I have three different riders go down that we’re riding with me. Scared me each time. One went down while on a very straight on ramp to I-5 in San Diego. Never figured out how anyone could go down on a perfectly straight piece of asphalt, but he managed it nonetheless. Thankfully in all three cases, everyone was wearing a helmet and one one got minor injuries (they all got their pride hurt). There’s only 2 types of riders...those that have gone down and those that are going to go down. When it comes to safety gear, my advice is this...dress for the crash, period. As for the “RIGHT TO CHOOSE”, sorry if it bothers you, but I don’t fully believe in that right. And as a 20 year Veteran whose job was to protect and defend the Constitution, for those of you who think it’s your “Constitutional Right” to be allowed the “Right to Choose”, I strongly encourage you to read the Constitution AGAIN AND AGAIN, because NOWHERE does it say or grant you the “RIGHT TO CHOOSE.” Such a “RIGHT” is a figment of your imagination. We have no such rights. If we did, there’d be no need for law enforcement, because we could all claim to be exercising out right to choose. Some people really do need to be told what to do, like it or not. And if you choose to not wear a helmet because it’s your “right to choose,” imagine if the police or paramedics decided to equally excercise their “right to choose” and leave your corpse laying where you fell on the highway afterwards because they shouldn’t have to encounter the grisly scene that you’ve managed to create, especially if your brains have popped out of your skull and are smeared across the road. Afterall, in a society where we have the right to choose, why would anyone want to deal with that before going home to their families? Living in a free country doesn’t mean you’re free to do as you please. We lost over 500,000 Americans because idiots were insisting on going around without wearing a mask during a highly contagious pandemic. That’s more Americans that WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam COMBINED. IN JUST ONE YEAR. They claimed to be exercising some phantom “Right” that’s purely a figment of their imagination. Keep in mind, we don’t even have the “Right” to ride our motorcycles. It’s a privilege. As is driving. In many countries you can’t even buy a bike with a 2500 cc engine. Or one with even 500 cc for that matter. In many countries the power output of a motorcycle is highly regulated and isn’t much more than that of a moped. Our “RIGHTS” are regulated by both the government legislation and our Constitution. Thankfully, our Constitution requires the legislation to set our limitations, not our freedoms. Thus, if it’s not set by the legislation, then you’re still allowed to do it. But don’t confuse that as being a “RIGHT.” There’s a huge difference. Legislation can’t impose on “Rights.” Thus, unless that so called “Right” is spelled out as protected in the Constitution, Legislatures have the right to impose and curb it, or take it away altogether. In a civilized society, we need to expect limitations. If you can’t live with those, may I suggest you try living in Somalia. Their government is extremely weak to the point that there’s no laws to speak of other than those imposed at gun point by warlords.
