this is why you wear helmets and armor jackets.

I know a guy who has done this and lived for the exact same reasons

Poor bike....

That's impressive. Not many places to hide a deer on a Ducati, I'd imagine.

Dammit. I was going to make a joke out of that.

Weird, I thought they use 'kilometers' (or kilometres, w/e) instead of 'miles' over there. Some comedy gold in the comments section of that article.

There's no deer here so I'm fine ;p

Would have been cool to see.

that makes three of us...

Anyone that rides a bike sans helmet is a ****ing retard

Especially in the back seat (if you can call it that) of a crotch rocket.

He's going at the speed limit in presumably good conditions! Oh, if only Diana was here!

Just for the record, dozens if not hundreds of bikers have been in full gear, hit a deer, and died. Wearing protective gear is a good idea but don't assume it will save you.

I ride without my jacket often. As a matter of fact, I was just riding without it not 5 minutes ago. I always wear my helmet, though, even if I'm just going to put around the apartment complex grounds.

I would wear a jacket more often if mine wasn't so damn heavy and hot. I always wear it during cooler months, but it's hard to wear during summer time.

I need to buy one of those cordura mesh jackets.

I've got a Joe Rocket mesh/perforated leather jacket. It's pretty sturdy.

I'd rather have a straight up all leather jacket, perforated if at all possible. I just imagine Nylon melting at high speeds.

Anybody on a motorbike without a helmet is asking for trouble, I've only done it inside CERN....I was a lazy bugger and the girls liked getting lifts to the restaurtant....and the speed limit is 20 kph so at that speed I was in as much danger as someone on a bicycle...heck I go faster on my bicycle than that.

Steven, if you want some protection but don't want to wear a big jacket, what I've got is http://store.planet-knox.com/knox/upper-body/1/aegis-back-protector/ , it sits under whatever jacket I'm wearing, be it my full jacket or something a bit lighter for the summer.

It won't protect your arms if ya fall off but will look after your back, it also sticks a lot closer to you, so if you should fall off, it's is better (they say) than armor built into the jacket.

I forget what it actually said but somewhere in my MSFL book it said something like your face only has to be going about 5mph when it hits the pavement to kill you.

sounds about right, your head can also hit the ground at 5mph from just falling over when walking....moral of the story, don't fall on your face.

And for those of you that do wear a helmet, you should replace them every 5 years or so.

Meh.

I live in an urban environment. I'm less worried about deer and more worried about dear old soccer mom in her Suburban.

I have two conflicting views on helmets and safety gear:
1) It's my HEAD, I should take care of it and spend the money
2) It probably won't help anyway, and I'd rather be dead than a quadriplegic, so meh

I guess I fall somewhere in the middle most of the time.

Most of the gear I wear is to protect me from airborne dangers, like bees, small stones and other flying debris that gets kicked up. A second reason is visibility. I don't wear gear (other than the helmet) to protect me from a gear, I wear it to protect me while I ride. If soccer mom doesn't see me because of her little ******* kid yelling at Shrek on the DVD player, and she hits me, I'm a goner.

Anyway, I am thinking about getting one of these. It matches my classy looking British bike better than that brightly colored, wildly patterned stuff many sport guys wear. It's also suited to my height.

I know I may sound like a DMV employee, but I always wear a helmet , jacket, and boots when I ride my Yamaha road cruiser, even if Im going down to the store under 30 miles mph. In summer I will wear like a light jacket around the neighborhood, but a heavier jacket and helmet when Im going on major city streets, highways and the freeway. I know it wont protect you 100% but its a hell of alot better than what the major population of the city I live in wears for riding gear: shorts, flip flops or sandals, t-shirt or tank top or sometimes no shirt at all and of course no helmet. The Desert may be hot here where I live in the summer, but road rash is alot more painfull than wearing adequate protection.

I didn't know so many Massassians were bike curious.

Haha!

Is there any gear with that d3o stuff in it yet?

Yes, many motorcycle "armors" are made of d3o.

I think they put it in the high end custom body glove kind of stuff MotoGP riders wear.

First we were SA now Digg? This will probably get buried.

You should be happy. You can't really be shamed off of Digg with a 42 page long epic thread about important on internet.

Really though, it's not like this was some contentless reposted crap SA in-joke. A lot of us ride motorcycles. Don't knock it just because Toys R' Us still doesn't make a two wheeled power wheels.

Steven, I have a Joe Rocket mesh jacket that I don't use anymore now that I've sold my bike. It's in good condition, if you want it it's yours. I'm 5'9" and it's slightly big on me. Has removable armor in the elbows and back and also a removable inner rain liner. Fits me perfect with the liner and the liner does work. Free (plus shipping) if you want it. PM me.

Sweet, thanks buddy!

How do you even qualify yourself as a regular part of this community anymore?

Thats probably a Reactor. They're one of the nicest mesh/leather hybrids you can get for a decent price. The liner is also waterproof.

It was a joke about the pun Mort made you grandmothers velociraptors. I actually thought I quoted it.