Hat Trick

Hat Trick

Author: Judy Mecham

Part 3 of a 3-part series on motorcycle apparel

From our September, 2007 Newsletter.

 

So far, we have not talked about helmets, but you know that a good helmet is vital. A helmet is the only piece of riding equipment that can actually save your life in a crash. Even better, it can be the difference between spending your life in a wheelchair sucking meals through a straw or living a normal life. I am always amazed by riders who say they are less comfortable riding with a helmet than without one.

As our article on picking a helmet points out, if you spend the time and money to buy and adapt to a comfortable full-coverage helmet, it will actually make riding more pleasant by reducing fatigue and noise, protecting your eyes, sheltering you from rain and bugs, providing a controlled flow of air on hot days, making your head warmer on cold days, and keeping the wind and sun from dehydrating you. Riders who have spent the time to try a lot of helmets have all found some that fit them very comfortably, and I don’t know anyone who is more comfortable at speeds above 45 mph without a good helmet than with one. We have noticed at big cruiser rallies that more riders have stopped following the flock that wears no helmets or wears non-DOT novelty beanies, and are choosing instead to wear real DOT helmets with actual protection.

Dress to Prevent Accidents

Wearing gear that makes you comfortable and prevents fatigue by blocking wind and noise can help you ride more safely. However, there is an even more dramatic way of dressing to avoid accidents: wear bright colors. Accident causation studies have frequently noted that motorcyclists with light and bright-colored helmets and jackets are less likely to be involved in accidents. Other drivers should see us, but sometimes they don’t try hard enough and sometimes the job is made difficult by glare or obstructions that obscure their view. I usually wear a bright jacket, and notice a difference when I am wearing something less visible in traffic. Other drivers are considerably more likely to overlook me. The colors that seem to be most effective are orange, yellow, white, red and perhaps pink (although until recently there wasn’t much pink motorcycle apparel out there!). Motorcyclists like the fact that dark colors don’t show dirt and perhaps contribute to a bad-ass image, but bright colors are a simple, passive way of avoiding getting flattened.

Around here, new bikes show up all the time, and so does clothing. However, the bikes eventually go back, but when we find apparel we like, we hang onto it. I have a couple of jackets that I still wear that are in their third decade, and most of us have proven pieces of apparel that go along on the long rides, when space is limited and we need to have clothing we can depend on to keep the ride comfortable—and come through in a crash—under a wide range of circumstances. Hopefully, you have or will find those core apparel items too.