I've broken my half face virginity

**The Pastor** · 4th October 2009, 16:58

if u think half face is crazy, wait till you try no lid!

**cs363** · 4th October 2009, 17:01

Originally Posted by scumdog

On that note, "I personally wouldn't ride a motorbike having seen the aftermath of accidents on them.." - ya get me drift??

If you wear an open face (or 'shorty' as I do) you just make yourself aware of the increased risk and cope with it the best you can.

Agreed, hence the 'personally' tag, you'll note I also said ' I appreciate others right to wear what they want' so certainly not playing an ATTGAT role here.
Likewise with gear, I prefer to wear all the gear most of the time, there are however times when knowing the risks involved I might choose to wear innapropriate gear for whatever reason and as you say the key then is to ride appropriately.
I certainly don't believe that full face (or any other style) helmets or the best gear in the world makes you bullet proof (as some obviously do) but it can and does help reduce injury in most cases.
As Ixion correctly points out, motorcycling is a dangerous activity regardless of what you wear.
But, getting back to open face helmets one of the things I dislike about them is the crap that gets in your face and eyes (see smoky's post #7). Anyway, each to his own....

**PrincessBandit** · 4th October 2009, 17:11

Originally Posted by cs363

...
But, getting back to open face helmets one of the things I dislike about them is the crap that gets in your face and eyes (see smoky's post #7). Anyway, each to his own....

Not to mention that softies like me hate heavy rain which feels like needles driving into your face!

**Pussy** · 4th October 2009, 17:13

Originally Posted by cs363

so certainly not playing an ATTGAT role here.
Likewise with gear, I prefer to wear all the gear most of the time, there are however times when knowing the risks involved I might choose to wear no gear at all for whatever reason and as you say the key then is to ride appropriately.

Would be a bit cold, though?

**cs363** · 4th October 2009, 17:13

Originally Posted by PrincessBandit

Not to mention that softies like me hate heavy rain which feels like needles driving into your face!

Err...yes, I was thinking about you guys today - bet you had a lovely ride home ...NOT. Glad to hear you're back safe and sound anyway.

**cs363** · 4th October 2009, 17:14

Originally Posted by Pussy

Would be a bit cold, though?

Subtle, but not quite what I wrote.... bastard!

**Ixion** · 4th October 2009, 17:16

This peeved me so much that I dug out my old open face and went for a blat. Refreshingly different.

And I survived

**Dan Mapp** · 4th October 2009, 17:26

Originally Posted by jrandom

I so very, very badly want to ride this motorcycle wearing this helmet.

In fact, fuck it. I'm going to call the shop in Wellesley St and book a test ride for next weekend. (I popped in and had a drool over that bike t'other day, but I was on my bicycle at the time.)

I'll just have to imagine the open-face helmet part, I suppose.

That is 1 cool motorbike

**Dan Mapp** · 4th October 2009, 17:35

Originally Posted by Ixion

I rode for years and years with no helmet at all, or open face (cos full face hadn't been invented). Googles and scarf are your friends, sorts out the bug issues.

As to the safety aspect, firstly I have a secret that makes open face (or, indeed, no helmet) perfectly safe. Don't fall off. Simple, eh.

There is also some quite reasonable evidence that the extra jaw protection of a full face (probably somewhat over rated when comparing with a Jet style where the helmet comes down to cover the cheeks) is paid for by greater risk of neck injuries.

The "look at my crashed full face see the front is all scratched up imagine if it had been an open face" pictures are also somewhat misleading. The extra frontal weight of the full face pulls your head forward and down. So a full face is far more likely to end up scraping than a Jet style, where the weight of the helmet being at the back, your head is pulled back away from the road.

Over the decades I knew quite a few guys who crashed wearing open face. Never heard of one with mouth or jaw injuries. Of course SOMEWHERE is the world it will have happened to someone. But, the odds are low, and meaningless compared to the far greater overall dangers of motorcycling.

If you are that paranoid about getting hurt, maybe motorcycling's not for you.

Let everyone do their own thing. Motorcycling shuld not be about telling other people what to do.

What he said times 2

**ital916** · 4th October 2009, 18:45

I rode with ma davida jet to work today in the rain at a sedate 40-50km/h at 9am with no traffic. I enjoyed the sights and sounds and the rain doesnt hurt till bout 100 km/hr, even then I get over it.

