laut@glory.DEC (05/12/85)
In a recent posting, George Tatge writes: >There is absolutely nothing available in the consumer world that >will give you a nickles worth of slide protection other than leather. >I'm sure you have, what are to you, sufficient reasons for your >leather boycott but it may be inconsistent with your motorcycle >habit. > >If you insist on not buying leather and still riding, I would suggest >the heaviest Levi jacket you can find. This article brought a few questions to mind, which I thought might make for an interesting public discussion, to compare reactions from various sections of the country (and perhaps from outside the U.S.). All responses are welcomed: A) When you ride, do you wear full leathers, or only a leather jacket, or no leather at all? B) If you wear full leathers and stop at a store to purchase something, do people treat you like a "Big Bad Biker"? Do your leathers intimidate non-bikers? Have you ever been asked to leave a store or restaurant because your leathers were found offensive? C) Finally, in your opinion, who makes the best leather "armor" for bikers? I'm looking for protection and not appearance. I am over in the Metro Detroit area, which is basically the southeastern corner of Michigan. I have noticed from time to time that various bikers have "customized" their helmets with bull horns or antlers. In fact, there was/is a Detroit bike club which had, as its emblem or signet, a pair of horns attached to the helmet. When this club would ride down the road, all its members would wear full black leathers (literally from the neck down to the toes - no exposed skin at all), a full-face black helmet with a black visor, and a pair of large horns on the helmet. Almost every animal was represented, from bulls to antelopes to rams to deer, even a longhorn steer. One rider had horns so long he almost had to duck when going under bridges :-). Needless to say, when this entourage hit the streets, they would stop traffic in both directions as far as the eye could see, even on the freeways. I occasionally have the privilege of being able to see these helmets up close, and some of them are really works of art. They look like one-piece fiberglass constructions with not a seam in sight. My question here is two-fold: A) Do some of the bikers where you live customize their helmets with attachments? Or is this phenomenon limited to Detroit? B) What are your reactions to people who do this? I know this question is probably pretty obvious, but I thought I would ask anyway. What are your comments? Please post to "net.cycle" instead of personally to me. Thanks! --- Bill Laut UUCP: ...!{ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-glory!laut ARPA: laut%glory.DEC@decwrl.ARPA CSNET: laut%glory.DEC@decwrl.ARPA@csnet-relay DISCLAIMER: My statements are my own, and do not reflect the attitudes of Digital Equipment Corp. etc., etc., etc., ....
davidk@dartvax.UUCP (David C. Kovar) (05/13/85)
> A) When you ride, do you wear full leathers, or only a leather > jacket, or no leather at all? I wear a leather jacket with a fur collar, jeans, leather riding boots, leather gloves, and a Simpson helmet. I found leather pants far too hot, not to mention impractical when off of the cycle > B) If you wear full leathers and stop at a store to purchase > something, do people treat you like a "Big Bad Biker"? Do your leathers > intimidate non-bikers? Have you ever been asked to leave a store or > restaurant because your leathers were found offensive? I've never attracted adverse attention when wearing full leathers. They were form fitting, straight black with no markings, and had a minimum of zippers et all. I also am clean shaven with short hair, which I am sure helps offset the image, and I rode a Sabre and not a Harley. > C) Finally, in your opinion, who makes the best leather "armor" > for bikers? I'm looking for protection and not appearance. USAF made my jacket, years back. It's warm, very tough, and has plenty of room inside it. Check out your local surplus store. Mine came from my father. The full leathers were on loan and I do not recall who made them. > A) Do some of the bikers where you live customize their helmets > with attachments? Or is this phenomenon limited to Detroit? I never saw such in Washington D.C. Even less of a chance in Hanover NH. > B) What are your reactions to people who do this? I know this > question is probably pretty obvious, but I thought I would ask anyway. I stay away from them, particularly when I am on a cycle. The one time I ended up on a highway with a group like that, I had to stop at the same gas station as they were stopping at. I was not terribly well received, to say the least. It also seems that it would cut down or destroy the structural integrity of the helmet. Stupid. But "Think of it as evolution in action." Looking back, I notice that I said 'group'. Individual riders dressed in such a fashion are cool, for the most part. They wave on the highway, are polite, et all. Groups of them, though seem to have to prove something, and that's when I stay clear. -- David C. Kovar USNET: {linus|decvax|cornell|astrovax}!dartvax!davidk%amber ARPA: davidk%amber%dartmouth@csnet-relay CSNET: davidk%amber@dartmouth "I felt like a punk who'd gone out for a switchblade and come back with a tactical nuke. 'Shit', I thought. 'Screwed again. What good's a tactical nuke in a street fight?'" "Burning Chrome" by William Gibson
darryl@ISM780.UUCP (05/15/85)
[] A) When you ride, do you wear full leathers, or only a leather jacket, or no leather at all? I wear the standard issue leather jacket and Levi's, with boots and gloves, of course. This can be difficult in LA in the summertime -- do you like wearing a jacket when it's 105+ out? I have a heavy coat and a light one, but above 90 or so, they become a constant irritant. (BTW, the new Shoei RF-5V vented helmet works just fine!). B) If you wear full leathers and stop at a store to purchase something, do people treat you like a "Big Bad Biker"? Do your leathers intimidate non-bikers? Have you ever been asked to leave a store or restaurant because your leathers were found offensive? I have found that holding a helmet in my hand is enought to intimidate some people. On the other hand, I get questioned frequently enough about what I ride, why I ride, etc. to make up for it. C) Finally, in your opinion, who makes the best leather "armor" for bikers? I'm looking for protection and not appearance. Umm, "the best"? I don't know about that, but I wear as much protection as I can stand. > I have noticed from time to time that >various bikers have "customized" their helmets with bull horns or >antlers. Sounds like it could be dangerous in a get-off -- you might get hung up on yourself, or they might catch on the bike, etc. Otherwise it's a matter of personal taste (*snicker*), on which I'll (*chortle*) keep my opinion (heh, heh, heh) to myself. --Darryl Richman, INTERACTIVE Systems Corp. ...!cca!ima!ism780!darryl The views expressed above are my opinions only.
