Not surprisingly I disagree, Uncle H.
I don't think most riders actually put a lot of thought into gear. They buy once, usually to a price point (not a protection point) or an image. Oddly, they'll spend hours researching the details of exhausts, of sliders, of tires, heck even oil. But gear? Not much thought.
Now if they did the research if they looked at how crashes actually occur, where the impact areas were, looked at the statistics, I think they'd put a bunch more thought into this. Even then, however, there is a surprising lack of objective information out there about gear and how it is made, how it performs in a crash vs. other materials.
No, most decisions about gear are not based on actual consideration. They are based on anecdote, myth, bias, or belief. That's why a regular discussion of ATGATT is important, because it involves real riders telling real stories and relaying real experiences. I will grant you that the cruiser crowd would have more holdouts, more "adults who have made their own life choices" but I think for that crowd, the costume and style is a large part of that decision. It's not comfort - anyone who has ridden a few hundred miles in good gear understands it is WAY more comfortable than t-shirts and jeans, especially in the hot sun and dry wind.
I say that based on many, many discussions with folks on our own company motorcycle forum. When pushed, almost all of them admit to not knowing this information, and not being aware of anything more than a general sense of "you take risks when you ride without proper gear." But they don't actually know the risks in a manner to make an informed decision. When they have all the facts, presented in an objective manner without judgment, a very large percentage of riders change their habits.
I had two cruiser riders, for example, good friends that wear the costume when riding, and both of them changed their riding gear out when they saw the pix and details of my crash.
That's the kind of peer pressure we need more of, not less, Uncle H. I changed many of my own gear habits after BeamerReamer and his Missus' deer crash. After they were on the road to healing up from their injuries, Auburn FJR explained to many of us in the PNW crew about how Reamer's gear, while better than most, was not up to the task. How many of us reassessed our gear? With one or two exceptions (PNW crew, you know who you are), most of us upgraded our gear pretty quickly. We now have several crashes under our collective belts in the past several years (unfortunately), all caused by other drivers, and the gear has been instrumental in preventing more serious injury.
Auburn, if I hadn't said so yet, thanks. You saved my bacon by bringing up ATGATT.
