The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

I bought a yellow LS2 modular helmet, I use it with a yellow vest, cars often slow down when nearing me as they think I am a law enforcement agent or a emergency health provider (yes we have these on motorcycles here in Pt). I can say my scary moments have been drastically reduced.

I bet they see you! Cheers to that! As they say, "Live to Ride, Ride to Live."
Doing it

PCX150Rider wrote:

I wore my 3/4 helmet the other day while riding in 90°F temperatures and it was like being in a sauna! By the time I got home my sunglasses had sweat running down them so bad that I had to put my face shield up and let the wind from my riding blow the sweat off until I could get to a proper stopping point.

It's always fun when you get sweat dripping into your eyes. Trying to rub them with riding gloves on is useless. . .even without gloves on it's a challenge. Best to pull over at some point and refresh. Salt stings.

I'm wearing a balaclava inside my helmet all the time, it's like socks for my helmet. Really cheap in Ebay, bought 5 of it. It absorbs all the sweat. no dripping problem. Also keep the helmet smell-free. Easy to wash and dry fast too.

I use a silver helmet , a flaming red bike, and a modulating headlight..damn if they cant see me coming they cant see period.. nothing will save you from cell phones and blindness, or a race to make the soccer game .

Even though I have hi-viz on and a red scooter with multiple lights, there will always be drivers who will look right through you as though you don't exist. Those are the drivers I am afraid of. They are in a hurry. They are on the phone. They are late to this or that. They have deadlines. Etc.

Every single time I try to leave my subdivision, which has a traffic light, someone, and sometimes more than one, will deliberately run the red light. I am not talking about getting through it as it turns red. I am talking about us looking left and right before going on green, and then look again because there will be someone who will still run it.

There are accidents there every single day. It becomes our responsibly to watch for them, because they will definitely NOT watch out for you, no matter what you are wearing.

Mel46 wrote:Even though I have hi-viz on and a red scooter with multiple lights, there will always be drivers who will look right through you as though you don't exist. Those are the drivers I am afraid of. They are in a hurry. They are on the phone. They are late to this or that. They have deadlines. Etc.

Every single time I try to leave my subdivision, which has a traffic light, someone, and sometimes more than one, will deliberately run the red light. I am not talking about getting through it as it turns red. I am talking about us looking left and right before going on green, and then look again because there will be someone who will still run it.

There are accidents there every single day. It becomes our responsibly to watch for them, because they will definitely NOT watch out for you, no matter what you are wearing.

Please do not lose sight of this fact:
"Just under 50% of all motorcyclist fatalities did not have any other vehicles involved."
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the majority of non-fatal bike accidents also involve only "one vehicle".

Fish

Of that 50%, how many of those were new riders; how many were showing off; how many were going faster than the speed limit?

Now let's look at statistics for auto drivers. How many were new drivers; how many were showing off; how many were going faster than the speed limit?

The statistics would be about the same. The difference is that most automobile drivers would live after an accident. Most bike riders wouldn't.

Ride like your life depended on it, because it does.

Around here there are several recent motorcycle fatalities and two were without another car involved. One was speeding down a curvy highway at night and failed to negotiate the curve and hit a tree.. Both him and rider died.. 2AM probably alcohol related..another one ran a stop sign and hit a tree..also late 4 AM.. The most recent one was two got killed when a motorcyclist hit a pedestrian.. Figure that one out.. 2PM in the afternoon ..(Talk about destiny)

I apologize for this long post but coffee is to blame. . ..

With all the crazy hot tropical weather we've been having in my area lately I've been mostly relying on my Hi-Viz Vest (from Olympia) TBH and my 3/4 open face helmet to reduce the impending doom of pouring sweat. The balaclava suggestion posted here sounds like a good idea for all seasons. That said there are some good videos on YouTube on how to wash a helmet (liner).

FWIW I've got both silver and black helmets. When the temperatures are more reasonable I always where my FF helmets.

My riding lately has been mostly around town with a few exceptions. I have to say that wearing the vest does give me the impression that people who may possibly overlook my presence on the road normally do seem to see me at the last second and either stop while in the process of pulling out of a side road or driveway or if oncoming give me a ton of time to pass before they make a left hand turn. That said there are and always will be those few who just remain a threat. The thing is that with the rising world population and more competition for space on the public roads there are that many more threatening (whether knowing or not knowing) drivers. Statistically they may not be any larger a percentage than they were 40 years ago (somehow I think they are though) but since the population is so much larger there are just plain more of them. For example 10% of 1000 drivers is 100 people. . .10% of 100,000 drivers is 10,000 people etc. . .. Then when you add in the digital revolution and onslaught of prescription medications with a rising number of aged (dementia, sight and hearing loss) it just gets worse.

