Protective Motorcycle Clothing – To Wear Or Not to Wear?
Who wears Protective Motorcycle Clothing? Manly Men?… Or… Wimps?
Wearing protective motorcycle clothing… or not… is something everybody has to decide. There are several directions that the thinking that goes into making that decision can take you.
What’s your hide, and the other pieces and parts of your carcass, worth to you? Is it more important to ‘Look Cool’…
… or… remain whole?
Many years ago, an old Cowboy once confided in me; “Brian, there’s a thin line between Macho… and Stupidity… and son… I gotta tell you… you step across that sucker, way too often!
I have to admit that I’ve resisted acquiring much in the way of protective motorcycle clothing. But, at some point a fella has to accept that maybe a little discretion is in order… and take those few steps required to help preserve the good looks the Boss upstairs blessed him with!
I can’t help but agree that helmets reduce that absolute sensation of Freedom I get on a motorcycle. Wrapping my head in a plastic bucket is not my favorite thing… But that dislike is outweighed, in my mind, by the vision of somebody having to pick up the mush that used to be inside my skull, with a stick and a spoon!
The feeling I get when I roll without a motorcycle helmet is so superior to wearing one, that I can sometimes have considerable difficulty strapping on that particular piece of protective motorcycle clothing…
But… I take those couple of moments considering the possible consequences of not having it in place… seasoned with a thought or two about the other people, on the road, that a motorcycle rider has to contend with… and on it goes.
Your Brain pan is not the only part you have to protect either. You’ll want to consider the other pieces and parts of your carcass that are vulnerable, when considering protective motorcycle clothing.
All the parts that smack the ground if you’re sliding, or tumbling along, after you dump your motorcycle are in need of protection. Shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees… all can stand a lil’ shielding from the assault made on them by hitting the asphalt, at 45 mph!… or quicker!
Many is the story where a biker had to drop his ride… to avoid simply slamming into the side of some bozo on 4 wheels… and then got up and walked away, with only minor scrapes and bruises. A story that wouldn’t get told if he’d chosen ‘Macho’… over good, quality, protective motorcycle clothing.