Question for those that ride without helmets

Q

quail_imp

Running like a top
Thread starter
When your running 60+ and that big fat Bumblebee or June bug slams you in the forehead, do you ever think a helmet may have made that experience just a tad better?

I live in PA and yes I have ridden without a helmet. No it does not make me enjoy the ride any more than when I have my full face helmet on. Just me. I like that bubble my head is living in when I ride. Plus if I crash people can say "Oh yea I saw him before".
 
:rofl: I'll be interested in the answer to that question too.
 
The wife and I took the Spyder to NH a couple of weeks ago and didn't wear helmets while we were there (never on 2 wheels). She sits a couple inches higher than me leaving her much more vulnerable to getting bug whacked, me, I have a shield :)
 
Chapomis, you've avoided the question! Did you get home at the end of the day to find your wife mildly concussed and complaining from bug strikes?
 
Ah ... she had a large bug jammed between her teeth?
 
Funny you should ask. I had some unidentified bug (or bird, heck, it was BIG) slam me right on the nose while doing 50+ mph on my commute in this morning. And I was wearing a helmet. Open-faced helmet, so no, simply wearing a helmet doesn't make the experience better. Full face, yeah maybe. But I generally leave the shield in the up position all the time anyway, leaving me vulnerable to bugs and such.

I've made (very) short trips without a helmet. Generally just when rearranging bikes in the garage and I feel the need to zip around the block once or twice. Anything above 40 and the wind nose is just too much to be completely open. A windshield helps tremendously, but a helmet even more.
 
I ride with a full face helmet and sunglasses ALL the time. In town and below 60 I almost always have the visor up. Above 60-65mph I usually run with it down. 3-4 days ago I was doing 30 mph on a freeway frontage road when a full grown dragon fly hit me head-on between the eyes just a mm or two above my sunglasses. First time ever and a pretty good thump it was. Body was about the size of my small finger. Up until then I only remember a singular wasp schwacking me inside the helmet. Worst part was it must have been stunned because it fell into the helmet around my mouth and tried to climb back out. I raised my head up and scooped/swiped it out underneath. Occasionally I hit a bug that must also be wearing a helmet because it sounds like a small rock hitting the shell.
 
Since i don't have a windshield on my CB yet,yes sometimes i get whacked pretty good,bumblebees etc.,once the windshield goes on that problem will be non-existent ,as it was on my recently traded on the CB Vulcan cruiser.The sportster has a windshield and no bug in the face problems with it either.Carry a full face helmet in case i get caught in a major rain storm or for some strange reason end up on the interstate in heavy rush hour traffic,not likely,try to avoid major highways.Worst problem ever was wasp or hornet that went up the sleeve of my leather jacket and kept stinging until i got stopped and got the jacket off,never did see which particular bug it was.Couple days later left work and went to emer room,got a shot of antibiotics and a prescript,doc said if arm was any worse they would have admitted me and done 24 hour IV antibiotics,secondary bacterial infection from the sting.Next year another up the sleeve sting,went to the doc and got preventative antibiotic prescript,no problem,now i ride in a t-shirt,unless it's too cold for bugs.
 
I've worn half helmets on cruisers with no windshield and found anything over 55mph was not enjoyable at all. I wear either a 3/4 helmet with a drop down face shield or a full face all the time on my CB. On my Harley I use the half helmet , Dot only. My Harley has a full fairing bat wing so plenty of protection there.

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk
 
I have a certain Hein Gericke leather jacket with a collar that scoops up bees and wasps like a funnel. I can't count the number of times I've been stung on the chest wearing that thing, only to unzip it later and have 4-5 dead bees and wasps tumble out. It's almost comical. I only use it occasionally, but when I do, I always carry some Benadryl antihistamine.
 
:rofl: think I'd sell that coat on ebay and not mention it's affinity for bees.
 
Riding sans helmet also means inadequate eye protection. Last Saturday evening I was center punched in my face shield by a bat. My head was rocked back a bit but this would have been really bad if I had been wearing only riding glasses as I see many riders doing.
 
I wouldn't even consider riding without a helmet whether it's the law or not - and it is here.
In the past 24 years I've been hit in the face/head (and the bike itself) by too many large insects, road debris and once by a small bird that almost knocked my head off.
It's amazing how hard the impact a wren sized bird can create a 60 mph.
 
It's amazing how hard the impact a wren sized bird can create at 60 mph.

I didn't know a wren could fly that fast!!

Was it carrying a coconut?
 
The bug conversation aside; I don't know why anyone would ride without a helmet. :huh:

Then there's the exposed throat area... I was hit in the throat by a bee once, he stung me, it swelled, very scary. :s
 
I always wear a helmet on the CB or in the Slingshot for many reasons.
1. Bugs or small stones thrown from car or truck tires in front of me

2. The wife rides her own bike so we have Sena 10R units on our helmets for bike to bike communication and music.

3. We try to set a good example for our grandkids who are just getting into riding small quads.

4. I am to old to be cool and ride without one.

5. I am bald and my head would burn without one

6. safety of course
 
LOl I agree with everything slolane said

I took a couple bug hits today that rocked my helmet and smeared up my shield pretty good. On one purple gutted bug I had to pull over and clean it before continuing because I couldn't see anything out of my right eye.

We passed a rally of some sort down on St RT 52, must have been 100 Harley's in it. Not a single helmet spotted. I'll say it again (for the umpteenth time), I'm not tough enough to ride a Harley.
 
Took a solid object (lugnut?) to the face at 75mph in the dark on a run to Princeton from DC. Thought for sure the shield would be cracked. Just a ding. Wonder what would have happened with no helmet...
 
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