[kingston73]

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/mo...-sander-test-how-select-good-riding-gear.html









This is an interesting read, especially when you scroll down to the "sander test".

 

[Blindstitch]

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/mo...-sander-test-how-select-good-riding-gear.html









This is an interesting read, especially when you scroll down to the "sander test".

Yes it is but for those who don't want to read here's your test.





The Sander Test

When you've selected a set of gear, perform the following thought experiment:

Mentally, climb into all the gear you've selected. Gloves, jacket, boots, helmet, etc. Everything you will or do wear while riding your motorcycle. Now, imagine that I'm walking up to you, with my imaginary belt sander. It runs at around 30 MPH, which is a reasonable crash speed. It's loaded with 80 grit sandpaper, which is sharper than asphalt, but not as coarse. I switch on my sander, and apply it anywhere the fancy strikes me: your face, knees, ankles, butt, hands, belly, etc. Where do you recoil in pain? Where are you feeling red-hot sandpaper stripping away skin? That is where you need to improve your gear.

The purpose of this thought experiment is to demonstrate, in an easily imagined way, what happens when you're sliding along the pavement. If your gear isn't up to snuff, you will feel a great deal of pain in the places where it doesn't cover sufficiently. Think about your face, pavement grinding by 2 inches away: do you want a full-face helmet now? Think about how much actual control you'd have in a slide: will those leather chaps really help? How will you keep your butt off the pavement? If you have fingerless gloves, how will you move your hand when it's trapped under your chest as you slide? If you have any exposed skin, there's an excellent chance that you'll lose it in a crash. And remember, as we established earlier, a crash can happen at any time, and without your control. The gear you wear every time you ride will determine what happens in a crash.

 

[Old Okie]

From all that, I conclude that I need more gear. I wear an armored jacket, helmet,

leather gloves and boots. All this is inconvenient to get in and out of and 90% of the riders

I see are Casual Carl types. Any how, I feel much better riding with all the gear and if some

riders look at me sort of funny that is their problem. Better get some ballistic pants,

maybe for Christmas??? It may be all mental but I feel more competent and positive about riding

with all that gear. I am sure some riders believe they are above crashing or falling and I never

plan to fall but it can happen.

 

[Linny]

Fear monger-errrrrrr! Isn't this skirting dangerously close to religion?

 

[marshallf3]

I don't have the luxury of gear, if I go down I'm going to have to depend on the survival skills I picked up riding in dirt. With luck I'll end up on a SUV hood, just close enough to grab that cell phone out of their hands, side of the head a few times and hope it will still call 911.



Sorry for the language, happened again in my car today.

 

[Shep]

Personal gear will always be a contentious issue.I always wear at least decent armoured gloves,good boots,Heavy Bike jacket with armoured elbow pads and in winter My leather Riding pants which have knee armour and of course a Helmet(Been law over here for years).



Also I have engine protector bars on both my CX500s and I'm certain a Dime to a dollar it was this gear that prevented me from having any real damage when I slid one of my CX on a roundabout a few years ago.

Without it I know my leg could have ended up like this even at a slow speed,

You can check out more accident pictures here,



http://photobucket.com/images/motorcycle accident/

 

[marshallf3]

Point taken Shep, and they say most accidents happen very close to home.



Have the bars but unless I don't see it coming I'll head for the dirt as we rarely have guard rails on the right, matter of fact if they try and turn this place into Dallas I'll go part time on my job and part time fighting those that make the decisions. I've got freinds, just haven't had the reason to use them to any extent.



We're finally getting more "bicycle aware" in the town, that was easy.

 

[Shep]

Point taken Shep, and they say most accidents happen very close to home.



Have the bars but unless I don't see it coming I'll head for the dirt as we rarely have guard rails on the right, matter of fact if they try and turn this place into Dallas I'll go part time on my job and part time fighting those that make the decisions. I've got freinds, just haven't had the reason to use them to any extent.



We're finally getting more "bicycle aware" in the town, that was easy.

Over the years both in North America and Europe a statistic that never changes is that most accidents happen within around a couple of miles of where you live.

I guess this is because on the outward bound journey maybe our heads aren't in full Ride/Drive mode for a few miles and aware and on the inward journey maybe we relax too much as we know we will soon be home.



A small error of judgement in a car and it might just a be a,"Ding" and an exchange of Insurance details.



