Argument about motorcycle helmets....

[homersipes]

when I used to ride, I had a skull cap, and when I was on the bike, helmet was on my head, when my arse departed seat was off.  But it does make sense to take a full face off before going in to store IMO kinda makes a person look lazy to not take it off as it is only a strap.

[Swoop]

Whether it is a reasonable/logical request or not, I am fairly sure you just have to suck it up and comply with the rules of the establishment if you want to do business there.

Absolutely.   However....I will happily refuse to do business and go somewhere else as a matter of principle.  

Throwing a tantrum at the lowly minion who is enforcing company policy or railing against the unfairness of the rule on the internet just seems childish to me.

Again, if the request is made politely then it will be refused politely.  If the request is made as an order then.....well, the double figure IQ'd pillock who thinks he can order me around is about to be made a fool of.    My local Tesco supermarket is a great example.  They have a policy that bikers should remove helmets but it depends which security guard is on duty.   The 5'2" 90lbs Indian security guard once came up to me and, politely, asked me to take the lid off to which I replied:

"Certainly, if you can tell me why."  He stared at me blankly as if no-one had ever asked that question before so I thought I'd help him out and carried on "The usual reason is so CCTV can see my face....."  waved a hand around in front of my perfectly visible face, gave him a questioning but friendly look.....then glanced over his shoulder and nodded towards the gaggle of bhurka clad women further down the aisle.....he glanced at them, looked back and me, smiled, nodded and walked off.

However, there's also a 6'2" 280lbs shaven headed MMA fighter type guard who also once came up to me and said "Take your helmet off."

"Sure, if you can tell me the reason."

"Cos I said so."


Now that.....was not the right thing to say.

[Swoop]

IMO kinda makes a person look lazy to not take it off as it is only a strap.

Actually.....no it isn't.  See earlier post about what to do with everything you're carrying, glasses, gloves, scarf, etc.  And if you're in supermarket quickly grabbing something for dinner, if you've got a bike helmet in one hand and a basket in the other, how do you take things from the shelves without putting the helmet on the floor every time? .....and in that event how to you ensure no steel toe capped wearing cretins kick it while it's there?

[MiloMorai]

Why don't you leave the helmet with the bike? I lock my mine to the bike with the lock I use on the front brake.

[danny76]

Why don't you leave the helmet with the bike? I lock my mine to the bike with the lock I use on the front brake.

Because a 700 quid Arai Quantum is worth cutting the strap for and then paying a few pence for a replacement for some stealing little scrote.

And putting a heavy chain through the chin bar repeatedly will weaken it, not a place that I want to have weakened on a helmet when i am sliding along on my face.

[Swoop]

Why don't you leave the helmet with the bike? I lock my mine to the bike with the lock I use on the front brake.

Haven't got one.  Or a helmet lock.  As Danny said, my £800 Shuberth is worth cutting the strap for.

[Bizman]

Yeah that is a good point.  It is the custom for gentlemen to remove their hat when stepping inside.

However.....imagine it's mid winter, 20 degrees outside, force 9 gale going on, you're walking from the bus stop to your front door with 4 bags of groceries and step inside a 7-11 to buy a newspaper.....would you take your woolly hat off? 

Do you mean 20 fahrenheit? I don't use a hat when it's warm like that... And I would be using my car to carry the groceries, it's the wives here carrying bags and using the buses.

Joking aside, there's more difficult tasks to do than taking your hat off in your example:

• Pulling the 7-11 door open. OK, you can kick if it's a push type door, or just walk in if it's an automatic one.
• Picking the newspaper.
• Grabbing your wallet/pocket for the coin to pay for the newspaper.
• Getting out of the door. Again, depending on the opening direction or automation. With regular hinges you'd be in trouble one way or the other.

If you have to put any of the bags down for any of the tasks above, you could as well take your hat off.

Can't tell the reason why, but I think I've never seen any real bikers wear their helmets while off their bikes. Some 15 year old boys with their 50 cc mopeds may lift theirs up to their occiput, though, making them look like coneheads...

[Ripsnort]

Why don't you leave the helmet with the bike? I lock my mine to the bike with the lock I use on the front brake.

Um yeah, we know how you lock up your bike. 

[Swoop]

Can't tell the reason why, but I think I've never seen any real bikers wear their helmets while off their bikes.

That's mainly because it gets hot in a bike helmet when you're not moving.....unless it's an open face or flip top one.  In the middle of July I ride along with the front flipped up....which incidentally also makes it much easier to smoke.

[danny76]

Can't tell the reason why, but I think I've never seen any real bikers wear their helmets while off their bikes.

What exactly are those then?

Guys with 'live to ride, ride to live' tattoos all over them, a goattee beard and a complete inability to corner at anything over 25mph, but ample stories of peg scraping heroism

[Swoop]

Guys with 'live to ride, ride to live' tattoos all over them, a goattee beard and a complete inability to corner at anything over 25mph, but ample stories of peg scraping heroism

   




   Wait.....I have a goatee.

[Tupac]

I usually never take my helmet off when I get gas, but I usually park close enough to the pump that I don't even need to get off my bike, unless I want to stretch.

[Bizman]

What exactly are those then?

Guys with 'live to ride, ride to live' tattoos all over them, a goattee beard and a complete inability to corner at anything over 25mph, but ample stories of peg scraping heroism

Oh, I didn't think that far. For what I understand, real bikers ride real motorcycles. In my country also moped riders have to wear helmets, so the may look like bikers although the max 50cc ride isn't a real motorcycle. On the other hand even a bicycle can be called a bike, thus bicyclists would be bikers, too, wouldn't they? Many of them also wear helmets and I've seen some people shopping for groceries wearing a bicycle helmet. A 250 lbs 5 ft tall middle aged male sure looks scary in his trench and bicycle helmet...

 Hummm... let's say real bikers ride motorcycles which are allowed only for grown ups with an adequate driver's license . Satisfied with that?

[d0m1no]

I rarely ever take my helmet off when fuelling up and have never been asked to by an attendant. I find it's a longer process to take off and put on the helmet than to fuel the bike. Although I always just pay at the pump unless I want to grab a drink or snack. If I do go inside I will take it off. I just find it difficult and uncomfortable to walk around inside with it on. It's already hard enough to walk around with my riding boots.

That being said, I have seen other riders go into gas stations, grocery stores, and even banks with their helmets still on and have never seen anyone ask them to remove the helmets. I live in Edmonton (northern Canada). It's possible that I just have witnessed it, but I didn't even think about it being an issue until reading this thread.

[MiloMorai]

I usually never take my helmet off when I get gas, but I usually park close enough to the pump that I don't even need to get off my bike, unless I want to stretch.

There is a reason, like a hot engine beneath the gas tank, one should get off when refueling.