Not just R1 riders and exposed skin...
I'm also astonished about the appearance of other riders.
There's many 'sportbike' riders over here in WA (GSXR, ZXR, CBR, R1) who
spend $15K+ on a bike, $700 on a helmet, but only wear sneakers (no money
left for a pair of socks), shorts, singlet & shaved legs. Oh, and no gloves.
I can't understand them.
Then there's the guys who ride semi protected (leather jacket, trousers &
sneakers) and carry unprotected female passengers. Just the thought of a
low speed 'on your ear' crash makes me wince.
I won't ride without leathers. The leathers I have show a few scuff marks
after sliding on a coarse surfaced race track at 130kmh, but they're a true
reminder that the damage to flesh & bone would have been if I was
unprotected (absolutely unthinkable)
I was unhurt after the race track crash, unlike my 6 year old boy who fell
on his unprotected knee on the basketball court on his second day of primary
school. As I was the one treating his wounds, I could imagine how much it
must have hurt, not to mention the constant dressing with first aid material
(the best of its kind costing me heaps). A 3kmh fall onto 'medium' coarse
tarmac can really spoil your day (rest of the week + more...).
Ride safe...
...and you won't regret it.
Oh, I still wear shorts & singlet. Under my leathers.
I've often thought the same thing but after riding on a weekend like the
one we just had ( bloody hot & humid ) you'll get so hot that you become
fatigued and lack concentration after only 5 minutes.
If I ride with shorts & T Shirt I do take it easy and don't pull any
'hero' moves. You're right though .... it'd bloody hurt coming off at
any speed with bugger all gear on ...