I would love to see that exhibit! Form and function, takes your breath away! &;-)
Posted on 06/16/2002 7:10:48 AM PDT by 2Trievers
How did this happen? A year ago I covered the Laconia Bike Week for the newspaper wearing ear plugs. The black-leather-clad crowd looked silly to me, as well as the men who spent fortunes chroming-out and customizing their pet bikes. Today, I own an ensemble of black leather, and shop for more. I have a Harley-Davidson with loud pipes and enough chrome to make me proud . . . but not proud enough. When my friend read the sticker I pasted on my black helmet last weekend after attending the Laconia rally (WANTED: A Meaningful Overnight Relationship), she concluded motorcycling had opened up a whole new side to my personality. She’s right. First there’s the sheer joy of riding. The wind blowing on your face, the motorcycle revving under you, and a feeling of oneness with Nature and the Machine. It’s a rush. Curves in the road feel like those cheap carnival rides that spin you faster and faster in a circle until you’re sideways in the air. Your body, gravity, and speed keep the bike exquisitely glued to the earth. And if you like meeting men, there’s nothing better than being a single woman on a Harley. One Friday night, for example, on Ocean Boulevard in Hampton Beach, a guy riding a Harley-Davidson Heritage bike pulled along side of me. We chatted through the stop and go traffic. Eventually, he suggested we ride off to his house. When I declined, he disappeared down a small side street. Fun. Men also approach me when I park. Guys see me with my bike and the next line out of their mouths is: “Nice ride.” A welcome change, however, from “nice eyes.” I’d rather talk about my bike any day. Having a bike is like being a member of a national club. We all wave at each other on the road. Strange bikers pull up along side you at a stoplights, or ride abreast for a few miles and then disappear. Last weekend, I rode past a motorcade of bikers. They were going the opposite direction on Bypass Route 1 toward Eliot, Maine. I banged a U-turn and joined in the fun. It was exhilarating to be among the 25 bikers rumbling down the back roads in staggered formation. People doing yard work stopped and stared. Many people smiled. This Harley has also given me something that two years of living in the Port City has yet to accomplish. A steady supply of chums to hang out with day or night in downtown Portsmouth. I park my bike (free) in the in Market Square among the rows of bikes on the street. Buy a double tall latte from Cafe Brioche and enjoy the biker crowd. You don’t have to talk to hang. But, if you’re in the mood for a little conversation, there’s never any fear of what to say after hello. Everyone speaks the same language: chrome accessories, performance add-ons, unreasonable sound laws, engine sizes, and more technical stuff. A photographer named Dante serves as the unofficial welcoming committee, introducing newcomers to the regulars. He is also the giver of names. So far, he’s dubbed individuals with names like Beanie Boy, Haystack, and Smoking Bob (who always rides up with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth). Come to think of it, I don’t know these men by any other name. Seems everyone has a handle, like CB operators. I can’t wait to see what mine will be. Another thing I like about biking is the mix of people, men mostly, that I meet — from doctors to mechanics. Some are well-heeled and meticulously groomed. Others are scruffy, like the guy with a full body tattoo called Ripper. He was sitting at the Smokehouse at Weirs Beach in Laconia last weekend. I ended up at his table because it was the only one empty and because it had a front-row view of the endless parade of motorcycles turning the corner onto Lakeside Avenue. Soon, Ripper and I were having a great time commenting on the passing bikes, dissing the Japanese sport bikes, and admiring the women riding big Harleys. But there weren’t many of those. It’s only been a few months since my descent into the world of motorcycling. I’m sure there’s more to learn, and enjoy. And, if by chance, you see me riding my white Harley decked out in black leather, feel free to laugh. I’m not too proud to admit it’s all a bit childish. And in the end that’s what it’s all about. Having fun and freeing that inner child in all of us.
The club
The diversity
Happy and proud? Good for you!
Think "rat bike". You won't impress anybody,but you will damn sure be happier and have more time to ride!
Because you don't have enough jewelry or tatoos. I'll bet you don't even have a chrome-plated chain belt!
Should I get a bandana and a black vest?
Well,it wouldn't hurt.
No but judging by what I just saw in the mirror, I've got a chrome dome on order.
Don't for forget the Double Latte from Cafe Binoche to establish your true biker bona fides....
Come to think of it, forget the bike--just get the accessories and a Latte, no one will even notice...
At low speeds, jet setting about the biker bar scene and cruising the boulevard, that is perhaps arguable. Above about 75 mph, riding helmetless is painful, loud and extremely uncomfortable, especially on an unfaired bike - hardly a recipe for enhanced awareness. As for restricting vision, a properly fit helmet shouldn't, any moreso than goggles or sunglasses.
The sad part is, the no skid lid mafia is so powerful, and the fashion trend so influential, that wearing a helmet with your new EVO or VROD is tantamount to wearing a big pink shirt with DORK printed on it.
NHTSA, DOT and Snell Foundation statistics indicate pretty clearly that motorcycle accidents involving a helmetless rider are more likely to be fatal.
That certainly doesn't mean that a helmet will save you every time, but a properly fitted helmet does a better job of protecting your brain from severe injury than your hair or that cool skull & crossbones bandana - since the leading cause of motorcycle fatalities is typically severe head trauma, a helmets benefits far outweigh the risks, to your survival if not your fashion sense.
Oh,HorseHillary! Do you even ride a freaking bike? That low-speed crap is the ONLY place a helmet is helpful in a accident,and even then they make you more likly to have one to start with.
Above about 75 mph, riding helmetless is painful, loud and extremely uncomfortable, especially on an unfaired bike - hardly a recipe for enhanced awareness.
