Speed doesn’t discriminate…

If you take a spill, no matter what you ride, 70mph is still 70mph…

Before life as a scooter journalist, I worked in the motorcycle industry. Hein Gericke was my employer. I started life as a box-packer in the warehouse, working my way up to running my own stores in both Peterborough and Doncaster. This was the foundation for my knowledge of appropriate safety clothing, and all its benefits. I didn’t just sell the products, I believed in them.

I lost count of the number of weekends when I would stand at the doors on a sunny day, only to see some daft sod roll up on a (freshly released at the time!) Yamaha R1, wearing shorts, t-shirt and trainers. The helmet was a legal requirement. ‘Alright Pal!’ they’d greet me, oblivious to my contempt for their lack of appropriate attire. ‘It’s bloody hot out there!’ It wasn’t my job to lecture them. I assumed it would be perceived as a feeble attempt to ‘hard sell’ based on scaremongering, and we sold plenty enough without having to rely on any such tactics.

But in a world of Kevlar jeans, lightweight protective ankle boots, breathable textile jackets and lightweight gloves, I have to question the sanity of those who choose to ride in near naked conditions. On the very rare occasion I did pose a light-hearted question, I’d often hear the excuse, “I only live a few miles down the road, and I don’t ride like an idiot”. As if that rational would hold up when you hit a patch of diesel

on a roundabout, please. So when recently I was clambering aboard my Lambretta, only capable of a lowly 70mph, whilst donning my armoured jacket, Kevlar jeans and protective ankle boots, and a biker pal scoffed and quipped: “You really think you need all that clobber for a hairdryer?” I had to retort. This is my view mate. “If and when I ever lose control of this machine, or am perhaps forced off the road by some careless idiot, 70mph is 70mph… the Tarmac and oncoming traffic don’t discriminate by what you ride, it’ll treat us all the same!” So whether you ride an R1 or a little scooter, live 50 miles away or five miles away… don’t be ‘that guy’.

‘‘ In a w orld of safety clot h ing, I have to question the sanity of those who choose to ride in near naked conditions