What is it with people who don’t wear Gloves?

[Jantar]

Come and have a look (dare you) it is scratched and marked all right - but it has NEVER contacted the ground!

I have lost count of the number of times I've come off, both on and off the race track. Like Motu, I have NEVER had a helmet touch the ground. However I DO NOT ride without gloves as they are one item that has saved me from injury more than any other.

As far as other gear goes, I make it a general rule to not ride with any bare skin showing. Its not always full protective gear, but at least jeans and jacket. However over the past two weeks I have broken this self imposed rule almost every day. When I knock off work at 7:00 pm and the temperature is over 35 in the shade, and closer to 45 - 50 when exposed, it is just too dangerous to wear protective gear. I'd pass out from heat stroke before getting home. So is it better to wear the gear in case you have an accident, or to dress in a manner to help avoid the accident in the first place?

[MSTRS:Me]

So is it better to wear the gear in case you have an accident, or to dress in a manner to help avoid the accident in the first place?

The gear doesn't cause the accident. I know what you are getting at, tho. But still, wear the right gear.

[mouldy]

I've come of my bike twice, both times I've been wearing my full riding gloves, and thank god for it too. But I must admit, lately I've been wearing my fingerless gym gloves, because it IS too hot.

Hog riding mate of mine wore fingerless gloves . Now has 2 fingers on right hand.open face lids should be banned ,got an old full face at home with big gouges down the front ,low speed crash, got knocked out but i've still got my face

[Two Smoker]

I wear everything I can get hold of - but I've had a shit load of prangs wearing just sneakers,jeans and a demin jacket,not even a helmet - you will find no mark on me,not even with an Xray - I'm no fucktard,part of riding a bike is knowing how to crash safetly...kinda like marshal arts,learning to fall so you don't hurt yourself.I am fucking SICK of hearing YOU WILL DIE if you don't wear full racing leathers - CRAP!!!!

If you see in my previous post i didnt once say "FULL RACING LEATHERS" i said full gear.... I can also tell you, i probably wouldnt be here or riding bikes if i hadn't been wearing full gear all the times i have crashed, and i definately wouldnt be riding bikes.

[Motu]

It's a miracle I'm still here to ride bikes at all - the reasons I am have NOTHING to do with the gear I was wearing.

[Two Smoker]

It's a miracle I'm still here to ride bikes at all - the reasons I am have NOTHING to do with the gear I was wearing.

Yes, but that would be another thread on "Avoidance of accidents... What to look for and how to react"

[Groins_NZ]

Went up to Levin late this afternoon to see my parents. It was quite hot and a little sweaty - my hands especially, being inside my leather gloves n all. They can be a little hard to get off at the end of a ride but I figure that’s a small inconvenience.

Anyway, going North just out of Paraparaumu I spotted a young couple (girl+guy) on a bike and all they had on were t-shirts, shorts and sneakers. The guy looked like he thought he was ‘cool’ - riding one-handed; his other hand resting on his bare thigh.

Then, coming into the arse end of Otaki a big hard looking lad goes past on a Harley. I’m thinking to myself, “??? what was wrong with that picture?... fuck me stupid, the twat had NO helmet on – just some cool looking sunnies lol :cool2: ”. Another invincible Harley rider…

My partner used to ride with her ex more than a few years back. She said they used to ride around with just jeans or pants, a warm jacket and a pair of trainers. She was a bit hesitant when I advised her to buy some Cordura pants and jacket, leather gloves and boots. I’m glad she did though in the end. It might not have been so bad, say 10 years ago for wearing lighter gear while riding but things have changed. The environment we ride in has changed – there’s a whole lot more incompetent cagers on the roads for starters!

All the posts you are reading in this thread are from people who have survived (obviously) 1 or more crashes. Unfortunately we don’t get to hear from the people who weren’t so LUCKY! My father used to be a GP and has seen some NASTY SHIT being in attendance at motorcycle, or motorcycle + car accidents. When I was a young lad, I remember him coming home some evenings and having to sharpen his knife yet again after just cutting some persons trousers off.

To the riders, who for whatever reason, think they can get away without wearing either a pair of gloves, some ankle high boots, a full face helmet, some decent pants or jacket – good luck to you, I honestly hope you don’t come a cropper and suffer. At the end of the day it’s ‘each to his own’, nobody wants to fall off, but an accident is... well just that, an accident. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve managed to get away injury free on your last 100 bins, you don’t know what’s going to happen next time (or do you – spooky Moulder?) whether you think you can ’land right’ or not.

Question/s :spudwhat: why even wear fingerless gloves? Are they to prevent you from getting sweaty palms? Do you think because you’ve got half a glove, you’ve got at least half of the protection?

That’s my way of thinking anyway – rant over.

[loosebruce]

After my last off, and i'd like someone to tell me i would've been alright if i didn't have full gear on. But a member on here Mid Life Crisis who was at the scene of my crash was so impressed with how lightly i got off for the type of crash i'd just had, that a few days later he went and purchased a set of full leathers and sidi boots as he figured jeans and sneakers that he was wearing wont do. Well done Ray
For sure some people have some luck with crashing, but it may run out one day, i know what i want to be wearing when i ain't lucky, what i wear all the time.

[Motu]

I certainly don't advocate not wearing safety gear when riding a bike,I've got several bits of kit to choose from and am probably way over protected than most out on the road...always have been.I've been riding a lot longer than most on this site,ridden more different bikes,types of riding etc.I've been wearing gloves since 1970,MX boots and leather trou on the road since 1981 and a back protector since 1992,I've been ahead of the aceptted norm all my riding career and have very strong views on safety,if you follow some of my posts you'll find I'm in there hard on some silly prick who tries to blame some outside influence on their crash rather than accept the responsibility themselves.

