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Old 08-16-2017, 09:54 PM   #1
MarkG   MarkG is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chandler, AZ
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Reasons to wear riding gear

I went through several states this summer and enjoyed the 10,000 plus miles of riding. It could have been a whole lot different if I wasn't wearing riding gear. Consider why going without a helmet and face-shield is not a good idea at touring speeds.

Montana has what I call epoxy bugs. These nasty things are trained to miss the windshield and hit dead center on the helmet face-shield with a very solid impact. Using multiple cleaners and ten to fifteen minutes of careful work visibility can be restored. The splat rivals any epoxy found in the local hardware stores. Without a good face-shield I would have been blinded or at the very least had to have stitches. The bugs in South Dakota and Wyoming are gooey and usually hit the windshield.

Next on the list are the birds in the rural areas. I missed all but one medium size bird and took a hit to the top of the helmet. Another one of those attention grabbing moments at 70 mph. If anybody thinks they can duck fast enough, good luck. No damage to the helmet, at least it wasn't my bare head.

Fortunately I missed the hail but still saw a lot of bad weather in one form or another. I learned years ago never leave home without cold weather gear even on a day ride. The temperature extremes ranged from 32 to 120 degrees. I used every bit of my heavy gear more than once throughout the trip.

The most dangerous things on the road are rental motor-homes. Driving down the middle of the road and will always cross the center line on corners. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if they were banned from the highways.

One final suggestion. I drove with my bright lights on most of the time. I noticed a lot of other riders are finally doing the same thing this year. People are paying less attention and aren't seeing other cars much less motorcycles.

Ride safe and think seriously about protecting your eyes and other valuable body parts when going for a ride.
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Mark Griffin
2021 Manhattan Metallic K1600GTL
2016 Silver K1600GTL - sold
2015 Red/Blk Cross Country Tour - sold
2008 Red/Blk Nomad - sold
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Mesquite '08|Custer '09|Cortez '10|Maggie Valley '11|Kanab '12|Estes Park '13|Red Lodge '16|Custer '18



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