Author Topic: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con  (Read 18312 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline DaveB

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 70
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #15 on: January 02, 2014, 01:06:22 PM »
I always want all the protection I can get. Racing off road bikes for years has taught me this.

I'll comment on some of my experiences. During an enduro I went down and could tell my head hit hard, but not enough to make me even fuzzy minded. Later I was looking at my good quality Bell helmet and the jaw part around the front was seriously cracked. I'm glad this wasn't my face that took that hit with the ground or handlebars or rock or whatever. Another time I was play riding and endoed on a diversion ditch. I had on a helmet but no armor. My left shoulder was seriously messed up and I spent considerable hospital time. I remember my head and shoulder grinding along on the ground just after going over the bars. I'm glad I had on a helmet and wish I had had on shoulder pads. The only time I was ever knocked cold was sledding in the snow. Obviously no helmet.

There have been several times while wearing a helmet and armor that I have went down hard, got up, dusted myself off and kept going. Having crashed with and without protective gear (I'm a professional.......crasher) I choose the protective gear.

I feel so strongly about safety gear that I bought one of those riding jackets with armor built in for when I ride on the street. All three of my helmets are full face.
Everything I know about opera, I learned from Bugs Bunny.

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #16 on: January 03, 2014, 12:39:35 AM »
One Saturday I rode all around Portland and tried on all of the different helmet brands.  Often I sat on a showroom bike or my scoot out in the parking lot to see how the helmet worked when down on the tank.  It took all day.  Most were pretty similar as per forward vision when hunched over on the tank.  There was a noticeable difference for the better on one or two.  The Shoei Qwest is what I bought.

Offline Tman

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3672
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #17 on: January 03, 2014, 09:45:27 AM »
Dean makes an excellent post about extreme sports and technical levels. I ride mountainbike and have seen things escalating for the last 15-20 years. Just locally here we have had to tragic accidents with weekend downhillers. One is paralyzed and one dead, the dead one hit a tree with his upper body and helmet. I have been down hard on moto cycle and bicycle and saved by the helmets but when the insanity level gets to a certain point you have to take stock and see what really matters. Hard for some of us competitive types to do.

Offline Bob Wanner

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 379
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #18 on: January 03, 2014, 03:34:42 PM »
  "1. You are required by law to have the insurance."
Unless you choose not to, then you are up for a fine that's probably less than what you'd pay for the insurance,  and you are still "entitled" to medical care
Between Ins $ hikes and the tax increases that will pick up what's not covered by the hikes , the cost will probably outspend any other US budget item.
Maybe we should all volunteer to be on a Med Insurance Assigned Risk Category ? 
I could make a good argument on why a sedate Library haunting/tomato grower type should pay the same premiums as people the same age with very active physical life styles.
Nomex on...BW 

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #19 on: January 03, 2014, 05:50:36 PM »
Bob;

" "1. You are required by law to have the insurance."
Unless you choose not to, then you are up for a fine that's probably less than what you'd pay for the insurance,..."

The fine is low the first year and then it escalates rapidly. The present regime's ultimate goal is to eliminate all insurance companies and have the government provide all medical care, supported by increased taxes.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ  (Carbon-X suit on) 
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline Buickguy3

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1026
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #20 on: January 03, 2014, 05:53:12 PM »
   More "executive orders" today, and we've got three more years of this guy. Don't know if we'll last.
     Doug  :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
I keep going faster and faster and I don't know why. All I have to do is live and die.
                   [America]

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

  • Nancy and me and the pit bike
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 13158
  • Nancy -- 201.913 mph record on a production ZX15!
    • Nancy and Jon's personal website.
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #21 on: January 03, 2014, 06:34:16 PM »
Again I'll mention the story about my Republican but now dead dad and his experience.  After Mom died Dad moved to Austria and lived with his new-found girl friend, Anna.  The declared a "life partnership" agreement - and he became, for all intents and purposes, a tax-paying but benefit receiving Austrian citizen (while staying American citizen and getting his SS checks, too).

He lived there about a dozen years - and never failed to tell me how much better the socialised medicine was than the stuff here in the States.  He would shake his head in wonder about the folks that didn't know any better - and admit that he had been one of them before he moved there.  He insisted that while taxes were higher than he paid while living in the US -- that the benefits he received - health, yes, and other things that you might not think of like better security and policing and other tax-supported items - were far and away more and less expensive than in the US.  His outlay was lower, all things considered - and his benefits received was better.

It might be hard to swallow -- but maybe our system in America is NOT the best of all possible worlds.  Over to you.  And by the way, helmets are required in Austria for bikes but not cars.  Britain requires leathers as well as helmets, right?
Jon E. Wennerberg
 a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim
 Skandia, Michigan
 (that's way up north)
2 Club member x2
Owner of landracing.com

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #22 on: January 03, 2014, 06:54:15 PM »
If anyone thinks their socialized medecine system is better, they are perfectly free to move there.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

  • Nancy and me and the pit bike
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 13158
  • Nancy -- 201.913 mph record on a production ZX15!
    • Nancy and Jon's personal website.
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #23 on: January 03, 2014, 07:29:22 PM »
I'd rather stay in the US -- but would be happy if the medical, legal, and insurance lobbies weren't concerned first with money before health care.

