugs and rocks in my face. Sometimes people are so thick-headed that they need to experience something themselves in order to see the risk. Thankfully my helmet and gear lessons were learned while younger, and at lower speeds, while participating in far different sports that still provide similar risks. |
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August 8th, 2013, 07:20 AM | #27 |
Que Buenos Son!!!
Name: Ryan
Location: Grovetucky, OH
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia Shiver 750, Husaberg FE 450, Ninja 300 (sold), xr100 Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Nov '14
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I've worn a full face helmet since I was a little kid riding dirtbikes. I wouldn't ride with anything less.
I've ridden a handful of times without a helmet and it was terrible, and that was only down the street or around a parking lot. I can't imagine riding on the highway without a helmet. I honestly don't think I could do it, unless I was on something with a big windscreen.
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Don't do something because it's easy,.. Do it because it's not! If you aren't going forward, then you're falling behind. "Drive it like you stole it"!!! |
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August 8th, 2013, 07:36 AM | #28 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Fox
Location: Boston
Join Date: May 2012 Motorcycle(s): 08 250R Posts: 881
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an acquaintance once told me a story once that her friends husband fell while practicing figure 8's in a parking lot without a helmet, hit his head on a parking curb, and died. no lie
I'm not sure if I want to believe her or if it was one of those circulating fables out there, but I could see it happening for sure. Sometimes you just hit your head wrong, and it's lights out. |
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August 8th, 2013, 07:51 AM | #29 |
Que Buenos Son!!!
Name: Ryan
Location: Grovetucky, OH
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia Shiver 750, Husaberg FE 450, Ninja 300 (sold), xr100 Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Nov '14
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My Grandma had a good friend that rode without a helmet. He crashed one day and suffered mild head trauma. Even though he lost most of his short term memory he continued to ride without a helmet.
He had another crash, and was basically brain dead after that. Think about the emotional and financial burden that he put on his family. It all could have been avoided if he would have just worn a helmet. I hate the mentality that wearing a helmet or gear doesn't matter because if you wreck on a bike you're dead anyway. What if you don't die?., and then you have a lifetime of pain and endless medical bill. That's just stupid.
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Don't do something because it's easy,.. Do it because it's not! If you aren't going forward, then you're falling behind. "Drive it like you stole it"!!! |
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August 8th, 2013, 08:10 AM | #30 |
Daily Jap rider
Name: Lance
Location: La Porte
Join Date: Dec 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250r Posts: A lot.
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Saying that you don't wear a helmet when your are just going a short distance or down the road, but when you go on longer or more aggressive rides you do has to be the most retarded thing I have ever heard. Most accidents happen within 1-2 miles of your destination. Plus you don't even have to be moving to be killed. I was at a dead stop, about 300 yds from my doorstep, waiting to turn when a van was pushed over into my turn lane by another car. Van came head on towards me and missed me by about a foot. No helmet, would have died for sure; helmet, would have been beat up pretty bad, but more than likely would have survived. Dont' want to wear a jacket and gloves, whatever that's your choice, but at least wear the helmet, especially on short rides. I truely hate that states have no helmet laws, blows my mind.
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August 8th, 2013, 08:38 AM | #31 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Fox
Location: Boston
Join Date: May 2012 Motorcycle(s): 08 250R Posts: 881
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I don't think the helmet laws do much anyway.
the guys who don't want to wear a helmet in the states that require them wear tiny skullcaps that really aren't going to do anything more than a baseball cap to protect you. They're there just because they have to be to avoid getting pulled over. I live in a state that requires helmets, but is surrounded by states that don't. It blows my mind when I drive into the surrounding states and see guys on 1000cc sportbikes ripping down the road well in excess of the speed limit, just sunglasses on their head and a helmet strapped to the side of their bike in case they have to cross the boarder. |
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August 8th, 2013, 08:45 AM | #32 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Garrett
Location: Illinois - Midwest USA
Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): ZX-3R (ok, ex300) Posts: 160
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blows my mind that the state feels the need to tell me how to live my life. same goes for seatbelt laws.
