Powersports Connection

By Matt Blansett, March 2008

Finally, February is behind us, and we can look forward to longer days, higher temps, and less ice and snow. Lots of guys and gals are excited to get the motocross racing season started, with most local tracks having at least one race scheduled in March. The street riders are getting antsy too, waiting for the mercury to rise enough to enjoy the pavement.

I know the feeling, because I’m as ready as the next person. My bike is polished to a reflective high gloss shine from hours of waxing. The tank is full of high-octane; the oil has been changed. I even went as far as washing and drying my helmet liners. I was breaking out the leather conditioner for my jacket when my wife walked into the garage. She poked around the shop, eying all the motorcycle swag I’ve accumulated over the years. When she posed the question, I sensed a storm brewing.

"Which helmet is in the bag on the shelf?" she asked.

"That’s the helmet from 'the crash,'" I replied.

She didn’t need any explanation, we both know exactly which crash I was referring to. That helmet stays in the bag on a shelf in my garage. Once in a while, I take it down and have a look.

The deep gouges and long scratches from the chin bar around to the rear vents are a reminder of what can happen to a motorcyclist. The jacket I was wearing that day was cut down the middle by the paramedics, and I’ve lost one of the gloves I had from the same incident.

While I don’t think it wise to dwell on a single event in any rider’s history, I can’t bring myself to part with the old silver brain bucket. There’s no doubt in my mind that I was saved a much worse fate that day by wearing the proper gear. It’s all just trash now, but thanks to that gear, most of me still functions properly.

I’ll try not to be a preacher here, but the gear we wear is sometimes the difference between laughing about a crash and lying in a hospital bed. I know some helmets are uncomfortable, and jackets in July are hot. But I will remind you riders and readers, the temperature of pavement at sixty miles per hour is much higher than the temperature inside your jacket.

The same concept applies to dirt riders as well as those of us on the street. Those heavy off-road boots and those knee pads seem like such a hassle, until the first time they save you a broken foot or knee surgery. Those racing goggles are always fogging up, and making it hot inside the helmet, and then a rock hits them so hard it knocks the lens loose. Chicks dig scars, but not the hole where your eye used to be.

The argument I hear the most is: "I’m just going for a short ride. I’ll be back in five minutes. It’ll take longer to put all this on than the ride itself. I’ll be careful."

My crash was five miles from my house, on a beautiful sunny day, and had nothing to do with speed or riding ability. No drugs or alcohol were involved. It can happen to you, and if you ride long enough, it probably will.

Proper riding gear can be the difference between being a motorcyclist with some great stories to tell, or one of those guys who says, "I used to ride those things until this one day..."

Wear all the gear, all the time. Ride safe. I’m going to put this helmet back in the bag. Maybe someday I’ll throw it away, but not today.

Matthew Blansett is the Parts Manager at Columbia Powersports and has twenty years of riding experience and over ten years in the powersports industry.