Chad, wuz that U?

[The Yeti]

Just saw a guy on Hwy 79 in front of Super Pumper that looked an awful lot like you on your KLR, but with NO HELMET, and wearing SHORTS!??   

[loingrader]

no self respecting klr rider would be caught on a motorcycle without proper riding attire.  i'm sure that could not have been chad, or could it? 

ATGATT (all the gear all the time)

check out this website if you need a reason to wear proper gear on a motorcycle. 

there is a lot of propaganda type stuff, but the pictures speak for themselves.

not for the faint of heart - you have been warned...

http://home1.gte.net/res0ak9f/bike.htm

-bret

[Hank]

I've slid down the highway (a very long ways) without the proper gear and been turned to hamburger.   I don't need to look.  I also hate gore/guts pictures 

[loingrader]

yea, you ride long enough, and you sacrifice some skin to the asphalt gods.  it's not if you wreck, it's when you wreck.  everyone goes down eventually.  every time i hop on the scooter i make sure that i'm ready to go sliding down the highway, and gear up properly. 

stepping off of my soapbox...

-bret

[fringefan]

Yes that was me

Not the brightest thing and I know it is not the best idea but it's frickin hot out. There are very few intersections on my way to the office so it is not an uncommon site. Are crocks proper foot wear?

Allan, there are better ways to learn to ride than following me around

[Hank]

I had a duffle bag get into my back tire and lock it while I was going about 90.   It wasn't good.  I was wearing jeans, a short sleeve shirt, tennis shoes, and a helmet.  Glad I had the helmet.  The rest of me got pretty mangled.  No broken bones but I had about an acre of skin missing.

I also had a 30 mph dump on an interstate on ramp (anti-freeze all over it) where my passenger, GF at the time, put a nasty gouge in her helmet.   I'm glad it wasn't in her head 

[fringefan]

I hear ya. It can happen at any time.

My riding gear is just too frickin hot and I need to invest in some warm weather gear.

[Hank]

I aint preachin'..  just sharin' a real life experience.  To each his own.

When I wear a helmet in Watertown I look like a freak.   I'd guess helmet usage is less than 5%.   Don't know what or why but no one here does. 

[loingrader]

people always give me crap when i leave work or leave a store wearing my black leather riding jacket and heavy black gloves when it's 90 degrees out.  "aren't you hot?"  yea, i tell them, but i'd rather sweat every day than leave skin on the pavement.



this is the gear i wear during the spring, summer, and fall months when i'm riding on the pavement.  minus the leather pants and tall boots if i'm going less than 60 miles or so.

this picture was taken about 30 seconds after arriving home from an 800 mile trip during july of 06.  it was hot as hell.  you can see my wife's gear sitting on the car cause she stripped it off about 0.2 seconds after we came to a stop.  felt like a hair drier was blowing on my face in my helmet for 12 hours straight, and i had a little swass going on too.  the vents on the jacket actually keep air flowing inside the jacket pretty well and keep your upper body fairly cool. 

those fjr's are known for putting out a lot of heat.  great in the winter, not as great in july.  what an amazing bike though.

[fringefan]

You do look skinnier there than I remember

[loingrader]

black leather is very slimming chad.  i've got some assless black leather chaps you can borrow sometime if you want to see how that black leather will slim up your figure.  lemme know and i'll bring them out in september

crazy story about those chaps.  they were CUT off of one of my uncle's good buddies in an emergency room where he DIED as a result of crashing his motorcycle back in the late 70's.  my uncle patched them up and my wife wears them (over jeans) when we go on long road trips.

she seemed to like them better before she heard that story about them.

[fringefan]

LOL about the chaps and that is kind a cool story without the death part.

Is your wife a big girl?

[The Yeti]

I hear ya. It can happen at any time.

My riding gear is just too frickin hot and I need to invest in some warm weather gear.

Yeah, a QUALITY mesh jacket + cooling vest is the sh*t in hot weather! I use an evaporative vest, keeps me cool for a couple hours (depending on the humidity), then just re-soak. I also have an Evapo-dana from Aerostich, it's a bandana that holds water pretty good, but the cool part is you can stuff it full of ice cubes! As the ice slowly melts, it provides a pretty good air conditioning effect. I'm usually cool as a cucumber, until I get to the really slow stuff.

Of course, the evaporative cooling gear won't help you during your commute, unless you don't mind showing up to work soaking wet. 

[loingrader]

no chad, the wife's perfect.  the chaps are a little long on her, but when your knees are bent, sitting pillion on a blackbird, or fjr, the extra length is good.  They can be adjusted around the waist and around each leg for different sized people.  They would fit you, I, or even my wife, pretty darn well.  I'm thinking you definatly need some.

-bret