Back on the bike, happy!

Whatever the type of helmet, we often lose sight of the role of the chinstrap.
Some put on their helmet and don't even close the chinstrap, or they put so much play between the chinstrap and their chin that they can pass the chinstrap under their chin without having to open it.
In my humble opinion, a finger between the jugular and the chin is ok, more becomes dangerous
Yves

Flatspot said:

My first crash was prior to the helmet law and I was only wearing a beanie hat (well it was winter) Then, fast forward to 2010 and I had a very high speed off doing a top speed event, amazingly to me and all around I was able to stand up and walk to the ambulance sent to scrape up the bits, my crash helmet saved my head and face with a huge scrape down where my left eye would have contacted the tarmac. To this day I don’t recall my head hitting the ground, but it did.

Also around 1971/2 there was a head on collision between 2 motorcycles, 2 riding the one bike were both decaptitated wearing full face helmets, and the lad riding the other way without a helmet lived but spent 12 months in hospital having his face reconstructed - he never looked the same afterwards.

Personally I’d prefer to be dead, out of it, than fearfully disfigured like he was.

Today, I wear my open face helmet on the Norton, but only ever a full face on my ZZR or Busa. and not the other way round.

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You would rather be dead instead of not looking good - are you a fashion model ? - 'Live fast, die young and make a beautiful corpse' ? (James Dean)
Many years ago in Victoria there was a racing motorcyclist who was testing a TZ350 Yamaha which had the 4LS front brake. He was not wearing a helmet. The bike chucked him over the front onto his face on a road which had a non-skid surface. I have destroyed two helmets. One had a split in the back. The other had a flat on the top where I had gone down the road on the top of my head. I was on my side when I reached the ripple in the bitumen. My collar bone copped it, but it could so easily have been my neck. It was due to somebody else's stupidity. These days I would just run up the back of him. He chopped in front of me and braked. I locked my brake avoiding him and got launched.
My mate was the best A Grade rider in Victoria in his day. I discussed crashing with him. He said ' I think you have to be unlucky to get killed while road racing'. I agree with him - what happens is completely random All you can do is take care and minimise the risk. 'Practice makes perfect'. If you are competent, you do not crash. The most dangerous time when riding a motorcycle is when you first start. When I first started road racing, I should have been banned. Any idiot could have seen I was going to crash. I only ever got black-flagged once.
These days, if I race - it is easy. I just do it automatically. I never have to stick my neck out.

Do not race with drum brakes. If they are good enough, they are never reliable.

acotrel said:

Do not race with drum brakes. If they are good enough, they are never reliable.

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Al… this thread is about Yves being glad to get back on his bike…

He is NOT racing it.

And it has a mighty fine looking pair of disc front brakes.

Drop the drivel will yer…?!

At lease Yves is getting back on the ROAD and enjoying his new well set up bike and getting out there for as long as he can, not like someone (Al) who only talks about racing days and nothing else and how long has it been since you been on your bike Al, good on you Yves and hope you have many more rides in front of you and able to keep riding for as long as you can, old injuries do slow us down when we get older but hopefully Yves it don't get so bad you have to give up riding, well not for a long time yet (fingers crossed) nothing worst than giving up something you have so much love for, instead of sitting behind a key board writing about the good old days when I use to race, Live to ride, ride to live as they say, get out there and enjoy that lovely bike and keep those miles rolling in for as long as you are able to.
To Al, you need to get on your bike we all know about your riding, well racing days, but if you can't then maybe its time to give it all up, but it be easy to make your bike into a great road bike with a normal road gear box fitted or mods to your gear box instead of just talking about what you use to do.
Sorry AL but sometimes you need to give it a rest as most here are all on the road enjoying our bikes and life style while we all can.
This is my opinion only and no use enjoying your bike in the shed only looking at it and thinking about riding, why I have more than one bike if one is off the road I have another, a classic bike and a modern bike, as well my dirt bike for those way out of there places.

Ashley

What a beautiful machine! Great news to be back on it.

That’s the same way I get on my bike all the time with two good legs. We short people have been doing it for years!

Nice to

yves norton seeley said:

What happiness today, six weeks after my operation, I ride a motorcycle again.
I did 100 kms today, 100 kms of pure happiness, the MV Magni is on fire.
I found a trick to get my ruined leg over the saddle:
I put the bike on its side stand, I put my good left leg on the footrest and I stand up, my right leg then passes easily over the saddle.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with my surgeon for a check-up.
Before my operation I had said that I would be on a motorcycle after three weeks, I'm sorry, it took me six weeks.
On the photo you can see my Cromwell helmet repainted in the colors of Agostini's helmet from the end of the sixties, thank you Pierre Vangin
Keep you posted


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Nice to see you again
Looking forward to seeing you back at practice when you're ready

Glad to see you out and about! Enjoy your ride every chance you get. Determined people who truly love to ride will find a way around a handicap, they will persevere!