A small error on a bike and you might be exchanging your own bed for a hospital one

Remember also that many cynical doctors/surgeons nickname,"Bikers" as,"Donors" and love it when it rains

 

[nolavox]

Riding Motorcycles can be Dangerous... DUH!--- From this JACKA** logic... I think a Titanium/ carbon fiber bubble is in order...

sticking a belt sander on your gonads is just Stupid

 

[Shep]

sticking a belt sander on your gonads is just Stupid

No doubt there's a fetish website for it

 

[nolavox]

No doubt there's a fetish website for it

All I can say admit, is that I did a google search for "belt sander fetish".... I'm now going to wash my eyes with hot sauce and begin work on my Titanium Bubble

 

[Cobram]

The sander test makes as much sense as a baseball bat (hooligan club for you UK boys) test would make to someone driving a car.



Take a baseball bat, and pick a spot you'd like to get whacked with it where a protrusion, bent piece of metal, rock, road debris, truck bumper etc. MIGHT hit you in an automobile accident.



All accidents are different, you can't prepare for EVERY eventuality of a possible accident, well, yeah, you can, the titanium womb above might work, until you suffocate anyway.



The test is moot anyway, the folks who need this kind of reminder are the ones riding in shorts,flip flops and doo rags, most of those would probably maim or kill themselves in short order if you gave them a belt sander, I think they'd somehow get in trouble with an imaginary one too.

 

[Shep]

The test is moot anyway, the folks who need this kind of reminder are the ones riding in shorts,flip flops and doo rags, most of those would probably maim or kill themselves in short order if you gave them a belt sander, I think they'd somehow get in trouble with an imaginary one too.

Natural Selection?

 

[OCR]

Also known as "The Darwin Axiom"!

 

[marshallf3]

I guess this is because on the outward bound journey maybe our heads aren't in full Ride/Drive mode for a few miles and aware and on the inward journey maybe we relax too much as we know we will soon be home.



In essence you've got it. "I'm just running to the corner store" on a trip one's been over so many times they do it in autopilot.



More error on this page than truth but I live 0.4 miles from the Eastern shore:

http://www.outdoorsok.com/Oklahoma/Hefner



The famous and often feared Lake Hefner Parkway, probably more suitably descibed as an Autobahn, is one of our major arteries that runs along the East side. The sheer amount of bicycle riders and joggers that the lake draws end up having to share the exit roads off of it. We've finally got some signage and reminders on the road to slow your a** down after you exit, however I'm as guilty as most of taking the exit and, since I've been going 80 for the past 10 miles, the car seeks 50 mph right along with the rest of them.



As with life a few people had to be killed before an awareness campaign was started and it's a long ways from being anywhere near what it should be.



If the State had the money and I had anything to say about it I'd completely re-write some of the OK Driver's manual and require that all licensed drivers go through the written test again. Fair is fair, it's going to cost me $260 to go through the Motorcycle Safety Course, a written test and a few more $ to get the M endorsement on my license. I can forgo the safety course by having my (or any other) bike presented on the same testing grounds the Police use - however not driven in by me. In the meantime, if stopped, I face a $??? ticket unless I can convince the Constable that I'm up on the law and am actively pursuing getting the proper endorsement.



I don't think I've really seen this come up on the forums but when riding I WILL use hand signals in addition to the flashers. Perhaps a lost art but it does tend to make a driver behind you more aware of your intentions.

 

[Shep]

I don't think I've really seen this come up on the forums but when riding I WILL use hand signals in addition to the flashers. Perhaps a lost art but it does tend to make a driver behind you more aware of your intentions.

Good point and useful.Although not super bright as a spot lamp the Blue LED spots I've fitted to my CX definitely make Cagers more aware.I think the hint of blue wakes them up to thinking maybe it's a,"Cop" bike.

They look brighter in that picture than they are in Daylight of course.

 

[DavidfromWisconsin]

Good point and useful.Although not super bright as a spot lamp the Blue LED spots I've fitted to my CX definitely make Cagers more aware.I think the hint of blue wakes them up to thinking maybe it's a,"Cop" bike.

They look brighter in that picture than they are in Daylight of course.

Blue lights are illegal in many states in the USA.

 

[Kilroy]

I would say bring on the sander! Except for maybe my neck I guess?

 

[marshallf3]

Blue lights are illegal in many states in the USA.



Define blue. I know they're illegal around here but as with everything it's subject to the decision of the officer/patrolman involved.



It's been a lazy day around here if they decide to get picky. If you're seen doing something seriously wrong you deserve to be stopped and at the minimum receive a verbal warning.



Back to the hand signals they can be a life saver.

 

[theRatBiker]

I would say bring on the sander! Except for maybe my neck I guess?

Yeah for me neck and wrists. My arms are always a little too long for the jacket. In the summer I get a reverse wristwatch tan line.