It was nice and relaxing. I then rode home after work in ma davida, in the cool evening air, enjoying ma little pootle home. Im still here.

I rode the other day to the post box down the road in a open face with a leather jacket, track pants, boots and gloves. I forgot my high vis...does that make me a bad rider, I forget

When I first started riding, I was scared into thinking all these things. Now after a little while, I still ride with all the gear...most of the time ( I take a little break from it when travelling 100metres down the road). I now concentrate more on not crashing, riding better and riding more responsibly than whether I have a chin piece on my helmet.

**popelli** · 4th October 2009, 18:52

Originally Posted by scumdog

If you wear an open face (or 'shorty' as I do) you just make yourself aware of the increased risk and cope with it the best you can.

If you wear a full faced helemt you should also be aware of the increased risk that a full face helmet imposes, firstly usually less visibility so you are more at risk of having an accident

Secondly the increased weight of the helmet, this can cause two things, the first is the increased chance of a broken neck because of the additional weight in a whiplash type situation, the second is your brain is like an egg yoke supported with a thin layer of fluid around it to protect the brain against sudden knocks, brain damage can occur when the shock is sufficient that this layer of fluid is insufficent and the brain comes into contact wth the skull.

The increased weight of a full face helmet makes this more likely to happen

Given the choice between brain damage and broken necks or a broken jaw the best choice is to avoid having accidents in the first place, the better visibility that an open face allows gives you a greater chance of avoiding an accident in the first place

It always amazes me seeing zipperheads riding in summer in tee shirts shorts minimal footwar and a full face helmet, not only do they look stupid, they probably are stupid.

**ital916** · 4th October 2009, 18:57

Originally Posted by popelli

If you wear a full faced helemt you should also be aware of the increased risk that a full face helmet imposes, firstly usually less visibility so you are more at risk of having an accident

Secondly the increased weight of the helmet, this can cause two things, the first is the increased chance of a broken neck because of the additional weight in a whiplash type situation, the second is your brain is like an egg yoke supported with a thin layer of fluid around it to protect the brain against sudden knocks, brain damage can occur when the shock is sufficient that this layer of fluid is insufficent and the brain comes into contact wth the skull.

The increased weight of a full face helmet makes this more likely to happen

Given the choice between brain damage and broken necks or a broken jaw the best choice is to avoid having accidents in the first place, the better visibility that an open face allows gives you a greater chance of avoiding an accident in the first place

It always amazes me seeing zipperheads riding in summer in tee shirts shorts minimal footwar and a full face helmet, not only do they look stupid, they probably are stupid.

Bah, a 400-500 gram difference aint going to made squat difference in a crash as to whether your neck breaks.

If you smack you head or get whiplashed then you could break your neck. Full faces have great visibility so do open face.

Lets be honest with ourselves. Some are more comfortable in open face than full, some vice versa. With modern helmets, the safety factor is up there. A little weight difference isnt going to make a huge difference. Mind you some helmets get into the 2.5 kg range to 3 kg range, where a difference is felt.

Bottom line, if you crash you could get fucked up. You might not. Its up to luck and your survival instincts.

Stop relying on a piece of gear to save you. Use the best piece of kit you have, your brain.

**Jonno.** · 4th October 2009, 19:02

Originally Posted by popelli

If you wear a full faced helemt you should also be aware of the increased risk that a full face helmet imposes, firstly usually less visibility so you are more at risk of having an accident

Secondly the increased weight of the helmet, this can cause two things, the first is the increased chance of a broken neck because of the additional weight in a whiplash type situation, the second is your brain is like an egg yoke supported with a thin layer of fluid around it to protect the brain against sudden knocks, brain damage can occur when the shock is sufficient that this layer of fluid is insufficent and the brain comes into contact wth the skull.

The increased weight of a full face helmet makes this more likely to happen

Given the choice between brain damage and broken necks or a broken jaw the best choice is to avoid having accidents in the first place, the better visibility that an open face allows gives you a greater chance of avoiding an accident in the first place

It always amazes me seeing zipperheads riding in summer in tee shirts shorts minimal footwar and a full face helmet, not only do they look stupid, they probably are stupid.

I hope you're joking.