Neil, I don't think we should go on too much more without taking this to a separate topic.  You're welcome to take a return shot at me -- I don't want to be guilty of saying something and then cutting off discussion before anyone can fire back, but for the sake of those that want to talk about helmets instead of stuff not quite germane to the topic -- lets take the discussion out of the room (if you'd like). :-)
Jon E. Wennerberg
 a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim
 Skandia, Michigan
 (that's way up north)
2 Club member x2
Owner of landracing.com

Offline rouse

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 563
  • Impound is the place to be
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #24 on: January 03, 2014, 08:01:52 PM »
I made a specials trip to the UK to visit Hospitals, a total of 10 in 7 days. I saw things from the inside out, and I have to tell you, what I saw was not pretty at all. I thought I had gone through a time machine back 50 years, and that my friends, is being very kind in my assessment.

We have the best me Medical quality in the world, problem is, we also have greedy Hospitals, insurance companies, and attorneys. Medical billing prices are way the hell out of control, and going communist ain't going to fix the problem there. It's going to take a tidal shift to fix the price of medical care. Giving everyone a since of entitlement that someone else has to pay for their medical bills, rabid attorneys, and insurance companies run on guaranteed "cost plus basis", leave little room for cost cutting.

All said and done, I still buy the best helmet I can, so hopefully I want need any medical care.

Rouse
Johnnie Rouse
Bike 4680 P-PP2000 SCTA record 153.325    A-PF3000 182.920
                              Texas Mile 152.518 PP class  186 A-PF Class
If you love your freedom thank a vet.

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #25 on: January 03, 2014, 08:16:13 PM »
Truce...................

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline thefrenchowl

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 414
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #26 on: January 21, 2014, 06:22:52 AM »
Hi all,

From helmets to politics hey!!!

My own view on helmets...

I bought my 1st helmet in 1974... Sort of a trial rider affair (the type you see on H-D XLCH Sportsters ads in the 60s...), an outside layer of GRP, then riveted tension straps inside, bits of foam, bit of an eyebrow over the eyes... Not much I hear you say...

Been riding on the road with it ever since...

Tried a few others over the years cause my friends can't believe I can ride fast with THAT thing... So tried to ride with them full face, 1/2 face, with no side vision, with hearing impediments due to umpteen layers of foam and never mind the extra weight and the poor aero that bogs me down... Basically, I did not felt safe with these and keep going back to my old death trap...

So, obviously, I ride with a deadly intent to not fall and will do anything I can to avoid fall or crashes. This is not easy I admit... So far since I had the bike test in 74, 3 crashes which resulted in bruised skin.

Since this forum is in the States, not in the Europeans Nanny States as we call them over here , that want to regulate every aspect of your life and welfare, I feel I follow the US practice of looking at the problems and taking some personal decisions to analyse where is the acceptable risk to me...

Somewhere along the lines in our life, passive safety as become the ugly standard, overtaking active safety (your brain mainly...) which is more efficient in my point of view...

Patrick

PS, used to ski a lot in my youth, never had an helmet for that, same as for bicycles, horse riding, the lot...

« Last Edit: January 21, 2014, 06:28:37 AM by thefrenchowl »
Flat Head Forever

...What exactly are we trying to do here?...

Offline Briz

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 160
    • Custom cycle developments
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #27 on: January 27, 2014, 11:48:30 AM »
...... Britain requires leathers as well as helmets, right?

Nope!

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

  • Nancy and me and the pit bike
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 13158
  • Nancy -- 201.913 mph record on a production ZX15!
    • Nancy and Jon's personal website.
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #28 on: February 01, 2014, 09:44:13 AM »
Ah, the stories they foist upon us. :?
Jon E. Wennerberg
 a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim
 Skandia, Michigan
 (that's way up north)
2 Club member x2
Owner of landracing.com

velocity

  • Guest
Re: Helmets - race, motorcycle, skiing, etc - pro and con
« Reply #29 on: February 08, 2014, 04:03:06 AM »
I offer that anyone who wears a helmet might be interested in my April Fuel For Thought column in the Goodguys Gazette. Aside form some fun with Tom  Long's belly tank model, I spend a good deal of time previewing Stand 21's new "Lid Lifter"  -- a remarkable, simple device part of the nomex head sock that will doubtless save lives in the future. Both my husband (a lifelong motorcyclist) and myself have personally tested the new item and I can't think of any reason to not have them under every racing helmet.

Looking at it is one thing, but the moment you actually try it, the bulb lights up.

And so utterly simple. . .

geez,

Louise