Snotgnott

[pmdave]

Maybe, SNOTROTT... So, None of the gear regardless of the time.

Len

So, None Of The Gear Regardless Of The Situation SNOTGROTS

pmdave

[BUDDINGGEEZER]

I NEVER ride without jacket, gloves, helmet, boots. I frequently leave the the pants at home (no, not those pants). The other day i was in town (pop 10k), stopped for lunch and left my jacket off to ride across town (1mile at 30mph). It was the first time in at least 10yrs I rode without a jacket and I felt naked and vulnerable. Each year, I see more people riding bikes who, judging by the way they are dressed, would probably prefer to be at the beach!
Their injuries have pushed the price of a bike license to over $600 ($1400 for a sport bike).
So yes, your injuries do cost me.

Arkansas is by and large a "Snotgnott" state and my bike license is $9.

Ralph Sims

[RSPENNACHIO]

Maybe, SNOTROTT... So, None of the gear regardless of the time.

Len

That has a nice ring to it.

[bubbagazoo]

I NEVER ride without jacket, gloves, helmet, boots. I frequently leave the the pants at home (no, not those pants). The other day i was in town (pop 10k), stopped for lunch and left my jacket off to ride across town (1mile at 30mph). It was the first time in at least 10yrs I rode without a jacket and I felt naked and vulnerable. Each year, I see more people riding bikes who, judging by the way they are dressed, would probably prefer to be at the beach!
Their injuries have pushed the price of a bike license to over $600 ($1400 for a sport bike).
So yes, your injuries do cost me.

What he meant was it costs that much to license the bike in the province of Quebec. Not having lived there, I cannot say understand how it works, but part of your vehicle registration is mandatory insurance.

Here in Alberta, motorcycle registration is in the $40.00 to $45.00 range. Third party insurance is mandatory and you have to produce proof of insurance when you renew your registration. The endorsement only costs extra when it is initially put on the license because the registries folks won't do it for free (admin fees if you like).

[wezul]

What he meant was it costs that much to license the bike in the province of Quebec. Not having lived there, I cannot say understand how it works, but part of your vehicle registration is mandatory insurance.

Translation fees?

[angysdad]

Translation fees...love that one.

rant on...

In Qu?®bec, the most taxed province/state in the western hemisphere (yes, worse than Mass), we pay alot for everything.

The bike license is only about $50. Mandatory insurance is added on.
The insurance covers personal injury. If anyone is injured in a traffic accident in Qu?®bec, ALL costs are covered, regardless of lenght of recovery time (even drunk drivers are covered).

Motorcyclists have to add mandatory public responsibility insurance ($105 for my 25yr old beemer...cheap) and/or discretionnary collision (big $ for most bikes...BMWs ae cheap to insure).

Prices stated going up three years ago...from 250 to 620 in three years for me...250 to 1400 for sport bikes.

I don't mind paying my fair share...based on risk. I hate paying the same insurance as a 16yr old with no experience and 2-3 times the horsepower.

rant over...

[angysdad]

I'll add...if anyone is looking for great deals on sportbikes, you can buy them very cheap in Qu?®bec now. Bike dealers will no longer take them as trade-ins since they cannot re-sell them.

[sibud]

From Visian's picture show:



(Actually, I had just finished washing the bike and rode it back to the Beef Barn where the Vintage Display was held.)

Well, your excuse sounds just like someone saying "Honest officer, I was just helping that sheep over the fence."

Great picture.

[darrylri]

Well, your excuse sounds just like someone saying "Honest officer, I was just helping that sheep over the fence."

Great picture.

Long ago, when my wife used to ride on the bike, we were touring the UK. She stopped me because she saw, up on the bluff next to the road we were on, a sheep stuck in the barbed wire fence. She got off the bike and, still wearing ATG, started climbing up the bluff. As she finally got close, I saw the sheep turn its head to look at her, then, frightened by the approaching spacewoman, stopped scratching its butt on the barbed wire and ran off.

No good deed goes unpunished.

---

Now, as to the excuse part: no excuse intended. If the bike had stalled in that turn or I had a collision with a car or bike during the couple hundred yards back to the barn, there's no question that I would have at a minimum been scraped up. People have been killed falling off of a stopped bike, too.

But because we want to continue riding for a long time, we try to manage our risk. It's impossible to eliminate it and, because different people have different risk thresholds, they will take on more or less risk. When most of the population thinks you're taking on too much risk, they make whatever you're doing illegal. It seems to me that the trick is to keep most of the population from thinking about how much risk I'm taking on. Part of that is by managing the risk well, and part of it is not calling attention to it. Being lucky helps, too, but that's hard to predict.

[BCKRider]

I too was at the Redmund rally and the only time I rode with less than ATGATT (by the way what does that third letter T refer to, Dave?) was when I just donned helmet and boots to get from by camping spot to the tire vendor and back. And it scared me a bit.

