T Shirt When On Your Bike

I bet they still beat you though

(Funny how the the onus changes; some say you can crash at any speed, others suggest that higher bhp requires more protection. But no-one has shown any stats for anything. Fact is most people who don't wear the full riot patrol gear get to live long and gravel-rash-free lives. Funny old world innit).

 

i always follow what the locals wear, italy was shorts and 't', usa was a bandana and shades

 

Just got back from Nice in France and most bikers there wear t shirt and shorts maybe jeans and leather jacket tops.The amount of local bikers I spotted on the promenade des anglais has to be seen to be believed.Only a very few out of thousands bother with leathers but then its fucking hot there.

Personally I loved watching them weave through 4 lanes of traffic and pull a fecking great wheelie for as long as possible in vest top and shorts with open faced lid.Everyone was at it even the young lads on scoots managed to pull long wheelies while stood on the seat.Great stuff.They seem to have the free spirit that is missing in the UK biking scene.

What a great place and stunning women everywhere.No fat scruffy slags in leggings for sure.If you have a bike go there as its a mecca for two wheels.Just remember to ride it like ya stole it and forget the power ranger gear and rip down the promenade in a nice Gucci suit instead.

 

I reckon to really find out how cool the French are with their riding attire, a day in a French A&E should tell you all you need to know. Clearly, all the people you see are looking very cool - because they aren't the ones in hospital.

But I agree, if I were just going to café hop in Nice, I wouldn't be wearing my power ranger gear either. It's just way too hot for it. But if I was going from Nice to Toulon, I would, no matter how hot it is. My choice, my sweat, my skin.
I dumped a Kawasaki 250 on the way to work in Sydney in suit trouser and office shoes and it bloody hurt. Sydney has a climate very similar to the Côte d'Azur. I got the message. i didn't need telling again.

For Fig: of course a lot of people don't wear the gear and live long and happy lives. A lot of people would also live long and happy lives if they didn't wear a seatbelt (they don't in Moscow). A lot of divers would have a whole lifetime of happy diving without an octopus rig, and no doubt a lot of alpinists could leave their rope at home because they are never going to fall off a mountain.

I really do struggle with your logic on this one, as it is so obvious that a significant number of people will die or live miserable lives because they didn't wear the leathers, or the seatbelt, or dived without an octopus rig or failed to rope themselves to a buddy. Still, at the end of the day, what do I care? Answer: I don't. Do what you damned well please and see if I lose any sleep about it.

 

Someone obviously cares, cos we get the same thread about ten times a year...

What grinds my gears is that people come onto forums and rant at other people they've never met or know anything about just because they're not wearing the same kit. (We must be due another 'why everyone should wear an Arai' thread soon, surely). The same people will say they never ride in inappropriate gear, ever. Funny that, cos in the last couple of weeks I've not seen a single biker in full leathers. Not one. Do these people put their bikes away when the sun comes out..?

And if it's not forum dwellers tolling the bell of doom, it's the sweeney. I got the usual lecture off a cop in Gloucester when I lived there - 'You don't see what we see, you don't have to scrape the bodies off the tarmac, etc' - Until I pointed out that he lived in the same area as me and I'd seen him riding round the fields in shorts and no lid - with his kids on the back, suitable unattired...

We all know what we should be wearing, and for most of the time we do wear it. What we don't need is constantly lecturing about it.

 

And a significant number will die in full Dainese and Arai...

 

Leather does 'contain' things better though, if I'd have been wearing denim (or shorts) it's quite probable this piece of my femur would have exited the back of my leg above the knee. With the femoral artery in the vicinity the dangers are obvious

 

at the end of the day it all depends on your attitude towards risk, personally i'm self employed and have a young child so i have to work to earn, therefore i do not ride without wearing protective gear just in case. By that i do not mean full leathers all the time, but i do wear gear which will give me a higher level of crash protection than a t shirt and shorts. I don't go out planning to crash, i try to ride to the conditions and visibility level but experience has taught me that i cannot predict everything so i wear the gear just in case. I know that if i was involved in a 'big one' everything is still in the lap of the gods, leather and armour can only do so much, but it is designed to reduce the impact and severity of an accident...

I do understand why people want to ride in t shirts, i also understand that people have ridden like that, perfectly safely for many years without having an accident, what you wear is not going to affect the chances of an accident occuring. If you want to ride like that then crack on, it doesn't affect me.

Attitudes towards risk do vary from person to person, what one finds acceptable another will not. I've had a couple of accidents and wearing the right gear has saved me (and my wife) from some nasty injuries, this has helped me form my attitude towards protective gear. If you've ridden for years without wearing protective gear and not hurt yourself in the inevitable offs then your attitude will be different.

I think the only thing that i do get nervous about is hearing people say things like 'i'll be ok, i won't crash', none of us plan to crash and we all make mistakes. there is a big difference between accepting the risks and believing that they don't apply to you...

 

On my trips in the US, I had sections when I was crossing places like Death Valley where the roads still have plenty of bends (contrary to popular myth there are plenty of winding roads in the US) but the roads are perfect surfaces, the traffic volumes are very low and visibility is miles ahead. Given it was hot and I was riding solo, I lost the jacket and was only in kevlar jeans anyway. Honestly, it does feel rebellious when you're used to full leather and on one section I ended up coming into a larger town and hitting lots of urban traffic and did feel vulnerable. In Utah, you can ride without a helmet as well, just shades and a bandana.

So I've ridden like that abroad but I'd never ride like that in the UK: way more traffic, roads surfaces are variable and different overall environment.

I'm not one to criticise anyone else who is potentially putting themselves at risk as I believe in free choice. I am critical of anyone who is riding in full gear and has a pillion, often their own child, with little protection and a borrowed (ill-fitting) helmet. I would say the rule should be the pillion has the same or greater protection than the rider.

 

must confess, i did it as a teenager, the thought of it now churns my stomach

 

Thats the bike covered, what will you be wearing?

 

covered in what tho?

 

Nowadays for me it's ankle protection, gloves, and a jacket with elbow and shoulder protection. To be honest I'm not fussed about whether it's leather or textile, whatever suits the prevailing conditions. That covers my general dodging about kit, if I'm out for a thrash I hit the full leathers.

Do I care about crashing? - Yes. Do I think about crashing..? - No.

 

wear whatever you want, I have done my four days in a french hospital getting the gravel picked out of my arms, legs hands and arse. French hospitals are much better than UK ones I thought. Beer or wine with lunch and dinner, I chose rose as it was very nice and so refreshing. They even fed my girlfriend too, though she wasnt even on the bike when I launched it. The Gendarmes and the Pompiers came to see me and had a laugh at my expense (they had scraped me and the bike off the road). Thoroughly memorable all in all. Tip top event in fact

 

Anyone who has fell off when not wearing gloves won't make that mistake again, well I won't anyway.

 

I like to play guitar, so not wearing gloves would just be silly.