Safe Speed Forums

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't
I have an armour plated jacket and over trousers. Also kevlar/carbon gloves and Nolan full face helmet.

On the other hand on a hot day I sometimes ride open face helmet, fingerless gloves and a tee shirt and jeans.

Its my choice. Anyone who trys to lecture me on it can go swivel..

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Speed camera policy Kills

And you know the speedo is "bang on the money" in the accuracy stakes do you?


They were the good old days.
I remember the day that I turned 17 and came home with a Kawasaki KH250 S1 (the S1 was the fastest KH250 variant ever officially made). All my mates were gagging for a go because it made their RD's & X7's look positively stupid.
I sold that within a month of buying it and replaced it with a Suzuki GSX 750 ET (16 valve), which saw me through many years of reliable service.


And I wonder when the "nanny state" will force wannabe car drivers through the same sort of procedures that motorcyclists have to go through??

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the current crop of requirements for riding a motorcycle are responsible for helping to keep the "pizza boy brigade" off of the mortuary slab, but why on earth are we still allowing the self same "pizza boy" to get behind the wheel of mummy's Scooby only 5 minutes after he has taken his test in a matchbox car that produces less BHP than the starter motor on my bike?

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

Unfortunatly my mum has never had road rash, so was not able to advise me.

Hence in a pair of jeans, i removed the front of my knees to the bone. took 3 months for them to heal, and still have joint problems after all these years, as it not only removes skin, but also cartaledge..

Hence my children are lucky enough to have their father to explain the road rash and supply the scars. Hence my kids never ride without armour.

The armour was purchased before the bikes, it must take priority.

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Steve

I don't think there's any argument about armour being better than no armour, but for people on a tight budget it's not always possible to get all the gear first. When I first got into biking I was a poor student and every penny was a struggle. I simply couldn't afford to go out and spend all that money, it was diffficult enough getting a bike! It was probably 4 or 5 years before I was able to look at my kit and say 'Yup, that's all the stuff I need'.

Of course, if I had kids I'm sure I would make sure they were properly kitted out before they would even be allowed to ride pillion, never mind get a bike of their own. And that's without the scars to point at.

Getting the right kit is an on-going process. If you want to take it to the max you can spend £2K on gear if you wanted to. I have had dicks lecture me on the fact I never spent over£200+ on a helmet. Yet all the helmets expensive or cheap have to be type approved so offer an acceptable level of safety to go on sale.

It IS important to collect your own gear and not rely on borrowing other peoples. It took me 4 years before I got everything I was happy with. I traded up whenever I could afford. My first helmet was polycarb and cost £45 may latest composite one I bought in a sale a couple of years ago.

It was fun trawling through the offers at bike shows and rallys to collect the things I wanted.

I have had the kids ride with me since they were 12. My middle daughter is now 16 and passed her CBT in January. She now uses the family scooter to get around. I expect she will want to take her test when she is 17.

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Speed camera policy Kills

£200 is about the average for good quality helmet nowadays.



British standard, is the minimum required.

ACU approved standard, which has achieved a higher testing standard, that being the minimum standard to race with.

I will not purchase one without the ACU approval, i replace my helmet & my kids helmet's every year. My daughter has had 2 helmets in the last 12 months, kids just do not know how important it is to keep them in the condition they get them in.



Could not agree more, i always get a good bargain at ally pally.

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Steve

All those 16 year olds that are out there on mopeds are someones son or daughter, that may not always have another family member to give sensible advice and ensure they wearing the right clothing.

This is why, i would like to see a clothing standard brought in.

This would have a significant reduction in injuries from m.cycle accidents.

We only need look around in the summer, riders out their on R1's in T shirt & shorts, the inexperianced see that and see it as acceptable.

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Steve

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No dilusion, you are not permitted on a track without Gold ACU standard.

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Steve

No stats that i have seen.

I am 100% positive that a rider wearing armour will be protected far better than a rider in a T shirt & shorts.

Unless you have evidence to the contrary

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Steve

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Let those who ride decide.

The world is full of bikers who like (insist) on giving advice on how they do it right and everybody else does it wrong.

Motorcycling is full of some of the biggest bullsh*ters I have ever met.

I prefer to make my own mind up. Mostly I ride without the "Judge Dread" gear on. Makes me feel like a twat. I ride helmet free in countries I am alowed to.

Motorcycling is about "freedom" in every sence. Thais includes freedom of choice. If I chose to ignore advice that is my call.

Personaly I think that anyone who smokes is far dafter than someone who rides helmet free. It is also a far bigger risk to your life! but then that is only my opinion.

If personal safety becomes the overriding criteria I will sell the bike and go and buy a VOLVO

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Speed camera policy Kills

Take a low speed slide down the road in a T shirt & shorts and your next destination is the A & E, without doubt.

Take a slide down the road with armour, and you have far better chances of walking away, with a dented bike & pride.



What a rider wears will not prevent the accident, what the rider wear's will effect how a rider is injured

Armour will not provide 100% protection, a T shirt & shorts will give you NO protection

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Steve

Yeah. Our kart club once bought a consignment of 12 new helmets. The retailer obviously just forwarded them on to us in the same state they were received from the wholesaler. The stickers were in a seperate packet inside the cartons, we could have applied them to any of our helmets - not that this would have made any sense of course.



I'm sure nobody is under the delusion that 'full combat kit' so to speak will protect them in a more severe incident. But personally, if it means I'm not presenting the NHS with yet another burden of self-inflicted injury with a bacon sliced arm/leg or whatever, I'll wear it thanks.

[Edit]
Umm, BMWK12 said just about the same thing but nipped in a minute before me.
Well at least we agree on this one

We do indeed

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Steve

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I agree 100%...But its a bit like sex, if you have never tried it you will never know, all you have are you petty prejudices and "assumptions"....every ones and expert....

The trouble is in this country we have become indoctrinated. Over 30 US states have now gone helmet free. There is NO evidence that fatalities have gone up as a result.

If one day I am forced to dress up like some kind of leather Telly Tubby Twat to get on my bike because the Euro law makers have got their head up their ass I will hang my bike keys up in this country. At least I can always find somewhere in the world where I can rent a scoot and ride free.

This is me out for a ride in Selina Kansas late last year. Helmet...no, Leather...no. Happy....hell yeh.

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Speed camera policy Kills