The truth is that, after about 14 years of riding and two accidents - one of which kept me from getting to Gillette in 2008 - getting on the bike scares me. Fortunately, that feeling quickly goes away, replaced with all the thoughts of how I can ride safely and often fairly quickly. The training and the often-reread books by Mr. Hough renew my feeling of competence.

I am definitely a ATGATT person. If I can't find enough time to also cruise some backroads after doing some errands in the little town only 4 miles away, I take the car. I just won't ride without earplugs, helmet, long trousers held in place by long socks, leather trousers with suspenders, a jacket that lets the air flow with protection in case of a crash, riding boots and gloves, and my prescription glasses with magnetic sunglass attachment. And that is when the temperature is warm to hot. (I also have an electric jacket and gloves, bought at the rally, to extend my riding season.)

For me, donning all this gear not only makes for a more comfortable ride, it also reminds me that what I am about to do is dangerous. But I agree with Dave that what is INSIDE your head is what prevents accidents. The gear does minimize the damage to your body when things go wrong. And that does happen on occasion to very aware riders.

[drummer]

I have been a 98% of the time ATGATT. My recent accident which caused me to break my ankle as the bike landed on it has made me believe in being a 100% ATGATT. The first month of my wife doing everything for me, the second month of her doing everything but a few very private things, and the third month where I have been learning how to walk again has made me realize, my accident was not just affecting me.

I figure one more month of PT and I will be riding again. Can't wait.

[BCKRider]

I live on a backroad in BC popular with motorcylists of all stripes. The majority are Harleys, a large minority sport bikes, with some BMW's, Goldwings and other bikes in the mix.

EVERYBODY wears some sort of helmet. (Which tells you the cops take that law seriously here.) But these hot summer days it is highly unusual to not see bare skin on both upper and lower body. Can't comment on gloves and boots as they go by too fast from my limited view.

So I'm wondering if maybe BMW's are MORE DANGEROUS than Harleys, sportbikes, and Goldwings? WE have to wear ATGATT BECAUSE we know we could crash, while the Harley riders, (not generally speedsters) and the sportbikers (who are generally younger, thus immune from anything bad) and the Wingnuts (also not speedsters) ride in beach attire?

I envy their confidence. And I hope they all get home safe. I'm sure they must think that their skill and awareness will carry the day. As a person with two motorcycle accidents, both in conditions where I thought I thought I did everything right, I have become another ATGATT person.

Of course, what the seeming majority don't know is that there is good protective gear out there for wear in the heat that is more comfortable than bare skin. How did so many miss that?

[bunkyone]

Hey all: yesterday I was on M22 north of manistee (a very nice, twisty two lane) when I was passed by a 1500 Goldwing. Youngish couple who appeared to be either returning from or heading to the nearest beach. Classic outfit: "Bikerbeany" helmets, he a LOUD print shirt, cut-offs and sandals, her a VERY small swim suit, (I have a leather belt that covers more skin then that bikini did!) and flip-flops. They were going around 70 MPH and having a ball!! Said a little prayer for them and the EMT who would have to respond if they crashed. I don't wear ALL the gear, ALL the time, but I WON'T ride without most of the gear ALL of the time. Vaya con Dios, Dutch

[MAYLETT]

...the absolute dogma was ATTGATT...

I'm not fond of dogma, absolute or otherwise. Choices don't usually consist of easy-to-pick-from blacks and whites. Instead, there are varying shades of gray with valid arguments on both sides muddying the picture.

Riding motorcycles is an exercise in risk analysis. ATTGATT or not, it's a hobby fraught with possible dangers. There are certainly some easy-to-do things, like wearing a helmet and jacket, to reduce the chances of serious injury. But being dogmatic about full ATTGATT attire (pants, gloves, boots, helmet, jacket, etc.) just to ride a couple of blocks to the post office might be taking things a bit far.

If someone is that worried about being injured in a crash, a motorcycle just might not be the best personal choice in transportation. I mean, it seems a bit neurotic to worry incessantly about full safety gear, then ride around town on the most unsafe legal vehicle imaginable.

Being careful, taking basic safety precautions, having fun and doing it all in moderation has always worked best for me — and that applies to more things in life than just riding motorcycles.

[Anyname]

Some years ago I used to see a kid on a red Vespa who habitually rode in shorts, t-shirt and no helmet. It drove me crazy since I rarely ride without a protective jacket and never without helmet, gloves and long pants. I finally convinced myself not to worry because most people survive foolish youth with no lasting ill effects. I was crushed to hear that that young, good looking kid was killed about a half a mile from my home when a car pulled out in front of him. I understand it was a head injury.

My present community is a small city with low speed roads, perfect scooter territory. I wish I had some way to sticking a helmet on every one of the scooter riders who blows past in beach wear. It worries the hell out of me since most of the scooters are the 50cc jobbies that don't require a motorcycle license. Excellent. No helmet and no training...