Full vs three quarter

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by music man

That is a great quote,

Interesting approach. Let's see if he "gets it" now. Somehow I doubt it.

[Chris]

My major crash happened 40 years ago before Georgia required helmets so I was not wearing one. I was on a Honda 305 and took a 35mph turn at 60mph. In retrospect perhaps that was not very wise. The bike went down and slid under a car. I was seperate from the bike and made a dent in the truck of a parked car with my head (again, no helmet). Woke up in the Emergency Room. Lived, of course, with no real damage, but there was no part on my body as big as your hand that wasn't bleeding. Appearantly I rubbed off speed and skin as I tumbled down the road.
In the Emergency Room I knew I was dying. A very strange feeling. You will probably make fun of this, but it was serious at the time. By the way, I have had that postive feeling one other time when in Viet Nam a sniper caught me out in the open. He fired twice. I knew I was going to be dead any second. But he stopped firing and I lived another day. Thankfully.
Don't know how my accident affects full face helmets, but since you asked... Sure wish I had had one on when I went down.

Chris, retired near Atlanta.

Originally Posted by Chris

My major crash happened 40 years ago before Georgia required helmets so I was not wearing one. I was on a Honda 305 and took a 35mph turn at 60mph. In retrospect perhaps that was not very wise. The bike went down and slid under a car. I was seperate from the bike and made a dent in the truck of a parked car with my head (again, no helmet). Woke up in the Emergency Room. Lived, of course, with no real damage, but there was no part on my body as big as your hand that wasn't bleeding. Appearantly I rubbed off speed and skin as I tumbled down the road.
In the Emergency Room I knew I was dying. A very strange feeling. You will probably make fun of this, but it was serious at the time. By the way, I have had that postive feeling one other time when in Viet Nam a sniper caught me out in the open. He fired twice. I knew I was going to be dead any second. But he stopped firing and I lived another day. Thankfully.
Don't know how my accident affects full face helmets, but since you asked... Sure wish I had had one on when I went down.

Chris, retired near Atlanta.

The helmet vs. no helmet debate can be divisive, and no doubt we won't solve it here. I personally feel as you do, that I wouldn't ride without a full face helmet, but I also understand the freedom of choice position (none, full, 3/4, 1/2, lid, etc.). In any event, I can certainly understand why you feel so strongly about it, given this experience.

BTW, my brother has told me stories about what he saw and experienced in Vietnam, so that part of your post resonated with me. One thing I'm pretty sure we can all agree on is that we thank you for serving your country, however we feel/felt about that war.

Keith

Oops - screwed up the quote.

Sorry to confuse,

Keith

[alanmcorcoran]

Keith, you can go back and edit your own messages. I do it all the time.

[Water Warrior 2]

Crash protection is obviously best with a full face helmet and few would dispute that. But how many riders "REALLY" consider smaller objects that suddenly appear in front of their face and splat. Birds, bees(my fav), flying junk kicked up by other vehicles, and of course that one dumb Bald Eagle that scared me half to death. I did have a small bird connect with my VStrom. The bird lost badly but without a full face hat my vision would have been more than impaired. Quickly wiping bird remains off a face shield is easier than off your face and out of your eyes.
My second EX had an open face helmet. She picked up a bee at 70 MPH. You can bet that will leave a mark.

[dan_]

My buddy I ride with is an older guy like 50 he took an owl to the face one night in the 80's. Got this bad ass talon scar on his face. Dude looks evil!

[alanmcorcoran]

I believe my prospective 3/4 (HJC) had a face shield. I cannot top the owl or eagle stories, but about a month or so into my riding career I bounced a hummingbird off my HJC. At least I think it was hummingbird. Happened so quick I did not have time to react (and crash!) Thing flew right smack into the side of my helmet. My first thought was someone a had thrown something, but it was too soft and it was definitely flying. Plus there was no one around anyway. Too small to be a "real" bird, but a lot bigger than a bee. It might have been a bat - it happened real fast and I didn't get a good look at the body.

I've been "dive-bombed" by blue jays, so unfortunately I am familiar with what a regular bird feels like when it hits your head. BTW, do NOT mess with blue jays. They will eff you up but good!

[mr. softie]

Just Thought I might chime in on this topic, been a while so hi to all. I rode for years with no helmet at all, no problem. Then I had a German half helmet for a while I would wear with goggles if it was rainy etc. No problems. Luckily when I did have a bad crash I happened to be wearing an AGV full face, as I ground the chin bar against the pavement for a bit during my tumbling slide at 55 mph. No armor though. OUCH! doesn't quite capture the feeling somehow. Lost a lot of skin but none from my face. Since then I have worn a full face. And armor. I could post some pics off the web of folks who lost their noses/mouths/chins etc. in bike crashes, some while wearing 3/4 helmets, but I'm sure you all can get by all right without seeing that. And I agree it is a personal choice. I choose full gear at this point in my life, that's my choice. But I would not presume to tell another what is best for him. Here are a few pics of some helmets that did their job. Ride safe y'all.

[Chris]

I bought my full face Bell helmet at Walmart and I like it a lot. Many Walmarts don't carry helmets so I had to call around instead of driving around.
With this full face helmet I don't lose any vision at all.
About drinking coffee with a helmet on...I think you have me on that one. Somehow drinking coffee while the bike is warming up is just not that important to me. Certainly not an important as leaving my teeth on the road.
At 200 pounds riding a GZ250 with a milk crate on the back, I believe I can compete in any dorkiness contest! By the way, my milk crate on the back is just great. Looks dorky, but it really is handy.

Chris, retired near Atlanta