Total Motorcycle Community Forums

so in VA helmets are mandatory. now i've been riding for about 3 months now. so i'm a noob. full-face for me. I went on a road trip up to Cleveland, OH last weekend. I had to drive my truck as i was meeting a bro up there. wish i could have ridden my bike.

Anyway, the weather was great and I saw a lot of MCs on the road. a lot of group riding. and into PA i see so many on the highways with no helmets. and usually no helmets and no jackets. t-shirts. Now I'm sure its super comfy to ride that way.

it seems like the groups i saw. the entire group was helmet-less or everyone wore them. i dont think i saw one mixed group. Now i know the laws are different there, so i dont judge. but it still freaked my "O Ring" out.

It's super comfy until you fall off

I almost always wear my gear but ive taken the occasional squidly ride around the local neighborhood and it does feel nice to ride in a t-shirt, especially in this hot weather lately. But I cant imagine wanting to ride with anything less than a full face helmet. The thought of insects pelting me in the face at 65mph doesnt appeal to me.

Ian522 wrote:I almost always wear my gear but ive taken the occasional squidly ride around the local neighborhood and it does feel nice to ride in a t-shirt, especially in this hot weather lately. But I cant imagine wanting to ride with anything less than a full face helmet. The thought of insects pelting me in the face at 65mph doesnt appeal to me.

They really don't hurt. Even the big ones

To each his (or her) own. But yeah, I know what you mean. It's not my business to say anything out loud. But I can't help thinking "that's gonna hurt........" when I see riders conspicuously lacking gear. I hope they never have to find out how much it's gonna hurt.

Thats the way we roll in Ohio. Well not me in particular, mostly not anyway, but the large majority of riders. I guess if you aren't used to seeing it it could be freaky. But it really is the norm here.

Same here in Kentucky. Hardly anyone wears a helmet. You see people in shorts, t-shirt and sandals riding around all the time here!

I see lots of people in NY with shorts, T-shirts, and fake plastic helmets.

I'm in Columbus, OH (I'm from VA imagine that! I'd LOVE to ride down VA beach on the strip), and I go outside everyday for lunch to catch a glimpse of a motorcycle going by (what can I say, I'm addicted) and about 95% of the people I see have no helmets, no jackets, just pants. On my commute in, I usually see the same guy, who I know is new, and he wears his full outfit every day. I keep seeing one guy on the weekends on a Ninja (red) that wears SHORTS....and slip on shoes. Slip. On. Shoes.

But I'm like you, jstark, I think it should be a right for the individual but I too shake my head and say, "please be careful!" to myself when they ride by.

Once you cross the PA border you never see anyone with helmets. I can't even remember once seeing someone in PA with a helmet on that wasn't my riding partner.

But I'm all for their right. I think generally speaking once they crash and spread their brain all over the pavement, the only people they are really hurting are themselves and their family. That's their choice. I can't think of a situation where a helmetless rider would be a threat to other vehicles.