Maybe you ought to actually try it before you try to peddle that lame crap? Or at least try to sell it to people who haven't been riding longer than you have been living?
As for restricting vision, a properly fit helmet shouldn't, any moreso than goggles or sunglasses.
Is this your home planet? I'm about out of patience with you,and am beginning to suspect you are a mere poser who reads MC magazines. You can't possibley have 30 seconds wearing a helmet and still believe that crap. They restrict your vision to the side,and your ability to look to the rear. Anybody who trys to claim any different is either a liar,a fool,or so totally inexperienced in this area that they don't know how foolish they sound.
The sad part is, the no skid lid mafia is so powerful, and the fashion trend so influential, that wearing a helmet with your new EVO or VROD is tantamount to wearing a big pink shirt with DORK printed on it.
Do you wear madras bermuda shorts? Does your mommy know you are claiming to ride motorcycles? I've never met or heard of anybody so concearned with fashion as you. As far as that goes,helmets ARE a fashion accessory for the cafe racer and garbage wagon crowd. Some even have radio speakers and intercoms in them.
NHTSA, DOT and Snell Foundation statistics indicate pretty clearly that motorcycle accidents involving a helmetless rider are more likely to be fatal.
Hello? Anybody home? Did it ever occur to you that ALL of these people are in BUSINESS to say that? Hey,why not ask Jesse Jackson if blacks are discriminated against? C'mon,admit it. You don't really ride,do you? You read magazines and form your opinion from what you read in them. Opinions presented by people who are paid by advertisers. Some of whom are in the helmet-selling business.
but a properly fitted helmet does a better job of protecting your brain from severe injury than your hair or that cool skull & crossbones bandana -
C[mon,admit it. You really,really,REALLY want to wear one of those bandanas and be one of the "cool guys" you envy,don't you?
since the leading cause of motorcycle fatalities is typically severe head trauma, a helmets benefits far outweigh the risks,
More HorseHillary stastics that mean less than nothing. Or did you expect the leading cause of motorcycle rider deaths to be from ingrown toenails? Since the vast majority of those "dead head" riders were wearing helmets due to state laws requiring this,it could even "mean" that the helmets killed them.
to your survival if not your fashion sense.
Again with the fashion?
Listen,if you are around 14 years old,I apologize for being so harsh with you. It's only natural for people your age to do things like this. If you are a adult,it is inexcuseable.
It's pitifull when people think things make them cool and that they can't be cool without them.
Another reason for me to never try a double latte. Whatever that is.
Goggles. You need goggles. Oh, and a wallet chain . . .
I'd pass on the Double Latte from Cafe Binoche, but that's just me; I'm Old School. I prefer the foamy goodness of a Cappuccino . . .
LOL- you're out of patience with me? Or out of patience with the difficulty of arguing that riding bare headed is somehow "safer" than riding with a helmet?
The idea that "helmets are dangerous" is ridiculous, and the $25 Kmart special you wore back in '75 is not representative of the current state of the art. If helmets obstructed vision, or caused any of the problems you claim they do, I would be the first to admit it- and I've been wearing full face helmets for 20 years.
I've tried it both ways, and riding without a helmet is uncomfortable at high speed. Ever been smacked in the forehead by a june bug or bumblebee around 80mph? Did it hurt? Were you distracted? Try it around 130, and let me know how it felt. You'll have to point your hog downhill.
I'm not trying to interfere with your right to ride however you want, but arguing that somehow helmets contribute appreciably to accidents is completely beyond reasonable.
If you don't want to wear one, fine- I'll vote against any and all helmet laws. Just do me a favor, and keep right.
I occasionally eschew the helmet for a set of goggles. I don't have a fairing of any type.
Unfortunately, I sometimes forget about all of the gravel trucks that travel that route. Last Monday I got hit in the left cheek by a piece of gravel dropped by a truck. Keeeerist it was like getting shot by a Daisy BB gun, it drew blood and made my eyes water.
I'll probably be wearing a helmet again until I forget about how much that hurt....
Hah! A gravel truck ain't nothing! Wait until you get caught behing a livestock truck hauling live hogs to the market. There ain't NOTHING that has enough power to get by it quick enough! You would be wanting a full-body enviromental suit.
The collection of bikes is mind boggling! BTW, if you go there right now, the big, hardcover coffee table book is on-sale for 1/2 price, at $32!
Mark
I'll be sure to pass that nugget of wisdom along to all the professional motorcycle racers that wear, and swear by quality helmets. You don't like to wear a helmet? Fine, but please keep your misinformation to yourself. I've personally seen guys walk away from accidents after sutaining damage to their helmet that would have been real messy if it'd been their head instead.
I would love to see that exhibit! Form and function, takes your breath away! &;-)
I'll be sure to pass that nugget of wisdom along to all the professional motorcycle racers that wear, and swear by quality helmets. You don't like to wear a helmet? Fine, but please keep your misinformation to yourself. I've personally seen guys walk away from accidents after sutaining damage to their helmet that would have been real messy if it'd been their head instead.
I have to agree. A helmet (or any safety equipment) can only protect against low level impacts. The problem is that we're not made of a single, rigid material, and if the decelleration is great enough, our "soft parts" become mush.
However, a helmet is very useful. In a friends case, he was vaulted over a car, flying almost 20 feet before hitting the ground. He landed flat on his back, but his head took a glancing blow on the car's fender and the curb when he hit the ground. Although he broke some ribs and an arm, there's no doubt that he would have died from the head impacts, if not for his helmet.
In my case, I fell off (low side) at nearly 100mph on a track, and although there was no major impact, the abrasions on my helmet, front, sides, and rear, would have meant a lengthly hostpital stay, and quite probably death.
Mark
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