The other night I decided to take a ride on the scooter in some well deserved refreshing cool night air with my newly acquired Joe Rocket Atomic 5 Jacket (Hi Viz Yellow) and have to say that I was quite pleased with it. In fact having the armor kind of gave me a false sense of security. It made me wonder what it would be like to have a "get off" with that vs not with that. That said I'm glad that the weather is finally starting to become more reasonable and I'll be using the Joe Rocket Jacket much more frequently. . .especially on longer rides out of town. And as an added bonus it does have a "zip in liner" so I can use it as the temps drop. Compared to wearing my traditional '50's type leather jacket it's not only lighter but will surely provide more protection at key points like the shoulders, elbows, and back. It makes me ask myself why I didn't get an "armored" jacket long ago.

I have an MT Thunder 3
Stand out a mile

themerlin wrote:I have an MT Thunder 3
Stand out a mile

There you go !!

Fish

I currently have a Shoei (for me) and an AGV (for my daughters) helmet. I can definitely tell the difference in the quality, the Shoei being superior. I've researched Arai helmets, and they seem to be a very premium brand as well.
I've found this "whitish" Arai Oriental, which looks very fresh to me. I can't afford it now, and my only reserve would be the flowers on it. Is it a lil too girly for y'all? But what the hell I'm 42, I ride a scooter, I think it looks cool and has lots of details (I'm the year of the dragon 1976). Who else thinks it cool?

I can see the appeal but its not my bag. To each there own.


Classic design for me was Johny Cecotto or KR.

Denny wrote:I currently have a Shoei (for me)...

A colorful helmet, similar to airbrushing on cars, will distract drivers of other cars

hi viz yellow for helmet and jacket....

Denny wrote:I currently have a Shoei (for me) and an AGV (for my daughters) helmet. I can definitely tell the difference in the quality, the Shoei being superior. I've researched Arai helmets, and they seem to be a very premium brand as well.
I've found this "whitish" Arai Oriental, which looks very fresh to me. I can't afford it now, and my only reserve would be the flowers on it. Is it a lil too girly for y'all? But what the hell I'm 42, I ride a scooter, I think it looks cool and has lots of details (I'm the year of the dragon 1976). Who else thinks it cool?

Pretty snappy looking on a coffee table. ..
but once in motion looks like you're asking drivers to find your head in the flowering shrubs. No discernable head/helmet shape jumps out....indicating a human is nearby.
There's a reason soldiers wear a broken pattern of colors & shapes.
Just my .02$
Fish

FWIW I saw at least 3 fawns (could have been 4) today and a doe all in a group in my local neighborhood.

Yes, I was on my scooter but going very slow just enjoying the serenity.

They didn't seem too surprised when I came along either . . . they seemed to look at each other and then figure it was time go.

The broken pattern on the fawns and colors do help them mesh into a woodsy background but not so much on pavement.

That said it's the "white tail" that they get their names from that real shines in the daylight. And it's the last thing you see when they split the scene.

Knowing this now I'm going to have to be even more cautious as the deer population continues to grow around my neck of the woods (especially at dawn and dusk).

Denny wrote:I currently have a Shoei (for me) and an AGV (for my daughters) helmet. I can definitely tell the difference in the quality, the Shoei being superior. I've researched Arai helmets, and they seem to be a very premium brand as well.
I've found this "whitish" Arai Oriental, which looks very fresh to me. I can't afford it now, and my only reserve would be the flowers on it. Is it a lil too girly for y'all? But what the hell I'm 42, I ride a scooter, I think it looks cool and has lots of details (I'm the year of the dragon 1976). Who else thinks it cool?

If you have some time, here's a really great and interesting read about Shoei and Arai - the companies; their beginnings and philosophy behind their designs.
https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/s ... ai-helmets

All that glitters isn't gold.
Price paid is no guarantee of quality.

https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/helmets/?manuf ... All&type=1

https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/helmets/?manuf ... All&type=1

There is an $800 helmet??! ( ARAI RX-7V , £650) That thing had better be able to protect my entire body when I go down!