I have always had the feeling that when you ride a bike you are trying to be "In the wind"
(pardon the quote) but its true. On a motorcycle you are out of the protection of a car. You are out there IN the elements, not hiding from them.
This brings me to two things that i just don't get. Windshields and those stupid fucking skull face bandanas that all the "would be badboy bikers" wear.
Ok, windshields, I hear people who want a windshield because they dont want to feel the wind on the highway. Why the fuck not? Can't hold onto your bike? scared of being blown off? Lame. Now I am not necessarily talking shit about bagger riders. Its mainly the guys with the dynas and sportsters that want giant windshields for when they ride anywhere but the local starbucks. and no I don;'t mean the SOA quarter fairing on your "gang bike" either. Those little fairings are the only ones that really are worth a shit.
People complain about the wind hitting them in the face. come on, drive a car if you have that problem. Don't hide behind a ridiculous little piece of plastic.
ok now it brings me to the stupid skull bandanas and all the various versions of them. First off if you are an outlaw of some sort and you want to hide your face, sure they work for you, but they still suck. The weird thing is how its in the 80's or hotter here in so cal and people wear them damn things all year around!!! Ok if its cold and you want to be warm, sure wear a face mask or a bandana. but if thats your fucking fasion statement!?! wow, you suck.
ok i know that SOME guy is sitting here reading this saying "Dude, you are full of shit, you wear a full face!" yup, sure do. I'm doin it coz if and when i hit the pavement again, i want to keep my face. that stupid bandana with your skull cap helmet aint gonna do shit for your looks...
ok i was gonna post pix, but i'm not in the mood now...
18 comments:
say IT dave,,,,,,,,,,, say IT !!!!!!
yesssssssss
Couldn't have said it better....
People used to write letters into the mag, piseed because I chose to wear a full face helmet. They said that is no what you are supposed to wear on a Harley.....please
Now, as a person who commuted about 50 weeks a year on a bike when I lived in socal, I like a fairing. Riding a bike for me isn't about being in the wind, it's about making the bike lean over, accelerate, and maneuver in ways a car never could. I will take all day comfort as a bonus.....but that is just me being me
I get shit for wearing a fullface but like you I have wrecked too many times. 8 to be exact and only a few of them are my fault. I hate those bandanas also they are plain fuckin stupid. My raint is over.
dig the mood, the pics would have been a worthy compliment to a well written rant.
I will say on my touring bike (2-up cross country) I do run a fairing with a short windshield. This keeps my face in the wind without the wear and tear on the body when doing 75+ mph. Living in Illinois, I'm hundreds of miles from good curvy roads no matter which direction I go. So I put the fairing on for tearing ass down the interstate until I get to my riding destination. Once I'm there, it's quick disconnect. Throw that fairing in the hotel room and hit the curves. But I do hate windshields and fairings, it's my only bike with one on it.
I have to agree with you 100% on your thoughts. I too wear a full face helmet,,,,want to protect the "money maker" ahahaha. All kidding aside, ive seen too many faces left on about 50 feet of asphault. Not pretty.
I get comments all the time for the full face and Harley Combo. I say "You try riding during the NY winter in and out of Manhattan" Fuck em. First time with a full face, 12 o'clock wheelie turned into a 1 o'clock, flipped the FXR couple times and slid on my head. FIRST TIME! THANK The Heavens. As far as the masks go, The world is your oyster, we just gonna laugh at you.
AMEN! Preach it brotha!! =)
I have to say Dave that I have the utmost respect for you and nobody really likes posers. It seems that you roll unlike many do, but to think that there's only a limited amount of ways to do it in a world of 7,000,000,000 people is a little naive.
Absolutely...Unless you've got a bagger, ditch the stupid windshield. If you can't stand a little wind in the face and some bugs, sell your damn Softail and sit your ass on the porch to watch the world go by.
I do thousands of miles every year on my Wide Glide - no windshield and no bandana. I want to immerse myself in the whole experience and the wind is part of it.
s'all about personal style aye? me i hate wearing a full face, because i cant turn my head to see where the cars are comin from...if it rains i wrap a bandana around my face to stop the rain drops stinging my baby soft dimples...other than that, iam out there in it 100miles a day..
to each his own, but foam face masks in summer do make me larf.
When I see those fuckers I really want to punch them, lookit, no one's scared of bikers anymore, there is no aura of being bad when on a scoot and looking like you're wearing your skull on the outside threatens no one, not even the deeply religious, so please go fuck yerselves.
I'm definitely a fan of being in the wind. Never owned a bike with a fairing and unless it's a race bike, don't see much point. But a deer t-boned me around this time last spring while I was out on my little 45. I got lucky and kept the bike up, didn't break anything and did little damage to the bike but staring at the road in that 3/4 helmet and wondering if I was going to have a face in a few seconds convinced me to start wearing my full face again. My buddy went down last august in a decent jacket and helmet and still busted a hole in his ribs. So this winter i invested in some body armor. Call me a wussy all you want, I love to ride, and I want to keep riding.
You forgot the guys with apes taller than their windshields but then most of them are wearing the skull face masks too.
word!
real men rock beards anyway ha ha ha
Hell, I've got a compact Harley style windshield on my FXRS and I love it. I still get plenty of wind, but it keeps me warmer in the cold and cooler in the heat, times when I don't see anyone without a shield riding.
And no helmet for me, thanks.
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