But I've crashed enough to know how to do it,I've been down the road enough in jeans to know you can slide a long way in them,I've learnt not to put my hands on the ground,keep my head up,basicly being aware in my crash situation - having an ''accident'' is under your control,so is controling what is happening during the crash.

I too really get annoyed seeing people wearing shorts and T shirts on a bike - but then I don't rave on bleating how they have to have road racing gear - good boots,jeans,a good jacket,gloves and a good helmet is the basics,build up from there.

Poor ridding skill has killed more people than the clothes they were wearing...but better protection may let them live to reflect on their mistakes.

[gsxr750]

Question/s :spudwhat: why even wear fingerless gloves? Are they to prevent you from getting sweaty palms? Do you think because you’ve got half a glove, you’ve got at least half of the protection?

when young dumb and working as a courier in melbourne I come off not whereing gloves on one of the freeways. Had all the other gear on, so was fine sept no skin left on my palms "PAIN". after that I wore fingerless gloves all the time. You can keep them on all day (ralitivly cool), remove halmet, use pen, do diliverys etc and still have your palms covered just in case.
Nick

[Riff Raff]

After my last off, and i'd like someone to tell me i would've been alright if i didn't have full gear on. But a member on here Mid Life Crisis who was at the scene of my crash was so impressed with how lightly i got off for the type of crash i'd just had, that a few days later he went and purchased a set of full leathers and sidi boots as he figured jeans and sneakers that he was wearing wont do. .

Yes your crash has influenced my thoughts in the direction of getting myself a set of leathers too. Having seen the damage done to a person who went for a little slide down the road wearing normal clothing, and knowing the methods used to remove gravel imbedded in skin at hospital - I would like to pass on having that experience thankyou....

[loosebruce]

But I've crashed enough to know how to do it,I've been down the road enough in jeans to know you can slide a long way in them,I've learnt not to put my hands on the ground,keep my head up,basicly being aware in my crash situation - having an ''accident'' is under your control,so is controling what is happening during the crash.

Yea i agree fully, there is an art to crashing and things to do and not to do. I ahve had more than a few crashes on motorbikes (all my fault) and years of having high speed (in pushbike terms) crashes on my mtb, you can learn a lot.

I also agree with with poor riding skills causing more injury than people not wearing full riding gear.

I dont ride all the time in full "race" gear, depends on the situation, if i'm just hacking it to work and back, its the ol leather jacket and jeans, even though in past experiances jeans dont really do a hell of a lot protection wise (unless they are draggin's) better than shorts though.

[TygerTung]

I wouldn't ever wear a open face helmet, I once came off my pushie at about 10kmh, and my face got fucked up, front forks snapped off when I went onto the footpath onto the road... Blood was pissing out everywhere, and my teeth were all pushed back...

Went to the hospital and they got the gravel out from under my skin, my lips swelled up to 3 times the normal size, and I had to drink through a straw for a week, just had chocolate milk After a couple of weeks, my injuries cleared up a little and I could open my mouth and I went to the dentist.

He gave me some anestetic and then pushed my teeth back into place and gave me some braces... Had them for about 6 months I think, my teeth still arn't right and I carry the scars on my face to this very day.... They arn't too noticable, but they're there.

Now all this was on a pushie, I'd hate to see what it would be like when you're going at speed.... I like my face, it is so pretty, so I will ALWAYS wear a full face helmet.

[Jantar]

... Now all this was on a pushie, I'd hate to see what it would be like when you're going at speed.... I like my face, it is so pretty, so I will ALWAYS wear a full face helmet.

In 1974 a good friend of mine pranged his kwaka H2 750 triple at around 60 km/h. He had on an open face helmet because full face were not readily available back then. He ended up with similar injuries to what you describe, but not nearly as bad. 2 years later he had an almost identical accident, but with a full face helmet this time. The facial injuries were so much worse when the helmet itself collapsed (as they are designed to do) and bits of helmet were pushed into his mouth.

I'm not going to advocate that either full face or open face helmets will give better protection in the event of a crash as so much depends on the manner the crash happens. All I can say is that in all of the crashes I've ever had on or off the track, no part of my helmet has ever come into contact with anything. I have broken a leg once, broken ribs a few times, smahed my clavical once, but never suffered any form of head injury. Maybe its just luck, but I always make sure I have on some sort of head protection.

[Atomic]

is knowing how to crash safetly...kinda like marshal arts,learning to fall so you don't hurt yourself.

Yeah I know how to break fall but its not always that simple.
When I high sided and got thrown most likely head over heals, there was
no way I was gonna beable to make a precision landing! It happens far too fast and you have very limited control over your body when you have been thrown through the air!

I tell ya what, I was very glad I was wearing knuckle buster leather gloves!!! The knuckles on the gloves were scored down about 10mm, Imagine the damage that would have done to my actual mere human knuckles!
I dont agree with not using your hands either, if your sliding on your arse and use use your hands also it will slow you faster with the friction more evenly dispersed rather than being focused on your butt. Id rather tear 50% through my pants & 50% through my gloves than 100% through my pants and into the flesh of my arse......basic figures for examples sake.

I recommend zip together pants & top cause I ended up with a nasty on my lower back where my jacket rode up. Road rash is baddd stuff guys, dont get it!!

By the way Motu, id like to see you land on your feet at over 50kph! If thats what you meant by "land like a cat"?? I have no doubt that someone might land on there feet, but what purpose would this serve as you cant run that fast anyhow!