My parents always ground into my head from a young age to always wear a helmet no matter what! To this day even if I'm just warming up my daughters ttr 50 with training wheels I make sure to put one on. I am always disturbed when I see guys (or girls) riding without a helmet wheather it be on a 50, trials bike or a four wheeler, and that goes double for when kids are around. A couple examples lately here on the internet that I was suprised to see was R2wtrials on the Beta 4t with no helmet and what I think was worse was a video on the Trials Training Center web site of Laia Sanz riding at the TTC with no helmet. I know she was not doing anything tuff for her, but there where a lot of young girls around and things happen. IMO she should have not been allowed to ride without a helmet, World Champion or not! Then to put video of that on the web is even worse. I don't mean to be picking on R2wtrials and I really don't want to say anything bad about the TTC, these are just two examples I have seen lately. I grew up riding at a private motorcycle club and out there you don't even start your bike without a helmet and I'm suprised more areas don't have that rule. We now have trials out there at that club and some of the vintage trials guys are the worse, they say "I'm just warming up my bike in first gear" even after you tell them and they see all the signs. I know trials is slow, and I may be anel, but I just had to say somthing

Edited December 4, 200619 yr by sirhc

r2 had a good excuse for not wering it his head was a lot bigger that day and it woudnt fit

I have often noticed that some of the pre-65 brigade ride without a helmet. This surely sets a bad example. I see pictures often in TMX of such things.

OMG! We can never again post piccies of Sammy either, as we would not want to set a bad example

oddly enough in my view you'd probaly ride better without the helmet as you can hear what the bike is doing much better than when you have one on.sometimes with sometime's without for me,if its a nice hot day and its an easy trial then its nice to go without.

it's just one of those thing's, trial's started without helmet's and some people just like to keep the tradition up.

Edited December 4, 200619 yr by bilco

oddly enough in my view you'd probaly ride better without the helmet as you can hear what the bike is doing

Meet http://www.ashleyfiolek.com/ she is a deaf motocrosser

I don't understand the 'sets a bad example' thinking. Adults can make their own choices as to whether they ride with helmets or not. Kids are supervised at events so don't have the choice. Parents whose kids ride outside of events have presumabley drummed it into them that it's wise to wear a helmet so it's normal for them to do so. Just because someone well known appears without a helmet shouldn't influence what others do - it's about safety, not fashion. Saying that they shouldn't be shown without a helmet is surely the same as saying they shouldn't be seen smoking or drinking either. The problem these days is that people no longer seem to be responsible for their own actions, it's always someone else's fault when things go wrong.

oddly enough in my view you'd probaly ride better without the helmet as you can hear what the bike is doing

Meet http://www.ashleyfiolek.com/ she is a deaf motocrosser

I did'nt realise we was going onto motorcrosser's aswell,she must have some kind of rev counter on her bar's to let her know what the engine is doing,if not she's a very talented girl.

come to think of it i don't think the old scrambler's of that time had helmet's either.

like someone else has just stated when there school boy's/girl's there made to wear them when they become adult's they have a choice.

There was a very good deaf Trials rider in the UK -possibly Scottish, his name escapes me for the moment. He used to like the bigger CC bikes because they vibrated more, it was this vibration that let him 'feel' what the bike was doing.

I remember meeting him once. He was in a bit of trouble at the top of a section and I came up behind him and shouted does he need a hand? I didn't realise he was deaf and was confused why he totally ignored me. As he was just about to throw his bike back down the rock face I grabbed him anyway. He was pretty relived and only after he gave me the thumbs up did I realise who he was.

His name just came to me -I think it was Carrick Crawford-Anderson or something like that.

That's him!

There was a very good deaf Trials rider in the UK -possibly Scottish, his name escapes me for the moment. He used to like the bigger CC bikes because they vibrated more, it was this vibration that let him 'feel' what the bike was doing.

I remember meeting him once. He was in a bit of trouble at the top of a section and I came up behind him and shouted does he need a hand? I didn't realise he was deaf and was confused why he totally ignored me. As he was just about to throw his bike back down the rock face I grabbed him anyway. He was pretty relived and only after he gave me the thumbs up did I realise who he was.

His name just came to me -I think it was Carrick Crawford-Anderson or something like that.

Almost - Crawford Carrick-Anderson.

There should be freedom of choice, however we (the general public) do need protecting from ourselves sometimes.

Riding without a helmet should not be encouraged, even if you are competing in an AMCA event or on a classic bike or even just practicing.

nevermind freedom of choice, i don't feel safe without one, probably because whenever i have ridden my dad has always urged me to wear one and i can't be asked arguing back!!!

( i think mine looks cool anyway )

you don't need to hear the bike you need to feel it. sure sound helps but if you think sound is the only way to know what your bike is doing your missing out on extra clues to what's acutually happening, especially for mx. trials is a quite sport by comparison and racing mx sometimes you can't even hear your own bike anyway.

rob

I love other people to check out my shiney helmet!lol (sorry had to bring it to that level!). I agree that it is freedom of choice, but I would personal feel unsafe without one on when riding. It gives me the feeling of security which intern boosts my confidence wey high because it is something less to think about, I don't have to constantly consentrate on "If I fall off hold your head off the ground" or something along those lines! You know what I mean?

Sean