if insurance wants to put a policy in place that states they won't pay out for injuries unless you wear helmet/seatbelt, I'd be all for that. but to have it dictated by a government is completely wrong. it's not the government's job to protect me from me.. |
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August 8th, 2013, 08:49 AM | #33 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Michael
Location: MI
Join Date: Aug 2011 Motorcycle(s): Honda Elite 110 (deceased), Green 2012 Ninja 250 (sold on Pi day); Grey/Green 2019 Ninja 400 ABS Posts: 238
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I did, once. My Coocase had (has? I think I fixed it, that's another thread) an issue where the lock jammed. I'm out in the world and my helmet is locked in a case I can't open.
Fortunately I'm only a short distance to home, but I didn't enjoy it a bit. Kept thinking "this is a stupid way to die." Would've been, too, if something had gone wrong. I've read of bicyclists falling over at 0mph and dying from hitting concrete. I've slipped on ice riding nothing at all and been saved only by good ukemi (falling). I've also had everything from pebbles to junebugs, and a near-miss by a wild turkey, come at my head while riding; I don't want any of those in my face. Sure, I lose a bit of the extreme peripheral vision, but a normal scanning pattern picks that up anyway, and it's a lot easier to see without wind in your eyes. It's *easier* to hear things other than wind with a helmet and ear plugs. What exactly is the downside to a helmet? Mussy hair? |
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August 8th, 2013, 08:53 AM | #34 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Michael
Location: MI
Join Date: Aug 2011 Motorcycle(s): Honda Elite 110 (deceased), Green 2012 Ninja 250 (sold on Pi day); Grey/Green 2019 Ninja 400 ABS Posts: 238
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Quote:
I'm actually irritated by actuarial systems (whether state-run or private insurance) because one of their consequences is that we end up financially responsible collectively for each others' decisions. We (humans) already have enough proclivity toward wanting to rule each other, this just gives us another excuse. |
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August 8th, 2013, 09:09 AM | #35 | |
Daily Jap rider
Name: Lance
Location: La Porte
Join Date: Dec 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250r Posts: A lot.
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Quote:
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August 8th, 2013, 09:11 AM | #36 | |
Daily Jap rider
Name: Lance
Location: La Porte
Join Date: Dec 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250r Posts: A lot.
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Quote:
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August 8th, 2013, 09:14 AM | #37 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Whodat
Location: Ware Is.,MA
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14
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There wasn't a "wear helmet sometimes" so I had to put no helmet.
I'm too beautiful for a helmet. Women lust after me and so do too many men. Besides, Gixxer riders are the greatest riders so we don't need helmets. I do wear a helmet on many occassions; highway riding, running from the cops, it's so hot I don't want to fry my head, riding with a group of knuckleheads, and on the track (just because they make you). I do always wear gloves. Should you crash, the first thing you do is put your hands out to break the fall. I have to add that I ride very slow and cautious.
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If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough! |
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August 8th, 2013, 09:16 AM | #38 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Michael
Location: MI
Join Date: Aug 2011 Motorcycle(s): Honda Elite 110 (deceased), Green 2012 Ninja 250 (sold on Pi day); Grey/Green 2019 Ninja 400 ABS Posts: 238
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Quote:
If you're interested in being an individual, consider advocating for laws that reflect that. For instance, MI's newish no-helmet law requires riders to carry additional insurance if they want to legally ride sans helmet. Do they all? Maybe not, but if they crash we (everyone else in a policy group) have limited our liability 'cause they didn't do the required. If they do carry the insurance, then that risk is accounted for there and also doesn't become my problem. |
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August 8th, 2013, 09:24 AM | #40 | |
Daily Jap rider
Name: Lance
Location: La Porte
Join Date: Dec 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250r Posts: A lot.
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Quote:
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