klmartin@watmath.UUCP (K.L. Martin, Hardware) (05/15/85)
I am pleased to say that I have survived for many years on good luck and sweet leather. My days of dirt riding in the northland of Quebec convinced me of one thing ( !!!!! BE PROTECTED !!!!!! ). Leather on more than one occasion has literally saved my butt. I have to admit however that I break my own rules by zipping out to the grocery store with only my jacket on, or to work (aprox 5 min. drive) but whenever I am out on the open roads you will find me glued to them leathers. I have mellowed through the years and now I do a lot of touring, I have an old 1973 bmwr75/5 that I chug arround on. My wife and I chose not to wear black leather as of the reputation it has gotten in the area. The locals automatically assume anyone wearing black is out of an old Clint Eastwood movie about to pillage their town and put flouride in the water. We found a nice burgandy leather that fits the bill, now I no longer get stared at when entering restaurants or given funny looks if we happen to stop at a motel for the night (mainly to have a shower). With reguard to customized helmets they were all the rage in Quebec about 8 years ago with deer, moose, elk and car horns implanted, welded and otherwise affixed to the beanie, but the best one I saw was a detailed painting of a fantasy landscape. It ran arround the bottom of the helmet about 2" high, in that two inches were castles, towns and farms the rest of the helmet was a clouded sky.
ogre@mhuxl.UUCP (LO COCO) (05/16/85)
> >There is absolutely nothing available in the consumer world that > >will give you a nickles worth of slide protection other than leather. > >...the heaviest Levi jacket you can find. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > A) When you ride, do you wear full leathers, or only a leather > jacket, or no leather at all? It depends on the weather, but usually just a leather jacket (if that). -----------------------------------------------------------------------> > B) If you wear full leathers and stop at a store to purchase > something, do people treat you like a "Big Bad Biker"? Do your leathers > intimidate non-bikers? Have you ever been asked to leave a store or > restaurant because your leathers were found offensive? You are what you allow people to call you. We here at AT&TT who ride call ourselves Motorcycle Enthusiasts, NOT BIKERS! -----------------------------------------------------------------------> > C) Finally, in your opinion, who makes the best leather "armor" > for bikers? I'm looking for protection and not appearance. Sorry, no opinion or comment. -----------------------------------------------------------------------> > A) Do some of the bikers where you live customize their helmets > with attachments? Or is this phenomenon limited to Detroit? Once again, we're not bikers: I put color reflective stripes on my helmet, and I'm considering an AT&T logo if they won't get upset that I'm stealing their logo. -----------------------------------------------------------------------> > B) What are your reactions to people who do this? I know this > question is probably pretty obvious, but I thought I would ask anyway. I don't criticize anyone for what they want to do, but I'm not saying that I would do it. -----------------------------------------------------------------------. -- John B. Lo Coco (...mhuxl!ogre) 1-201-467-7436
dougs@teklds.UUCP (Doug Schwartz) (05/16/85)
In article <2130@decwrl.UUCP> laut@glory.DEC writes: >In a recent posting, George Tatge writes: > >>There is absolutely nothing available in the consumer world that >>will give you a nickles worth of slide protection other than leather. > > A) When you ride, do you wear full leathers, or only a leather >jacket, or no leather at all? When I ride, I usually wear a leather jacket, Castre roadrace boots, Levis, Bates RR gloves, and an AGV F1 helmet. > B) If you wear full leathers and stop at a store to purchase >something, do people treat you like a "Big Bad Biker"? Do your leathers >intimidate non-bikers? Have you ever been asked to leave a store or >restaurant because your leathers were found offensive? No -- I smile a lot. No. No -- I used to have a full set of natural rough suede leathers that looked so nice I'ld even wear the pants when I wasn't riding. > C) Finally, in your opinion, who makes the best leather "armor" >for bikers? I'm looking for protection and not appearance. I've always found the Harley shop carry some heavy duty leather goods, however; I must admit a preference for Hein Gericke (sp?). My problem has always been finding a jacket with a 37" sleeve. > A) Do some of the bikers where you live customize their helmets >with attachments? Or is this phenomenon limited to Detroit? > B) What are your reactions to people who do this? I know this >question is probably pretty obvious, but I thought I would ask anyway. > > What are your comments? Please post to "net.cycle" instead of >personally to me. Thanks! I used to be a partsman at a Harley shop in Oregon for a while so I have seen all kinds of wacky helmet/head coverings. I'll be damned if I'll glue something on my helmet to give leverage to the ground during a fall. Doug (you make em I break em) Schwartz tektronix!teklds!dougs
lrd@drusd.UUCP (L. R. DuBroff) (05/17/85)
> You are what you allow people to call you. > We here at AT&TT who ride call ourselves Motorcycle Enthusiasts, > NOT BIKERS! > > John B. Lo Coco I guess that the post-divestiture AT&T bikers can no longer call themselves "Bell's Angels." Or was that the "Mild Ones?"
ogre@mhuxl.UUCP (LO COCO) (05/17/85)
> I guess that the post-divestiture AT&T bikers can no longer call > themselves "Bell's Angels." Or was that the "Mild Ones?" You are what you allow people to call you. We here at AT&TT who ride call ourselves Motorcycle Enthusiasts, NOT BIKERS! Please! NOT BIKERS! -- John B. Lo Coco (...mhuxl!ogre) (...szuxn!ogre) 1-201-467-7436